home

Reflecting a lot on "home" today. Feeling homeless. Home, as in "where you came from" and "where you go back to" has always been my parents' house. About 18 years ago they moved from the place where I grew up, and home moved with them to a different New Orleans subdivision, but still in Metairie, south of the Lake that is now reclaiming the city. Well, Mom and Dad aren't "home" now, either. And where they are, in north Louisiana, I have never been. Home has become my mom's voice on the phone at my brother's in-laws' house. They don't know when they will be allowed back "home" to see and salvage what may remain. It is a lost, uncertain feeling, even for me.

I woke up in the middle of the night and had more than a little trouble falling back asleep. I tried to pray, but it was not such a good idea to pray about what is on my mind right now, because it keeps it on my mind! I need to go to the life of Jesus: to receive whatever share he is offering me of his own earthly life, he who had "no place to lay his head." I have a place for my head, but my heart is shaken and I have no place to lay it down. All I can do is give that situation, that inability, to Jesus.

Our sisters from the Metairie convent went to Baton Rouge, but will soon most likely be relocating to another Pauline convent to wait things out until the city is reopened for evaluating losses and making insurance claims. At least the sisters will be able to engage in the mission while they wait; that will help them a lot, I think, to find a place to lay not just their head, but eventually, when the shock subsides, their hearts as well.

A Prayer for Martha Jones

No, it's not her real name, but the real Martha came into my family's life close to 40 years ago. Every morning back then she would ride the bus into our subdivision and, depending on which day of the week it was, would work in a different neighbor's home as a domestic. Most of the families had 3-7 young children, and not even a 1960's stay-at-home mom could keep up with the laundry and household cleaning unassisted. Hence, the hard-working Martha. My mom's "day" for Martha was Monday, but sometimes the neighbors would make other arrangements. "We have family coming over Tuesday; can we switch Martha days with you?"

Martha was, and is, a steadfast and honest woman. She has continued to work for the same families, long after their children had their own families.

Martha has known tragedy. Her son, a single parent with a teenaged daughter, was struck and killed while riding his bicycle to work. So Martha took her grandchild in, and kept ironing clothes and mopping floors in other people's houses to help her and eventually a great-grandchild.

I last saw Martha a week ago Monday at my mother's home in suburban New Orleans. Her thinning hair, still mostly black, was combed straight and close around her head. Wearing an old housecoat, she was pushing a vacuum cleaner. Did my mom still need Martha's help? Probably not. Did Martha, at seventy-five, still need the work? Probably so. When I got the car keys to bring Martha to her bus stop, she had changed into a dignified suit, and wore a carefully maintained wig. But even then, she stopped before getting into the car to take the emptied trash bins from the curb and put them in place.

Where is Martha today? Is she with her granddaughter and great-grandchild on the overpass of I-10, waiting to be evacuated to Houston? Was she sweltering in the Superdome? Is she still in her tiny house, trying to find a way to dry ground? Someone like Martha, working into her old age, surely didn't have anyplace else to go. What will she do to make ends meet, now that the families she worked for over 40 years' time cannot go back home, and may not have homes to go back to? How many more Marthas are there in the nameless crowds of displaced persons?

from my sister

My sister the nurse writes from Oschner Hospital in New Orleans:

I am safe; the hospital did not get any real damage except for some leaks and loss of regular power. The river here did not breach the levee, and Jefferson Hwy and River Rd are tree lined but dry. We are on an emergency generator, so no air condition. Erin is fine as are the animals. I heard from Randy last night and although trees are down, they are fine. I heard from Mom. We do not know the extent of the damage in East Jefferson. Although we may not have much to return home to, we are alive. The rest is replaceable.

Jane keeps calling, but I don't know anything happening in the city. Am assuming that my house is flooded. Oh well. We wanted to renovate anyway...  

 

fiat

It is really hard to be on standby and at such a distance. Not able to do pluck family treasures from the water that is probably rising in their homes, not able to share the experience first-hand with loved ones, not knowing at all what "home" even looks like right now. Today I meditated (and will return to) the story of Martha and Mary. "One thing only is needed." "Blessed are you who are poor..." even if you don't know how materially poor you even are after an event like this, especially when the problems seem to be increasing with the passage of time, rather than subsiding. My family is safe, as far as I can tell--I still have no news of my brother's family and can only hope for the best in their regard. But it is very hard to be so far away, with only TV images of home.

 

more clips

More things I found, on the WWL bulletin board where regular people can post info and questions. Sounds like there will be a lot of deaths in New Orleans and environs; many of the posts are from relatives who heard from family members trapped in homes; they give full info: address, phone numbers, names, etc. Very sad. I just picked out things that will be of info to my family; am posting it to the blog at the same time.

Prayers are still very much needed.

Again, the following lines are copied from the WWL-TV website; they are not my own.

 

Slidell was the hardest hit city. It was hit harder than New Orleans. The entire city is cut off from communications. No radio contacts and phones are gone. Someone needs to get in there.
Fox News on cable is showing brief clips of sites in kenner with serious flooding, KPD cars with windows blown out, and severe damage on some building on the wiliams and vets area.
Windows have been blown out of the Double Tree hotel in Metairie
I have heard from family who stayed in Metairie (near Bonnebell and I-10) that the major damage has been from the winds, a lot of trees are down completely blocking streets and many roof tops damaged. No severe flooding at their specific location - there was water in the street, but that isn't to say that the water has not continued to rise since my last contact with them.
The following are reports from people whom I have been able to contact that have had to stay in the city because of job requirements: I did hear of some levee breaks (not confirmed) causing Lakeview and areas near East Jefferson Hospital to flood, there is some water on the 1st floor of EJGH. Lakeview has been reported to have 6 ft of water in some areas. Veterans near I-10 (Celebration Station) is completly underwater.

 

My sister is on Elmwood Parkway between W. Esplenade and the lake in Metairie. No power but landline phone still working. She says there is water in the street but it has not gotten quite high enough to get in the house - by a couple of inches. Water seems to be holding steady ot barely rising, hard to tell. Many trees down. Siding and roofing peeled from many houses. No water from the tap

still praying

Been praying by the TV today. First thing this morning, hearing that the hurricane made landfall to the east of the city, I had to attribute that to Our Lady. Not that the she sent it to the other areas, but that the worst-case scenario did not play out in a way that would involve thousands of lives. For many people in New Orleans' "ninth ward," of course, it is pretty much of a worst-case scenario involving the total loss of their homes. (The same thing happened last year to the parents of one of our sisters; they are in the Pensacola region.) I understand that the on-ramps for the Interstate are being used as launches for rescue boats.

With so little news coming in directly from New Orleans, it is hard to even guess how hard-hit any of my family's properties have been, and with cell phones all out, we are still out of touch with my brother-in-law and his two younger kids (the other two family members are in the city and had to work). One of the many times I tried my teenaged nieces cell phone (only to hear the beep-beep-beep of the busy signal), I wondered if that rascal could possibly be hanging on the line with her boyfriend... But it's doubtful her cell phone is of any use at all right now.

The sisters from our book center community left on time, and they have no idea when they will be allowed back into the city or what they will find there. There is word of looting and of a flooded hospital a block from where one of my family members lives. Doesn't do much for the old nerves, but I am grateful my loved ones heeded the call to evacuate. Praying for the people who couldn't or didn't leave home.

Here are some news bits I have been able to glean from the WDSU website; if you hear any tidbits about Metairie, please post them in the comments box.

• New Orleans hotels suffered heavy damage to windows. At the Windsor Court Hotel [my sister used to work there], guests were told to go into the interior hallways with blankets and pillows and to keep the doors closed to the rooms to avoid flying glass. - AP
• A WDSU news crew just captured images of looters hauling items out of the Winn-Dixie across from the Municipal Auditorium. The video shows people using shopping carts and hand-held carts to haul off cleaning supplies, beer and other items.
• 4 p.m.: East New Orleans Underwater New video from a WDSU crew shows east New Orleans is underwater. Only the very tops of some cars can be seen, and on other streets, the water has risen past the second story of some homes. A man was seen wading through chest-deep water. He told the news crew that he was searching for injured or trapped people. -- WDSU.com Web Staff
• 5-foot flood waters at Ernie K-Doe's Mother-In-law Lounge on Claiborne Avenue and water reaching the roofs of houses in the Eighth Ward.
• The St. Bernard Parish emergency director said that the streets in the parish are filled with water 4 feet deep. He also said that levees were not visible.
• Jefferson Parish sheriff's officials said they are not able to dispatch units to respond to 911 calls. Deputies are waiting for wind and rain to subside before traveling.
• The water is not safe to drink in Jefferson Parish. Officials said any water that is consumed must be boiled. Failure to do so could result in serious health complications.
• A building in Metairie has collapsed and people are believed to be trapped inside. Rescue officials were still trying to get to any possible victims but were hampered by continuing severe weather. In addition, the East Bank of Jefferson Parish is flooded -- including East Jefferson Hospital. There are also reports of waist-deep water inside homes throughout Metairie.

Katrina

All but two of my family members have evacuated New Orleans--for Mom and Dad, it is the first time they have ever fled a storm. My sister Mary, a nurse, has to be on duty at her hospital; her daughter (believe it or not) was required to report for duty at the veterinary hospital where she works. As I keep vigil in front of the Weather Channel, I keep asking the Blessed Mother to stick her hand in that mess brewing off the coast, and deflate the storm. She's done it before... And every time the meteorologists treat a strike on New Orleans as a foregone conclusion, I renew my prayer to Mary to prove them wrong.

by the way

I added to the links column the books I have worked on. A few are being discontinued, so you may not have much time to get the whole collection! I think I will add the music albums I helped with. Some other time.

Hurricane Prayer to O.L. of Prompt Succor

This is what the folks back home say (usually after Mass) during the hurricane season; please include this intention in your prayers this weekend! A few of my siblings are preparing to evacuate, but it seems Mom and Dad will remain at home. May our Lord keep them safe.
Here's the prayer:
God our Father, through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, please spare us the loss of life and property during this hurricane season, and deliver us from further attacks of terror.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us!
(For the non-New Orleanians who come across this blog, an interesting story of the relationship of the city and Mary's unusual title--that's the original statue depicted above, by the way--can be found here.)

Here it is!

No more excuses. It's time for me to give my review and recommendation for "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. Those of you who have been following this blog will recall that I have been promising to write about this book since July, when I read it on my way home from retreat. I still need to develop some reflections on the implications for evangelization...

 

Gladwell offers, basically, an analysis (full of stories and case histories) of how ideas spread. Like viruses, as a matter of fact. And the characteristics that make for an epidemic in the world of germs are parallel to those that account for the way ideas take hold (or not) and become trends that sweep a society. A lot has to do with people and their qualities. (You will note that it doesn't start with the quality of the idea, because a lot of ideas can become trendy!) (But that's me talking, not Gladwell.)

The people who turn ideas into trends are relatively few, and Gladwell identifies three types of key players: there are the "connectors" (you know them, the people who remember everyone they have ever, ever met, and who find a way to keep in touch once in a while, even if they only met once, while waiting in a long queue for some event). Connectors have contacts everywhere. They are real people people, and they foster innumerable relationships. Then you have "Mavens." Mavens are experts in some field of interest, and they willingly share their expertise out of love for the information and concern that this knowledge they possess benefit others. And some of those who reap that benefit may be connectors. My sister Nell is a shopping maven. She knows just how much things ought to cost, and just where to find the best deal on them, and she really wants to help me get the best prices on things our community needs. My brother-in-law is a technology maven. I always call him with my computer questions, because he is up on everything in the world of electronics. So "Connectors" have the address books, "Mavens" have the in-depth scoop. The third essential personality involved in trendsetting is that of the "Salesman" (salesperson?). When a salesman is sold on something (perhaps a maven friend or relative gave them critical information), he/she can and will sell it convincingly. Salesmen may not know as many people as connectors do, but the people they do contact will come away convinced, sold. And some of those people may be connectors. The interaction of connectors, mavens and salesmen is crucial for an idea getting off the ground.

Just yesterday in the paper, I read an article about the famine situation in Niger that seemed to me to unite the geography/agriculture/culture link presented in "Guns, Germs and Steel" with the "Tipping Point's" critical personality types for getting an idea to be widely accepted. It seems that in Niger, the traditional staple crop is a grain called millet. But millet has very poor nutritional value, with almost no protein. Even if the people have a good harvest of millet, they can be malnourished. But it is very hard to woo them away from millet to grains that have more worth. Every village would need a maven, who understands that millet is just one grain among many, and that other grains can offer more hope for the survival of their children. A maven alone is not enough. A salesman is needed who will be convinced that the alternative grains really do offer more substance. The salesman would grow the new grains and offer samples to relatives and neighbors, while extolling the value of the new crop. The salesman's persuasiveness would be such as to overcome the enormous reluctance of a tradition-bound people to depart from the soil-depleting crop that was all their ancestors could domesticate in that region. And then it would take a connector to bring more and more people within the salesman's purview, so they could "catch" the infection of the new idea--in this case, be persuaded of the benefits of reducing their dependence on millet. A nation's survival could depend on mavens, salesmen and connectors.

 

Gladwell doesn't only speak about people, but that is where I have chosen to focus. Other aspects of a trend have to do with an idea's capacity to "stick", and then, the contexts in which and for which the ideas arise. I'll have to reread that part of the book to process it more deeply. In the meantime, I am quite impressed with the people factor. Ideas do not catch on primarily because of the value of the ideas, but more than anything because of the persons who come into contact with them. An idea that has no way of reaching a connector, a maven or a salesman is basically doomed.

 

So after you finish "Guns, Germs and Steel," move to "The Tipping Point." Both are on Sister Anne's "read and recommended" list.

Evangelization

Here's some info from a Pauline Cooperator in Toronto:

An Online School of Evangelization is run by Father Yan in both Chinese and English and
is free and available to anyone interested in evangelization. Their email is admin@evschool.net. As a Pauline Cooperator, I find St. Paul's Theory and Practice of Evangelization and his missionary journeys very useful.

I tried checking out the web site for the school, and it asked me to install Chinese fonts. I cancelled that, and the English site loaded, so please pay a visit for more information!

return to the windy city

Well, I'm typing this from my tiny office space, with just a bit of sun pouring in across Michigan Avenue. My computer speakers are pouring forth a lovely version of the Miserere (it starts with a Renaissance piece, then segues into a very contemporary choral rendition, thanks to the genius of Paul Schwarz) from the album "State of Grace."

This morning I found myself continuing to pray over an insight gleaned from Robert Barron's "And Now I See" (which, as mentioned earlier, I borrowed from Sr. Julia). Barron cites Merton on the "point vierge" in each human being. With today's Gospel highlighting the wise and foolish virgin bridesmaids, there is even a liturgical connection.

It comes down to this: each and every person, no matter how compromised their moral life or their human abilities, has at their center a "virgin point" that is totally God's, totally unadulterated. Merton said that all of us are "shining like the sun." Barron relates this, naturally, to our being the image of God. I guess Merton's language just "worked" for me to make this clearer. And this means that, ultimately, the "spiritual life" is the journey in which the exterior person becomes more and more conformed to or in tune with the "point vierge"--or that the "point vierge" expands more and more throughout our faculties (because our part is really to "let it be done") until the "point vierge" begins to mark the whole person and become more and more in reality what it is: our inmost truth, our real identity.

This is what makes me glad of this whole insight: that the "point vierge" where we are totally God's is really our truth! The center of my being and yours is true and good and beautiful, even if I am a loser or a sinner immersed in evil or so severely handicapped that all I can do is "let it be to me."

The saints are the ones who are not only in touch with this in themselves, but even more aware of that beauty in others, so that they are impelled to serve them because of that divine presence of being from Being. Washing each other's feet comes from this sort of vision of the other as bearing the divine presence, no matter how compromised the external life is. That is why Jesus washed the feet of Judas: it wasn't so much about humility and abasement as much as it was the shining presence of the Father, manifest to Jesus despite Judas' compromising values and choices. We are powerless to rid ourselves of the imago Dei.

Talk about being "fearfully, wonderfully made" as the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139! No wonder "my soul you knew full well, nor was my frame unknown to you, when I was fashioned in secret." "Truly, you have formed my inmost being [it is you!].... All my thoughts lie open before you [you share them all]." And so St. Paul would ask the Corinthians, challenging them to align their outer life with their inner truth, "would you take the members of Christ and make them the members of a prostitute?" Because they would have become aware of that presence, so how could they keep on living as before, as if unaware of the presence? The language of a "point vierge" evokes for me openness, "yes," brightness, a hand outstretched to receive the wedding ring. It is as if there were already a "yes" at the center of my being; already a willing receptivity and responsiveness in me, as if it were mine already and I had already said yes to everything. It is a yes given to me to give. It is a yes that is meant to expand from that "point" until it characterizes me entirely, when I will be able to fully say "It is no longer I who live; Christ is living in me!" ("Christ is not yes-and-no, but yes has been in him," as St. Paul further tells us.)

Bottom line: get that book and read it! (Although there is a good bit of German, French and Latin scattered about its pages, so it's not a totally easy read, but it is a valuable one.)

Now I want to look for the source in Merton. I think it was in "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander." (I've tended to avoid Merton because of his incredible verbosity.... but this one insight should be sufficient motive for me to go to the source.)

keeping an unusual vigil

Last night, until way past my bedtime, my mom and several sisters (plus a niece) kept vigil for a plant: the night-blooming cereus. My sister Nell has two of these plants, which flower only once a year (evidently with only one flower per plant), and that at night. The first of her plants flowered and withered the previous night, and she didn't want to miss her last chance. The flowers are truly stunning: petals about four inches long, at first closed tightly in a white football shape. When we got to the house, the petals had begun to separate, leaving a dime-sized opening in the center of the flower. By 10:30 I had to call it quits. The flower by then had opened to almost three inches. Nell tells me that the plant opens fully, and almost as soon as it does, it begins to close and droop. I found a time-lapse image of one on Google: here's the link.

 

Who do you say I am?

Today's Gospel, with Jesus' question to the disciples "Who do you say that I am?" raised a different thought in my mind: Who does Jesus say that I am? What is his vision of me? for me? This corresponds a bit to a book I have just begun reading, "And Now I See" (by Robert Barron). Looks like a really good read. (Thanks, Sr. Julia!)

Betsy and Daryl

Betsy and Daryl

Prayers for my newly-married cousin Betsy.

Button memories

In between things this week, I helped my Mom move into a new sewing basket. She had had the former one for about 25 years, and kept it even though it was broken. When I needed snaps for my veil, that is where I headed. All I found were buttons and scraps, along with odds and ends, such as:

8 spools of thread in various shades of green, harking back to the days when five of us (the girls) wore the green plaid uniforms of Archbishop Chapelle High. (I think the youngest graduated from Chapelle in 1988.)

A shoulder patch (for the school sweaters) from our parochial school--and I don't think they were using shoulder patches when my youngest sister went there...

Iron-on khaki patches (my brothers' uniforms).

Iron-on name tags for four of us (almost a whole package with my name).

A few days later, Mom and I went to the hobby store nearby and found a new, intact sewing basket (at 50% off!), and I went to work. I recognized many of the unusual buttons--from pea coats, school sweaters, Mom's suits from long ago. Then Mom came by and picked up a button. It was covered in green fabric and surrounded by rhinestones. "I remember this dress!" She exclaimed. "I had it before I was married." (Recall, my parents just celebrated their Golden Anniversary.)

Book Report

Well, today I am finishing up "Guns, Germs and Steel," and I have to say that I have found it intensely interesting. The book's thesis is that more than anything else, geographic factors like latitude, and native plant and large mammal species (capable of domestication) influenced the development of complex societies and their technologies, and even things like resistence to contagious diseases--the same contagious diseases that decimated populations in other geographic regions when peoples encountered each other. A lot of the author's presentation on the diffusion of technologies is consistent with the findings in "The Tipping Point," so the two books go well together. Add this to your list of "Books Sr. Anne Recommends."

first-grader's prayer

Claudia (age 6) was looking forward to a swim meet when she hurt her leg. So she brought the matter to God via the blackboard in her closet. Her mom found it and sent the picture.

Frere Roger

May he rest in peace. Brother Roger, founder of the ecumenical community of Taize, was murdered by a deranged person during Vespers. He was 90. A Protestant (Calvinist, I think), Brother Roger did much to promote ecumenism by establishing it in prayer. Taize is known, especially to young adults, as a place to learn prayer.

catching up

Been too busy to blog...and I have had (as usual) so many things to say! Oh, well. Today I am inspired to blog by the Gospel assigned to Wednesday of the 20th Week of Ordinary Time. It is that awful parable of the workers in the vineyard and their equal pay. I say "awful" because, you know, I tend to identify with the people who had been laboring since sunup, who found themselves treated "on a par" economically with those who had not picked up a hoe (or whatever they were using in the vineyard that day) until 5 p.m. Whether or not that self-identification is justified is a question in itself. Could be that I have not yet picked up my hoe.

Anyway, this morning I recognized that there is a parallel between this parable and Paul's observation in (I think) Romans, around Chapter 9-11. Because if you think of things from the perspective of the 11th-hour workers, they saw the owner of the vineyard as generous, and would have gone home with praise and gratitude. And those early-morning workers would have had to agree that the owner had kept his word with them. As Paul says, "The Gentiles glorify God for his mercy." And in the case of those who had been with the Lord "from the beginning," "Israel will acknowledge him for his faithfulness."

Speaking of Israel, my prayers are that the withdrawal from the Gaza strip will be peaceful, and that the more vehement settlers and protesters will surrender their misguided attempts to hold on to disputed territory--territory from which other families were expelled 40 years ago. When I heard that some of the settler families were using a form of psychological warfare against the soldiers assigned to this operation--having their small children draw pictures of the evacuation, showing the drawings to the soldiers and telling them that the children would bring them to school to tell about how they were forced from their homes--I felt so sick. They are using their children in a way that will reinforce in those children a sense of disenfranchisement--rousing in them the same kind of resentment that motivates the most violent of the Palistinian groups. It is perpetuating the madness.

About two years ago I read an excellent book on the situation, and I highly recommend it: "How Long O Lord: Jewish, Muslim and Christian Voices" (I forget the rest of the title). It was published by an Anglican religious order in Massachusetts. I was impressed by one of the Jewish writers, who noted that since God has consistently shown himself to be the vindicator of the oppressed, he was quite concerned that Israel was setting itself up for divine judgment over the treatment of the Palestinians since the establishment of the Jewish state. I imagine that if the Palestinian territories had had access to better economic possibilities, reliable sources of water (their waterways were all cut off, so they had to return to exclusive dependence on wells)  and other aspects of autonomous life, there would have been less motive and even less opportunity for the preposterous levels of violence unleashed by unemployed, uneducated and disenfranchised young people.

Anyway, it is one of those areas that most cries out for prayer.

Prayer of the Faithful

I mentioned that Mom and Dad started their anniversary celebration by going to a parish Mass. Actually, they went to a neighboring parish, since their own parish was having a celebration that would have been unduly long. The parish we went to was unexceptional in every way--except for the level of fervor. The music, proclamation, preaching: nothing striking there. Just an older suburban parish with its modest store of local talent. But the assembly answered the various greetings in one booming voice and sang the Kyrie, Gloria, Lamb of God in a powerful unison. I think a good part of that is due to the pastor's wholehearted and unpretentious fervor. His own booming voice with its sincere country accent just cut through the impediments of formalism and routine to waken hearts to a genuine response. It was a real experience of what liturgy is: the "work of the people."

Family

The seven of us with Mom and Dad at last night's celebration.

50 Years Ago

Yesterday, Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was August 13, 1955 when the two became one, and at the family celebration, all seven of us kids, plus spouses, children, neighbors and lifelong friends were together to give thanks. I was the chauffer for the happy pair--they began their anniversary celebration at Mass. (Mom and Dad are both pretty private people and didn't want to draw attention to their anniversary by having a parish celebration. They just went to Mass together.) We gathered at my brother's house. With so many people, there was a bit of chaos, but the witness of a long and very fulfilling marriage was really inspiring. (Plus, I have to say, my parents are exceptional people!)

St. Lawrence

What a fabulous saint we honor today! And the first reading, from 2 Cor.... I guess it is the revised translation, but one line really came out at me today: "God is able to make every grace abundant for you." I "heard" that in terms of our Founder's "pact with the Lord" in which he delivers over all his best efforts (knowing in advance how they will fall short), but with total confidence that the Lord will multiply the results according to his mercy.

I am still working on my presentation for the religious educators... and so that is a timely reminder to count more on God's grace than on my effort.

I did manage to finish a small project for my parents' anniversary. I dare say no more just yet, since Mom occasionally checks my blog and this is supposed to be a surprise. But maybe I will find a way to post it later...

screenwriting

Did you see the piece in Friday's Tribune about the Pentagon financing a group of 15 scientists to take screenwriting in Hollywood so they can promote careers in science and engineering????

Somebody knows the power of the media.

Edith Stein and the little ones

Today's Gospel presents the disciples' question about who is greatest in the Kingdom of God, with Jesus' reply about being like children. Hard to avoid the thought that this is one of the key themes of the entire New Testament, salvation and all that notwithstanding. It's everywhere! Since my 30-day retreat, I've been referring a lot to the scene of the washing of feet, which is the same message given in a different way, and then there's Philippians 2 about the mind that is ours in Christ Jesus...

Edith Stein would not seem to have been a "little one," exactly. Philosopher, professor, martyr. But she made herself the least of all and the servant of all by entering Carmel with the intention of praying and offering her life for her people.

pearly whites

Well, the headline is a bit forced... But there WAS a pearl in my oyster poor boy at lunch! First time that's ever happened, and I'm a big oyster fan.

learning something new

Well, after all these years I heard a little story from Dad that was completely new to me! Mom, Dad and I went to a noon Mass and then Dad suggested going out for lunch. (You don't have to ask twice.) At the restaurant, Dad ordered the sole dish. That reminded him of an experience he had as a college student (at Loyola): He had a campus job as a gopher. Well, actually it was switchboard operator. But it involved some gophering, too. And one day he was asked to serve as a chauffeur. Off to the airport he went with one of the revered Jesuits. (This was before the current airport was built; the "airport" was a small field by the lake.) They picked up Bishop Fulton Sheen, and Dad was told to head to Antoine's so the Bishop could have a decent New Orleans meal. To his suprise, Dad was invited to join them. And Fulton Sheen had sole.

I had known about Dad's letter from Thomas Merton, and the long correspondence he kept with Father Raymond (from the same Gethsemane abbey), but never knew that my Dad had met Fulton Sheen! (Just when you think there is nothing left to learn.... Saturday is my parents' Golden Anniversary. There may be more surprises to come!)

Choking "Game"

Found out that the info on the CBS Early Show interview with Sarah Pacatte was a week late. So I did some digging and found the file online. Hopefully CBS will keep it available for a while. Watch this and share it with parents of pre-adolescents. And pray for Sarah and Samuel (who found his unconscious twin when a "game" went bad).

Click here: CBSNews.com / CBS News Video

angels on wings

It's what we say in our family when someone is going to take a trip by plane. Angels on wings at 9:50 tomorrow morning! That's when I hope to be pulling away from the gate at Midway en route to New Orleans to see Mom and Dad (50th anniversary celebration next week) and my many siblings, nieces, nephews and assorted very many relatives, most of whom are coming to the Golden Anniversary celebration. I also have a talk I am still preparing for New Orleans religious educators. That needs more prayers. I have some content, but no form... yet!

tech support

Actually, I am looking to YOU to help me with this technological question: where is the program that can open the video files from my phone? A sample file is posted here. If you can view it, please tell me the name (and version number) of the program that managed that bit of magic.

I had gotten the video phone so I could experiment with tiny audio-visuals: for vocation work, for book promotion, for catechetics, even. But if no one can view them but other z500a phone users, well, that just isn't quite the Pauline apostolate!

ON the Chicago news front, last night we had a "drop-in" for our community friends and volunteers to say good bye to Sr. Lusia, who leaves today for her new assignment in Boston as part of our national leadership. About 60 people came, a real testimony to Sr. Lusia's charism for people! Today the Knights of Columbus are opening a 24-hour Eucharistic Congress, just down the street from us. Although Sr. Lusia and the new superior (Sr. Helen Rita) will be at the airport, the rest of us will go to the Congress for our community prayer on this, our community day. The staff will handle the book center, which has been desperately quiet due to major construction on the corner. Please pray that we might hit upon helpful signage to direct pedestrian traffic, because this obstruction is scheduled (!) to last until Christmas. No need to emphasize what havok that can wreak on us...

Be on the watch

This in from Sr. Rose, whose nephew (age 13) died playing the "fainting game"; when I write about "The Tipping Point," I intend to cover the book's findings on such trends.

 

Sarah Pacatte on CBS' The Early Show
 
My sister and nephew were interviewed and it will be broadcast this Thursday morning on CBS' THE EARLY SHOW at 7:30am (if they don't bump it for something else.) Pray they do a good job.
 
Several of you saw the USA Today article that interviewed my sister; thank you for letting me know; I was able to go and get a copy. Today AOL ran a story on this terrible phenomenon (thanks to all those who sent it to me), though it does not mention my sister:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-19-suffocation-games-on-rise_x.htm?POE=click-refer

site to see

Sr. Margaret Charles sent me a link to this site. I haven't been able to review it for myself, but it looks clickworthy: www.chiesa is its name.