Ellicott City - Ocean City

Peace and Good April 20, 2026 I just got back from several days at the friar's place in Ocean City, MD. A few minutes of hearing the waves is all I need to feel the peace descend over me. I do not go to the beach as much as take long walks and just try to live with a very loose schedule. During those days I was able to do a bit of writing, a bit of taping. Not too much, but enough to get caught up with a few projects. I am back in Ellicott City these days. A lot of spiritual direection appointments, and helping out at the shrine. About 10 days ago I got my hearing aids. I was having more and more difficulties following conversations, and getting the aids has helped a lot. I am still getting used to them - e.g. hearing sounds like my feet walking and the wind blowing. The friars had a meeting to get ready for our Provincial Chapter (a week in May and a week in July). We meet every four years to plan the future of the province. The assimbly we had a couple of weeks ago had a very good spirit. We have re-elected our proviincial for another four years. He is doing a great job. Last week here in Baltimore was nice and hot, and then it disappeared for a few days of cold. I finished some reading and listening: Agent 110 by Scott Miller This is the story of the World War II career of Allen Dulles whose codename while he worked for the OSS was agent 110. He served as the agent in chief in Switzerland and obtained important information from the Allied cause, especially from a German spy named Fritz Kolbe. He was not the most moral of men, especially in terms of marital infidelity. He would eventually come to be the director of the CIA, working closely with his brother who was Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles. Thurgood Marshall: Mr. Civil Rights and the Fight for Racial Justice This is a Learn25 course on Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice of the Supreme Court. It follows his education and his early career as a civil right lawyer. It deals with his career which began with him being a civil rights lawyer. One of the most important cases he worked upon was Brown vs. the Board of Education. He was named a circuit judge by JFK, then Solicitor General and then Associate Supreme Court judge by LBJ. The tone of the presentation is a bit too adulatory, but the material is very good. The Novel that Invented Modernity: Don Quixote de La Mancha by Illan Stavans This is a Modern Scholar course on the content and import of the story of Don Quixote. Stavans investigates the culture of Spain at the time that Cervantes wrote his novel. He speaks of the various characters and the roles that they both play on the surface and the deeper meaning of their depiction. He presents some of the inside jokes and irony that Cervantes uses in his story. The course is very well done. 5 Lessons from Seneca by Oswald Sobrino This is a series of short books by Sobrino in which he takes five ideas of a major thinker and then applies them to our modern situation. Seneca is a Roman philosopher of the Stoic school who happened to be a mentor of the infamous emperor Nero. This volume speaks of everyday topics such as friendship, aging, etc. It is very well done. The African Experience from ‘Lucy’ to Mandela by Kenneth Vickery This is a Great Courses Presentation by a scholar who has studied Africa (and especially Zambia) extensively. He gives a good outline of pre-colonial empires, colonialism, and post-colonialism. He speak of the politics, warfare, culture of the peoples of Africa. He makes very clear that there is not just one stereotypical Africa, but rather many variants upon the continent. The Doubting Disease: Help for Scrupulosity by Joseph Chiorrochi This book deals with the question of scrupulosity and its psychological sources and its possible treatments. This deals both with secular and religious forms of scrupulosity. The author is a well known psychologist, and he offers pertinent diagnostic material as well as powerful insights to possible treatments. He is very respectful to the religious dimension of many of the manifestations of the problem. Black Heroes: Inspiring Stories of Resilience by Ahoy Publications This is one of the books presented by Ahoy Publications which normally produces books on trivia, but in this case it presents a series of short biographies on important individuals who fought for their own rights and the rights of the Blacks in America and also in Africa. The volume is a bit breathy at times (marveling at how good the individuals were and the depths of their struggles), but it is well worth reading. Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Billy Wellman This is a rather short but good presentation of the pharaonic era in Egypt from its origins to its death at the end of the reign of Cleopatra. The author packs a tremendous amount of information in a very short format. The Italian Renaissance by Kenneth Bartlett This is a tremendous course from the Great Courses on the birth, duration and death of the Renaissance in Italy. The author deals with the politics, the involvement of the great powers of the time (e.g. France, the Holy Roman Empire, the Vatican, etc.). It covers the important city states, e.g. Venice, Florence, Milan, etc. The professor is informative and insightful. I would highly recommend this particular course. 500 Interesting Facts about Denmark by Ahoy Publications This is one of those volumes of trivia about a certain topic, in this case the land and people of Denmark. The book is not a great revealer of insights, but it does give a lot of information that is interesting. The Civil War Anaconda Plan by Bill Wiemuth This is a short account of the project of the Northern forces during the Civil War to cut off ocean and river commerce to the South in order to starve them out of supplies. Most of the content of this book is on the efforts in the Mississippi River. The Acts of the Apostles by Laurie Brink This is a Learn25 course on the Acts of the Apostles. It gives a good outline of the material contained in this book, but I would not really say that I learned anything new from the presentation. It served more as a review of material already studied. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Ellicott City

