Ellicott City

February 23, 2026 Peace and Good, These have been relatively quiet weeks. For one thing, we have been spending these past couple of weeks getting over a bad snow and ice storm. This is the longest I ever remember snow being all around in Baltimore. It was just about gone when we received another few inches last night and shut most things down again. I have been running a class on the letters of St. Paul. We have finished three of the four presentations (they are on youtube). The classes have been great, and I am really enjoying interacting with those who are attending. I also had a class on Saturday about our Lenten practices. I have begun a parish mission at the Catholic Community of South Baltimore (two combined parishes, Holy Cross and Good Counsel). We ahd to cancel tonight's talk, but I will be there again tomorrow and Wednesday. There are two other friars who will be making presentations at the Shrine in these weeks: Fr. Terrance who is from Great Britain and Bro. Douglas who is a retired teacher. I am very happy that we are presenting a whole range of topics for the people who come to the shrine, and there are more and more people showing up. Our biggest problem is parking, especially when there is snow on the ground. I have finished some reading and listening: Amelia Earhart by Charles River Editors This is a biography of the thrill-seeking woman flyer after World War I. She had great difficulty to be taken seriously, but she did astounding deeds. She eventually disappeared while on an attempt to fly around the world. In this account, she comes across as someone who refused to follow anyone else’s rules, whether it concern her flying or even her marriage. Year without Summer by Hourly History At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a great explosion of Mt. Tambora in what is today Indonesia. Although very few people in the West knew of this event, its effects caused enormous climatic (and eventually political) changes. There was so much dust in the atmosphere that the summer of 1815 was cold and rainy, and most crops were destroyed in the field. The least destructive effect of the explosion were brilliantly red sunsets, seen in the paintings of a number of artists such as Constable. Meister Eckhart: Unlocking a Mystic’s Spiritual Wisdom by Donald Goergen Meister Eckhart is a German mystical theologian from the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. He was a Dominican, and famous for his brilliant but somewhat controversial theological pronouncements. He emphasized the unknowability of God and how we must give up our desires to define God in our own terms. This Learn25 presentation has its good moments, but it gets caught up in ideas that the author doesn’t really explain as clearly as he could have. Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson This is a detective novel set in England. A young girl is killed, and her body is found in a graveyard. The police (who are intelligent and yet a bit flawed in a very human way) must sift through the varied clues in the story (as well as class prejudices due to the fact that the young girl comes from an aristocratic family). The characters are believable, and one can identify with many of them. The plot is well developed. I would certainly read more of Robinson’s books. Farewell the Trumpets by Jan Morris This is the story of the origin of the British Empire, its mechanisms and attitudes while it was at its height, and the eventual end of the empire. The book is written by a person who sees both the good in the empire and its shortfalls. While he speaks with a bit of nostalgia about it, he nevertheless understands how it had outlived its usefulness. Old English Literature by Rene Trilling This is a Great Courses presentation. It speaks about the original languages of Great Britain and how they interacted with new languages brought by invasions (e.g. Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Danish and French). The parts about the myths and sagas and even the legal documents were very good, but the grammar lessons on Old English (only two of them) were a bit of a waste. Japanese History: 500 Interesting Facts by Ahoy Publications This is part of a series of books that present 500 factoids on various topics. This one deals with the history of Japan from its earliest days to the present. I enjoy this type of book for it reminds me of what I learn when I watch Jeopardy on TV. Hearing, Tasting, Touching: Understanding the World Through our Senses by Rolf Nelson This is a Modern Scholar study of the human (and also of some animal) senses. He speaks of the organs which process the various senses, of difficulties with them and what causes this, and of sense possessed by other animals that humans might actually have to a lesser degree (e.g. echolocation of bats, the ability to sense magnetic fields of birds, etc.). The Parthenon by Mary Beard Mary Beard is an excellent archeologist of the Greco-Roman world. This volume deals with the history of the Parthenon in Athens. It speaks of the ancient origins of the buildings on the Acropolis, their use in later times (under the Christians and the Muslims), and their condition today. She necessarily has to deal with the question of the Elgin marbles, carved pieces that were taken from the Parthenon and now housed in the British museum. Unlike many other archeologists, Beard is respectful of all of the various ages of use of this temple (e.g. its days as a Church and as a Mosque). The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer This is a magnificent collection of small essays on various events and personages of the Middle Ages. It does not only deal with Europe, but rather includes the Arab world, Persia, India, China, Korea and Japan. Each of the essays is about 10 to 20 minutes, and they follow a logical chronological order. Bauer has written two other similar volumes dealing with Ancient times and the Renaissance, and I fully intend to listen to them. Great World Religions: Hinduism by Mark Muesse This is a Great Courses presentation on the beliefs of those who call themselves Hindu. Muesse makes it clear that this title is a Western term that is used to describe a vast collection of people and beliefs that have similarities but which do not really have a credal belief. He also speaks of the foundational texts most Hindus use. The presentation is very thorough and respectful. Ancient Sicily by Charles River Editors This short book covers the history of Sicily from its earliest days to the settlements of Greeks and Carthaginians to the arrival and conquest of the Romans. We see the culture of the Sicilians, the rise of tyrants, and the many battles fought for the conquest of this grain rich area. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude