Nairobi - Rome

November 17, 2015 Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the Patron Saint of the Secular Franciscans Peace and Good, I completed the canonical visitation to Kenya. The friars there are doing very well. They show a spirit of enthusiasm that is encouraging. I just have to contact a number of friars now who are living outside of Kenya to finish off my report. I flew back to Rome on Friday night. I was at the airport and in flight when the terrible events at Paris unfolded. I did not know anything about it until one of the friars picked me up at the airport early Saturday morning and told me. It seemed as if security was a bit more stringent than usual, but nothing that one could really say was extraordinary. I have to admit that I have decided to be careful here in Rome and try not to go to many public events for the next couple of months. Rome is a target city, as if New York and Washington. We have so many migrants passing through that anyone could sneak in anything. I was on TV again last night. It is a regular show called "The diary of Pope Francis" on a network run by the Italian bishops. The staff is very kind, and I enjoy the experience. I have been catching up on a number of writing projects in these days. One of the friars who is the general editor of the Polish version of the Messenger of St. Anthony asked me to write a six article series for him. I have now finished five, and just one to go. I took Air Ethiopia on the way to and from Kenya. The flights were very good and the service was exemplary. The only problem is that the airport at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia is chaotic. There is very little notice for gates and boarding. The security is hit and miss. I am going to ask my travel agent never to put me through Addis Ababa again. I have finished some books: A Singular Abduction by Rodrigues Ottolengui A young girl who appears to be in a fugue state is kidnapped and the kidnapper demans a certain ransom. A detective is able to figure out how to rescue the girl and find the kidnapper, all without losing the ransom of $20,000 which her distraught father has been forced to pay. Lives of the Trees by Diana Wells This is a curious book that goes through any number of species of trees and gives an explanation of where they occur, how they grow, how they were spread by various explorers, some verses in which they appear and other interesting facts. I wouldn’t exactly call it a scientific study, but more like a folklore version of various trees and their importance to us. Sullivan’s Justice by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg It is not often that I have read a book so badly written. The characters are quite unbelievable and do things which are strange. The coincidences are just too great. The entire premise of the book is unbelievable. I don’t know if this was Rosenberg’s first or last book, but I have intention of reading anything else that she wrote. The Montezuma Emerald by Rodrigues Ottolengui A butler comes to a detective to report that his master is missing. The detective follows up the account for it seems as if a very valuable emerald has also gone missing. A dead body shows up in the morgue, but that does not guarantee that everything is as it seems, especially when the man he assumes to be the assassin is followed by someone he thought to be a beggar. This story goes into the topic of trying to trick the detective, something that seems to be very popular in mystery stories of a certain era. Clear Eyes in Calcutta by Andrew McCarthy This short account speaks of the author’s trip to Calcutta and especially to the sacrifice of a goat in a Hindu ceremony. The author seems to be fascinated with the blood and the reaction of the crowd. He also visited Mother Theresa and was left with mixed feelings, especially from what seemed to be her self-promotion, something that many viewers have questioned. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Limuru - Sabukia - Ruiri - Nairobi (all in Kenya)

November 9, 2015 Peace and Good, I am finishing up my canonical visitation to Kenya. All has gone well all the way along the trip. The trips between the various friaries has not always been easy because the roads are so bad in certain portions of the country (usually in those zones which do not have a deputy in the ruling government). This past week I have been "up-country", in an area where there was really not internet coverage. Also, the last couple of days, the water went out in the friary where I was staying. I asked the friars what had happened, and they said that the pipes for the water run down to the village from up in the hills, and the elephants often either step on the pipes which run overground, or they want water and they smell the moisture in the pipes and actually pull them apart to get at the water. When he told me that, I realized that "I was not in Kansas anymore." Sabukia is the national shrine to Mary in Kenya, and the bishops of Kenya have entrusted it into our care. The friars are doing a great job. The shrine is being paid with funds collected in Kenya itself, but the friars often have to go out into the parish to preach appeals for funding there. The shrine church will hold 4,000. They recently had a Eucharistic Congress there, and there were between 20,000 and 30,000 people. People are coming all the time to the shrine. The friars have also put up a carpenter's shop and school (funded by the Polish government) and are building a retreat house. It has a great future. Ruiri is a poorer area. The friars oversee the parish, an infirmary (which is run by Felician sisters), a grammar school (also run by the Felicians), a retreat house, the postulancy and twenty out stations. There are not enough friars in this friary, Sabukia and one other friary, but there are going to be a couple of good sized ordination classes so that should be resolved. The custody has actually been most prudent in accepting new assignments so that they do not overtax the friars. I am very hopeful for this jurisdiction. There is a lot of hope and enthusiasm. The friars speak very well of each other. It was interesting that when I told them of my next destination in the visitation, they inevitably spoke of how good the friars where in that friary. That is a very good sign. This mission was founded by the Polish friars from Gdansk. They did a fine job. They did not have all that much money, so the Kenyans never became dependent on outside sources of money. They built institutions that are sustainable. They put locals in charge as soon as possible. I will head back to Rome on Friday evening for about a week My readings have been: Citadel: The Battle of Kursk by Robin Cross This is the account of the last great offensive by the Germans against the Soviet forces during the Second World War. It was an all in bet that Hitler made and lost. The Soviets had excellent intelligence and knew that the Germans were coming. They had prepared an incredible defense against the tanks of the Wermacht, and no matter how much the Germans pushed, they only pounded themselves against impenetrable barriers. After this battle, it was only a matter of time before the Germans would be defeated by the allies. Darius the Great by Jacob Abbott Over the years, I have read a whole series of books by Abbott about various important figures in history. I believe that they were written at the turn of the 20th century for young people to show them moral values. Abbott presents this figure, Darius, as a great emperor who was also an oriental despot. He was not of royal lineage, but inherited the throne almost by accident in a coup d’etat that unthroned a false successor to the throne. He is the Persian emperor whose army was defeated by the forces of Athens at Marathon. Abbott’s picture of this personage is not all that positive, even is occasionally he does state something more positive about him. Roadwork by Stephen King Over the years, Stephen King has published a number of works under the pseudonym Stephen Bachman. This character is supposed to be a New Hampshire farmer who presents a more negative picture of the world than King would (believe it or not). This book is about the decompensation of a man who is losing his work place and his family home to a road development. In the back of the story is the loss of his son to a brain tumor. This unhinges the man and he more or less drives out his wife and tries to first stop the road project through sabotage and then tries to defeat them in a spectacular way. Between Cross and Crescent: Jewish Civilization from Mohammed to Spinoza by David Ruderman This is a thorough outline of various movements and important figures in the Jewish world from around 600 AD until around 1700 AD. Like all of the Teaching Company Courses, this is well told and well documented. He covers the Jewish centers in Babylon, in Spain (during the period known as the convivenza), in Israel and Turkey, in Amsterdam and in Poland. He describes cultural changes and challenges, especially during the years of the Crusades and the rebellion in 1648 in Poland under the Cossacks. This course is well done. Hitler’s Rockets by Norman Longmate During World War II, the Germans invented two remote flying devices to bomb London. The first one, the VI rocket, was more of a drone bomb that flew relatively slow and was highly inaccurate. The second was a much more sophisticated rocket, the V2. It devastated London during the closing months of the war. Once it was above a certain height, it flew at such a tremendous velocity that it could not be shot down or even detected until one heard the familiar double blast that marked the crashing of the rocket into the ground. There were many casualties, and the rockets especially crushed the spirit of the citizens who could do little to protect themselves. The only thing that stopped the rockets was the conquest of the sites where it was manufactured and launched. Hope you have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - Nairobi - Limuru

November 2, 2015 Peace and Good, I am now in Kenya for the canonical visitation of the friars here in preparation for their custodial chapter. There are around 38 friars in all, five communities. They are growing very nicely. They are in charge of the national Marian Shrine in Sabukia where I am headed this morning. The friars are very welcoming. I have enjoyed my visit so far. Mass yesterday went about 2 hours and 20 minutes, but as always in Africa, there is a spirit of energy and joy. The young men in formation are filled with energy and dreams, which is a very good sign. I have to remind them to go at a slow pace to make sure they don't make any big mistakes, but so far they are doing everything right. They are taking a new site in Mombassa near the coast to establish a retreat house, which will be the first in the diocese. The bishops have been begging for our presence, largely because of the good work the friars are doing in Sabukia. This custody was founded by the Polish friars from the Gdansk Province. They have done just about everything right. They did not build large structures that would be impossible for the local friars to continue. They did not shower them with money. They put locals in charge as soon as possible. I have to congratulate them for their good work. I will be in Kenya until the 13th of this month, and then on to Rome for a few days. I have finished some reading: 460 Days by Amanda Lindhout with Sara Borbett This is the story of a young man and a young woman who are kidnapped by Somali rebels. They are held hostage until their ransom is collected from their families. At one point, they concoct an escape, but they are captured even before they can get out of the town where they are being kept. When I read stories like this, I just have to ask myself why people would travel to lands where there are so many people kidnapped regularly. Is it for the thrill? Do they have a right to put their families to so much pain? The Rope of Fear by Thomas Hanshew This is a simple British story about a bank theft and the murder of one of the guards. A brilliant detective manages to put all the clues together and name to perpetrator and recover the money. It is typical of those stories that attempt to duplicate the mystique of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, but it is more a wannabe than a success. The Collectors by David Baldacci Over the years, I have occasionally bought a book that I had already read or listened to years ago. This was the case of the collectors. Unlike most of the others, though, the second time through was just as enjoyable as the first time. A group of unusual misfits in Washington DC who call themselves the camel club solve mysteries such as the murder of the friend of one of them at the Library of Congress. What was first thought to be a simple heart attack turns out to be a murder perpetrated by a spy ring. There is a side story about the wife of the murdered man who turns out to be a con artist. The book is very, very good. Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba … and then lost it to the Revolution by Ronald English When prohibition ended, the mob in the United States was looking for another way to cash in on the vices of Americans. They came up with the idea of coopting the president of Cuba (Battista) and owning a series of casinos that would provide opportunities of gambling, sex and booze. Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky were the first to see the potential. They saw Cuba as a base of expanding to an international crime empire. The only fly in the ointment was the revolution led by Fidel Castro. In spite of the repressive techniques used by Battista, Castro, almost by accident, managed to take over and expel the mob from Cuba. Detroit an American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff This is the story of a newspaper journalist who travels back to his home town to work for one of the big Detroit papers. He finds a city in a terminal stage of degredation. He speaks about the corrrupt system in which those who lead the city always take huge cuts, even if it means that critical services are not offered. He speaks about arrogant politicians who would rather fight and argue than solve problems. He speaks about a a fire fighter department and police department which cannot receive even the simplest equipment that could have saved lives. He also speaks about the loss of jobs due to the implosion of the car industry and how the mistakes and leadership and unions caused this disaster. It is a sad story, but one that must be told as a warning to many big cities of what could happen to them. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - Bacau (Romania) - Rome

October 25, 2015 Peace and Good, Well, we finished our last visit to Romania in preparation for their provincial chapter. This was actually part two of one of the meetings we had a couple of weeks ago with the definitory and the guardians of the local communities. Like the others, this went quite well. I have been able to get caught up a bit on daily reflections and writing projects which is good because today I head out to Nairobi for a visitation. I don't know what the internet situation will be, so these blogs might be a bit irregular for the next few weeks. Don't worry - it is just that some of the places I visit will have good internet connection while others will almost definitely not. The Synod ends their meeting in Rome this morning. The overall reports in the newspapers seem positive. They are dealing with some very difficult questions, and we always have to remember that bishops in various parts of the world have very different priorities. I finished some books: Michaelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King Ross King is an incredible historian, especially in terms of Renaissance art. I have read a few of his books already, and this one about the painting of the Sistine Chapel in very, very good. His gives good insight to the political world and the various wars fought between the Papal States, Venice, Florence, Bologna as well as outside powers such as the French, the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss. Michelangelo is not the nicest of people. This might have been due to some form of bipolar disease. Yet, he was an incredible genius. Never having painted in fresco, he managed to paint this masterpiece. It took him a long time (years) and it almost crushed him, but the end product was more than he could have ever hoped to produce. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie This is an inspector Poirot book. A murder takes place on a cruise boat on the upper Nile. Poirot and a detective friend investigate. The woman was very rich and very beautiful, and she had stolen her best friend’s fiancee (who follow the couple to torment them). There are people who hated the victim’s family for financial reasons. There are a number of characters who are involved in no good but who were not involved in the murder (which by the end becomes multiple murders). There are more twists and turns that one would ever expect, but these volumes are always fun to read. Syria and the Assad Family by Charles River Editors Charles River Editors are a group of authors who graduated from MIT who have produced a series of informational books about various topics. This one deals with the rise and rule of the Assad family in Syria. It is not up to date with the ISIS situation, but it does give a good background to how this family came to power even though they belong to a religious and ethnic minority. And the Show Went On by Alan Riding This is the account of what happened to the French art scene during the Nazi occupation. It covers writers, painters, musicians, singers, newspaper writers and editors, film directors and actors, etc. It deals both with the classical art scene and the popular. One hears of artists (in the large sense of the word) who risked their lives by getting involved in the resistance (either through their art or physically taking up arms). One hears of those who just kept going as if nothing unusual had happened, or perhaps did what they had to do to survive. Then there were others who were active collaborators. The book covers the scene before, during and after the occupation. Of special interest is what was done to Jewish artists who were banned from any artistic scene and many of whom were persecuted and killed. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Chicago - Rome

October 19, 2015 Peace and Good, I spent all of this past week in Chicago for a meeting with the provincials and custodes of the conference. The meeting itself lasted three days, and we accomplished quite a bit. I like the honesty of the provincials who try not to cover over problems that would be bound to surface later with unfavorable consequences if they had not been dealt with at the proper time. I also had a lot of short meetings with each of the provincials there. We cover a lot of business in these meetings that could not be dealt with by e mail or on the phone. One of the days we met with fr. Mauro Gambetti, the custos of Assisi. He is a fine man, and it turned out to be an excellent meeting. There is a strong feeling that he is trying to address some of the problems that are bound to occur in international communities like Assisi. He also has a very good working relationship with the other Franciscans in the area. I got to visit my favorite Vietnamese restaurant twice while I was there. They make a soup called Pho which I really like. Saturday evening I flew back to Rome, arriving around noon yesterday. No problems in the trip. It is raining quite heavily in Rome in these days. I finished some books: Missing: Page Thirteen by Anna Katherine Green This is a short story (or rather two short stories) about a man who loses a page of the secret formula that he desperately needs for he will be meeting investors with a few short hours. They call in a woman detective who manages to find it. It had gone under a door in the mansion that was never opened (being sealed with concrete) for some unknown reason. After the formula is found, the owner explains to the detective why he dreaded entering that space (although we never really hear why it was shut up in the first place). It is clever story filled with misdirection. Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin This is the journal of a trip to the Holy Land by James Martin, a famous Jesuit author, and his friend George. Martin speaks of the trip and the experience of the two pilgrims, but he also carefully examines the scripture passages that speak about the events that occurred at the various sites. His scripture work is very well done, and his insights into both scriptural revelation and human response to spiritual situations is very well done. I highly recommend this book. The Displaced Person by Flannery O’Connor This was the last of a series of short stories in a collection of Flannery O’Connor’s stories. This one is about a family of displaced Poles who end up on a farm run by a twice divorced, once widowed woman. She is always displeased with her white and black workers and complains about them unendingly. The Pole turns out to be better than her greatest dream, and yet she finds a way to be displeased with him and his family. He dies tragically, and her life and living fall apart. She had the chance to choose salvation, but preferred to live in his misery and complaining. A counter figure is an old Irish priest (many of the clergy in the rural south in years gone by were from Ireland) who sees beauty in the simplest things, especially in the beauty of a peacock’s feathers. He is the symbol of seeing the good and wonder in the world around us, something that the owners of the farm was incapable of doing. Hostage by Robert Crais The chief of police responds to a hostage situation. Three punks have invaded a home with a father and two children. He must try to save the hostages. In the meantime, it turns out that the father is the accountant of the mob and some important, incriminating records are on the grounds. The mob kidnaps the chief’s wife and daughter and threatens to kill them if the chief does not help them get the disks with the information back. This is an action filled book. One man’s Initiation – 1917 by John Dos Passos I have never read anything by Dos Passos before, so I was interested in this story. He is said to have described the war from the soldier’s point of view. This story deals with two men who are ambulance drivers, bringing the wounded from the battlefield to the care stations. They encounter so much during the fighting, so much that would wound them psychologically for the rest of their lives. He writes in short bursts of episodes which gradually build up to provide an overall impression. Hope you have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Bacau (Romania) - Roman (Romania) - Rome - Chicago

October 12, 2015 Peace and Good, This has been quite a full week with a series of meetings in Romania. The province there is preparing for their provincial chapter this coming February. They are a young province, refounded only 25 years ago after the fall of communism. There are a number of situations there that needed attention (as there always are with young jurisdictions). We formed a team from the general definitory to go there and meet with the friars to help them prepare for their chapter. We held three meetings there and one in Rome for members of their province who are stationed in Italy. We have one more meeting on Tuesday of next week. Saturday I flew out of Rome to go to Chicago. We have a meeting here starting tomorrow with the major superiors of our conference. That will conclude either Thursday evening or Friday morning. Then this Saturday I will fly out to return to Rome. It was good to be back in Romania this past week. I taught there for a number of years (going there a month at a time to offer scripture courses). In total I made 21 trips there. On Thursday morning (out flight out was in the afternoon) I was able to attend the funeral of the father of two of our friars whom I have knows for 23 years now. Yesterday I made my usual pilgrimage to the local Vietnamese restaurant. I like their soup which is called Pho. It is a mix of broth, noodles, some small slices of meat, and vegetables. It is very tasty. I finished some books: The Oysters of Locmariaquer by Eleanor Clark This is a travel book which takes place in Brittany, France. The premise of the book is the oysters that are raised in Locmariaquer which are different from most of the other oysters raised all throughout the region. The author tells of the lives and foibles of the people who live there. She tells of the hard, frustrating work that the people must do to prepare the oyster beds. I enjoyed the book overall, but it fell into too much description at times. Joy comes in the Morning by Jonathan Rosen This book begin with an old Jewish man, a holocaust survivor, having written his memoirs in a book called Joy comes in the morning, preparing to kill himself. He has already suffered from a stroke, and he knows that more are coming and he is afraid of losing control. This event proves to be the catalyst by which his son Lev meets a young female rabbi. They slowly fall in love, each sharing both in his/her gifts and brokenness. It is a very nice story. It also deals with some very important questions about faith and doubt. Petrostate: Putin, Power and the New Russia by Marshall Goldman This is an outline of the history of how Putin gained such great political power in Russia, based on the economic power that he and his friends have accrued as they have quasi-nationalized the oil and gas industries of the country. Many of the deals to privalize these industries were based on fraud and violence and the companies were acquired by quasi-Mafia figures. Putin wanted the country to have more say in its energy industry, but in the process he created what could be described as a kleptocracy (a rule by thieves). His control of the gas and gas pipelines bringing most of the natural gas supplies to Western Europe give him enormous power to blackmail those countries whenever it pleases him. Au Train de Vie: That Voice you hear when Traveling by Peter LaSalle The title of this story is the name of a small café in Paris that the writer visits frequently when he is staying in that city finishing up a book that he was writing. It is a sort of nostalgic site which provides him with an anchor while he is staying in a foreign environment. It is a place that he wanders to over and over again, without even realizing he is heading in that direction. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovich This is the second volume in this series about a magician apprentice who is also a policeman in London in the magical division (which is composed of himself and his teacher). The apprentice is half English, half African, with all that this means. In this episode, he is searching for the murderer of a number of jazz players which is important to him for his father is a jazz player as well. The murderer turns out to be a group of jazz vampires, three women who accidentally kill others when they drain their life energy from the jazz players. There is also a sub-plot of an evil magician who is not stopped from what he is doing. There is a great amount of London humor mixed with African emigrant culture, all of which I can now identify with given my travels in these years. I hope you have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - Assisi - Bacau - Roman (Romania)

October 4, 2015 The Feast of St. Francis Peace and Good, The week began with myself and the General Definitory meeting with representatives of ten different experimental communities from England, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland and Brazil. They are all trying to live our life as Franciscans with a bit more seriousness. We spoke with them for two days and it was an enlightening and encouraging experience. It is not that they are doing anything all that extraordinary, but rather they are simply trying to be more faithful to what we say we are. On Wednesday I traveled from Assisi to Bacau in Romania. I was there for a meeting on Thursday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Theological Faculty at Roman (Romania). I had been part of the faculty right from the beginning, and I represented all of the professors who came from foreign countries to help out the newly refounded province. It was good to see a lot of the friars whom I had taught over the years. Friday I visited one of the towns where I friars serve: Burinesti. In the old days, this town was known as the baby factory of Romania. Families had nine and ten children. Nowadays you see only older people and very young. The others are all in foreign countries trying to earn a living. Saturday there were two events. We had a memorial Mass for a friar who died 50 years ago. He had been placed in prison for a few years and suffered terribly. He was famous for his singing voice. He would sing out religious hymns in prison on Sundays and Holy Days. His voice was so beautiful that the guards would let him finish. But then was he had finished, they would beat him into unconsciousness for breaking the rules. He was 90 pounds when released from prison and died a few months later. Then, later in the evening, we went to a celebration called the Transitus. This commemorates the death of St. Francis on the evening of October 3rd. Today we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis with an ordination to the diaconate. I have finished some books: Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie This is the third or fourth book by Ruth Downie I have read in the Medicus series. They are about a Roman doctor and his native British wife in the 2nd century A.D. His true profession is being a doctor, but he is continuously called upon to do investigations. This one involves murder and coin counterfiting (a capital offense in Roman territories). It also deals with the policies of Rome which tend to be shaped for its own benefit, and the struggle of native Britains against other tribes and against Rome. The book is well written, and the relationship between the doctor and his wife Tulla is warm and humorous. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Locks by Rebecca Skloot One of the most difficult thing that early researchers sought to do was create a colony of human cells that would live in a petri dish. By accident, they found that some cancer cells taken from an African American named Henrietta Lacks refused to die. It became the cell culture that was used in almost all cell research for decades. Yet, her impoverished family knew nothing of it and never received any recompense from it. This book tells the story of how an author finds them and eventually enters into their trust. It asks some serious questions concerning the rights of a person over the cells of his/her own body when they are harvested in some operation or through other means. The Wisdom of the Torah by Dagobert D. Runes This is a collection of passages from the Old Testament. It is interesting what selections an editor will choose to make an anthology. This selection is quite interesting and gives one a lot to meditate upon. This was part of a collection of five sources of wisdom from the various holy books of religions throughout the world. The Biter Bit by Wilkie Collins This is the account of a young detective who is sent to investigate a robbery of 200 pounds sterling from a man who kept the money in a small box under his pillow while he slept. The man identifies his suspect and pursues him with unfailing energy. Even the fact that the man was preparing for a secret wedding does not forestall the man’s attention. It is only when he reports to his superior that his ideas are shown to be false. Rather than the identified suspect, it turns out that the culprit is the victim’s own wife who had stolen the money to pay a very large dress bill that she had hidden from her husband. A Late Encounter with the Enemy by Flannery O’Connor A 104 year old man is taken care of by his 60 some year old female relative. She has taught all her life, but before this time there was no requirement that she would have an advanced degree. Now she has been studying each summer for years and years. Finally, she is ready to receive her degree. She dresses up her grandfather in his Confederate general’s uniform (although he was never any higher than a Major, he was given the uniform when a film on the Civil War was showing in his town). Her dream was that he would live long enough to sit on stage when she graduated, a wish that is fulfilled (but in a very exact way, for he dies on stage). Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude