Ellicott City - Santa Cruz - Ellicott City

September 14, 2025 The Feast of the Exultation of the Cross Peace and Good, As you can see above, I was in California a week for my annual retreat, at a retreat house in Santa Cruz (a small city south of San Francisco, right on the ocean). The presenter was Br. William Short, and he spoke on the Canticle of the Creatures (for this is the 800th anniversary of that poem). He was excellent, and being right near the ocean was great. I do not walk the beach so much as listen to the sound of the waaves. Five minutes of that and I find myself tremendously calm. The rest of the time recently has been spent in normal things. I am doing a lot of spiritual direction which I truly like. I also help out with Confessions and Mass at the Shrine and at St. Joseph Nursing Home in Catonsville. It is time to get back to writing a bit, doing articles for two magazines: one in Padua, Italy and the other in Kenya. The weather is beautiful, a nice fall with the leaves just starting to change color. There have been a couple of events in these days. I met with a men's group in the local parish for a question and answer period. People really appreciate the opportunity to ask someone questions that have been nagging them for quite some time. The other event was a Mass we celebrated here for the ministers of the Secular Franciscan throughout the country. I was the celebrant and the peacher. I have finished some reading and listening: First Bull Run by Charles River Editors This is a short account of the first major battle of the Civil War. Up to this point, both sides thought that the division of the states would quickly be resolved. The losses in this battle (which were all but insignificant compared to latter battles like Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg) nevertheless shocked the nation. Both sides were ill prepared, and either could have won given the tremendous chaos of the battle and the inability of troops to follow orders. A Field Guide to the Planets by Sabine Stanley This is a study of the solar system at a scientific level. He speaks of the sun and each of the planets, but also of their moons, rings, wandering asteroids and comets, etc. I was fascinated that the first four planets are rocky, while the next ones are gaseous (so that one could not even speak of a solid surface) and the last ones icy. The presenter is very good, but a first watch was not enough to absorb all of the content. The Great Siege of Malta by Charles River Editors This is an overview of the siege of Malta, a monumental battle between Christian and Islamic forces on the island that lay at the center of the Mediterranean. If it were conquered, it would endanger Sicily and Italy and the rest of Christianity. A rather small group of a monastic knightly order, the knights of Malta, were able to defeat the Ottomans in a prolonged siege which, by any objective measure, the other side should have won. Great Presidents by Allan Lichtman This is a rather long (48 presentations) course from the Great Courses on a series of presidents whom the professor considers to be great. It mostly agrees with the normal list, although he also threw in Polk because of his importance to the expansion of the territory of the nation. He also spoke of his 13 point test concerning who is most likely to win a presidential election (and he has been right for quite some time). Still Life with Crows by Dougles Preston and Lincoln Child I have read just about all of Preston’s and Child’s book. They are about an FBI agent known as Prengergast. He is a unique figure who has astounding powers of observation and intuition. These books mostly deals at a normal level of criminality, but sometimes goes into a bit of science fiction. This volume deals with a series of grisly crimes in the Midwest of the US and how he and his new sidekick are able to find the source of the evil befalling the area. St. Augustine in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern Strathern has written a series of short, short books on various major figures of philosophy and theology. In this presentation, he is usually fair, but occasionally gets a bit snarky in his prejudices against what Augustine wrote and taught. It nevertheless is worth a read or listen. The Greek Revolution by Mark Mazower I have always believed that the Greek revolution against the Ottoman empire was comparable to that of the American founders. It was not that in any way. First of all, one had to deal with much more proximate distances between the combatants. Then there was the lack of unity among the Greeks who had lived under Ottoman dominance and cruel treatment for centuries. The European powers only entered the war toward the end, and their victory over the navy of the Ottomans at Navarino was the deciding moment in the rebellion. How to Survive Space by Ronke Olibisi This is a Great Courses presentation which deals with many of the difficulties of space travel. It deals with questions of blood circulation, digestion, muscle atrophy in a low gravity environment. It speaks of radiation and heat and cold circumstances. Then there are questions of getting along with others over long periods of time in a relatively small environment (with all of its associated smells). The account shows how difficult it will be to exist on space trips, and how difficult it would be to survive on the moon or one of the planets. The Modern Scholar: Classical Mythology: the Romans by Peter Meineck This is an overview of the mythology of Rome, dealing with its own indigenous mythology as well as its borrowings from the Greek culture and how those stories were adopted to fit the needs of the Romans. Meineck also shows how this left a mythology which at times overlapped with two or three accounts of the same event (e.g. the founding of Rome). The Surprising Lives of Christian Saints by Emily Graham This is a Great Courses overview of some of the saints of the Christian era from its earliest days to the present. There is a preference for women saints and holy women. Graham also includes a number of non-Catholic men and women who have lived truly saintly lives. The presentation are well done and make one want to study the topic even more. The Wars of the Roosevelts by William Mann I originally thought this would be an overview of the wars fought by Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt from the Spanish American War to World War II. It was not that at all. It dealt with the relationships among the various branches of the Roosevelt family. It gives a good insight to the personalities of those involved as well as their political tendencies and choices. From Desert Asceticism to Vatican II by Christopher Bellitto I have come to like all of Bellitto’s presentation for Learn 25. They are all well researched, well stated, and full of interesting information. This one covers the topic of conversion in the Church from its earliest days to the present. It deals especially with the two major currents of conversion: individual and institutional. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude