Ellicott City

December 30, 2024 Peace and Good, I have been helping out at the Shrine and St. Joseph Nursing Home in these days. There is really not all much going on in the area at this time of year. We had tons of people come to our three Masses for Christmas. I was asked to write a short article on the Canticle of the Three Young Men in the furnace from the Book of Daniel. This was the inspiration for St. Francis' Cantile of the Creatures. I did not intend to do it so quickly, but on Christmas morning (a day after I was asked), it all came together very quickly. It was a great spiritual meditation for me. The image I really liked was the idea that the dominion over the earth that God gave us was not intended to allow us to exploit creation, but rather to invite us to be the choirmaster for a praise of God by all of creation. I have to work on a bunch of daily reflectons in these next couple of days. I am a little behind. When I finish them, I have to start on a series of articles for a magazine in Kenya. I finished some reading and listening: Where God was Born by Bruce Feiler This is the second book by Feiler that I have read. The first one was about his reflections upon Abraham as the founder of three religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). This book is more of a travelogue into Israel, the West Bank and Iraq. I was not overly impressed with it. The Epistle of Barnabas This is the first time that I have read this early apostolic writing. It was probably contemporary with some of the writings of the New Testament. There is not a lot of content in the letter. It is mostly exhortation and it follows the exegetical techniques that would later be used by the Fathers of the Church from Alexandria (taking passages and ideas from the Old Testament and showing how Jesus has given these texts a new meaning). Plato in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern Even though this is a very short presentation of the life and teaching of this great philosopher, Strathern (who is a tremendous history author) manages to give a good treatment to topics such as the forms and Plato’s ideas concerning government (and how his ideas could easily be used by totalitarian regimes). Astrobiology by Andrew May This book deals with the topic of whether there is life on other planets in the universe. It deals with the question of why we have no clear signs of that life if it exists. It raises the question of what type of life we could expect: intelligent or primitive. It also deals with the possibility that life exists but in a form that is totally different from our own (e.g. not using DNA, or possibly having 8 amino acids in their DNA and not 4 as we have). The topic is well developed without becoming sensational. Stories by Garrison Keillor This is a series of 14 stories by Garrison Keillor about life in Minnesota and life in general. He has a great style and is quite entertaining as he rolls out his characters and their quirky, down to earth circumstances. The Medieval World by Thomas Madden This is a Modern Scholar presentation which actually has two volumes to cover the history of the medieval world as well as its culture, religion, etc. Madden has produced a good number of courses on the Modern Scholar series, and he is completely trustworthy. The lectures are informative and presented in a very understandable manner. How to Read and Understand the Gospel of Luke by William Burton This is a Learn25 presentation of the Gospel of Luke and a bit of the message of Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. Like almost all of the Learn25 presentations, this is thoughtful and presented at a level which is reasonable for most adults (not overly technical, not overly simplified). It gives a good treatment to the major topics found in the Gospel and what they meant to the audience to which the Gospel was presented. The Appalachian Trail by Charles River Editors Like all of the Charles River Editors productions, this is a short presentation of the topic: the Appalachian Trail. It begins with a history of the trail and its importance to those who use it. Much of the book is actually an account of the various portions of the trail in each state where it is found. This section is great for someone investigated a journey along the trail, but terribly boring for those who are interested in a more generic approach to the meaning of this enterprise. A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman Tuchman is a great popular historian. This is a book which speaks of Europe during the 14th century. That century saw the time of more than one pope, the black death, the Turkish invasion of the Balkans, the hundred years war, endless wars in Italy, etc. Tuchman brings the story and the complicated details to life. I would recommend any of her books (e.g. The Zimmerman Telegram, the First Salute, the March of Folly, etc.). What Christians Believe by C.S. Lewis This is a series of apologetic presentations produced by C.S. Lewis concerning the existence of God and the importance of the Christian Church as the fulfillment of God’s will for us. It is done in his usual thoughtful but also understandable fashion. Christian Writing Decoded: the Didache by Wyatt North The Didache was one of the first writings after the production of the New Testament. It is a book of exhortation mixed with liturgical instructions. As such, it is the earliest testimony to liturgical practices in the early Church. Does God Exist? by Robert Kuhn Kuhn has produced a series of very thoughtful explorations into questions of philosophy and theology. His format is to speak with experts on both sides of whatever question he is addressing. The series is very well done. One can hear the arguments from both sides presented in a respectful manner. Have a Happy New Year, fr. Jude

Ellicott City - Ocean City - Ellicott City

December 24, 2024 Peace and Good, As you can see above, I spent some time at the friars' place in Ocean City. It was there for a week. It was very cold, but I love the peace and quiet there at this time of the year. Life here is Ellicott City has fallen into a good pattern. I help out at the Shrine with confessions and Masses (which includes celebrating Mass at St. Joseph Nursing Home about a half hour away from here). I have also led a few days of recollection for various groups. My next class is January 25 which is a replay of my workshop on the Book of Revelation. In the meantime, I want to get started on a series of magazine articles on the Penteteuch that I am writing for the friars' magazine in Kenya. I have been writing for them for a couple of years now. I am very happy that the winter solstice has arrived. I really suffer from the shorter days, and I can't wait to get out into the sun more as the days get longer. I finished some reading and listening: The American Civil War by Gary Gallaher This is a long course from the Teaching Company on the Civil War. The professor is fair in his evaluations and very informative, not only on battles but also on the politics and cultural dimensions of the battle. His side topics include slavery, the role of civilians (including African-Americans), trade, etc. The course is 48 lectures so listening to it is a bit of a commitment, but it is well worthwhile. Talleyrand by Charles River Editors This is a short outline of the life and career of this remarkable figure. He started out as a bishop, but then switched roles, serving first the French Revolution, then Napoleon, and then the kings who followed Napoleon. It seems as if his guiding principles were fame and money. Yet, he served his nation well in a very difficult era (even though he always made sure he got his cut of whatever profits were available). The Wine Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill This is the author of the famous book, “How the Irish Saved Civilization.” This volume is a study on the history, literature, and culture of ancient Greece from its earliest days up to the time that it encountered Rome and the Christian faith. Cahill’s books are often a bit irreverent, but not in a dirty way but mostly in a down to earth manner. He also has some interesting ideas about the influences upon Greek cities, poets and artists, etc. The Lost Gutenberg: the Astounding Story of One Book’s Five Hundred Odyssey by Margaret Leslie David This is the story of one of the Bibles printed by Gutenberg and how it was handed down from one owner to another, travelling from Germany to Great Britain to the US to Japan. It also deals with the process of printing in the days of Gutenberg, and also with scientific studies done on the book to try to discover its secrets (e.g. the chemistry of the ink used, the type of paper, the process of organizing printing, etc.). It is a good book, dealing well with a whole series of topics. Belle Boyd by Charles River Editors This is a short account of one of the most important Confederate spies during the Civil War. Boyd was a wild young woman who lived in the northern part of Virginia, an area which passed back and forth between the two sides. She did things which deserve the worst of punishments, but somehow she got away with most of what she did, only being exiled as a punishment. Mata Hari by Charles River Editors This is a short presentation of the life of Mata Hari, the famous exotic dancer who was executed by the French during World War I as a spy for the Germans. The author argues strongly that she was innocent and that her execution was a type of cover up to catch people’s attention during the disastrous battle of Verdun. A Small Town in Germany by John Le Carre This is a dramatic presentation about a German employee of the British embassy in West Germany who disappears. A tough investigator is sent to find out what happened and whether there was something very dangerous about it (e.g. defection to the East with secret documents). There are a series of twists and turns as is common in the writings of Le Carre. It was a very entertaining presentation. 100 Things the Simpsons Fans Should Know and Do Before they Die by Julia Prescott and Allie Goetz I have been a fan of the Simpsons since its beginning, although having been in Europe for so long I have not seen the past 13 years of it. This is a series of 100 short vignettes about the show, its writers, its characters, its message, etc. The 10 Biggest Civil War Blunders by Edward Bonekemper This is a good presentation of mistakes made by both the North and the South during the Civil War. It includes such mistakes as not following up on victories (over and over again a fault of the north), a plan to embargo cotton made by the South to force Great Britain enter the war, etc. Bonekemper is fair in his presentation and has very few visible axes to grind. Dickens and Twain: Capturing 19th Century Britain and America by Timothy Shutt. This is a Modern Scholar presentation. It speaks of the similarities and differences between Dickens and Twain who were more or less contemporaries. While Dickens was intimately involved in describing the horrors of modern England and the effects of the industrial revolution, Dickens comments on travel and society in a humorous manner. White Fire by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child This is a story of Agent Pendergast and Corrie, a young troubled woman who has gotten her life together and is attempting to build a career in law enforcement. She travels to a mountain resort in the West which has dangerous and evil secrets about the past and the way that these things were still incarnated in the present. 1941 by Andrew Nagorski Nagorski is the son of a Polish officer who fought in World War II. Thus, he has a special interest in presenting the story as best he can. He speaks of 1941 as the year that Hitler lost the war (even if its end did not come til 1945). Hitler overstepped himself in his invasion of Russia and then his declaration of war against the United States after Pearl Harbor. The book is very well written. Merry Christmas! fr. Jude

Ellicott City

December 7, 2024 Peace and Good, I hope you are all well. I have been at home these days, mostly working at the Shrine. We have an hour of confessions every day between Monday and Saturday. There are usually two or three confessors on call each day, and there are almost always line waiting for confession. It is a very good ministry. I was in contact with the provincial of our province in Kenya and I was asked to begin another series of articles for their magazine on the Penteteuch. I have outlined the topics, and it works out to about 25 articles. I will be getting to that this week when the inspiration hits me. I usually brook over a topic for a couple of weeks, and then one morning the first line of the piece comes into my head and from there it is off to the races. The weather here has been very cold, but nothing like Buffalo as been getting in these days. I tell my friends that the one consolation for Buffalonians in these days is that Watertown (at the other end of Lake Ontario) is getting more snow. I will be here in EC all this week, but next week I am going to go to the shore to the appartment the friars have there. I finished some reading and listening: How the Bible Saved Civilization by Ian Boxall These presentations from Learn25 do not really match the title. What the author does is explain various scenes, people, and topics and show how they are still important in our world and in the world of art, drama, music, etc. Boxall is a good, creative presenter. Art and the Bible by Francis Schaeffer This is a relatively short presentation by an Evangelical author who speaks of the need for art and beauty in our lives and our faith. He is attacking a tendency to see something wrong in painting, statues, music, poetry, etc. He takes many of his argumentation from the Bible itself (e.g. how God created the beautiful, how God ordered Moses and David to make beautiful decorations for the cult, etc. New Amsterdam by Charles River Editors This is the history of the arrival of the Dutch in the New York area and the years of their early colonization up to the time of the British who took the colony over after Holland’s defeat in the mid-17th century. The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri This is the account of the murder of a very mysterious figure who staged improvisational plays in the town where Inspector Montalbano lives. The plot is intricate and possibly a bit confusing. I did not like this volume as much as Camilleri’s others for the hero dumps his long distance lover for a young and strange young woman, chalking it up to a mature man’s last adventure. This aspect was almost adolescent in its approach. Thunder Point by Jack Higgins This is an action novel about the recovery of secret documents brought by Martin Borman to the Caribbean when he supposedly escaped at the end of World War II. (There have long been theories that he escaped and lived in Latin America). The documents would incriminate key British politicians and royalty, and the team (Ferguson and Sean Dillon, an ex-IRA gunman) seek to find them before a group of Nazi collaborators can discover where they are and recover them. The Middle East by Philip Robins This is a presentation of the history, politics, and cultures of the countries of the Middle East. It naturally leans towards the Islamic countries, but it does not ignore Israel. The author is quite good, and he is honest in his approach (not looking for a villain in his account. Women who made Science History by Leila McNeill This is a short course from the Great Courses on significant women in science from the Renaissance to the modern era, leaning very heavily toward the modern. McNeill speaks of the lives and contributions of a number of famous and not so famous women scientists, and especially of their difficulty to have their contributions to science recognized because of the anti-woman bias in many fields of research and many institutions. Innocent Man by John Grisham This is a true life story of two men who were falsely convicted of rape and murder in a small town in Oklahoma. The prosecutors broke a whole series of laws in their case. The particular difficulty in proving one of the men innocent was his mental illness and tendency toward alcoholism. The innocent project eventually was able to prove their innocence after many years of often cruel incarceration. Hans Urs Von Balthasar by Kevin Mongrain Von Balthasar was a key thinker in the process of leading up to Vatican II, but his specialty was in patristics and mysticism, especially in rediscovering that which is truly beautiful (in nature, in revelation, in the incarnation, etc.) His writings are notoriously difficult to understand, so I took this first step of listening to this Learn25 course to get an initial idea of who he was and what he taught. At the end of this course, I can say I have caught a glimpse of what he believed and shared. The Gospel of Mark 101: How to Read and Understand the Gospel of Action by Ian Boxall This is a course on the Gospel of Mark from the Learn25 series. I found the course very informative, reinforcing that which I knew and making me see a few things in a way from which I had never considered the material. I plan to listen to whatever other courses this professor has produced. Chaucer by Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd is a tremendous author about all things Brittanica. This book speaks of the life and writings of Chaucer, placing him within his historic and literary environment. The author constantly quotes Chaucer’s writings, first in the English used at Chaucer’s time (the late 14th century) and then in modern English. There are many things that are not known about Chaucer, but Ackroyd masterfully pieces together those things which we can know. The Mughal Empire by Charles River Editors This isa short account of the Mughal empire in India. A lot of the book is a presentation on the history of Islam, and then when the author gets into the part about India, it is a mix of wars between this or that power or palace intrigues. I cannot say that I know that much more about this empire after finishing this read. The Norsemen-Understanding the Vikings and Their Culture by Michael Drout This is a course from Modern Scholar about the Vikings and especially their culture and their literature. While there is not an enormous corpus of writings, nevertheless the professor is able to explain the intricacies of what they wrote, both from a literary and mythic point of view. Ironically, the most important collection of writings were produced by a Christian author so that his contemporary authors would understand some of the mythic references in their own language. Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King by Zahi Hawass This is a firsthand account of the examination of the Tutankhamun mummy in order to understand more about his lie and his death. It is only a short book, but it was enjoyable and informative. The Bad Popes by E.R. Chamberlin This is a treatment of popes who were disastrous in their personal conduct and their leadership of the Church from the early Middle Ages to the Renaissance (and the time of the Protestant Reformation). While the accounts of some of the popes were incredibly scandalous, the author tries not to be a rumor monger but rather to present the popes with their flaws and sometimes their virtues. It is a good read. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude