Rome

September 11, 2021 Peace and Good, I have been in Rome this past week, but at our theological faculty where we were holding a seminar for the new officials of our provinces and custodies. It was good to meet the newest ones, and to see some old friends. I have also been involved in translating from Italian into English the document we call Franciscan Discipleship. This is the manual on formation (initial and continuing). It is about 75 pages in English. I have finished the first draft and now must go through it a couple of times to edit it. Whenever one is translating, he leaves vestiges of the original language and I have to work that our. I will be flying to the States tomorrow and will be travelling there and in Canada for almost a month. I have finished some reading: Darwin and the Origin of the Species by Josephine Bailey This is a short, well-done biography of the naturalist who wrote the book which proposed the survival of the fittest and evolution, Charles Darwin. The book gives a good personal biography as well as an overview of the production of his book and the eventual debate about its accuracy in later years, including how this theory has influenced scientific (and religious) reaction to the present. The Pied Piper by Harold Schecht This is the story of a young man in Tucson, Arizona who gathers other young people around himself and who murders three young women. He was a strange man who dressed in an outlandish manner, but who nevertheless had a magnetic appeal over a small group of young people, much as the pied piper of the famous fairy tale. The Persian Gulf States by Wendy McElroy and Sheldon Richman This is a short presentation by Audible Original Books on the history of the nations which surround the Persian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. The book covers the ancient era of these areas, their status under colonial rule, and their present difficulties, especially since the religious revolution in Iran. The Original Watergate Stories by the Washington Post This is an amalgam of the articles that appeared in the Washington Post concerning Watergate from the days right after the break-in until the resignation of President Nixon. It is fascinating to hear the discoveries unroll as the press obtained a clearer and clearer idea of what was actually going on, especially by following the advice of their informant Deep Throat that they “follow the money.” The Robertson Panel by Charles River Editors This is a short presentation on a commission that was established to study the UFO phenomenon. The material that the panel was given was limited, and their findings were superficial. The CIA went out of its way to hamper any serious investigation of the phenomenon, discrediting anyone who made a serious report of something in this regard. St. Brigid of Kildare by Charles River Editors At the beginning of this short biography, I was a bit nervous because the author went into the etymology of St. Bridgid’s name, which was that of a Celtic goddess. But the majority of the book is an honest study of what is accurately known about the saint, as well as some the legends that surround her and the cult of devotion that has developed over the ages. It is quite good. The Magyars by Charles River Editors This is a study of the Central Asian nomadic tribe which came to settle in the plains of central Europe and who slowly became the Hungarians. They started out in their present location as raiders of their surrounding nations, but they eventually settled down and became more and more Europeanized and a bulwark against the invasion of the Turks during the late Middle Ages. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy This is the story of the gradual death of a man who serves in the Russian bureaucracy. He has a small accident which is the beginning of his decline. As he grows more ill, it is impossible for him to communicate his fears to his own family who slowly become outsiders to him, intruders who are just waiting for him to die and get it over with. The pace of the book is typical of Tolstoy, but the matter dealt with is profound and creates true pathos in the reader. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome

March 18, 2013 Peace and Good, I hope that you are all well. This has been quite some week. I have been in Rome for one of our definitory meetings. Each morning and evening of the Conclave we turned on the TV to see whether there was white smoke or black. Like the rest of the world, we were surprised when the new pope was elected so soon. I stayed at home and watched it on TV because it was a cold and rainy day, and I was just getting over a cold. I was a little worried when the new pope’s name was announced (his birth name) and when he walked out on the balcony. My first thought was that he was so old. But when it was announced that his name was Francis, my hopes began to spring up. Then, he did so many things in such a simple way. He said “Good evening” to the crowd. Such a human thing to do. He asked for their blessing. He spoke to us with gentleness and kindness. Ever since then he has been doing one thing after another which has endeared us all to him. He reminds me of John XXIII and of John Paul I. There is a goodness and holiness to the man. He genuinely cares for all of us, and especially for the poor. I am very, very hopeful. In the meantime I am also getting ready for my next trip. Right after Easter I will be heading out to Vietnam, Australia, the Philippines and England. I will be on the road for a little over a month. I went to the Vietnamese embassy today to get my travel visa. The travel visa to Australia was easier – I got it over the internet. It only took about five minutes. I will be staying in Rome this week to catch up on my daily reflections and some other writing projects. Then next Monday I will head up to Assisi for a thanksgiving commemoration for the outgoing Custos of Assisi and the greet the incoming one. I have finished a few books: The Killing Ground by Jack Higgins The premise of this book is that a special task force is set up in Great Britain by the Prime Minister to combat the forces of evil that are threatening the peace of the kingdom. This book has a little bit of everything: Muslim terrorists and assassins, Russian Mafia and Plutocrats, ex-IRA thugs, etc. (Interestingly enough, there are also Muslims, Russians and ex-IRA operatives on the good side as well.) The book is packed with action, but it is very one sided. The good side always wins. The suspense is only how badly the bad side will lose. Even if one of the good side is wounded, he of course will survive. Nevertheless, it is a good read, even if it falls short of reality now and then. The Cossocks by Leo Tolstoy This was one of Tolstoy’s first works, one that began to make him famous in Russia. It was written at a time when people did not travel all that much, so news about this distant people from within the Russian empire was fascinating to those who read this work. You can already see Tolstoy’s preference for the simple country life as opposed to the extravagant court and social scene in St. Petersburg and Moscow. It tells of a Russian rich young man who travels down to southern Russia lives among the Cossacks at the border with Chechnya. He lives a life of leisure, hunting and talking and drinking with his new friends. He falls in love. He is torn between his new life in this village where he would always be a foreigner and his old life among his friends back in “civilization.” The Vietnam War: A Concise International History by Mark Atwood Lawrence This is a good, not too long presentation of the history of Vietnam to set the Vietnam War in a greater context. The author speaks of the three Vietnamese Wars: against France, against the United States and against China. He is not partisan in his information. He freely points out the failures in policy and strategy both of the United States and the North Vietnamese. I would recommend this book for someone who simply wants to know more about what happened leading up to the war, during the war, and after the war. Have a good week. Shalom Fr. Jude