Ellicott City - Pittsburgh - Ellicott City

June 25 Peace and good, It is hot, hot, hot. The ehat and humidity remind me of Western Africa. I have been busy mostly with work at the Shrine, spiritual direction, and assistanct at St. Joesph's Nursing Home. I have also been working on editing some works by authors who asked me to check out their works. This Friday in the morning I have a presentation on the encyclical that Pope Francis wrote on the Sacred Heart. Then in the afternoon I head over to Priestfield in West Virginia to help preach a weekend retreat to a group of Secular Franciscans. Sunday I help out at a local parish fror 5 pm Mass, and then Monday I begin a retreat nearby with the Trinitarian priests. It is going to be a very busy week. This past weekend I had a great day of recollection for a group from the Legion of Mary from Germantown, MD. It was a very interesting group of people, with the majority being either from Africa or Korea. I love working with groups like that, especially handling the question and answer sessions after I finish my presentation. I never know what they will ask, which means I have to stay very alert. I learn so much from their questions. I headed over to Pittsburgh a week ago to visit one of my spsiritual directees and I got to see my sister-in-law and nephew as well. It was a very good trip. I finished some books; Napoleon’s Worst Defeats by Charles River Editors This is a Charles River presentation of some of Napoleon’s battles. It deals with his Egyptian invasion, the defeat of his fleet there and at Trafalgar, his defeat in Russia and then in Germany, and then Waterloo. The Charles River books are getting longer and more detailed. They used to be around 50 pages, but have beefed up to around 120 pages (which still a short book, but now much, much longer than Wikipedia articles). Wesley for Armchair Theologians by William Abraham This is an overview of the life and teachings of Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. It goes into his successes in developing his theology (largely as in opposition to the Presbyterian idea of predestinationist beliefs). Yet, Wesley tried to call people to a true conversion that could only be undertaken by the grace of God. Abraham shows how Wesley succeeded and failed in his attempt to craft a fully developed theology. Most Dangerous Place by Amtiaz Gul This is an account of what happened in northwest Pakistan, the tribal areas, during the days of Osama bin Laden and his successors. One sees the collision of deeply traditional cultures, outside Islamic influences, and the central government of Pakistan. There were so many dimensions to the story that it almost seems as if one is playing three dimensional chess. Origins and Ideologies of the American Revolution by Peter Mancall This is a rather long course from the Great Courses (48 lectures) on what preceded and what followed the American Revolution. I was a bit surprised at how little Mancall actually spoke about the revolution itself. The material he presents is well organized and most informative. I especially appreciated the discussion of the aftermath of the revolution and the writing of the constitution which sought to give some order to the governance of the new nation. In the Footsteps of Vincent van Gogh by Jean-Pierre Isbouts This is a Great Courses presentation which I watched on video (which for this course is essential, given the topic). Isbouts gives a great presentation on the life and the paintings of Van Gogh. It is not filled with psychologizing theories, although it does touch the topic of Vincent’s mental illness. One can see the growth of Van Gogh’s talent and also of the effect of his personal life upon his artwork. I highly recommend this course. England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest by Jennifer Paxton This is a nice overview filled with a bit of humor here and there. It is part of a series on the history of England up to the present day. I would not say that it is scholarly, but it is a nice read. The Firebombing of Tokyo by Charles River Editors During the last years of World War II, the United States adopted a form of bombing in Japan which was designed to cause the greatest fire damage possible. More people, in fact, were killed in the fire bombing of Tokyo than in the atomic bomb explosions. This process was designed and run by Curtis LeMay. There are very serious moral questions of whether it is legitimate to bomb areas which one knows to be major population centers with the purpose of destroying homes and killing civilians who could work in the production of arms for the war. Mountains of the Pharaohs by Zahi Hawass This is the story of the construction and the archaeology of the pyramids by an archaeologist who has worked on excavations on these sites. Some of the information is most interesting, especially because it is presented from a firsthand perspective. Unfortunately, the author insists in giving long, complicated genealogies that are more confusing than helpful. Overall, it was a good read. Aa Short History of Medicine by Steve Parker This is a long presentation of the history of medicine from ancient to modern times through a long series of short articles on individual topics. It is part of the DK series which is all written in the same style. It is the kind of a book that one can listen to or read a small bit at a time. The Gunseller by Hugh Laurie This is a book by the actor Hugh Laurie that speaks of a former British special services member who is caught up in a plot to manufacture a fake terrorist attack so a group of arms merchants (and governmental officials in their pay) might sell a new weapon which could be of service in future terrorist attacks on cities. The pace is super-fast, and the dialog is both comical and filled with semi-hidden meanings. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this presentation. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery This is the story of the relationship between the author and a series of octopuses (yes, she said that is the right plural form because the word comes from two Greek and not Latin words). She speaks of their intelligence, their personalities, and their life cycle. It is a book filled with the wonder which she experienced by entering into a totally strange and yet magical world. Vatican II: Understanding and Living the Spirituality of the Council by Anthony Ciorra This is a very well done series of the spirituality that was behind the calling and the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Rather than being a council to correct errors of some group in the Church, the Second Vatican Council was called to do theology in the modern world, to find a way to share the faith in a whole new atmosphere. The professor concentrates on the universal call to holiness and the outreach to people who were often not considered all that much in previous councils. I recommend this Learn25 presentation. Have a good week and stay cool. fr. Jude Saint Bonaventure by Louis Costelloe This is a biography by a Franciscan author on St. Bonaventure. It is not much more than an outline of his life, but for that it serves a good purpose.

Ellicott City - Ocean City

June 13, 2025 The Feast of St. Anthony of Padua Peace and Good. i amanged to get away for a week, staying at the condo that the friars have in Ocean City, MD. I usually become like a hibernating bear when I go there, not wanting to do a lot of things other than walk and pray and read. i managed to study the encyclical that Pope Francis wrote last year on the Sacred Heart. I am giving a talk on the feast of the Sacred Heart, June 27. I feel like I am ready for that presentation. I have two retreats in the days following (a weekend retreat and a full week retreat) which I must still prepare. The weather here has warmed up considerably. Summer has arrived, but at least the humidity is not yet miserable. Tomorrow we have a big celebration for the feast of St. Anthony with a speaker and other events. I will help out a bit by leading a discussion session in the afternoon. I have been giving a few sessions to small groups lately. They usually have a given topic, but then during the question and answer period, they roam all over the place. I finished some reading and listening; The Confederacy on the Brink by Charles River Editors This is the story of the major battles of the Civil War from the period after the First Battle of Manassas til the Second Battle of Manassas, which includes all of the battles of the Peninsula, the Seven Days around Richmond, and the battles of General Jackson in the Shenandoah. Given the skill of many of the Confederate army leaders and the lack of talent of the earliest northern army leaders, it is a wonder that the north eventually won. The Printing Press by Charles River Editors This short presentation gives a good overview of the invention and spread of the printing press. This, however, is one book of the Charles River Editors that could have used a good editor. I like most of their presentations, but the entire middle of this book is packed with material on Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. While that period of time was important for the growth of printing, the author insists on giving tons of history on Luther that has nothing to do with printing. The Lord and His Prayer by N.T. Wright I have really been impressed with the writings of this theologian. His primary thesis is that Jesus came into the world to proclaim and inaugurate the Kingdom of God. Thus, this is his emphasis as he speaks of the prayer which Jesus himself taught his disciples. It is both a surrender to the will of God and the incarnation of that will in the lives of those who are praying it. World War II: Air War: An American Heritage Series by Stephen Sears This is an overview of the growth of the Army Air Corps’ contribution to the air battles of World War II. It is not all that long a presentation, but it gives a good idea of why they had such a difficulty in many of their earlier raids (i.e. the lack of a fighter that could accompany the bombers to the target) and of how they collaboration with the British forces (i.e. the Americans tended to bomb during the day while the British bombed at night). The Apocryphal Gospels by Bernard Buby This is an overview of some of the most important apocryphal gospels during the early centuries of the Church. These are the Gospels that were not included in the canon. Most of them were not accepted because of their Gnostic tendencies – presenting a Jesus which was very unlike the one presented in the canonical Gospels. Others contain some information which might be authentic (e.g. the names of Mary’s parents), but that information and the saying of Jesus are mixed with material which is clearly unacceptable. This was a Learn25 course. The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire and War in the West Indies by Matthew Parker This is the story of the sugar barons during the colonial period in the Caribbean. The author deals with periphery topics (such as the relationship between the English and French and Dutch). He speaks extensively of the horror of the slave trade and the degradation in which the slaves lived. He also speaks of the tropical indolence and excesses into which many of the planters fell. 1066 and Before All That: The Battle of Hastings, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman England by Ed West This is a book which deals with England before, during and after the invasion of the Normans in 1066. The author has a dry sense of humor which I greatly appreciated. It is not that I learned anything new in the book, but it was a great review of the topic. Delphi Complete Works of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo by Peter Russell This is part of the Delphi Art series which is a great collection of studies upon the lives and works of famous artists throughout the ages. Tiepolo is a Venetian artist during the Baroque and Rococo era of art. I cannot say that I like his work all that much, but it was good to learn about his background, his techniques, etc. Under Occupation by Alan Furst Furst is by far one of my favorite authors. This is a story set in Nazi occupied Paris during the Second World War. The author of a series of detective novels accidentally comes upon some information which he passes on to the underground. The recruit him and help him set up a small network to hide operatives. He eventually must escape from the Nazis when they unravel the netword. The Hidden History of the Boston Tea Party by Adam Jortner This 6 lecture course deals with the situation in colonial America which led to the Boston Tea Party, how it was played out, and the eventually political consequences of the action. There is no sensationalism in the course, just the facts (both objective and subjective – e.g. what was going through the minds of those who perpetrated it). Hiroshima Nagasaki: The Real Story of the Atomic Bombings and their Aftermath by Paul Ham This is a very thorough treatment of the use of the atom bomb on two Japanese cities during the Second World War. It includes an overview of the politics and beliefs of the era, the development of the bomb, the specific decision to use the bomb on cities, etc. It also speaks of the aftermath and even of the attempt of the US to downplay the effects of radiation upon the bombing victims. Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature by Daniel Breyer This was a very interesting overview of the darker side of human nature, e.g. evil desires violent thoughts or actions, culpability for thoughts and actions, etc. The professor draws a lot upon Eastern thought, but every so often also includes Christian beliefs. It is the type of course that I would like to put aside for a while and listen to it once again. Gunpowder by Charles River Editors This short gives the history of gunpowder from its earliest days (China or possibly India) through its changes over the years. It speaks of how it was first used for medicinal and entertainment reasons (fireworks), but eventually came to be used in guns and cannons. It was only the invention of non-smoking powder that would not give away the location of a shooter and of other forms of explosive that led to the lessening of the use of gunpowder. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Ellicott City - Ocean City, MD

June 2, 2025 Peace and Good, This has been a very busy period with service at the Shrine and the St. Joseph Rest Home, along with spiritual direction. I am now taking a week at a condo that the friars have at Ocean City. I do not really go to the beach. I end up walking along the sidewalks while I listen to my MP3 with books on tape. I also sit reading and listening to the waves. The sound of the waves calms me down in an instant. I have been able to get ahead in my taping of podcasts on the daily readings for the Mass. I am working right now on editing a couple of books that people have asked me to examine. I am also reading to get ready for a few presentations that I will be doing at the end of the month. I have also given a few presentations to fraternities of the Secular Franciscans. We friars have a profound obligation to work together with the Seculars, but we often do not do enough to walk with them on their spiritual journey. I have finished some reading and listening: The Psalms: Your Model and Guide to Prayer by Michael Guinan This is a Learn25 course on the psalms. The presenter gives many aspects to the composition and use of the psalms, but some of his lectures left me wanting to hear