April 2, 2026 Happy Holy Thursday This has been a busy Lent between parish missions and talks and podcasts and spiritual direction and some writing projects. It has all worked out, but I am not really sure how. I am the celebrant this evening for the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Then on Sunday morning I will be helping out at a local parish in Davidsonville with two Masses. They get so many people that the Church and the hall are packed for Masses at the same time. Next week the friars will gather here in Baltimore for an assembly to get us ready for our provincial chapter this coming May. We have re-elected our provincial, fr. Michael Heine, by mail ballot, and the chapter will allow us to plan what the province will do for the next four years. Starting on Divine Mercy Sunday, I will head to the shore for some days of quiet. I always love listening to the waves rolling in. I have had my latest CT scan of my lungs and everything is good. I will have the next one in six months. I have finished some reading and listening: White Flag Down by Joel Ross This is a spy story which takes place in Switzerland during World War II. It is convoluted and it involves the Swiss, Nazi Swiss collaborators, American flyers and Soviet spies. The story was good, but not great. It gets a bit too involved and desperate to heighten up the suspense at times. Edith Stein: Philosopher, Mystic and Martyr by Alex Torego This is a short biography of Edith Stein, philosopher and martyr for the faith (both her Catholic faith given that she was a Carmelite nun and the Jewish faith in which she was born). The author gives good insight into her studies and her motivation for first becoming a Catholic and then entering the Carmel. She died in Auschwitz when the Nazi’s took converted Jews from the Netherlands in retribution for a statement by the bishops condemning their treatment of the Jewish people. Oceana: Our Planet’s Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them by Ted Danson This is an account of the present state of the oceans and what humans have done to that environment and what can be done to repair some of the damage that we have caused. It deals with fishing and pollution and mining, etc. In spite of the fact that the author was an actor on Cheers, the book is well documented and insightful. Heidegger in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern This short work reminded me why I did not want to study philosophy in university. Strathern tries to present the teachings and the personality of Heidegger, but he eventually boils everything down to the idea that he is all but impossible to understand. The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox by Jonathan Tucker This is an overview both of the fight against smallpox and how the disease was eventually conquered, but also of the danger of the use of the virus for warfare purposes (and especially of the cheating of the Soviet Union/Russia on the care of the few samples of smallpox that have been conserved. American Religious History by Peter Huff This is a Learn25 presentation on the history of religious movements in the United States from its Pilgrim days up to the present. The professor is very well informed and respectful of the various religious traditions. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in the topic. The Fall of Saigon by Hourly History This is a short history of the American involvement in the War in Vietnam and the eventual failure of its effort and the fall of the South Vietnam republic and of its capital Saigon. It also deals with the confusion of the attempt to evacuate Americans and Vietnamese who were in danger for having worked for the Americans. Revolution Song by Russell Shorto This is the story of various people involved in the American Revolution. One is the British politician who led the effort to control the colonies. one is George Washington, one a freed slave, and one a native American who fought on the side of the British, one a young woman forced to marry, and finally an Albany defender of states rights. The stories are well presented and very interesting. Taj Mahal by Diana and Michael Preston This is the story behind the Taj Mahal, including the people involved in its construction, the building itself, its history, and the fate of the Shah who built it as an act of mourning for his beloved wife. It is interesting, but is filled with too much detail about who fought against whom in this or that battle. Gratitude: A Catholic’s Guide to Grace, Gratefulness and Spiritual Growth by Anthony Ciorra This is a retreat which speaks of the various dimensions of the virtue of constant gratitude in the spiritual life. Ciorra has some good insights, but at times gets into a topic which he talks to death but never fully develops. Yet, I think this course (Learn25) is well worth the listen. Invisible Heroes of World War II by Jerry Borrowman This is a series of stories about people who fought or supported the allies efforts and who never received a proper recognition for their efforts. This includes stories on the African-Americans who fought (especially the Tuskegee flyers), the women who worked as Rosy the Riveter, the Navaho Code Talkers, the spies who worked behind enemy lines, etc. Francis I by Leonie Frieda This is a biography on the king of France during the days of Henry VIII in England. Francis was filled with energy, which he sometimes used in the proper way and which sometimes drove him into grievous mistakes. The book chronicles the influence of his mother and sister, both of whom were much more intelligent than he was The book is long, but a very good read. Happy Easter fr. Jude