Ellicott City, MD

October 15, 2023 Peace and Good, I am still plowing my way through a series of medical visits. Tomorrow I will meet with Dr. Christian Meyer at Johns Hopkins, an expert in the type of cancer that I have been diagnosed as having. If you have to be sick, Johns Hopkins is a great place to receive treatment. The strange thing is that I do not have any symptoms. This was all discovered through a routine x-ray that was required by a medication that I am taking. Thank God that they found it (along with the blood clots that were also in my lungs). I am hoping that by this time tomorrow, I will have some sort of idea what a treatment plan will involve. I will be going to the meeting with the health care coordinator for our province, Patricia Ashburn. She is a gem and it will be good to have someone along who will hear the things that I might not be able to hear at the time because of concerns, etc. Fall has certainly arrived here in Baltimore. There is more rain and the temperatures are quite a bit cooler. I finished some reading and listening: Agent Running in the Field by John le Carre John le Carre is brilliant in presenting the secret services of Great Britain in both its successes and especially it banal failures. The spies are not like 007. They are regular men and women with all of their personal flaws. This volume deals with a spy who is reaching the end of his career and how he is drawn into messy situation with another men working for the secret services. Charlemagne by Kelly Mass This is one of the short biographies written by Kelly Mass, this one on the great emperor Charlemagne. It speaks of his military endeavors (and possibly war crimes according to our standards). It also speaks of why Charlemagne’s empire failed to last much after his death. Leonardo’s Brain by Leonard Shlain This is a speculative study of the brain and ways of thinking of the great artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci. The author speaks of how people normally are better in one or another of these fields (what is at times called left brain or right brain thinking). The author proposes that there was something very unusual with the way Leonardo thought that made him almost an evolutionary prodigy (possibly what humans would tend toward in the future). Rembrandt by Hourly History This is a short biography of the Dutch artist Rembrandt. In spite of its brevity, the author manages to give a good presentation on the times, influences and techniques of the artist (including his horrible money problems throughout most of his life). Jane Boleyn by Julia Fox This is the story of the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn and the wife of Anne’s sister. She was part of the court, even after the death of her sister and husband. She was there during the short reign of Jane Seymour who died after childbirth, Anne of Cleves whose marriage with Henry was annulled, and then Kathryn Howard who cheated on Henry (with the assistance of Jane Boleyn). She was executed along with her charge. The author tells a good story, basing it on whatever evidence there is from the period. Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow: 1864-1896 by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier This is a medium sized account of how the victory of the Civil War and the 12th to the 15th amendments to the constitution were betrayed after the contested election of 1876. The north was no longer interested in ruling the south, and it left it to the south to decide who to treat the freed slaves, which includes economically exploiting them, politically disenfranchising them, etc. Michelangelo Buonarotti by Hourly History This is one of those short biographies of historic figures, in this case the painter and sculptor Michelangelo. It speaks of his early days learning the artistic methods, of his years of great success, and of his long career and life. He comes across as an incredibly talented man who was also a bit of a misanthrope. Russian Revolution by Hourly History This is an outline of the history of late Czarist Russia and the policies and people who led them to revolution. It also speaks of the career of Lenin and Stalin. The book is more of an outline than an actual history. Ruth (The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary) by James McKeown This is a tremendous exegetical treatment of the short book of Ruth. The author explains the text and the action that takes place in it. He deals with the question of politics, especially the relationship between Israel and Moab (a hated foreign people). It speaks of the book as a reaction to other Biblical books. It also develops certain topics that are very applicable to our society in our modern days. Raid on the Sun by Rodger Claire This is the story of an Israelite raid on a nuclear reactor in Iraq which could have been used to provide plutonium for atom bombs. The author introduces questions of personality, of politics (internal and world), etc. It is a fast moving text which is quite good. A Brief History of Japan by Jonathan Clements This is a very, very good treatment of Japan from pre-historic to modern times. Certain eras are filled with names and situations that are difficult to understand, but others are fascinating. The author opens a whole new world to the readers. I would recommend this book to those interested in the topic. Alfred Hitchcock by Charles River Editors This is a short book dealing with the life and career of the famous mystery director Alfred Hitchcock. It speaks of the ups and downs of his professional career, of the best of his films and the actors with whom he often worked, of some of the techniques that he invented and used in his films. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Buffalo - Castro Valley, CA

November 27, 2021 Peace and Good, I visited my family in Buffalo, and I also had a canonical visitation with one of our Croatian friars who serves in Our Lady of Bistrica Parish in Lackawanna, NY. The weather was good, and the food even better (as it always is in Buffalo). I flew to Oakland on Tuesday to visit our friary in Castro Valley, CA. We have two friaries in this town, the provincialate where I am staying and a parish down the street. The Minister General and the Assistant General for Asia will be arriving here Monday for the beginnin of a short tour of the States (in preparation for the provincial chapters this coming year). We will be heading back to Rome on December 10th. The weather here is most pleasant, around 70 degrees today. This morning the provincial of California signed the official document which establishes the delegation in Vietnam as a custody. This is the last step before they become a province, something that will probably not happen for 10 years or so. I would like to ask you to pray for my nieces husband, Reid, who is seriously ill. He and Crissy have three small children. I finished some reading: Chile and Argentina by Mark Szuchman This is a review of the history of these two South American countries from the time of the European exploration until the present. The narration is good, but the production has the annoying habit of reading quotes from various figures with the supposed accent they would have used, a bit racist in my opinion. The information contained in the presentation is quite good and thorough, if not exhaustive. This is one of the series of productions by Knowledge Products made available on Audible.com. John Jay by Captivating History This is a short biography of one of the principle figures of the American Revolution (significant in the writing of the constitutions) and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the prime mover in the establishment of the Jay Treaty with Great Britain, and the governor of New York. These short biographies (c. 110 pages each) give a good outline of the significance of the figure to history, and also a bit of information about the personal life of the subject. Krishna by Charles River Editors This is a presentation of the figure of Krishna in the Hindu religion (as well as Buddhism and Jainism). The book gives an explanation of who Krishna is, and how he is worshipped. It also goes into a long overview of some of his exploits when he lived upon the earth. The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre I very much like the books of John le Carre (David Cornwall), but this is not exactly one of his spy novels. It is a type of autobiography, a presentation of times and places and situations which gave rise to many of his characters and plots for his books. I listened to this book, and I have to say it was absolutely entertaining. Le Carre’s writing style is always clever, and this book is one of his most masterful presentations. Gettysburg: A History for the People by John Cox This is an overview of the battle of Gettysburg. It is filled with useful detail, but also quite a bit of information that would be on interest only to those who are fascinated by the battle. One of things that I most missed in the book was a series of maps in the text that would help one to follow the various movements being described. An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer This is an incredibly complex spy story which leaves one wondering from the beginning to the end. What further complicates one’s understanding is the tendency to back track to an earlier episode to describe what really happened (or at least what happened according to someone else who had been present for that person). It involves the CIA, the Chinese spy agency and a secret UN agency that has been set up to spy. One is never quite sure which side the participants are on, or rather which sides (for they are often playing one group off against another). Yet, the book is very well written and I could recommend it. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome ne

June 3, 2021 Peace and Good, I finished my time in Rome, and on Tuesday I travelled to Atlanta. The flight was on Delta. It was long, but reasonably comfortable. The number of people flying was still low, but it is starting to grow. The EU is supposed to scale back some of its Covid regulations shortly, which should help a bit with the tourism season (although this is probably too late this year to salvage the season). I found the people at Delta very helpful and friendly, and believe I could recommend flying with them to anyone. I am visiting three of our friaries in the Atlanta area. I am at the first of these in Columbus, Georgia (south of Atlanta and alongside the Alabama border). Here we take care of three parishes. One is small and mostly Hispanic, another small and African American, and the third large and mixed - having a grammar school and a high school). I am already quite impressed with the work the friars are doing here. There is a social outreach center who provide food, clothing, rent and utilities assistance, etc. The directors of the school and the outreach center are tremendous people. The staff here is very friendly. On Saturday, I will head to Jonesboro, and then on to Holy Cross Parish in Atlanta. I leave this area on the 10th. I finished some reading: High Heat by Lee Child This a novella about Jack Reacher when he was a teenager. He takes a trip to New York City the night of the great power outage in 1977. He runs into an FBI agent who is furloughed, and a mafia boss whom he antagonizes. He even runs across the Son of Sam killer. The story is farfetched and almost like a comic super hero, but yet it is entertaining. The odd thing is that the day after the blackout was when I went to New York to take off for Europe for the first time for my studies. Bill Bryson by Audible Interviews Bill Bryson has written a great variety of books, including science and travel. The book he is presenting in this interview is The Body. He speaks about how the body works, and the strange phenomena that one discovers concerning the body. Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory This is the story of the reign of King Arthur and his round table. I have often read that Malory’s books were often read and respected in the antebellum south. I really did not enjoy the book because it is filled with men and women who profess their faith while they go around sleeping with each other out of wedlock and killing each other for sport. The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carre This is a very, very good book (as are most of le Carre’s). It deals with a young British actress who is recruited by the Mossad to play the role of a lover of a Palestinian terrorist whom they caught with the purpose of trapping his brother. The story is very believable. It is heart rending and heart stopping. Remarkably, it is able to treat both Israelis and Palestinians and their causes with respect. Saber Toothed Tigers by Charles River Editors This is a short treatment of the saber toothed carnivore which ranged throughout much of the world during and shortly after the last ice age. Much of the book deals with archeological evidence of its body shape and speculation on what that meant for its hunting habits. The Great Influenza by John Barry This is a full treatment of the great influenza of 1918, the so-called Spanish flu. Barry gives the details of the disease as well as its treatment. He is very critical of the way that the government and the media treated the outbreak. This flu probably killed between fifty and one hundred million around the world. It probably originated in Kansas, and then spread to a training camp for the army. The movement of these troops spread it throughout the country which was then fighting World War I. One of the best aspects of the treatment is the description of how the medical profession changed from what amounted to near quackery to well trained professionals. St. Gregory the Great by Charles River Editors This is a short biography of the great Holy Father Gregory who helped the Church survive in very confusing times. Barbarians were often at the gates, and the Byzantine Empire who were nominal rulers of Italy had largely abandoned it. Gregory had to take temporal rule into this hands. Gregory is presented as an unwilling monk who wanted anything but to be pope. The only problem with the book is that the introduction and the conclusion are filled with information that really has nothing to do with the main topic. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - Bacau (Romania) - Rome - Ellicott City (Mayland)

June 15, 2015 Hope you are all well. This blog covers a couple of weeks. The first week started out in Rome. I had just arrived in from Canada and the United States. The first couple of days, as always, were spent getting over jet lag. I was also able to catch up on a few things. When I have jet lag, it is very difficult for me to do anything that requires a lot of thinking, but I am able to do some mindless projects (and there are always plenty of them). On Tuesday I flew out to Romania with the Minister General and one of the other Assistants. The friars there were celebrating the 120th anniversary of the founding of the province and the 25h anniversary of the re-founding after the fall of communism. They had a great celebration without over-doing it. Sometimes at these celebrations it goes on forever and the meals are a real waste of food. This was well done and it was great to visit some of the sites in Roman (the town where the seminary is located). We especially went to a social service center for the Gypsies run by the friars. They offer tutorial programs for the children (and adults) and they help to find regular jobs for the adults. It is very well run. Thursday we flew back to Rome. We went through Fiumacino Airport in Rome. You can still smell the smoke from the fire they had there at the beginning of May. Saturday I was back at the airport to fly out to Baltimore. This week has been a series of doctor and dentist appointments. These are just normal check ups with the inevitable referrals. Everything went well, and the only result is another visit to the dentist in August for a tooth extraction and a brace on my wrist (due to some swelling of one of the muscles). Given my age, I came out of this quite well. Yesterday I concelebrated up at the big house at Ellicott City for the feast of St. Anthony. There were a ton of people. What impressed me most was how ethnically diverse the crowd was. There were East Asians, Indians, Philippinos, Hispanics, African Americans, Africans, Whites, etc. It just goes to show you how popular St. Anthony is all over the world. Tomorrow I fly out to Louisville for a day long meeting and a celebration. Hope you have a good week. Here are some of the books I have finished: Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King Ross King has done a series of books on famous artists and the works that made them famous. This one is about how Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper on the refectory wall of a friary in Milan. It deals with Leonardo and his life and the fact that the Last Supper is one of relatively few works that Leonardo actually finished. It deals with the complicated politics of the time involving Milan, papal Rome, Venice, Naples, France and the Holy Roman Empire. It covers the history of the painting and its gradual degradation from humidity, mold, inept restoration, bombing, etc. King’s books are always quite enjoyable and informative. A Country of Vast Desights: James K Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert Merry This book is about President Polk, a one term president, who oversaw the negotiations with Britain over the border between the State of Washington and that of British Columbia, and who engaged the United States in a mixmatched battle with Mexico. It goes through the very messy politics around the war, charges of imperialism, hidden agendas such as slavery expansion, etc. It also deals with the corrupt and inept Mexican government which, although beaten, found it difficult to surrender for no one seemed to be in charge. This is a very good account of a bit of history that is often overlooked in our history classes because the U.S. doesn’t really come out looking all that good. The Constant Gardener: A Novel by John le Carre As he has grown older, the spy novelist John le Carre has become more and more conspiratorial, not trusting in any institution whatsoever. This book is about a pharmaceutic company that has coopted the British government as they use Africans as human guinea pigs for their new medications. An activist and doctor are murdered to hide all of this, and the woman’s husband, a type of Harvey Milktoast, turns out to be more courageous and enterprising than anyone expected in sorting out the plot. The Pentateuch edited by John Barton and John Muddiman This is a well written, very long commentary on the first five books of the Bible. It is not for the casual reader, but I always find these types of books interesting because I always pick up a detail or two in each chapter that I had never heard before. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill This is a long saga about a man who harvests children and takes them to a place in his mind called Christmasland. He envisions it as a place of delight, but it is all fun without any responsibility or even conscience. The children become vampire like and prey on others. There is a girl who stumbles across this man named Manx and escapes from him. Later, as a mother, she must try to save her son who has been kidnapped by him and his evil counterpart, Bing. Shalom fr. Jude

Dublin - Wexford - Dublin - Barton - London - Rome

May 26, 2013 Peace and Good, Yes, I visited all of those places in just one week. I have been on planes or trains most of that time. We had out meeting for friars in Ireland in Wexford which is on the south coast. We take care of a shrine church which is situated between two huge diocescan parishes. The people love the friars for confessions and spiritual direction. The next day I had off and I did some writing but I also visited Dublin. It is not a big city, but there is more than enough to see. The only problem was that the weather was not all that good. It was cold and rainy most of the time. A group of us then flew to Manchester and two of us stayed at Barton for the night (just outside of Manchester). This used to be the novitiate, and it is being used for prining a magazine that the friars distribute free of charge. They receive enough donations to pay for the magazine and then some. Friday evening I took the Virgin Train to London (the same company that owns Virgin Atlantic). When I booked the ticket, it cost 74 pounds for a 2nd class ticket and 51 pounds for a first class ticket. I kept looking at the screen to make sure I was reading it right. Sure enough, that is what it was. There was hardly anyone in the first class car, so that must be why they put it on sale. It was a beautiful ride into London, a little over two hours long. Everyone in England was very shocked at the brutal murder of the soldier on the street. It must be similar to what the Bostonians felt after the bombs during the Marathon. I do not know why the networks insisted repeating the murderers rant over and over again. This is exactly what he wanted, the publicity. Then Saturday I flew back to Rome. The weather is much, much better here. Tomorrow we start our meetings which will go all week long here in Rome, and then we move up to Assisi for another week of meetings. I finished a few books: The Book of Genesis by Professor Gary Rendsburg The is one of the teaching company’s courses. Rendsburg is a Rabbi, and it is always interesting for me to hear how books of the Old Testament are interpreted by Jewish scholars. It just a whole different perspective. He deals with the text as it is found (and does not speak of various sources which went into the composition of the book). Some of his literary insights are brilliant. I am not sure about some of his historic suppositions (e.g. the date of Abraham the patriarch, the date of Joseph going down to Egypt). He is thoroughly familiar with the Hebrew text, so he can notice various allusions and alliterations that we miss in our English translations. Overall, this was a very good course. The Retreat by Michael Jones This is a historical account of the retreat of the Nazi forces who were investing Moscow at the beginning of December, 1941. They thought that they had thoroughly defeated the forces of the Soviet Union, but Stalin and Marshall Zuchov had been secreting a number of fresh divisions (newly formed and those brought from Siberia) to launch an offensive against the Germans when they were most fully extended. The offensive was incredibly successful, pushing the German back many, many miles with horrendous casualties and incredible losses of material. It could have almost ended the war if the Soviets had not themselves overreached allowing the Germans the time that they needed to launch a counteroffensive. Complicating this all was the Russian winter for which the Germans were woefully unprepared (although they had been fully warned long in advance). Their machines wouldn’t work, their canons and machine guns would not fire, the men suffered from frostbite, etc. This book also outlines the almost bestial attitudes of the Germans and the Russians toward each other and even toward civilians and prisoners. The book is well written, but it is a painful subject. Absolute Friends by John Le Carre Like most of Le Carre’s books, this is quite well done. It tells the story of two men, one the son of a cashiered army officer and the other the son of a German pastor who come to know each other in Berlin during the Cold War era. In the early years, they both work on peaceful anarchist projects to fight the imperialist powers, but especially the US. Later, Ted (the Brit) and Sasha (the German) join forces to spy against the government of East Germany. The books carries them along into the post cold war period when they become involved in a strange, potentially dangerous plot. The personalities of the two men characters are well developed, and even though they are both deeply flawed, one can’t help liking them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Hope you have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Deacon Candidates Retreat

September 1, 2009

Peace and Good,

The work is slowly gearing up from the summer break. This past weekend I preached a weekend retreat for the deacon candidates of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. (The candidates who are just starting the program.)

It was a joy working with the candidates and their wives. A number of the candidates in earlier years of the program (the ordination classes of 2010 and 2011) were also there to give the candidates and their wives insights into what the program entails.

I based the talks on the ministry of St. Paul. Part of the reason was that with the year of St. Paul recently concluded, the ideas were quite fresh in my mind. Part of it was that Paul was the first Christian whose ministry is so well documented. Some of the themes included the idea of making sure that we convert our own hearts, that we are filled with a sense of gratitude for our call, that we reach out to the broken, that we try to be men of integrity, that we remember that it is ultimately Christ's ministry.

I have finished one CD set this week: Mission Song by John Le Carre. I love his writing. He deals mostly with spy novels. This one has to do with a plot to begin a rebellion in Kivu province of the Congo. Just having come back from Africa, I was familiar with all the terminology. It deals with colonialism and the exploitation of African states by outsiders and their own corrupt officials. There is intrigue, betrayal, honest but misguided attempts to help, etc. I would recommend this work if you can get through the various geographical references.

I am in Mishawaka, Indiana, this week giving a set of conferences to our novices. I will write about that next week.

Have a good Labor Day.

Shalom

fr. Jude

P.S. I am slowly reading the Pope's new encyclical Charity in Truth. It is a challenging document, especially with the whole Health Care Debate going on. We Catholics always have to remember that Health Care is not a privilege, it is a necessity. That doesn't mean that it can only be handled in any one particular manner, but it does mean that something must be done. (I myself am quite confused over the best way to handle it.)