more. He has the tendency to fill in a good amount of time by citing the verses of psalms, something that I felt I could have done on my own. A Franciscan Retreat by Bill Short Bill Short, OFM, is a great Franciscan scholar. This presentation from Learn25 is a series of 12 lectures on Franciscan spirituality as applied to our everyday lives. It is well done, both from an accurate presentation of what Francis and Clare said and did, and from the application of their insights to our daily life. It was a joy to listen to his lectures/conferences. White Collar Criminal Law Explained by Randall Eliason This is a course presented by a federal prosecuting attorney who deals with while collar crime. He describes the various forms of criminal activity, the pertinent laws involved, the cases that helped refine the application of the law (e.g. Supreme Court Decisions), etc. The course is very informative and well presented. Secrets of the Occult by Richard Spence This is a Great Courses presentation on occult practices throughout the ages. Spence has tons of information, but he has the uncomfortable tendency to unite facts that could easily be coincidences and then imply that one proved the other. He always gives a disclaimer when doing this, but then he makes it clear that he really does not intend the disclaimer. Nevertheless, he does deal with some topics about which I knew very little before this presentation. Our Night Sky by Edward Murphy This is a Great Courses video presentation. The professor is a great fan of astronomy, especially at the amateur level. He explains how to do one’s observations of the stars, what one will find at different times of the year and the night, and even the mythological background for the names of various constellations. Savage Continent by Keith Lowe We tend to think that with the fall of Nazi Germany, the violence and disruption of World War II ended quickly. This book shows that this was not the case. There were millions of displaced people wandering over a devastated area. There were ancient and recent hatreds and attempts at revenge. There were the attempts to settle with those who had cooperated with the Germans. While Lowe goes out of his way not to create an exaggerated account, his information nevertheless is quite disturbing. Greek Tragedy by Elizabeth Vandiver This is a course from the Great Courses company on Greek tragedy: why, how, who, etc. Vandiver goes through the most important of the remaining plays and speaks of how they relate both to other works and to the myths upon which they are almost always based. The presentation is very good, and the professor brings out interesting side points that help to complete the picture of what was really going on. Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor This is a series of humorous stories about growing up and living in a somewhat isolated community in Minnesota. There are a couple which are more cynical than humorous, but for the most part they are good and entertaining. The material is part of the Prairie Home Companion series. The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper This is an account of the last days before Hitler committed suicide in his bunker. It is based upon eye-witness testimony of those who survived those days. It is horrific to see how the madness of the regime could reach this level. It is not an entertaining book, but informative. Greece against Rome by Philip Matyszak This is an account of the relationship between Rome and the Greek successor states to the empire of Alexander the Great. It is an incredibly confusing period (especially since so many of the characters insist on having the same name generation after generation). Yet, Matyszak manages to tell the story in an entertaining way, especially throwing out comments that lighten the tedium. War and World History by Jonathan Roth This is a very long Teaching Company course on the interplay between war and culture throughout recorded history. It is an odd sort of a collection, very often dealing with topics that have little to do with war as such. Yet, the lectures were always interesting, and the professor’s conclusions were quite insightful. I think one of the most important insights that I gained was the interplay between military preparedness and the economy of the nation state. How the Spanish Civil War Became Europe’s Battlefield by Pamela Radcliff This is a tremendous course from the Teaching Company on the Spanish Civil War. The presenter is fair to all sides, and does not accept easy conclusions on the causes, conduct and effect of the war. She even speaks about how the memory of those events are still unsettled in the minds and the hearts of the Spanish people today. Reconsidering JFK by Michael Shelden This is a Teaching Company course on the presidency of JFK. It is a very fair evaluation, showing his incredible political talents but also his incredible self-destructive attitude toward his sexual liaisons. The account is at its best in the treatment of crisis moments in the presidency, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Geneva summit with Kruschev, and the Cuban missile crisis. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude