Ellicott City - Santa Barbara - Ellicott City

October 12, 2026 Peace and Good, The biggest things that has happened in these weeks is the week I spent out at our novitiate in California to present a workshop on the Gospels and the Psalms. I spoke of the Gospels in terms of the Franciscan values that we derive from those works. I spoke of the Psalms to explain what they are all about and how we can pray them, especially since we pray the Divine Office every day. The workshop actually took place in Santa Barbara, for our friars gathered together with the novices of the OFM friars for the week. It was very hot there, which is most unusual. I really enjoyed out time together. We had about 18 hours of classes over five days. I am back at Ellicott City for the week. Then, on Sunday, I head out to north Baltimore, to a hotel, where I will be the spiritual director at an assembly of priests from the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania diocese. That means that I will preach at Mass and be available for confessions. I have also been busy with the usual things, writing, taping the daily reflections, holding classes (I finished a four week series on the Psalms), and confessions and Mass here at the Shrine and at the Nursing Home. I finished some reading and listening: Assyrian History by Enthralling History This is a short outline of the history of the Assyrian empire which ruled much of the Mideast during the beginning of the 1st millennium before Christ. The book speaks of the culture, language, politics, etc. of this empire (which is so famous for their cruel and aggressive way of conducting wars). The Dead Sea Scrolls by James VanderKam This is a very good, short course (from Learn25) on the finding, meaning and content of the Dead Sea Scrolls. VanderKam is good at explaining the various theories and information without having to push his own agenda. I found this course both informative and helpful. Amerigo: The Man who Gave his Name to America by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto This is a biography of the man after whom the Americas are named. He received this name because a cartographer had read his book on his explorations, but as this author notes, much of that information was exaggerated or stolen from the memoirs of Columbus. Amerigo was actually a vittler, a person who supplied ships with food and water for their journeys. He did participate in some voyages, but he was certainly not the leader of any expedition. The Marylebone Drop by Mick Herron This is a short novel based on the idea of an elderly semi-retired spy notices what appears to be a hand off of secret information in a public space. He investigates it a bit with some surprising results which, in a way, all works out for him for he had been down on his luck. Ingres by Delphi Masters of Art This is part of the Masters of Art series by Delphi Publications. They all have a 50 page or so introduction to the life and career of the artists, and then another 80 pages or so of photographs of the art of the artist. Ingres was a 19th century French artist. I can’t saw I like his work all that much, but sometimes I read these books not only to see what I like but also what I don’t like. He wanted to paint large historic and mythic topics in a Neo-Classical style, but he is most famous for his portraits. The Napoleonic Wars by Enthralling History This is a good short book on the rise, career and fall of Napoleon. He speaks of his strength as a military genius, but also of his weaknesses as an administrator of the government of France (and its conquered empire) and of his hubris at attacking lands which could not be conquered (Spain, Russia). Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie This is a rather long account of the investigation of Hercule Poirot, this one dealing with a double murder in France and Poirot’s attempts to outshine two other investigators on the case. There are way too many twists and turns and hidden details for my taste. Invasion! Rome against the Cimbri, 113-101 B.C. by Philip Matyszak I have really taken a liking to the books of Matyszak. He gives a tremendous amount of information without making it repetitive or boring. This particular book deals with a barbarian invasion of a large tribe originally from Denmark which was seeking a permanent abode in northern Italy. Rome was deathly afraid of invasions from the north, so it all didn’t end well. Biblical Wisdom Literature by Joseph Koterski This is a 36 lecture series from the Great Courses on the books of wisdom of the Old Testament (with a little bit of material about Jesus as a Wisdom teacher). Koterski is very balanced and pastoral in his approach. I found that I learned a lot about the topic. It was especially useful to me for its four lectures on the Book of Wisdom for I will be giving a retreat on that book later in the year. Van Gogh: Troubled Soul and Visionary Artist by Leo Lexicon This is a short but very well written intro to Van Gogh. It is part of the series of short intro’s to major characters, such as artists and the fathers of the Church. I have started a much longer book on Van Gogh which is trying to treat him as a talented artist and not a demented religious fanatic. This short book served as a good intro for that larger work. The Terrible Speed of Mercy by Jonathan Rogers This is a spiritual biography of the great southern Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor. I find her writings a bit strange, which is why I wanted to know more about her. I am reading one of her novels right now. I also plan to view the recent film about her. God’s Shadow by Alan Mikhail This is the account of how Sultan Selim (the father of Suleiman the Magnificent) ruled the Ottoman empire and extended its borders to Africa and deep into Iran. While the material on Selim was very interesting, I did not like that the author had a deep anti-Catholic and anti-Shiite prejudice. For example, he spoke of the persecution of Muslims by the Spanish monarchy, while he happens to mention in passing the murder of tens of thousands of Shiites by the Sunni Selim. He also has some strange theories about the discovery of America being intimately tied to the Catholic/Muslim warfare, and of how Martin Luther depended deeply upon Islam to get his start. Those two theories might have a kernel of truth, but Mikhail takes the material well past what can be proven. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude