Rome

October 30, 2021 Peace and Good, I have been in Rome all of this week for our General Definitory meeting. This is a long one, beginning on Tuesday and running all the way until next Friday (with All Saints and All Souls Day off as holidays). We have been discussing many different situations in many different countries. I almost feel as if I have jet lag just from all of the discussions. The weather is quite nice, with a bit of rain now and then. Today, Rome is pretty much in shutdown due to the meeting of the G20 and the presence of so many important leaders. You can hear helicopters flying overhead almost all the time. I will be in Rome (except for a one day trip to Assisi on Wednesday) until this coming Sunday. Then I will be flying in to Louisville. I have finished some reading: Hinduism by Gregory Kozlowski This is an outline of the development of Hindu beliefs and how this religion is related to other major faiths in the sub-continent (Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists). It is interesting that Hinduism really developed as a reaction to the influence of Islam and Christianity, for before it was simply a series of disconnected local beliefs. It was only when these beliefs entered India that people felt that they had to define who they were and what they believed. Tear Down This Wall by Romesh Ratnesar This is an account of Reagan’s famous speech in Berlin in which he called upon Chairman Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. The author deals with the politics of the nations as well as the politics of Reagan’s own staff as the speech was prepared. The end of the book deals with how the wall actually fell. The author is a bit too groveling when it comes to Reagan’s character, but the story is well outlines. Wicked Prey by John Sanford This is the story of a gang who plan to rob political lobbyists during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Due to the fact that much of the money that these lobbies possess is unreported and illegal, there is no way they can report what happened to them. But the plan begins to fall apart as member after member of the gang end up dead. There is a good amount of action. The characters are well outlined. The ending is in doubt until the very end. It is well done, and makes me want to read more of Sanford’s books. Plato’s Republic by Simon Blackburn This is a study of Plato’s Republic with its positive and also its negative elements. The author gives a good background to Plato and his times, and yet he is able to see how Plato falls short. Plato, for example, wanted to ban poets from his ideal republic, and he did not really believe in democracy, for he felt that the properly prepared autocrat, his philosopher king, would guide the people beast. The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri This is the second book by Camilleri that I have read. It is part of a series about a Sicilian police detective who must solve confusing crimes. Being Italian, Camilleri is able to get the background (food, Mafia, government political games) right. This volume is the story of a series of women who are kidnapped overnight, but nothing is done to them while they are under the chloroform that was used in their kidnapping. These crimes turn out to be only the surface of a deeper mystery that the detective must slowly solve. I find these novels very entertaining. Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz I have now read all of the Odd books by Koontz. This is probably the strangest of the several volumes on this fry book who is able to see ghosts books. It deals with Odd being invited to a mansion along with Anna Maria, a pregnant young woman who is much more than she seems to be. Strange, strange things begin to happen, and Odd must figure out what is going on so that he might rescue a young child who is being held captive in the mansion. Even though the action was different, I thoroughly enjoyed the person of Odd, who is just the right mix of kind, generous, dutiful person along with a good dose of wiseass. The Mark of the Assassin by Daniel Silva This is the story of an assassin who was trained by the KGB and secreted into the West as a sleeper agent. Now that the cold war is over, he is an assassin for hire. His services are acquired by a group of super rich and super powerful men who would like to control the government of the US, especially in terms of defense procurements. He is opposed by a CIA agent who must do things that were strictly forbidden in order to stop the assassin and his purposes. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Chicago - Los Angeles

July 23, 2021 Peace and Good, I spent about five days in Chicago visiting the friars and also participating in a friars' day (for the celebration of the patronal saint of the province, St. Bonaventure) and the simple profession of one of the friars. On Saturday I flew out to Los Angeles. I am staying in our parish in Hermosa Beach, about a half of a mile from the sea. It is a beautiful area, and the weather has been very nice. From Monday til yesterday I was with the friars of the province for their extraordinary chapter in Malibu. We staying at the retreat house run by the OFM Franciscan Friars. It has a beautiful view of the ocean, and is right next door to the home of Dick Van Dyke. The meeting went extremely well. There was a great spirit among the friars. The most important thing approved was the raising of the mission in Vietnam from the category of a delegation to that of a custody. It is now just below the level of a province. The mission has been going for about 18 years, and they have made incredible progress. We are very happy that they are now in this higher category which gives them quite a bit more autonomy. The only down side of my visit here is that LA county has reinstituted the requirement for masks when indoors. The covid rate is rising rapidly here. I will be here until Tuesday when I fly out to Baltimore for a couple more celebrations. Then a week from today I will heading over to London for a couple of weeks. I have finished some reading: Coney Island by Charles River Editors This is the story of the resort island which served the people of New York for so many decades. It deals with its low life origin, and then its transformation into a center of hotels and amusement parks. It was there that the hot dog was invented and named. This was also the location of the first Nathan’s red hots. The island suffered in the era in which travel became so much easier with the family car (and therefore freedom from the trains that would carry people to Coney Island. Washington’s Immortals: the Untold Story of an Elite Regiment that Changed the Course of the Revolution by Patrick O’Donnell This is the story of an elite group of soldiers from Maryland who accompanied the revolutionary forces from the early days of the revolution to the end of the war. They arrived in time for the battles in the New York area. They were always dependable forces for Washington throughout the war. The history is well done. LBJ in 1968 by Kyle Longley This is an account of the last hellish year for the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Among the difficulties he faced were the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, the capture of the ship Pueblo by North Korea, the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviets and their allies, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy, etc. The book presents the story in a sympathetic but not fawning manner. The author admits Johnson’s flaws, e.g. this stubbornness and refusal to admit having made mistakes, but he also presents him as a good leader who was most of all dedicated to the poor and downtrodden of society. A Different Drummer by Michael Deaver This is a fawning account of Ronald Reagan and his political career. Deaver was an advisor to Reagan beginning with his time as governor of California. There were ups and downs in the relationship. After Deaver’s last resignation, he formed a lobbying group that got him into trouble with the law. But his overall view of the Reagans, both Ronald and Nancy, is highly favorable. How Winston Churchill Changed the World by Michael Shelden This is a series of twelve lectures on the career of Winston Churchill from his early days in the military and politics up to his death at a very advanced age. The professor presenting these lectures sees Churchill as the right man at the right time. He recognizes his shortfalls, but also sees him as a prophetic figure in his ability to foresee the danger of the rise of the Nazis in Germany. The presentation is very favorable to Churchill. The Mahdist War by Hourly History This is the story of an Islamist rebellion in the Sudan that was fought against the forces of Egypt (and behind them Great Britain) and which was also a reform movement to purify the practices of Islam. The leader of the movement called himself a Mahdi, a messianic figure in Islam. When he died, much of what he did fell apart. Geronimo by Charles River Editors This is a short biography of the famous Native American chief from the US Southwest (as well as Mexico). It especially deals with his capture and the way he was treated after that. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude