Ellicott City

May 12, 2025 Peace and Good, These past couple of weeks have been quite busy with serving at the Shrine, at the Nursing Home, writing, and spiritual direction. Having finished my book on Carlo Acutis, I have a bit more time to devote to the daily podcast reflections on Scripture and I am a little ahead, but I have to be careful to keep working on them. The weather has turned very nice in these days. It is already Spring with the first hints of Summer. I will be here at Ellicott City for the rest of the month, with a few talks for various groups here at the Shrine. I also have to prepare for a few retreats that I will be giving over the next couple of months. I have learned how to use Libby, an app used by the local library, so I can now listen to some books for free. I always like free. I often buy book online because I am somewhat interested in topic, but especially because they are very, very cheap. I have finished some reading and listening: Epic Engineering Failures and the Lessons They Teach by Stephen Ressler This is quite a long (26 lessons) presentation on various bridges, dikes, buildings, airplanes, etc. which failed through engineering or maintenance errors. The thesis of the professor is that even failures can lead to new insights and further safety in the future. Ressler is clear in his presentations, and I learned about forces and other elements in the design of projects. He makes listening to his lectures a joy. The History of Sugar by Kelley Deetz This is a Great Courses presentation on the history of the growth and use of sugar. A large part of the book deals with the tragedy of the slave trade which was largely fueled by the need for cheap labor on the sugar plantations. The professor also speaks of the cultural significance of sugar (e.g. birthday cakes, Halloween candy, etc.). It is only a short presentation, but it is well prepared and presented. The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz Two men decide to become supermen (in the sense of Nietzsche) by killing a series of people in a horrible way, thus creating chaos through which they can gain control. Because of circumstances, a man who is psychic and his wife are being hunted by the killers. Much of the action takes place on the top floors of a modern skyscraper where the pair must try to escape the killer using mountain climbing techniques. The Khmer Kill by Barry Eisler This is a short novel about a professional assassin who is invited to Cambodia to kill someone. While he is there, he discovers that his mission is not what he expected it to be. There is a good sense of sympathy to the poverty of the people living in Phnom Pen, and even of some of the sex workers in the city. Ancient Rome by Simon Baker This is a quite long treatment of the history of Rome from its foundation to the days of Constantine. This is the second time I have listened to this book (the last time around 10 years ago). Both times I thoroughly enjoyed the material and the style of the book. Dragon Sea by Frank Pope This is the story of the recovery effort for a shipwreck off the coast of Vietnam. It contains a very large quantity of fine porcelain which was considered unusual for the best and most porcelain was being produced in China. The book goes into questions of politics, archaeology, diving, etc. The men working on the project are not presented as great heroes but rather as quite fallible and at times venal. The Shepherd of Hermas translated by J.B. Lightfoot This is one of the books written in the early Church which did not make it into the New Testament (although some editions of it did include the book at the end). I always wanted to read it because of this. I have to admit that it is a bit tedious. It is a series of allegories and homilies all calling Christians to conversion. It is filled with dire predictions for those who are not faithful to the Gospel. It is like the Book of Revelation at its worst. Alaric the Goth by Douglas Boin This is a book I well appreciated. When we were small, we heard that the barbarians conquered the civilized Roman empire. The story of Alaric presents the other side of the story. Alaric’s greatest wish was to be welcomed into the Empire and that he and his people be treated with respect. The opposite happened, and it lead to the sacking of Rome because of the outrages the Romans had committed against the Goths. The Stuart Restoration by Charles River Editors This is a short study of the period between the death of King Charles I (killed by the rebellion led by Cronwell) and the restoration of the monarchy under King James II. It is a complicated period with political and religious differences leading to absolute chaos for quite a bit of time. Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Menullo This is a novel of a book editor who is travelling to the Midwest to sell the farm of his parents who recently died in an accident. He is tricked by his sister into carrying a Buddhist sage to whom she intended to give part of the farm. At first the man is furious, but slowly he learns life lessons from the sage. The book is well written. Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre This is the true story of an English housewife who turns out to be a soviet army agent who forwarded many of the secrets of the atom bomb to Moscow. She was a German Jew who joined the soviet service in China, then served in Poland, Germany and Switzerland, before finally ending up in England during the Second World War. The story, if it were not true, would be rejected as too unbelievable to be true. Macintyre is an excellent author of spy stories including Dreyfus, allied spies against the Nazi’s, Soviet spies against the west, etc. Picking Popes: Conclaves, the Papacy and the Catholic Church by Christopher Bellitto I bought this short course from Learn25 a while ago, and the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo seemed like a good time to listen to it. It is only a few lectures long, but it gives a good overview to what happens when one pope dies and another is elected. A Murder of Crows by Tom Lowe A Seminole is arrested for supposedly killing a grave robber and scalping him. A couple of people, one a retired detective from Miami and the other a former agent for the FBI, investigate the case for they are absolutely sure of the innocence of the man arrested. There are a good number of twists and turns, and the novel is well written. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude