Ellicott City - Chicago - Ellicott City

November 30, 2025 Peace and Good, As you can see from the title, I spent a week giving a workshop on the Letters of St. Paul to our postulants in Chicago. There are eight of them, and they have a varied ethnic background. Two are Hispanic, one Phillipino/Canadian, one Vietnamese, one Lebanese, one British and two Anglo. In spite of all the different background, they seem to get along very well with each other. The two friars in charge of formation there, Paul and Ian, are doing a great job. I hope they stay on after the coming Provincial Chapters (this coming summer). My children's book on Carlo Acutis has been published. I have to dedicate myself to some more writing projects. I was able to finish a couple of articles for the Messenger magazine in Padua, but I want to get ahead on those articles so that I do not feel rushed. We had a good, quiet Thanksgiving. The friars at my friary go up the hill to the Shrine friary. I have one more class to give at the shrine on December 8th on Mary in the New Testament. I will also be giving two talks at a local parish on the Gospel of Matthew. Pope Leo is visiting Turkey and Lebanon in these days. The archbishop who welcomed him to Istanbul is one of our friars, fr. Martin Kmetec. He is a Slovenian friar who has worked in Turkey for years, and he is now the archbishop of Izmir, the city that is called Smyrna in the Bible. He is the nicest of men. I finished some reading and listening: Experiencing Hubble: Understanding the Greatest Images of the Universe by David Meyer This is a Great Courses video presentation. The professor is clear and enthusiastic, especially as he has worked with the Hubble (on the committee that allots research time with the satellite camera). The photography is magnificent. The statistics are astounding. There are at least 200 billion galaxies in the universe, each of which contains around 100 million stars. That is just mind blowing. I highly recommend this course. Ancient Egypt: 500 Interesting Facts about Egyptian History by Ahoy Publications This is an interesting book from a series which contain factoids on a particular topic, in this case ancient Egypt. It is not profound, but it did have information that I did not know before. A Perfect Spy by John le Carre This was a dramatic presentation of one of le Carre’s books, this one about a British agent who inadvertently becomes a source of information for a communist Czech spy. The British spy disappears, and the British are forced to try to find him. Pharoah Hatshepsut by Hourglass History This is the story of one of the few women who ruled ancient Egypt. She was acting as regent for the future Pharaoh, but then she had herself declared Pharaoh herself. The book was terrible, based on nothing more than wishful thinking and suppositions. Anything bad that might be said against her is rejected as Patriarchal judgment, while anything good is praised (even though much more than half of this is pure supposition without any documentary support). Key to Midnight by Dean Koontz This is a convoluted story of a detective who accidentally comes across a kidnap victim in a place he would never have expected, and how he finds out that she has been brainwashed to forget her past background and established with a totally new identity and memory. This is only the beginning of the confusion which grows till the very end. Great Tours: Civil War Battlefields by Caroline Janney and Peter Carmichael This is a Great Courses presentation of some of the major battles of the Civil War by two professors. Although it is presented as a tour of the battlefield sites, it is not really that. It is much more an overview of those battles (what led up to them, how they were fought, what the result of the battle was, etc.). The information is good. Mysteries of the Microscopic World by Bruce Fleury This is the second Great Courses presentation I have seen. This one deals with bacteria, viruses, etc. The professor has a dry sense of humor which I think adds to the presentation. The course is very informative, speaking both as to what the organisms are and what they have done over the history of mankind. The Great Patriotic War by Charles River Editors Up to now, almost all of the presentations of Charles River have been in the range of 50 to 90 pages. This is a mega presentation of over 500 pages. It deals with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The book has enormous amounts of information and is overall quite well presented (although at a few points it could have used more editorial work). Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart This is a book that is similar to the one on wicked animals that I read a while ago. It is a series of short (mostly 3 to 7 minute) presentations on plants that can be dangerous (for skin irritation, for poison sap, etc.) to humans. Whispers in the Underground by Ben Aaronovitch I really like the works by this author. He presents the story of a detective squad in London which investigates phenomena that are tied to magic and what might be described as magical creatures. The dialog is witty, the action well developed, and the characters becomes one’s friends. This volume deals with a mysterious death in the underground and the discovery of a whole group of people living there. The Gospel of Matthew by Bertrand Buby This is a Learn25 presentation of the Gospel of Matthew. I found this course offered by Buby to be well thought out, informative and very useful. This is an introductory presentation and it could easily be used in a self or group study of the Gospel. The Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War by Charles River Editors This is a short presentation of two wars which led to the unification of Germany under the Prussian royal family. The wars were the work of Bismark who plotted over decades to bring about unification. He first had to weaken the power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which was presenting itself as the champion of the Germanic peoples, and then he had to unite those people against a foreign enemy, France. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Ellicott City - Pittsburgh - Ellicott City - Chicago

