Most texts …

 … aren't worth saving for any longer than it takes to read them.  Once in a great while, however, …

World health

 A few days ago, the World Health Organization approved the world's first malaria vaccine; it is projected to save tens of thousands of children from death each year.  If only my old friend John K, who spent his career studying mosquitoes, had lived to see the day!

A lovely day yesterday

• Talking to some new friends while waiting for the 8 o'clock mass to end so we could go in for the 9:30.
• Assisted at communion without dropping any hosts or spilling any wine.
• Pastry and coffee and conversation with Katka and the wonderful wife on the terrace at Randolph's.  Very European.
• Coffee and San Cristobal on the deck, while reading a Patrick Melrose novel until joined for more conversation and laughter and a fashion show, first by Cassie and Abby after they finished shopping at Viva Vienna and before heading back to Great Falls for a birthday part, and then by Katka and the wonderful wife.
• Visiting with Roger and Joseph when they came to retrieve Joe's Viva Vienna toys that had been left at our house.
• 
• Watching Katka and Joseph play ball.
• All of this in glorious weather.
• Fish tacos (with a wonderful lime-cilantro sauce) for supper.
• An old article by Avery Dulles.
• A couple episodes of The West Wing.
• And so to bed.

Good news for my favorite Slovak

June's Visa Bulletin reports that "immigrant numbers" are finally available for those who started their application process between December 1, 2007 (the date in the May Bulletin) and September 1, 2008!

Finally, I say!

Click the table for a better view.

R.I.P., Shawn

My friend John's son Shawn, age 27, died a week and a half ago. His death notice called him a "loving son"; I'd have described him as a "beloved son." He caused his father a lot of grief and worry and expense and trouble for most of those 27 years, but I don't think there was ever a moment when John stopped loving him.

John's one of the toughest guys I know, so when he told me he wanted to do the eulogy himself, I thought that it was a bad idea but that if anyone could eulogize his own son, John was the guy to do it. He and Shawn's brother came to the house last Sunday and spent an hour talking about Shawn. I wrote up what they said, and somehow John had the strength and composure to read the whole thing at the funeral mass.

I've known a lot of you for a long time; others just for a day or two. Some of you I haven't even met yet; I'm John, Shawn's father.

As I've tried to accept the fact that Shawn’s dead and that I’m never going to see him again (in this world, anyway), one thing about Shawn keeps coming back to me

Time was really important to him. He always remembered birthdays and things like that, and when he had to be somewhere, he was always on time. Even at the very beginning, he was on time: 27 1/2 years ago, his mother and I had scheduled to have his birth induced on August 31. Wouldn't you know, that morning his mother went into labor naturally, and Shawn arrived on exactly the day we were expecting him.

For some reason I find that comforting now. He was born on time. If he died a couple days ago, it must have been because it was time; Shawn would never do anything if it wasn't the right time to do it.

Something else I find comforting: A lot of people are in pain and suffer for weeks or months before the die. Shawn didn’t. In fact, Shawn was happy. H had a job he liked, he was this close to graduating from George Mason, he had just come back from a long vacation to Miami and the Caribbean, he and his brother, Gary, were closer than they'd been in years – maybe ever. Life was good!

Shawn was really smart: magna cum laude from NOVA, attending the University of Miami and George Mason. He was also charming, compassionate, understanding, resourceful, and persuasive. One example of his persuasiveness: His health insurance company once denied his claim for benefits. Shawn didn't accept no for an answer. He persisted and persisted -- and he eventually won. The insurance company not only agreed to cover the charges, they actually sent the check directly to Shawn. (I have to admit that once Shawn got that check, the idea of turning it over to the doctor probably never entered his mind.) Another example: He got a traffic ticket in Maryland a few years ago. He fussed and fussed about it. In the end, the police officer who wrote the ticket wound up in more trouble than Shawn.

I'm unbelievably sad that Shawn died. But I'm grateful for some things too:

• I'm grateful I got to be Shawn's dad for 27 years.
• I'm grateful Shawn will never have to bury me.
• Strange as it sounds, I'm grateful that now I know what a broken family feels like. I hope I'll be able to use that knowledge to help people in some of the support groups I'm a member of.
• And I'm grateful to you for coming today. Your support means a lot to Gary and me.

I'm optimistic that I'll see Shawn in heaven someday. I'm optimistic that we all will.

The ceremony at the cemetery after mass also showed John's toughness. His plan was for everyone to leave after the prayer service and go back to "Grandma's" house for a reception. Well, not "everyone." John had asked several of us to remain and . . . wait for it . . . to help him lower the casket, fill in the grave, and then drink some beer and smoke some cigars. In the event, probably two or three dozen people stayed on and on, so all of us -- all the men, anyway -- pitched in with the shoveling. (Only about half of us got a cigar, however, and unfortunately, we didn't do beers.)

There's no way in the world I could have done something like that after my son's death. But it was absolutely lovely, and I was greatly honored to be part of it.

R.I.P.

Jim Devlin died a couple days ago -- and in a way nobody should have to, suffering from Parkinsons and dementia.

From his obituary:

"For over 20 years, he worked each weekend to deliver bread to various shelters and soup kitchens throughout the city."

I'm proud to say his wife invited me to participate at his funeral service Wednesday.

Anima eius et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per Dei misericordiam requiescant in pace.

Patti Vernon

Sweet, funny, kind, generous.

More courage in her little toe than in my whole body.

More faith in her little finger than in my whole body.

Rest in peace, Patti.

Letter from Vietnam

EKB's southeast Asia bureau chief files this report:

VN treats me well, even the weather.... I thought the rainy season might be pretty uncomfortable but so far it's not at all bad. It does rain and when it rains it can come down with a vengeance--straight down with a roar but it generally lasts only 20 minutes or so. If you keep an eye on the sky you can usually get to shelter before it comes down.

But there is no avoiding the flooded streets. I didn't count on this part, but many streets don't have adequate drainage so they flood quickly and at depths of four or five or more inches. So even when you duck the downfall, you're in for a challenging motor bike ride home if you hope to avoid the mammoth puddles.

Interestingly enough, too, it's cooler now than in the winter. In the low 80s or 70s but not as humid as I imagined. Maybe it's because it tends to be windier. When the sky clouds over, usually in a very localized way, the wind picks up and then the rain comes down. Maybe its a combination of the wind and rain that makes it cooler. My VN teacher said it is hotter in Hanoi this time of year than in HCMC which surprises me. Generally when I am in Hanoi it is distinctly cooler, so much so that you want a jacket when you go out in the morning.

I did, by the way, hear some slightly hopeful news on one of the CNN business news programs that said the economy was looking a little better. Sage Buffet thought we might be out of the woods by the end of the year. Wouldn't that be great. For sure that would take a little steam out of the tea pots.

Take care

High School

I went to Father Judge, and I guess that was OK.

If I were to teach high school, however, I'd like to be hired by Baylor School.

Congratulations, Byron!

Halleluja!

A friend (Bob) suggests the following as blog material:

(Actually, this is a somewhat longer version of the video Bob suggested.)

The music is wonderful, of course. Thank you, Mr. Handel! And the performance is wonderfully imaginative and funny. But still . . .

. . . isn't it a little . . .

. . . um, . . . er . . . irreverent?

Bob is way more orthodox than I am, but even so, I find it a little -- just a little -- offensive (let's not say blasphemous) that a celebration of our Savior's resurrection is used as an occasion for some guys to flip cards so that people in the audience will laugh.

It just doesn't feel right, somehow. If I had to pick a popular Youtube version of the Halleluja chorus, I think I'd pick this one, which has been sent to me by two different people in recent days:

Congratulations . . .

. . . to all the new board members of Morningside College.

Special congratulations to one of them

Bad plays, good meals, great friends

Esther and John and Mary Ellen and I saw "The Liar" at the Shakespeare Theater in May (tickets courtesy of Cassie and Roger). It was bad: A farce that wasn't funny, made worse by the fact that many in the audience guffawed every time they heard a rhyme. And since the play was in verse, there were lots of rhymes. People! If you're going to go out in public, grow up! Before the play we ate at a restaurant Esther knew of, Bistro D'oc, across the street from Ford's Theater: A very good 2-course dinner with a glass of wine for less than $25 per person. And lots of laughter and good conversation. All in all, a wonderful outing.

The four of us went to Shepherdstown at the end of July and saw "Breadcrumbs" and "Lidless." They were not bad. But neither were they especially good; the actors were far better than their material. (One of the acting standouts was Eva Kaminsky.) We arrived at mid-day on Sunday, spent the night at the Bavarian Inn, and returned Monday morning. Before the first play, we had a very good, very inexpensive lunch at the Blue Moon Cafe; after the second, a very good, very inexpensive supper at (believe it or not) Tony's Pizza, and next morning a very good, very inexpensive breakfast at, I think, Betty's Restaurant. Lots of laughter and good conversation on the ride out, while schlepping around Shepherdstown, and on the ride back. All in all, a wonderful outing.

Last night we all saw "The Importance of Being Earnest" at H Street Theater. It was bad -- another farce with all the humor drained out of it. Half of the cast had thin voices, made even more difficult to hear/understand by the upper-class British accents they were attempting. Even worse, the men's parts were played by women and the women's roles by men -- a silly gimmick that accomplished nothing except to distract from the story and the funny lines. Before the play we had a delicious, long, liesurely, outdoor dinner at a restaurant John suggested: Montmartre on 7th St. SE, a block from Eastern Market. Lots of laughter and good conversation. All in all, a wonderful outing.

Catherine and Byron

Blessed be the Light that has guided your souls to the threshold of this new day.
Blessed be the Journey you walk as one sharing your love with the world.
Blessed be the Stillness that refreshes your souls and awakens God's Dream in your hearts.
The Shield of the God of Life be yours.
The Compassion of the Loving Christ be yours.
The Wisdom of the Living Spirit be yours.
Now and evermore.

And oh, by the way, ain't she a BEAUTY?!

PS If I were a good Christian, I'd forgive the photographer for that "Creation waits" watermark. As it is, however, . . .

Common -- and not so common

About three dozen people in the United States have the same name I do. Almost as many share my friend John's name. Nothing special about us.

Mary Ellen and Esther, however, are each one of a kind.

Sounds about right to me.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are people with the name Daniel Larkins in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Teacher, hunter, priest

I just stumbled across an article about one of the priests in our parish.

Anniversary

Paul Cioffi, SJ died six years ago today. Here's a memorial (that skips at least as much as it covers).

Forty days

Sunday evening a friend asked:

Were you struck with the contrast between today’s first and third readings at Mass? In Luke, Jesus ascends on Easter evening, while in Acts, he ascends 40 days later. Isn’t that odd? Did Luke forget, when he got to his second work, how he had ended the first one? Or think that his readers (hearers) would forget? Did he not have the earlier work to look back at? Did he not care what he had said before? Or are we to assume he thought of Jesus’ ascending more than once? Perhaps Jesus ascended on Easter, came back from time to time during the next 40 days, and then departed for good (except to appear to Paul some time later)?

It took me two days to come up with a reply, and I'm still not happy with it:

No, the differences between Luke and Acts didn't hit me. I'll blame it on Joey. Its hard to focus on the lectors when he's smiling and cuddling and playing.

It wasn't really his fault, however. The gospel selection didn't mention what day the ascension took place; the only way I would have known (Remembered? No, probably "known.") that it occurred on Easter would be if I had reviewed the context of the reading ahead of time, and I didn't.

As for why Luke would offer two such different accounts, I like your idea that maybe he didn't care what he had said before. (A few moments ago, while looking for something totally unrelated, I came across this quote: "We must constantly remind ourselves that devotion to fact is a relatively modern dimension of human thought..." [H.C. Kee, Jesus in History])

In the gospel [of Jesus Christ], I assume Luke saw no reason to delay Christ's victorious return to the Father's embrace. In Acts [of the Apostles], he realized that the authority of his protagonists would be enhanced by saying that Jesus spent a lengthy period of time with them after his resurrection. In both stories, the (or at least "a") main theological point is the same -- the glorification of the Lord. Differences in detail just weren't important.

Anyway, that's my guess. Thanks for giving me something to think about.

The ongoing scandal(s), 3

At mass last Sunday, our presider spoke movingly about the latest phase of the church's sex scandal. He wished he could hear our reactions to it. I got to wondering: Just what is my reaction? Or, better, what are my reactions?

One: I'm angry that I was lied to when I was growing up. I -- we, everyone in Catholic schools in the '50's and '60's -- was taught that sex "outside of marriage" (and some kinds of sex inside marriage) were "gravely sinful." We now know, however, that bishops, at least some of them, treated sexual sins, when they were committed by their priests, as no big deal: Send the offenders off for some counseling and then ship them out to a new parish and hope for the best. I doubt that the teaching I received affected how I actually lived my life, but whether it did or not, I am angry now when I realize how I was lied to then.

Two: I'm not terribly shocked by the behavior of the bad priests. As I wrote a few days ago, priests are people, and some people are bad. What's to be shocked by?

Three: Despite the behavior of some priests, my respect for priests in general is still very high. Much higher than it probably "should" be. I've certainly run into my share of rude, ignorant, intolerant men in Roman collars, but when I hear "priest," I don't think of those boors. Instead, what comes to mind are people like:

• Richard Leone, OSFS -- an inspiring teacher in high school who came back into my life (thanks be to God) 6 or 8 years later when I was facing the draft.
• Terrence Toland, SJ -- a Dean or VP or something at St. Joseph's who encouraged us to dialog with people of other faiths and to do so with an open mind, "because maybe they're right."
• Dick Forti, OSFS -- a gentle man and a dear friend I didn't do right by; R.I.P.
  
• Tom Cassidy -- a pastor who actually treated his parishioners as if they were intelligent adults.
• Hilary Hayden, OSB -- the only priest I ever knew who could (and did!) put Wittgenstein and Marx into a Sunday homily at a staid suburban church.
  
• Stewart Culkin -- a friend and great preacher who taught me something new every time he climbed into the pulpit and who struggled mightily against those rude, ignorant, intolerant (young) men in Roman collars until the boors finally won, driving him from the ministry. R.I.P.
• Paul Cioffi, SJ -- also a friend and an even greater preacher, if you can imagine that. He was my guru.He taught God's abbondanza love. And taught it and taught it and taught it. And then taught it some more. Rest in peace, Paul.
• Leonard Tuozzolo, CSSp -- warm, funny, welcoming, open-minded, open-hearted, and almost always in trouble with his bishop. "This is the body of Christ! Let all who believe come forward now to receive him." "God has forgiven you for sins you haven't even thought of committing yet."
  

God bless them all -- and all those I'm forgetting.

Gospel readings

Today:

[The disciples] were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, 'Then who can be saved?'
Jesus looked at them and said, 'For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.'

NAB - Mark 10

And last week:

'Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.'

NAB - Mark 10

Sounds to me like Jesus studied at the feet of Paul Cioffi. Or could it have been the other way round?

Correspondence

I received an e-mail yesterday from an old friend. The last few lines made me laugh out loud:

Dear Dan,

I enjoyed your most recent email very much.If memory serves, it came just as I was bout to entrain to Staples Mill Station, Richmond VA on 19 Sept. I had a fine visit with"Teams' friends in their retirement community. Returning after a week I faced some illness but at this point have straightened out pretty well.

The point of this is to see if either of the addresses in my file still works! If so I will gladly respond t greater length on the very interesting topics of your email, as I recall:

Origen's theory of universal salvation;

Your interest in Heraclites the 'up=down' pre-Socratic;

G. M.Hopkins

I'm delighted to learn of the latter interest since he is one of my favorites.

How wide is the range of your thought!

I t                                             looks like myinsert key is dead forever.

disjointedly yours,

Fr. Hilary

--all of the above because you r               e             mail                   va         nished                     from       my       computer