November 16, 2025 I am now in Chicago for a week of classes with the postulants. There are eight of them, and I will be speaking to them of the Letters of St. Paul. I flew in this morning (no difficulties at the airport or in flight) and I will be here til this coming Saturday. This past week I also visited Pittsburgh. I gave a day of recollection at the Capuchiin Friars house of older friars and provincialate. It was on the Gospel of Matthew, given that this is the Gospel we will be using this coming year. I also gave a full day presentation on Matthew yesterday at Ellicott City. We had a good crowd, and I really enjoyed the dialog between myself and those attending. I have been doing some individual presentation these days to ladies' and men's groups on various topics (or simply question and asnwer sessions). I am recovering from my fall in California last month. The elbows are slowly healing, and more significantly the muscles in the arms are slowly getting back to normal. I still cannot carry weights or shake hands, but a lot of the other functions have returned. i finished some reading and listening: Thomas Cromwell by Tracy Borman Cromwell was the Chancellor who governed much of England during the time of Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and marriage to Anne Boylen. He was a Protestant sympathizer, and he worked hard to bind the Church to Henry and not to the Vatican. Some of his religious reforms were due to his Protestant tendencies, while others (such as the dissolution of the monasteries) were largely due to greed. While efficient, he made many enemies who eventually succeeded in separating him from the affections of Henry and which led to his execution for treason. The Catholic Church in the Modern Age by Thomas Madden This is an outline of the history of the Catholic Church from the time of the French Revolution up to the present day. Madden is both very respectful and very informative. He deals with cultural trends and how they affected the Church. He speaks of things such as the two major Vatican Councils and the war against both Marxism and the overly Liberal economic tendencies. This course is well done and well worth the investment in time. Nimrud by Charles River Editors This is one of the short presentations by Charles River Editors. This is on one of the main cities and sometimes capital of the Assyrian Empire. The ancient history, as it is known, of the city is outlined. There is also a lot of information about the archeological digs that have uncovered many of its ruins, and also how thieves and terrorists have impeded further study and have destroyed much of what was found at this site. Worlds at War by Anthony Pagden This book covers the long clash between the East and the West throughout known history. The author presents various major topics and carefully examines each of them to show why history travelled in one direction or another. I found the book a bit disjointed because of this approach, but it did present a lot of good information. The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde This is an amusing story about a fearful ghost who inhabits one of the old manor houses of England who has terrorized generations of inhabitants. The ghost finally meets its ultimate fate when a family of Americans move in who are neither afraid of it nor shy about offering suggestions to it about what it might do. The ghost finds itself bored and lonely and defeated, only to be liberated by an innocent child in the family. The Liturgical Year by Richard Fragomeni This presenter in this Learn25 course is a liturgy professor who is very informed and enthusiastic about his topic. He presents the liturgical year as a kaleidoscope of color and smells and sound and practices. He goes through the various liturgical seasons and the reasons for their various feasts and spirituality. London in the Time of Dickens by Lillian Nayder This is a Great Courses presentation on the life and world of Charles Dickens. The author speaks about the city of London in his days, both as it actually was and as it was presented in Dickens’ writings. While some of his writings championed the needs of the poor, others and his own conduct often betrayed his sentiments. Nayder speaks of living conditions, the plight of the destitute, the legal system, society and its past times, etc. throughout the lectures. World War II: Battlefield Europe by David Stone This is a Great Courses presentation on the European dimension of the Second World War. The presenter is thoughtful and thorough. There are 24 lectures in this course, and they are all well worth one’s time and attention. I would recommend both the course and the lecturer. Great Masters: Mahler – His Life and Music by Robert Greenburg I have listened to a series of lectures from the Great Courses by Greenburg. He is a music scholar, and this presentation is on the life and music of Mahler. I cannot say that I like his music, but Greenburg gave me great insight into why Mahler composed his music in the manner in which he did. Mahler comes across as a strange man who was completely absorbed in his music and his own needs, all but ignoring those around him, including his wife. 24 Hours in Ancient Athens by Philip Matyszak This is part of a series of books that present a 24 hour period in an ancient land with vignettes on what some character might be doing at a particular time of the day. These stories are well researched and present a down to earth portrait of the culture of that land. I found the stories entertaining and informative. Egypt’s Golden Couple by Colleen and John Damell This is the story of a royal couple in Egypt, Akhenaten and Nefertiti. They are famous for being the royal couple who moved their capital and who rejected most of the gods of Egypt with the exception of the sun god, possibly a tendency toward monotheism. The book covers who they were, what was expected of them, how they worshipped and were worshipped, and their family background. The Great Tours: Iceland by Jennifer Verdolin This is a tour of Iceland with an explanation of its history and a description of its people, language and culture. It could probably have been a shorter presentation (Great Courses) because the presenter begin to describe every single mountain and fiord and waterfall, a bit much. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude