|
|
* * * * * * * * * * The Malachi File Reading quotes attributed to the Vatican recently about the U.S. bishops proposed policy on sexually abusive priests gave me a very strange feeling. I'm not used to agreeing with those Curia types. For example, one anonymous Vatican official was quoted in The New York Times as saying the American bishops, "... have passed from a situation in which they hardly wanted to intervene at all into one in which they want to intervene too much... If zero tolerance means justice, I agree. But more than fulfilling justice, this might be an effort to make the American media happy." Seems to me that, in so many words, that's almost exactly what I've been writing in this space the last couple of months. But enough on that. I'd really like to see the Community of St. Malachi shift its attention to a more constructive approach to the problem, and that is, advocating for a change in the requirements for ordination allowing for the ordination of women and married priests. The Community has a long track record of speaking out forcefully on this issue, but it has been strangely quiet lately. In fact, we seem strangely quiet on a number of things. But this is an area where we can have an impact. This is not a complete solution to the pedophile problem, and it will not bring an end to Church scandals nothing will. But it will bring more numbers to the ranks of the Catholic clergy and this is sorely needed. By virtue of greater numbers, it will be easier to take action on abusive clerics. Overall, it's just the right thing to do. Someone recently pointed out to me that the population of the Community has changed and there are fewer of the activist people who started it and more family oriented young people with conservative views. Let me address myself to those folks for a minute. Take a look at your children and consider that if your boys are called to the priesthood, they face a very lonely lifestyle and the possible stigma of homosexuality (note I'm not saying homosexuals shouldn't be priests, just that the priesthood has developed this stigma see Fr. Donald Cozzens' work). If you have girls who have an authentic call to ministry, forget it. That career choice is absolutely unavailable to them. If you want the best for your kids, and who doesn't, you have to get behind advocating a change in these ordination requirements. Fester, fester, fester. The Bonnie Mar firing continues to fester. We recently learned that she had a tremendous amount of trouble collecting unemployment benefits who was responsible for that? and some of the reasons I've heard for her termination seem straight out of the Twilight Zone. Selling out-of-date merchandise (the Mart has always done that openly and responsibly I recall it once had a very successful sale on out-of-date camera film), and opening the store on the busiest shopping day of the year? Bizarre stuff. I continue to note that the Center leadership has not responded to our invitation to write something for Communio to explain their side of this horrible situation to the Community. In this issue, Bonnie writes a letter to us that she originally headlined, "At Last, A Letter!" Now it is time for the Community Council to ask to see the books since Bonnie's firing and to make them public. Now it is time for the Community Council to ask to see the books since Bonnie's firing and to make them public. How have sales and the resulting contribution to the Center's operations gone since that time, compared to the year prior? What kind of new expenses have been incurred? Is the Center now subsidizing the Mart, rather than the other way around? (The Mart was founded in 1990 as a permanent fund-raising project for the Center see the web site www.stmalachimart.org for more.) The well-being of a project that so many Community members have devoted their time to is our business, regardless of any organization barriers that may have been set up. In any case, as a non-profit operation, this information should be readily available. If the Mart is headed south, we need to know. And unfortunately, I suspect that it is. It's long past time for Council to step up on this issue. Finally, I note that an effort is underway to collect remembrances and anecdotes of Horst Quintus, who died recently. Bring them to either Jacqui Welker at the Mart (Jacqui initiated the project) or to the Rectory. We hope to be able to publish them in Communio when the collection is finished. Thanks to Bonnie Mar, Frank Schiros, CeCe Miller, Mary Carol Lucic, Gary Pritts, Mary Englert and Al and Beth Mancuso for sending in material for this issue. The next Communio will be November 24th with a deadline of November 10th. Dan Alaimo * * * * * A Letter From Bonnie Mar On June 12, 2002, I put on paper my thoughts and feelings about "The Mess at the Mart." Those words came from the Lord working in me, and working in His time, and moving my heart. Thank you, God! Since then, I have composed at least three letters, and now there's finally one ready to send to you! The first thing you should know is that when I'm told to do something I think is wrong, I have a problem shutting my mouth, hanging my head, and doing what I'm told. In my opinion, I was, along with my code of ethics, getting to be too much trouble; I didn't quietly fall in line. And that's why I am no longer the manager of Malachi Mart. This is, of course, just my opinion. I want you to know that I have done nothing to jeopardize my own integrity or that of the Mart. I did not fake the books. I did not steal. I did resist conforming to the dictates of the powers that be when I felt their directives were counter-productive or detrimental to Malachi Mart and/or its ministry. My notable non-conforming act was allowing the sale of outdated goods. In fact, it merited a letter of reprimand. Strangely enough, outdated merchandise is still being sold at the Mart. It has been suggested that I waive confidentiality of my personnel records so that management can openly discuss the particulars of my dismissal. I have decided that I will not waive confidentiality. Many questions have been asked, questions having absolutely nothing to do with my personnel file. And I think there may be more questions, not yet asked or maybe not even thought of yet. In addition, it's time for me to move on, to begin looking to the future. I believe that in God's plan, my removal from the Mart was intended to raise eyebrows, raise interest, raise Cain, and raise awareness that there are concerns that need to be addressed. I believe that in God's plan, my removal from the Mart was intended to raise eyebrows, raise interest, raise Cain, and raise awareness that there are concerns that need to be addressed. I think I continue to serve by encouraging a change of focus, away from the "Bonnie Situation." Rest assured, this does not mean that I am arbitrarily dismissing issues that have directly affected me. And, as to the focus, read on. St. Malachi's is a Christian community strong, united, not to be dismissed when there are issues and concerns such as honesty, openness, fairness, and Christian principles. Speaking for these ideals is speaking against both hidden agendas and authoritarian attitudes and policies. This being said, it is for the Parish and Community to decide on a focus and a course of action. I have come to think of "The Mess at the Mart" as a catalyst, something that precipitates an action or reaction. What do you think? Bonnie Mar * * * * * About Priests And Pedophilia Catholics love to idealize their priests. They expect priests to appear to be all strength and self-actualization, all commitment and serenity. People place them on a pedestal. Priests weren't meant to live on pedestals and when we put them there, we risk having them fall off. Inevitably we'll be disappointed when the pedestal dweller turns out to be human after all. A priest can't fall much further off the pedestal than being accused as a pedophile. As a result, Catholics realize that priests have the same weaknesses as other people and are not infallible. A priest can't fall much further off the pedestal than being accused as a pedophile. To give Catholics their due, they have been exposed and led to this misperception of sinlessness for centuries in the rigidly controlled world of bishops, cardinals and popes. The laity's feelings and desires have been manipulated because it's natural to want to look up to God's representatives as perfect and inviolate. However, they are not perfect. They were born out of mothers' womb, as we all were. How could they be perfect? As in any other calling, I have known wonderful priests, brilliant priests, dumb priests, quirky priests, and to my sorrowful disappointment, priests who were pedophiles. On the other hand, anyone who has been in the company of priests for any length of time must come to realize that they have a vocation of awesome commitment. It is often a lonesome commitment and life journey. Father Thad Rudd, (in "Midlife Irish" by Frank Gannon) one of only 80 to 100 married Roman Catholic priests in the United States, was once told by a bishop that, "The Church frowned on married priests because of the scandal factor." Apparently having sex with a wife carries more risk than sexually abusing children. When asked about the horrible situation with pedophile priests he replied, "almost every priest, if he's honest, knows somebody." He believes there is something about the ministry that produces this and the clergy is a good place for sick people to hide. He believes the big problem with the Catholic Church is neither pedophilia nor celibacy, but the detachment of the hierarchy and a desire "not to rock the boat." Father Rudd believes allowing priests the choice to marry or not marry won't stop child sexual abuse. The proposed policy by bishops and cardinals on how to deal with priests who in fact have been proved guilty of child abuse was born out of panic regarding the possible reactions of Catholics. The conference seemed to not have taken into consideration Christ's saying, "go and sin no more." Admittedly, a pedophile should come under the jurisdiction of civil courts and suffer the consequences, but the hierarchy of cardinals and bishops taking the law into their own hands and covering up such crimes is inexcusable. This aspect of the problem has not been satisfactorily dealt with. The overly righteous should be mindful of another of Christ's sayings, "Let anyone who is without sin, cast the first stone." Every person should have an opportunity to redeem themselves and priest pedophiles should pay the penalty. But like anyone who's been convicted of a crime, the law provides a second chance, and so should the hierarchy. I believe priests who violated their vows should be given a redeeming opportunity to prove under circumstances where temptation does not exist that they can be priests in good standing. And the offending bishops and cardinals should be demoted to parish priests. (Now there's a novel idea!) Frank Schiros * * * * * Lost And Found (This article comes to us from CeCe Miller who was asked by Mary Carol Lucic to send it to us. It first appeared in "Sacred Space Innerspace," a newsletter put out by Sacred Space. For more information go to www.sacredspace.cc. CeCe, Mary Carol, thanks to you both!) I once was lost and now am found, was blind but now I see. "Amazing Grace" I discovered the lost and found box under the last pew on the left side of the church. I was in the third grade and was directed there in search of my lost purse containing a few coins, a rosary, a handkerchief, and a prized roll of Carmellos. I never found the purse or candy, but that first pursuit led to a lifelong fascination with lost and found boxes in churches. Working at parishes for the last 25 years fed my desire to rummage around these numinous receptacles, getting clues about our current societal attractions. Years ago, I would find holy cards, but these have disappeared along with the missals we carried to Mass. Rosaries, however, are still carried and left behind. I find single gloves, baby binkies, toys that reflect the latest giveaway at McDonald's, broken jewelry, eye glasses, crayons and keys. Usually, anything of monetary value is saved in the office for the predictable, hopeful, inquiring calls on Monday morning. This month I revisited the city of my birth and drove by that first parish I attended. I had no need to go into the church to check out the lost and found box; my thoughts and memories have returned me to that treasure trove many times since my childhood, sometimes even emerging in dreams. Of late I am concerned about what the Catholic Church and the people of God have lost and found. The church fathers have found themselves embroiled in a scandal that no longer remains modestly hidden under the last pew on the left side of the church. During a recent trip to Detroit, I saw headlines that were echoed in every newspaper around the country: "... more Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse." Through this national and international disgrace of sexual abuse by priests, deacons and bishops and the persistent cover-up, the leaders of the church have lost credibility, honor and integrity. They have forfeited believability, trust and leadership. In coming forward, many long-silent people of God found speaking out to be the beginning of healing. In coming forward, many long-silent people of God found speaking out to be the beginning of healing. They discovered the knowledge that spirituality comes from within and exists independent of institutions or hierarchies. They found courage, wisdom and strength through revealing their stories and rendering the guilty accountable. They found truth, as influence over evil, is authentic power. This scandal is one of the most staggering the church will ever know. It is not over. The turmoil and dissention will continue. It is a pivotal point in Roman Catholic history. If the hierarchy will look to its "lost and found box," it will find tools for healing its own long ignored hidden dysfunction. The ecclesiastical officials must first admit powerlessness, defects of character, grave injustices, gross neglect of acknowledgment of evil perpetrated on its most vulnerable members, children and adolescents. It could be a wholesome action for churches to form "sacred circles." People could gather and tell their stories openly and without shame. For those working in the church, the job of witnessing people grieve their lost childhood is essential. The power created and experienced in a circle transforms and unites us. In addition, the Catholic church must find the fortitude to amend its existing restrictive, archaic structure. All people of God, especially women, must be found eligible for ordination. This one step alone will create a "power with" instead of a "power over" doctrine. There is infinite grace in seeing what needs to be seen, hearing what needs to be heard and, most importantly, changing what needs to be changed. CeCe Miller (Permission to reprint from Sacred Space.) * * * * * "Unforgiven" And The War On Terrorism Recently I had a chance to again see the movie "Unforgiven" (1992), starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. This powerful and disturbing movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to get it and look for parallels with our current War on Terrorism. The story begins in an 1800s era Western town with a brutal attack on a prostitute a customer slashes her face repeatedly in response to a comment regarding his anatomy. The town sheriff (Gene Hackman) decides that appropriate justice is for the offender (and the offender's friend, who did not participate in the slashing) to provide the brothel's owner a horse for damaging his "property". All of the prostitutes are outraged and advertise a $1000 reward for killing the two offenders. When the Sheriff discovers this, he institutes "gun control" to protect the town all firearms must be turned into the Sheriff's office. The Sheriff brutally beats two would-be assassins who disobey the no-gun order. Is there a parallel with our current War on Terrorism? For example, is there any truth to the report of a massacre of over 100 Taliban by Northern Alliance troops by suffocating them in container trucks? Is it possible that the US is looking the other way regarding this alleged war crime? Have we gone too far at home with denying due process to alleged terrorists? Is a 200 billion-dollar war on Iraq an ethical and moral response? The movie continues as Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and another partner respond to the contract and plan and carry out the assassination of the two young men. This movie is masterful at showing the terror, pain, and suffering involved in the death of just two people. As Americans deciding on whether or not to wage war with Iraq, this film can help us understand the emotional realities of killing. The Sheriff captures Morgan Freeman, interrogates him, kills him, and puts his corpse on public display to demonstrate the town's commitment to justice. Clint Eastwood outraged at this treatment of his good friend, responds by single-handedly orchestrating a bloodbath, killing the sheriff and others involved in the "war on assassination." Once again, we see a parallel with our War on Terrorism. Our borders are too porous, our country too vast, our targets too numerous for us to successfully defend ourselves from acts of terror far more destructive than those of 9/11. How long will it be before the furor of our enemies results in a bloodbath far worse than the first? Will it be an attack on a nuclear plant, biological warfare, or poisoning of our food supply? Do we think we can protect ourselves from all possible threats? Have we forgotten the example of the cross? Finally, let's discuss our own role. In that final shootout, the prostitutes watched in horror at the unintended result of their "unforgiveness" of their attackers. We, the American people, have in large numbers supported our government's War on Terrorism. It is such an easy response and the example of Jesus is so difficult to follow. Have we forgotten the example of the cross? Jesus chose to submit to death rather than fight his enemies. What culpability do we, as Americans, have for our "unforgiveness" toward our enemies? Gary Pritts (Gary is a long time Community member and a past President of the Community Council.) (Gary is a long time Community member and a past President of the Community Council.) (Gary is a long time Community member and a past President of the Community Council.) (Gary is a long time Community member and a past President of the Community Council.) * * * * * Victory Of The Loud Little Handful (This was sent to us by Mary Englert who tells us that it was sent to her "and a lot of others by Charles Murray, Associate Director of the Diocesan Commission on Catholic Community Action. A check of his address lineup shows it was sent to him, and many others, by Tim Musser, a Cleveland social activist for many years." Thanks, Mary!) The loud little handful as usual will shout for the war. The pulpit will warily and cautiously object... at first. The great, big, dull bulk of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes and try to make out why there should be a war, and will say, earnestly and indignantly, "It is unjust and dishonorable, and there is no necessity for it." Then the handful will shout louder. A few fair men on the other side will argue and reason against the war with speech and pen, and at first will have a hearing and be applauded, but it will not last long; those others will outshout them, and presently the antiwar audiences will thin out and lose popularity. Before long, you will see this curious thing: the speakers stoned from the platform, and free speech strangled by hordes of furious men... Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception. Mark Twain (From "The Mysterious Stranger," published in 1910.) * * * * * Vibrant Parish Life Signs of Vibrant Parish Life have been popping up all over the place these past several months literally. In order to raise awareness about Bishop Pilla's Vibrant Parish Life (VPL) initiative the Vibrant Parish Life Coordinating Committee has created a sign that has been posted at each entrance to the church and hung from the choir loft. The sign, the VPL logo encircled by St. Malachi Parish and The Community of St. Malachi, was created to get people to ask the question, "What is Vibrant Parish Life?" The question is to be answered on two levels. First, what is the VPL initiative? Second, simply what is vibrant parish life? What marks a parish as vibrant? While I can talk some about the first question the second question is one we will need to talk to each other about and answer together. In regards to the first question, the VPL initiative was introduced in February of this year in a pastoral letter from Bishop Pilla after several years of hard work by many people throughout the diocese. In the letter the Bishop offers a vision of vibrant parish life and discusses the core convictions he has regarding how to best proceed in the process of discernment that is at the heart of the VPL process. I encourage everyone to take the time to read the Bishop's letter and reflect on it. If you haven't picked up a copy at church, you can read the full text online at the VPL links on the Parish and Community homepages at www.stmalachi.org. The VPL process is comprised of three parts:
Currently the focus of the VPL Coordinating Committee is on catechesis and self-study. We want to raise awareness about VPL and we want to, as best we can, assess our strengths, our weaknesses and our desires, those things we want to create at St. Malachi's that will enhance our vibrancy. We are blessed in that at St. Malachi's there are two parishes that are already moving toward collaboration and the two parishes have already done a fair amount of self-study as part of its "Rejoice and Renew: St. Malachi Looks to the Future" initiative. The VPL Coordinating Committee would now like to invite everyone to contribute to validating what's been learned through that effort by filling out a questionnaire at mass the weekend of the Feast of St. Malachi, November 2-3. Filling out the questionnaire will stand in place of the homily - what better way to celebrate our patron saint than by taking the time to speak our minds about how we feel about what we do at St. Malachi's. We are looking to hear from as many people as we can - young and old, founders and new members, Parish and Community. In this, everyone's opinion matters .We are looking to hear from as many people as we can - young and old, founders and new members, Parish and Community. In this, everyone's opinion matters. The information gleaned from the survey will help us decide how to move forward. The goal is to establish and nurture collaborative relationships with other parishes in our area so that we may better serve those in need. We look forward to hearing from you. Luis Gutierrez (Luis serves on the Vibrant Parish Life Coordinating Committee and has been charged with processing the surveys you will be filling out. He is of course looking for people to help. If you have a computer and access to the internet and would like to perform an important service for your church, please call him at (216) 226-7726 or e-mail him at redcuban@yahoo.com.)Catholics Growing Up (This article from Frank Schiros comes with this introduction: "The following essay is the result of a thoughtful conversation with my daughter, Rachel. Rachel is studying European History with regard to the Reformation. She pointed out that throughout history, many loyal Catholics wanted major reforms. She passed along to me a copy of text regarding the "prince of humanists," Desiderius Erasmus, one of the most famous of northern humanists of that era. He was critical of the dogmatic, ceremonial and factious religious practices of the Church. This did not please the church authorities and at one time, all of his works were placed on the "Index of Forbidden Works." Still, Erasmus's writings became the basic tools of reform in the hands of both Catholic and Protestant reformers. The emphasis of my essay is that like Erasmus, Catholics need to bring to bear some adult critical faculties on the modern day practices of the Church and grow up." Thanks, Frank!) We can draw parallels between the past endeavors of the Church and its immigrant parishioners and the modern day responsibilities of parents to their children. In the past, clergy had a singularly privileged status because their knowledge, education and vocation provided for the needs for incoming immigrant populations. Schools, colleges, hospitals, jobs and political wherewithal were generated that helped countless Roman Catholics to gain respectability and become integrated into the "American dream." There is no question that without the Church, Catholics could not have made the immense strides of progress in this century. Catholics were as children to the clergy and their parenting helped us get where we are today. They made most of the important decisions. When a priest said jump, you jumped, but that is not necessarily so today. Parents today have similar responsibilities towards their children to achieve the "American dream." The parents, as the Church also does, help children learn appropriate values. However, they also teach and encourage them to think independently, acquire knowledge and make them realize that they have a vested interest in their heritage because one day it will be theirs. Implicit in this process of good parenting is the idea that children become adults. That is as it should be. Intelligent parents will also understand that developmental changes bring on a desire for independence. They can expect a greater desire for personal knowledge, for setting their own adult expectations, for creating their own value system, and the ability to think critically not through their parents minds but using their own. They also will question established values and traditions, and assert their right as young adults to change illogical rules that no longer fit their newly acquired adult status. However, when we consider the shepherding process of youth to adulthood by both Church and parents we see that the objectives begin to diverge. Parents work to bring their children to independent adulthood, but the Church seems to encourage an extended dependent childhood. It often seems to discourage logical thinking or to providing input into developing a value system or, as Erasmus did, to using their critical faculties to challenge the ceremonial, dogmatic and factious practices of the Church. At some point in time, in spite of youthful experiences and conditioning, intelligent and adult Catholics must re-evaluate contemporary reality and ask, "How can we one day come into our vested heritage and provide meaningful input into the future direction of the Church?" Catholics have become more prosperous, well educated, knowledgeable, politically astute and upwardly mobile. They have moved to the suburbs and can hold their own in the societal, academic and philosophical arenas. In studying reality through an adult mentality, we can't turn a blind eye to the fact that all is not well with the Church. I often wonder why the Church hasn't encouraged Catholics to develop into an adult stage where they can contribute to the growth and future and direction of the Church, just as any conscientious parent would encourage their children to do so in the secular culture. I suspect we are still being treated as children of the clergy. Most Catholics use contraception, but naughty, naughty we're not being good. A great many Catholics believe there should be an alternative to celibacy (not pedophilia), but naughty, naughty don't think about it. Women in this country have achieved equal status and many Catholics believe women as priests could serve God as well as any man, and maybe better, but naughty, naughty not over our dead clerical bodies. Divorce has been determined in equitable ways in other denominations so that members may continue to practice their religion in good standing, but naughty, naughty once a Catholic doesn't mean always a Catholic so don't come to the altar for Eucharist. The clamor for married priests grows louder as the need for priests becomes more demanding, but naughty, naughty how can a priest raise children, make love with his wife and still be a good shepherd. The naughty, naughty list goes on and on. What happened to the post Vatican II promise of collegiality and the implication that "the people are the Church?" Admittedly, with the support of the Catholic Church, Catholics in this country have come into their own, but what happened to the post Vatican II promise of collegiality and the implication that "the people are the Church?" Does it mean that Catholic laity have not yet matured enough to share ownership of their Church? Does it mean that Catholics leave their brains at the church door and can't yet make responsible decisions and perceptions? Does it mean that a power struggle is ensuing and the clergy resists sharing Church ownership? How much more knowledgeable and independent must American Catholics become before their decision-making maturity is acknowledged? An important factor to emphasize is that Biblical dogma, in most cases, is not being challenged but how the Church interprets that dogma. There are ominous cracks in the foundation that Christ built and it is up to the laity to shore up this mystical foundation and re-evaluate their contemporary role in the Church. Frank Schiros (Frank suggests people read Gary Wills' "Why I Am A Catholic.") * * * * * Letters From The Mancusos (We've received two more letters from the Mancusos, who with the support of both the Parish and the Community, and with their young daughter Rachel in tow, are training for missionary work in Latin America. You can read their first letter by going to www.stmalachi.org and clicking on the Communio archives; the letter appears in the September, 2002 issue. Al, Beth, Rachel we're keeping you in our prayers!) 22 September 2002 Dear All, As we enter our 4th week of training, there is much to tell you. A few people wanted more info about our house and housemates. The older 3-story home has 10 bedrooms. Our rooms are on the 3rd floor. Rachel has her own room. We have a balcony with a hammock outside our room. Rachel and Beth enjoy time there. It is the perfect position for feeding and shared napping. We all share in cleaning the house. We each are given a section to be in charge of. We also share in dinner prep for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We have signed up with alternating partners. This works well because we get to know another housemate in a one-on-one setting as well as share the workload (prep and clean up). One person per week signs up to do the grocery shopping for the week. We have been eating surprisingly well. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits as well as creative works from the kitchen. Rachel has not found much to complain about on the food front. There are 2 house managers, a married couple, Patricia and John. They are very helpful and friendly. They take care of the major house things. Patricia is a French and Spanish teacher. She is giving Al and I a lesson 2 days a week for an hour each lesson. Someone asked for more details about the other prospective missioners. Sr. Anna and Sr. Sophia are Franciscan sisters who are preparing to go to Haiti. Anna is from Germany and Sophia is from India, but both have spent several months in Springfield, Illinois. They have also already spent 2 months in Haiti, before coming to the training. Diana is from California, but has spent the past 2 years in El Salvador unsupported by any formal mission program. She began a couple of programs there for women and children. She has accomplished much since she graduated college the same year as Beth. She wants to return to El Salvador. Michael is from Pittsburgh and is almost Al's age. He was a social worker there and wants to work in Jamaica. No major personality sparring as of yet, but we will keep you posted. We are still in the honeymoon stage of community life. Most recently, our program has been concentrating on culture and culture shock, journaling, prayer and church doctrine, St. Francis, and Spanish. On the side, I have been reading about "Just Language" or the underlying oppression in our language; "Parenting for Peace and Justice" as we don't have a specific class on this; "The Spiral of Violence" because it looked interesting, and 2 books on health, one specifically for children. It is a bit overwhelming, but I know we will look back on this time and wish that we would have read just a little bit more and prepared ourselves just a little bit better. It seems that one never prepares quite enough. We just don't know exactly how we will react in a new environment. Therefore we cannot prepare adequately for the unknown. Learning Spanish is very frustrating for me and very easy for Al. That makes it even more frustrating for me because he makes it look so easy and I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. It will come in time, but it is slow going. It is a bit overwhelming, but I know we will look back on this time and wish that we would have read just a little bit more and prepared ourselves just a little bit better. On Wednesdays we go to our volunteer site to work with the old folks (that is not "just language," but since I haven't finished reading the book yet, I don't have to use it yet). The previous Wednesdays have been pretty blah because they really did not have enough for us to do and the residents were not too interested in visiting with us. But this past Wednesday, Al did "phone ministry" which is basically calling older folks on the phone who just want to have someone to talk to. Well, since Al loves to talk on the phone, it is right up his alley. I worked in the garden, which was more than fine with me. Then in the afternoon we visited Mrs. P in her home because she doesn't get out too much. She talked to us for 2 1/2 hours straight. I think Al and I said a total of 5 sentences. She had some story to tell. This Wednesday we are going to visit 2 more folks in their homes. It was nice to finally connect with a person and be present for them. Rachel loved looking at all the new things she couldn't touch at Mrs. P's. Rachel has been doing fine at childcare. She doesn't stop moving there just like she doesn't stop here. She gives an Emmy award-winning performance when we drop her off, but she is content by the time we're down the front steps. She just likes to make a show of tears before we leave. And when we pick her up, she may be playing contentedly, but as soon as she sees us, she gives a cry as if to say, "I was not having fun, I was just biding my time until you came back. I missed you." Of course, we miss her too. She can now tell us what a dog says ("woof," although very quietly). She calls a swing a "wee." She also does a very convincing birdcall that sounds like "aa-aa." Rachel is also a very proficient waver. On September 11, we went to an interfaith prayer service. The following Saturday, we went to visit a mosque. Both were very educational experiences. There are wonderful people at both. Now we have this war with Iraq to pray about. It will never end at this rate. Pray for peace. The last letter forgot to mention Rachel's 1st birthday was Sept. 5. She shared her cake with us and got some wonderful gifts and sentiments for which we are very thankful. Diana, a housemate, said that on her birthday, her mother always told her the story of her birth. I like that idea and we are going to try and do it for Rachel. I'm sure that Al will romanticize the story a little more each year. By the time we he tells it on her 18th birthday it will probably sound more like she came down a slide and landed on the delivery room floor. We found out more about our possible placements in January. In Mexico, it is an orphanage/shelter for up to 24 children. We would be the house parents and live in an apartment off of the house. We would have hours on and off the clock. The children are there by choice, not sent there by the courts. It sounds interesting and challenging. In Bolivia, there is an established Pre-Cana program and also a childcare facility to be run. The pastor wants to set up a Parents' School, but they were not specific as to what that meant. I would assume classes on discipline, nutrition, finances, job skills and the like. There are also programs for the elderly and the mentally handicapped. Al also may have the opportunity to utilize his culinary skills. We would live in an apartment above a store. There would be another missioner there from our program staying in the area as well as a community of Franciscans nearby. The couple that is doing what would be our job now, also have a little girl, so we are trying to get as much specific info from them as we can. We appreciate all your support and prayers. We are barely into the preparation, but we are already beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of a task we are undertaking. Please continue to pray for us, as we will for you. Love to you all, Beth, Al, and Rachel (woof!) P.S. For the most recent picture of Rachel go to www.vw.com/radio/photos and enter 30141-963 or 30142-9918 or 30140-2918. All 3 should be photos of Rachel taken this past Saturday. 8 October 2002 Dear All, Well, it's that time again. We just left New York City where we stayed the weekend and celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi at All Saints Franciscan Parish in Harlem. It was built in 1879 by Irish immigrants. Currently, we are writing update #3 from Maryknoll, New York. We are on a collaborative formation week retreat with three other overseas missionary groups, Maryknoll, Scarboro (Canada), and Society of African Missionaries. The retreat started Sunday night so we really don't have much to say about it as of yet, and we thought we would save that and the weekend in New York for the next update. Anyway... Many things have happened since the last update, and we're not exactly sure where to start, so here we go. I guess we should start off by telling you about Rachel. She is doing wonderful. She is getting along so well with her babysitter. She has not cried for the past couple of weeks when we've dropped her off or picked her up. She has done exceptionally well acclimating herself to this new environment. We are so proud of her. Thank you all for your prayerful support which we believe was very important in her "turning the corner." Of course, that's not the only wonderful thing Rachel has done. She had her thirteen-month birthday. Beth taught her the "American sign" for milk which she now uses regularly when she is thirsty. She can now say woof, bye-bye, wow, daddy, mama, papa, and uh-oh! We are so proud of her. Thank you all for your prayerful support which we believe was very important in her "turning the corner." Rachel and I spent a long Saturday morning and early afternoon biking down to the F.D.R. Memorial and other monuments. We had so much fun playing on the "mall." It is such a joy and blessing to have a child. These times are ones that I will cherish my whole life. Rachel had it made. She sat back in her trailer and relaxed while I biked up the never-ending hills of the District. One of the biggest changes/challenges occurred about ten days ago when Michael discerned that mission work, more specifically F.M.S. [Franciscan Missionary Service], was not for him now. It was initially quite a shock. We lived, ate, prayed, laughed, cried, etc. with this man for a month, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone. This may seem melodramatic, but it was a definite adjustment for us. Michael and I went out later and discussed in more detail why he was leaving. He made it clear to me that it wasn't anything in particular about F.M.S., but rather it was that overseas mission was not for him, now. And he stressed to me, now! It then hit me that I will not only be the only extrovert left in the group, but I will be the only guy. With this new development in community, I started to feel a bit stressed. To top all this off and to make matters more challenging, our workshop the next morning was on "Feminist Theology." Michael was quick to point out that even so, "You still have Rachel and Beth." I nodded my head in agreement. The next day came around, and we went to the feminist theology workshop. After it was all said and done, it turned out to be a very informative and fulfilling workshop. I really enjoyed it. Later on that evening, I started to feel a bit trapped. I was the only male. What was I going to do? I retreated to our room. Shortly thereafter, Beth came to the room. We sat down and talked about my issue. It was a great conversation. Beth put my mind at ease. She said. "What is different about the other women now [as compared to] yesterday?" "Nothing," I replied. Simple words and questions work wonders. Some of the other topics we have had are "History of Mission in the Catholic Church," an on-going country study of our prospective sites, and Scripture study, amongst other topics. One workshop we did not mention was "Non-Violence/Conflict Resolution." We were given some great tools to utilize when a conflict arises between us, our work, our friends, etc. The workshop went on to show us that what we think are the facts are actually our judgments. The speaker said, "one of the things we should do when someone is expressing concern or displeasure about a particular situation is to restate in our own words the problem. The next step is to ask for positive affirmation regarding your statement." These steps can be of great assistance. A week ago Sunday, we all went down to a peace rally and march from DuPont Circle to Vice President Dick Cheney's house to protest the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. A week ago Sunday, we all went down to a peace rally and march from DuPont Circle to Vice President Dick Cheney's house to protest the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. It was amazing the turn out. I wasn't going to go, but the priest at mass that day said something that stuck with me. He said, "It's not enough to say you support something; you should put your words into action." So, that is what I did. I headed down to the march in hopes I would find Beth, Rachel, and the rest of their group. I did find them at the very end of the peace rally/march. It was an amazing event. The Tuesday after that, I received a call from Dennis Kucinich's office in D.C. He wanted to meet the family. We discussed a variety of things with the most important being what more are we going to do for Peace. Congressman Kucinich has been a leader of peace on the Hill. He was very gracious and helpful. Well that's all from D.C. for now. Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers. We are just about at the halfway point in our training/discernment. All of you are in our prayers. Oh, please keep in mind Beth's family as it is harvest season in Northern Maine and the family is working hard. Pray that they will be safe and that the harvest is bountiful. Love, Rachel, Beth, & AL * * * * * Padre Franco The Bell Ringer (Padre Franco derives the title for this column, and for his monastery, from the movie "Cinema Paradiso," where the village priest was the local censor. Whenever he found objectionable parts in a film, he would ring his bell and the projectionist would cut the scene out. While the Padre is a little like the priest in the movie, ringing a bell with his words, he takes some license with the concept in rating the films, using a scale of one to five bells - the more bells, the better he liked the picture. Padre Franco would like to remind everyone that the Monasterio de la Cinema Paradiso is open to anyone with a passion for movies who cares to share their reflections with the larger Community. Men, women, and teens are encouraged to join us. Popcorn will be provided.) Moonlight Mile %%I seldom enter a theater without reasonable expectations when I am about to view a movie with a good cast. But despite all the expert acting that went into "Moonlight Mile," I came out of the theater in a rare mood of irritation. This movie portrays a bizarre expression of grief for the death of a beloved daughter as if it were a prime time TV situation comedy. It is an inept and artificial examination of grief. Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal), the fiancé, comes to town for what seems to be preparation for a wedding with a couple's daughter. Before anything transpires, the bride to be happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a nut case shoots and injures his own wife, while killing the daughter. After the funeral, a series of surreal scenes take place where the bereaved family treats the occasion as just an irritating blip on their everyday routine as they prepare to get on with their lives. After the post-funeral gathering, we find the mother, JoJo (Susan Sarandon) complaining of writer's block and burning gift books on grief management in the fire. She invites her daughter's friends to come and pick out any clothes in the daughter's room, and they descend on the bedroom like a band of vultures. The girl friends hit on the fiancé, and get him to go to a bar with them, where, with just a very small show of sorrow, he almost immediately starts a romance with the barmaid. The father, Ben, (Dustin Hoffman) with no outward show of remorse focuses on getting back to his real estate deals and includes his might-have-been son-in-law in his plans. Apparently, Joe had no plans of his own. Joe is required to stay in town for the prosecution of the killer and the parents take him in to wait it out. In the meantime, the romance with the barmaid progresses to a point where he can drown his grief in a standard bedroom scene with the barmaid. I often wonder if directors and producers have any statistical knowledge about American social behaviors proving that typical middle-class romances usually end up in premarital sex, or if they are trying to convince us that premarital sex is okay. The characters are not well developed and the actors seem like cutouts going through the motions of bereavement. Whatever the case, JoJo overcomes her writer's block, Ben changes his work profile, Joe proceeds with his romance, the injured wife forgives her husband, and the daughter is comfortably buried in the cemetery. A closing observation: at the showing I attended, three couples refused the sheer agony of sitting through the movie and walked out. I hope they hadn't tragically and unexpectedly lost a loved one in a similar manner. Padre Franco Tuck Everlasting %%% 1/2A former teaching associate of mine used to have a sign on his classroom door "I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good fantasy." "Tuck Everlasting" is a good gentle fantasy taken from Natalie Babbitt's 1975 children's novel. Two sons of a family locked deep in the tranquillity of a primal forest have just come back from a 10-year journey to France. The family shuns outside social contact and only occasionally goes to town for necessities. In contrast, another family, also confined, but wealthy, have a daughter, Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledil), who wishes to break free of her dull life. This family is also surrounded by the forest, but they own it and have never traversed its beauty so are unaware of the other forest family. When the daughter is told she must go away to a rigidly controlled finishing school, she rebels and runs into the forest where she is promptly lost. She's found by Jesse (Jonathan Jackson) who brings her back to his family's cabin. Against the misgivings of the family and the dissent of Miles (Scott Bairstow), she remains for a time and experiences the joy of living. She is still unaware of the family secret. When the son tells her he drank from a fountain of youth and that he's 104 years old, she doesn't believe him. Just as in "Jack in the Beanstalk" and "Little Red Riding Hood," there always has to be a bad guy you can tell because he's in a big black hat and yellow suit (Ben Kingsley) who appears in search of the family and its secret of everlasting life. Although the bad guy is foiled by May and Angus Tuck (Sissy Spacek and William Hurt), Winnie must choose between drinking from the fountain of everlasting life or living a life that ends in death. Ponce De Leon put a lot of energy into seeking the Fountain of Youth just like the bad guy and I suspect a lot of us old geezers would look for it too if we had a chance without stopping to ponder on what really characterizes an abundant life. The original story is stretched a little too long, but it contains some hefty thematic material on time, death, eternity and what is needed to live a rich and full life. However, a critic wrote, "there has to be some advantage to never growing old and able to, at a 104 years old, still hit on a beautiful 15 year old." "Tuck Everlasting" is from Disney and is a non-threatening family movie. Padre Franco * * * * * Online Primer: Goodbye 'Free' As many of us have learned the hard way, free services are disappearing rapidly from the internet. Free web site-based e-mail services remain, along with news, search engines, entertainment options like games, and inspirational sites. But free internet service providers are almost entirely gone, mail forwarding services like Bigfoot have cut back drastically on what they once promised to provide permanently, and e-mail web sites have curtailed the services and storage they offer. I once used and recommended Bigfoot; now I do neither. It's unreliable and they want to charge you for anything besides minimal usage. What to do? Not much, I'm afraid, although there are a number of low-cost options still available. For instance, Juno, NCCW and others will still provide internet services for under $10 a month, and even AT&T one of the best offers 150 hours for about $16, which is about all anyone who uses the internet casually needs. I still find few good reasons to pay $23 a month for America Online. It's way overpriced and the extra services it provides aren't worth it. Plus, while its e-mail function is designed for beginners, you outgrow it fast. About the only ones who should use it, in my opinion, are those who are very incapable of using any other service, or those who have had it a long time and have given that e-mail address out to a lot of people. Some with young families might also find it easy to deal with. But once you get involved in AOL, and give out that address, it's hard to get free of it. The best thing is to never get caught in the AOL trap. You may not know this, but the popular Instant Messenger program is available free and you don't have to subscribe to AOL to use it. High-speed services are another matter. As I find the $50 a month price too high, I haven't explored them much. But if you have that in your household budget to spend, people who have it tell me it is very worthwhile. I invite someone knowledgeable to write a tutorial on high-speed services in the Cleveland area for Communio. Meanwhile, Yahoo continues to make a wealth of free information, entertainment and other services available. Their e-mail is one of the best out there for free. Beware of using Hotmail as it tends to be one of the worst for spam, or junk e-mail. I keep a Hotmail account just for the purpose of giving it out to companies I don't entirely trust to keep their lists private. After several years, I receive about 100 junk e-mails a day into that account, more on Saturdays when the spammers have more time to devote to their "trade." I keep it up as a matter of curiosity to get that much spam in a day is astounding. Here's a tip on a good free program you may not have heard of: Atomica offers a very handy look up service (www.atomica.com). While online, point your mouse at a word and left click on it while holding down the Alt key, and Atomica pops up with definitions, addresses, information about towns and cities, even the locations of area codes. You have to download and install the program, which is free to individual users, but I find it very worthwhile. Definitely don't skimp on virus protection. Get either McAfee or Norton and keep it updated at least on a monthly basis. Also use the Microsoft Windows update site (access it from the Tools menu). You can sign up to be notified when there are new updates. These also help protect you from viruses. Hoaxes continue to proliferate. Some of us were victimized by one recently attributing a quote to Shakespeare. As savvy as we have become in spotting these things, it got right by us, and we even ran it in Communio. The quote sounded good, but trouble is, Shakespeare never wrote it it was a hoax. Our apologies if we helped promulgate it. But to repeat some oft-told advice, never forward virus warnings and always try to check out the source of "anonymous" messages you receive. Try to give credit where credit is due. Meanwhile, don't open attachments you aren't expecting, no matter who they are from, and if you use e-mail on a very limited basis, consider using a web-site based service even one from an established provider as many of the more troublesome e-mail viruses mostly affect Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. If you do use one of these, turn off the preview screen, as there are some viruses that can be activated just by being previewed. Besides, I've found I don't miss it much anyway and you may feel the same way. A note on hardware, unless you use your computer for graphics intensive applications, you probably don't need all the power in the newest machines. If you can get a good deal on last year's model, go for it, as it will do just fine for internet browsing, e-mail, word processing and any number of other common uses. Dan Alaimo * * * * * Community News Council Meeting Highlights (Community Council met on October 6, 2002 at St. Malachi Center.) Pastor's Report: Both the women's and men's "We Are the Church" retreats scheduled for the Fall have been canceled. We have received preliminary approval from the City Landmarks for dealing with the deterioration of the steps to the old church, along the lines described last month (i.e. removing the steps, cutting down the retaining wall to a lower level like the one in front of the rectory & landscaping the hill, also like what is done in front of the rectory). The current "ballpark" estimate is "around" $40,000. Because this is a potential safety issue, Fr. Tony feels there is a need to move ahead with this project this fall. St. Malachi Center is again selling "Entertainment 2003" books for the whole of Greater Cleveland filled with 2-1 and 50% off discounts at many area restaurants & stores. Cost is $25 until December; $30 thereafter. RCIA Update: For the first time, we have a person from St. Wendelin attending RCIA, which extends our collaboration to five parishes. Please continue to pray for all who have begun the RCIA Journey of Faith including those from the Parish, the Community, St. Patrick & St. Colman. Upcoming Benefits: October 25: "Blueprints, Making a House a Home" Annual Malachi House Benefit at Renaissance Hotel, 6:30-11 PM, $125. Vibrant Parish Life: The VPL Coordinating Committee is working out the details for a survey to be conducted at masses the weekend of the Feast of St. Malachi, Nov.2-3. Luis Gutierrez has been assigned the task of having the completed forms processed. He is looking for people to help; if you're interested in performing this very important service, call him at (216) 226-7726 or e-mail him at redcuban@yahoo.com. The survey will supplement the information gathered as a part of "Rejoice and Renew: St. Malachi Looks to the Future." Council Goals: Council discussed the four outlined goals for the 2002 2003 year:
A fifth goal is to be added; it is to express willingness on the part of the Council to listen to all the voices of our community, young and old, founders and new members. Personnel Evaluations: Council needs to analyze our procedures (or lack thereof) concerning staff hired by both the Community and the Parish. Council needs to evaluate what current practices are and what the evaluation process needs to be per our handbook. Fall Welcome Series: Fall Welcome Series will be Tuesday, Nov. 5, Sunday, Nov. 10, and Tuesday, Nov. 12. Nov. 5ths meeting will focus on Christian Formation, Council President and Liturgy Chair. Nov. 10th meeting will be CSM Ministries and Communications. Nov. 12th is Finance, Social Action, Hospitality, Membership. Council Retreat: The retreat will be held from 9:30am to 4:30pm at the Jesuit Retreat House.(Council Meeting Highlights were put together by Luis Gutierrez from minutes taken by Joe Pulizzi. Luis and Joe, along with Mike May, co-chair the Communications Committee.) * * * * * Dear All, As we enter our 4th week of training, there is much to tell you. A few people wanted more info about our house and housemates. The older 3-story home has 10 bedrooms. Our rooms are on the 3rd floor. Rachel has her own room. We have a balcony with a hammock outside our room. Rachel and Beth enjoy time there. It is the perfect position for feeding and shared napping. We all share in cleaning the house. We each are given a section to be in charge of. We also share in dinner prep for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We have signed up with alternating partners. This works well because we get to know another housemate in a one-on-one setting as well as share the workload (prep and clean up). One person per week signs up to do the grocery shopping for the week. We have been eating surprisingly well. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits as well as creative works from the kitchen. Rachel has not found much to complain about on the food front. There are 2 house managers, a married couple, Patricia and John. They are very helpful and friendly. They take care of the major house things. Patricia is a French and Spanish teacher. She is giving Al and I a lesson 2 days a week for an hour each lesson. Someone asked for more details about the other prospective missioners. Sr. Anna and Sr. Sophia are Franciscan sisters who are preparing to go to Haiti. Anna is from Germany and Sophia is from India, but both have spent several months in Springfield, Illinois. They have also already spent 2 months in Haiti, before coming to the training. Diana is from California, but has spent the past 2 years in El Salvador unsupported by any formal mission program. She began a couple of programs there for women and children. She has accomplished much since she graduated college the same year as Beth. She wants to return to El Salvador. Michael is from Pittsburgh and is almost Al's age. He was a social worker there and wants to work in Jamaica. No major personality sparring as of yet, but we will keep you posted. We are still in the honeymoon stage of community life. Most recently, our program has been concentrating on culture and culture shock, journaling, prayer and church doctrine, St. Francis, and Spanish. On the side, I have been reading about "Just Language" or the underlying oppression in our language; "Parenting for Peace and Justice" as we don't have a specific class on this; "The Spiral of Violence" because it looked interesting, and 2 books on health, one specifically for children. It is a bit overwhelming, but I know we will look back on this time and wish that we would have read just a little bit more and prepared ourselves just a little bit better. It seems that one never prepares quite enough. We just don't know exactly how we will react in a new environment. Therefore we cannot prepare adequately for the unknown. Learning Spanish is very frustrating for me and very easy for Al. That makes it even more frustrating for me because he makes it look so easy and I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. It will come in time, but it is slow going. It is a bit overwhelming, but I know we will look back on this time and wish that we would have read just a little bit more and prepared ourselves just a little bit better. On Wednesdays we go to our volunteer site to work with the old folks (that is not "just language," but since I haven't finished reading the book yet, I don't have to use it yet). The previous Wednesdays have been pretty blah because they really did not have enough for us to do and the residents were not too interested in visiting with us. But this past Wednesday, Al did "phone ministry" which is basically calling older folks on the phone who just want to have someone to talk to. Well, since Al loves to talk on the phone, it is right up his alley. I worked in the garden, which was more than fine with me. Then in the afternoon we visited Mrs. P in her home because she doesn't get out too much. She talked to us for 2 1/2 hours straight. I think Al and I said a total of 5 sentences. She had some story to tell. This Wednesday we are going to visit 2 more folks in their homes. It was nice to finally connect with a person and be present for them. Rachel loved looking at all the new things she couldn't touch at Mrs. P's. Rachel has been doing fine at childcare. She doesn't stop moving there just like she doesn't stop here. She gives an Emmy award-winning performance when we drop her off, but she is content by the time we're down the front steps. She just likes to make a show of tears before we leave. And when we pick her up, she may be playing contentedly, but as soon as she sees us, she gives a cry as if to say, "I was not having fun, I was just biding my time until you came back. I missed you." Of course, we miss her too. She can now tell us what a dog says ("woof," although very quietly). She calls a swing a "wee." She also does a very convincing birdcall that sounds like "aa-aa." Rachel is also a very proficient waver. On September 11, we went to an interfaith prayer service. The following Saturday, we went to visit a mosque. Both were very educational experiences. There are wonderful people at both. Now we have this war with Iraq to pray about. It will never end at this rate. Pray for peace. The last letter forgot to mention Rachel's 1st birthday was Sept. 5. She shared her cake with us and got some wonderful gifts and sentiments for which we are very thankful. Diana, a housemate, said that on her birthday, her mother always told her the story of her birth. I like that idea and we are going to try and do it for Rachel. I'm sure that Al will romanticize the story a little more each year. By the time we he tells it on her 18th birthday it will probably sound more like she came down a slide and landed on the delivery room floor. We found out more about our possible placements in January. In Mexico, it is an orphanage/shelter for up to 24 children. We would be the house parents and live in an apartment off of the house. We would have hours on and off the clock. The children are there by choice, not sent there by the courts. It sounds interesting and challenging. In Bolivia, there is an established Pre-Cana program and also a childcare facility to be run. The pastor wants to set up a Parents' School, but they were not specific as to what that meant. I would assume classes on discipline, nutrition, finances, job skills and the like. There are also programs for the elderly and the mentally handicapped. Al also may have the opportunity to utilize his culinary skills. We would live in an apartment above a store. There would be another missioner there from our program staying in the area as well as a community of Franciscans nearby. The couple that is doing what would be our job now, also have a little girl, so we are trying to get as much specific info from them as we can. We appreciate all your support and prayers. We are barely into the preparation, but we are already beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of a task we are undertaking. Please continue to pray for us, as we will for you. Love to you all, Beth, Al, and Rachel (woof!) P.S. For the most recent picture of Rachel go to www.vw.com/radio/photos and enter 30141-963 or 30142-9918 or 30140-2918. All 3 should be photos of Rachel taken this past Saturday. 8 October 2002 Dear All, Well, it's that time again. We just left New York City where we stayed the weekend and celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi at All Saints Franciscan Parish in Harlem. It was built in 1879 by Irish immigrants. Currently, we are writing update #3 from Maryknoll, New York. We are on a collaborative formation week retreat with three other overseas missionary groups, Maryknoll, Scarboro (Canada), and Society of African Missionaries. The retreat started Sunday night so we really don't have much to say about it as of yet, and we thought we would save that and the weekend in New York for the next update. Anyway... Many things have happened since the last update, and we're not exactly sure where to start, so here we go. I guess we should start off by telling you about Rachel. She is doing wonderful. She is getting along so well with her babysitter. She has not cried for the past couple of weeks when we've dropped her off or picked her up. She has done exceptionally well acclimating herself to this new environment. We are so proud of her. Thank you all for your prayerful support which we believe was very important in her "turning the corner." Of course, that's not the only wonderful thing Rachel has done. She had her thirteen-month birthday. Beth taught her the "American sign" for milk which she now uses regularly when she is thirsty. She can now say woof, bye-bye, wow, daddy, mama, papa, and uh-oh! We are so proud of her. Thank you all for your prayerful support which we believe was very important in her "turning the corner." Rachel and I spent a long Saturday morning and early afternoon biking down to the F.D.R. Memorial and other monuments. We had so much fun playing on the "mall." It is such a joy and blessing to have a child. These times are ones that I will cherish my whole life. Rachel had it made. She sat back in her trailer and relaxed while I biked up the never-ending hills of the District. One of the biggest changes/challenges occurred about ten days ago when Michael discerned that mission work, more specifically F.M.S. [Franciscan Missionary Service], was not for him now. It was initially quite a shock. We lived, ate, prayed, laughed, cried, etc. with this man for a month, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone. This may seem melodramatic, but it was a definite adjustment for us. Michael and I went out later and discussed in more detail why he was leaving. He made it clear to me that it wasn't anything in particular about F.M.S., but rather it was that overseas mission was not for him, now. And he stressed to me, now! It then hit me that I will not only be the only extrovert left in the group, but I will be the only guy. With this new development in community, I started to feel a bit stressed. To top all this off and to make matters more challenging, our workshop the next morning was on "Feminist Theology." Michael was quick to point out that even so, "You still have Rachel and Beth." I nodded my head in agreement. The next day came around, and we went to the feminist theology workshop. After it was all said and done, it turned out to be a very informative and fulfilling workshop. I really enjoyed it. Later on that evening, I started to feel a bit trapped. I was the only male. What was I going to do? I retreated to our room. Shortly thereafter, Beth came to the room. We sat down and talked about my issue. It was a great conversation. Beth put my mind at ease. She said. "What is different about the other women now [as compared to] yesterday?" "Nothing," I replied. Simple words and questions work wonders. Some of the other topics we have had are "History of Mission in the Catholic Church," an on-going country study of our prospective sites, and Scripture study, amongst other topics. One workshop we did not mention was "Non-Violence/Conflict Resolution." We were given some great tools to utilize when a conflict arises between us, our work, our friends, etc. The workshop went on to show us that what we think are the facts are actually our judgments. The speaker said, "one of the things we should do when someone is expressing concern or displeasure about a particular situation is to restate in our own words the problem. The next step is to ask for positive affirmation regarding your statement." These steps can be of great assistance. A week ago Sunday, we all went down to a peace rally and march from DuPont Circle to Vice President Dick Cheney's house to protest the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. A week ago Sunday, we all went down to a peace rally and march from DuPont Circle to Vice President Dick Cheney's house to protest the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. It was amazing the turn out. I wasn't going to go, but the priest at mass that day said something that stuck with me. He said, "It's not enough to say you support something; you should put your words into action." So, that is what I did. I headed down to the march in hopes I would find Beth, Rachel, and the rest of their group. I did find them at the very end of the peace rally/march. It was an amazing event. The Tuesday after that, I received a call from Dennis Kucinich's office in D.C. He wanted to meet the family. We discussed a variety of things with the most important being what more are we going to do for Peace. Congressman Kucinich has been a leader of peace on the Hill. He was very gracious and helpful. Well that's all from D.C. for now. Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers. We are just about at the halfway point in our training/discernment. All of you are in our prayers. Oh, please keep in mind Beth's family as it is harvest season in Northern Maine and the family is working hard. Pray that they will be safe and that the harvest is bountiful. Love, Rachel, Beth, & AL * * * * * Padre Franco The Bell Ringer (Padre Franco derives the title for this column, and for his monastery, from the movie "Cinema Paradiso," where the village priest was the local censor. Whenever he found objectionable parts in a film, he would ring his bell and the projectionist would cut the scene out. While the Padre is a little like the priest in the movie, ringing a bell with his words, he takes some license with the concept in rating the films, using a scale of one to five bells - the more bells, the better he liked the picture. Padre Franco would like to remind everyone that the Monasterio de la Cinema Paradiso is open to anyone with a passion for movies who cares to share their reflections with the larger Community. Men, women, and teens are encouraged to join us. Popcorn will be provided.) Moonlight Mile %%I seldom enter a theater without reasonable expectations when I am about to view a movie with a good cast. But despite all the expert acting that went into "Moonlight Mile," I came out of the theater in a rare mood of irritation. This movie portrays a bizarre expression of grief for the death of a beloved daughter as if it were a prime time TV situation comedy. It is an inept and artificial examination of grief. Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal), the fiancé, comes to town for what seems to be preparation for a wedding with a couple's daughter. Before anything transpires, the bride to be happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a nut case shoots and injures his own wife, while killing the daughter. After the funeral, a series of surreal scenes take place where the bereaved family treats the occasion as just an irritating blip on their everyday routine as they prepare to get on with their lives. After the post-funeral gathering, we find the mother, JoJo (Susan Sarandon) complaining of writer's block and burning gift books on grief management in the fire. She invites her daughter's friends to come and pick out any clothes in the daughter's room, and they descend on the bedroom like a band of vultures. The girl friends hit on the fiancé, and get him to go to a bar with them, where, with just a very small show of sorrow, he almost immediately starts a romance with the barmaid. The father, Ben, (Dustin Hoffman) with no outward show of remorse focuses on getting back to his real estate deals and includes his might-have-been son-in-law in his plans. Apparently, Joe had no plans of his own. Joe is required to stay in town for the prosecution of the killer and the parents take him in to wait it out. In the meantime, the romance with the barmaid progresses to a point where he can drown his grief in a standard bedroom scene with the barmaid. I often wonder if directors and producers have any statistical knowledge about American social behaviors proving that typical middle-class romances usually end up in premarital sex, or if they are trying to convince us that premarital sex is okay. The characters are not well developed and the actors seem like cutouts going through the motions of bereavement. Whatever the case, JoJo overcomes her writer's block, Ben changes his work profile, Joe proceeds with his romance, the injured wife forgives her husband, and the daughter is comfortably buried in the cemetery. A closing observation: at the showing I attended, three couples refused the sheer agony of sitting through the movie and walked out. I hope they hadn't tragically and unexpectedly lost a loved one in a similar manner. Padre Franco Tuck Everlasting %%% 1/2A former teaching associate of mine used to have a sign on his classroom door "I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good fantasy." "Tuck Everlasting" is a good gentle fantasy taken from Natalie Babbitt's 1975 children's novel. Two sons of a family locked deep in the tranquillity of a primal forest have just come back from a 10-year journey to France. The family shuns outside social contact and only occasionally goes to town for necessities. In contrast, another family, also confined, but wealthy, have a daughter, Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledil), who wishes to break free of her dull life. This family is also surrounded by the forest, but they own it and have never traversed its beauty so are unaware of the other forest family. When the daughter is told she must go away to a rigidly controlled finishing school, she rebels and runs into the forest where she is promptly lost. She's found by Jesse (Jonathan Jackson) who brings her back to his family's cabin. Against the misgivings of the family and the dissent of Miles (Scott Bairstow), she remains for a time and experiences the joy of living. She is still unaware of the family secret. When the son tells her he drank from a fountain of youth and that he's 104 years old, she doesn't believe him. Just as in "Jack in the Beanstalk" and "Little Red Riding Hood," there always has to be a bad guy you can tell because he's in a big black hat and yellow suit (Ben Kingsley) who appears in search of the family and its secret of everlasting life. Although the bad guy is foiled by May and Angus Tuck (Sissy Spacek and William Hurt), Winnie must choose between drinking from the fountain of everlasting life or living a life that ends in death. Ponce De Leon put a lot of energy into seeking the Fountain of Youth just like the bad guy and I suspect a lot of us old geezers would look for it too if we had a chance without stopping to ponder on what really characterizes an abundant life. The original story is stretched a little too long, but it contains some hefty thematic material on time, death, eternity and what is needed to live a rich and full life. However, a critic wrote, "there has to be some advantage to never growing old and able to, at a 104 years old, still hit on a beautiful 15 year old." "Tuck Everlasting" is from Disney and is a non-threatening family movie. Padre Franco * * * * * Online Primer: Goodbye 'Free' As many of us have learned the hard way, free services are disappearing rapidly from the internet. Free web site-based e-mail services remain, along with news, search engines, entertainment options like games, and inspirational sites. But free internet service providers are almost entirely gone, mail forwarding services like Bigfoot have cut back drastically on what they once promised to provide permanently, and e-mail web sites have curtailed the services and storage they offer. I once used and recommended Bigfoot; now I do neither. It's unreliable and they want to charge you for anything besides minimal usage. What to do? Not much, I'm afraid, although there are a number of low-cost options still available. For instance, Juno, NCCW and others will still provide internet services for under $10 a month, and even AT&T one of the best offers 150 hours for about $16, which is about all anyone who uses the internet casually needs. I still find few good reasons to pay $23 a month for America Online. It's way overpriced and the extra services it provides aren't worth it. Plus, while its e-mail function is designed for beginners, you outgrow it fast. About the only ones who should use it, in my opinion, are those who are very incapable of using any other service, or those who have had it a long time and have given that e-mail address out to a lot of people. Some with young families might also find it easy to deal with. But once you get involved in AOL, and give out that address, it's hard to get free of it. The best thing is to never get caught in the AOL trap. You may not know this, but the popular Instant Messenger program is available free and you don't have to subscribe to AOL to use it. High-speed services are another matter. As I find the $50 a month price too high, I haven't explored them much. But if you have that in your household budget to spend, people who have it tell me it is very worthwhile. I invite someone knowledgeable to write a tutorial on high-speed services in the Cleveland area for Communio. Meanwhile, Yahoo continues to make a wealth of free information, entertainment and other services available. Their e-mail is one of the best out there for free. Beware of using Hotmail as it tends to be one of the worst for spam, or junk e-mail. I keep a Hotmail account just for the purpose of giving it out to companies I don't entirely trust to keep their lists private. After several years, I receive about 100 junk e-mails a day into that account, more on Saturdays when the spammers have more time to devote to their "trade." I keep it up as a matter of curiosity to get that much spam in a day is astounding. Here's a tip on a good free program you may not have heard of: Atomica offers a very handy look up service ( www.atomica.com). While online, point your mouse at a word and left click on it while holding down the Alt key, and Atomica pops up with definitions, addresses, information about towns and cities, even the locations of area codes. You have to download and install the program, which is free to individual users, but I find it very worthwhile.Definitely don't skimp on virus protection. Get either McAfee or Norton and keep it updated at least on a monthly basis. Also use the Microsoft Windows update site (access it from the Tools menu). You can sign up to be notified when there are new updates. These also help protect you from viruses. Hoaxes continue to proliferate. Some of us were victimized by one recently attributing a quote to Shakespeare. As savvy as we have become in spotting these things, it got right by us, and we even ran it in Communio. The quote sounded good, but trouble is, Shakespeare never wrote it it was a hoax. Our apologies if we helped promulgate it. But to repeat some oft-told advice, never forward virus warnings and always try to check out the source of "anonymous" messages you receive. Try to give credit where credit is due. Meanwhile, don't open attachments you aren't expecting, no matter who they are from, and if you use e-mail on a very limited basis, consider using a web-site based service even one from an established provider as many of the more troublesome e-mail viruses mostly affect Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express. If you do use one of these, turn off the preview screen, as there are some viruses that can be activated just by being previewed. Besides, I've found I don't miss it much anyway and you may feel the same way. A note on hardware, unless you use your computer for graphics intensive applications, you probably don't need all the power in the newest machines. If you can get a good deal on last year's model, go for it, as it will do just fine for internet browsing, e-mail, word processing and any number of other common uses. Dan Alaimo * * * * * Community News Council Meeting Highlights (Community Council met on October 6, 2002 at St. Malachi Center.) Pastor's Report: Both the women's and men's "We Are the Church" retreats scheduled for the Fall have been canceled. We have received preliminary approval from the City Landmarks for dealing with the deterioration of the steps to the old church, along the lines described last month (i.e. removing the steps, cutting down the retaining wall to a lower level like the one in front of the rectory & landscaping the hill, also like what is done in front of the rectory). The current "ballpark" estimate is "around" $40,000. Because this is a potential safety issue, Fr. Tony feels there is a need to move ahead with this project this fall. St. Malachi Center is again selling "Entertainment 2003" books for the whole of Greater Cleveland filled with 2-1 and 50% off discounts at many area restaurants & stores. Cost is $25 until December; $30 thereafter. RCIA Update: For the first time, we have a person from St. Wendelin attending RCIA, which extends our collaboration to five parishes. Please continue to pray for all who have begun the RCIA Journey of Faith including those from the Parish, the Community, St. Patrick & St. Colman. Upcoming Benefits: October 25: "Blueprints, Making a House a Home" Annual Malachi House Benefit at Renaissance Hotel, 6:30-11 PM, $125. Vibrant Parish Life: The VPL Coordinating Committee is working out the details for a survey to be conducted at masses the weekend of the Feast of St. Malachi, Nov.2-3. Luis Gutierrez has been assigned the task of having the completed forms processed. He is looking for people to help; if you're interested in performing this very important service, call him at (216) 226-7726 or e-mail him at redcuban@yahoo.com. The survey will supplement the information gathered as a part of "Rejoice and Renew: St. Malachi Looks to the Future." Council Goals: Council discussed the four outlined goals for the 2002 2003 year:
A fifth goal is to be added; it is to express willingness on the part of the Council to listen to all the voices of our community, young and old, founders and new members. Personnel Evaluations: Council needs to analyze our procedures (or lack thereof) concerning staff hired by both the Community and the Parish. Council needs to evaluate what current practices are and what the evaluation process needs to be per our handbook. Fall Welcome Series: Fall Welcome Series will be Tuesday, Nov. 5, Sunday, Nov. 10, and Tuesday, Nov. 12. Nov. 5ths meeting will focus on Christian Formation, Council President and Liturgy Chair. Nov. 10th meeting will be CSM Ministries and Communications. Nov. 12th is Finance, Social Action, Hospitality, Membership. Council Retreat: The retreat will be held from 9:30am to 4:30pm at the Jesuit Retreat House.(Council Meeting Highlights were put together by Luis Gutierrez from minutes taken by Joe Pulizzi. Luis and Joe, along with Mike May, co-chair the Communications Committee.) * * * * * Dear All, As we enter our 4th week of training, there is much to tell you. A few people wanted more info about our house and housemates. The older 3-story home has 10 bedrooms. Our rooms are on the 3rd floor. Rachel has her own room. We have a balcony with a hammock outside our room. Rachel and Beth enjoy time there. It is the perfect position for feeding and shared napping. We all share in cleaning the house. We each are given a section to be in charge of. We also share in dinner prep for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We have signed up with alternating partners. This works well because we get to know another housemate in a one-on-one setting as well as share the workload (prep and clean up). One person per week signs up to do the grocery shopping for the week. We have been eating surprisingly well. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits as well as creative works from the kitchen. Rachel has not found much to complain about on the food front. There are 2 house managers, a married couple, Patricia and John. They are very helpful and friendly. They take care of the major house things. Patricia is a French and Spanish teacher. She is giving Al and I a lesson 2 days a week for an hour each lesson. Someone asked for more details about the other prospective missioners. Sr. Anna and Sr. Sophia are Franciscan sisters who are preparing to go to Haiti. Anna is from Germany and Sophia is from India, but both have spent several months in Springfield, Illinois. They have also already spent 2 months in Haiti, before coming to the training. Diana is from California, but has spent the past 2 years in El Salvador unsupported by any formal mission program. She began a couple of programs there for women and children. She has accomplished much since she graduated college the same year as Beth. She wants to return to El Salvador. Michael is from Pittsburgh and is almost Al's age. He was a social worker there and wants to work in Jamaica. No major personality sparring as of yet, but we will keep you posted. We are still in the honeymoon stage of community life. Most recently, our program has been concentrating on culture and culture shock, journaling, prayer and church doctrine, St. Francis, and Spanish. On the side, I have been reading about "Just Language" or the underlying oppression in our language; "Parenting for Peace and Justice" as we don't have a specific class on this; "The Spiral of Violence" because it looked interesting, and 2 books on health, one specifically for children. It is a bit overwhelming, but I know we will look back on this time and wish that we would have read just a little bit more and prepared ourselves just a little bit better. It seems that one never prepares quite enough. We just don't know exactly how we will react in a new environment. Therefore we cannot prepare adequately for the unknown. Learning Spanish is very frustrating for me and very easy for Al. That makes it even more frustrating for me because he makes it look so easy and I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. It will come in time, but it is slow going. It is a bit overwhelming, but I know we will look back on this time and wish that we would have read just a little bit more and prepared ourselves just a little bit better. On Wednesdays we go to our volunteer site to work with the old folks (that is not "just language," but since I haven't finished reading the book yet, I don't have to use it yet). The previous Wednesdays have been pretty blah because they really did not have enough for us to do and the residents were not too interested in visiting with us. But this past Wednesday, Al did "phone ministry" which is basically calling older folks on the phone who just want to have someone to talk to. Well, since Al loves to talk on the phone, it is right up his alley. I worked in the garden, which was more than fine with me. Then in the afternoon we visited Mrs. P in her home because she doesn't get out too much. She talked to us for 2 1/2 hours straight. I think Al and I said a total of 5 sentences. She had some story to tell. This Wednesday we are going to visit 2 more folks in their homes. It was nice to finally connect with a person and be present for them. Rachel loved looking at all the new things she couldn't touch at Mrs. P's. Rachel has been doing fine at childcare. She doesn't stop moving there just like she doesn't stop here. She gives an Emmy award-winning performance when we drop her off, but she is content by the time we're down the front steps. She just likes to make a show of tears before we leave. And when we pick her up, she may be playing contentedly, but as soon as she sees us, she gives a cry as if to say, "I was not having fun, I was just biding my time until you came back. I missed you." Of course, we miss her too. She can now tell us what a dog says ("woof," although very quietly). She calls a swing a "wee." She also does a very convincing birdcall that sounds like "aa-aa." Rachel is also a very proficient waver. On September 11, we went to an interfaith prayer service. The following Saturday, we went to visit a mosque. Both were very educational experiences. There are wonderful people at both. Now we have this war with Iraq to pray about. It will never end at this rate. Pray for peace. The last letter forgot to mention Rachel's 1st birthday was Sept. 5. She shared her cake with us and got some wonderful gifts and sentiments for which we are very thankful. Diana, a housemate, said that on her birthday, her mother always told her the story of her birth. I like that idea and we are going to try and do it for Rachel. I'm sure that Al will romanticize the story a little more each year. By the time we he tells it on her 18th birthday it will probably sound more like she came down a slide and landed on the delivery room floor. We found out more about our possible placements in January. In Mexico, it is an orphanage/shelter for up to 24 children. We would be the house parents and live in an apartment off of the house. We would have hours on and off the clock. The children are there by choice, not sent there by the courts. It sounds interesting and challenging. In Bolivia, there is an established Pre-Cana program and also a childcare facility to be run. The pastor wants to set up a Parents' School, but they were not specific as to what that meant. I would assume classes on discipline, nutrition, finances, job skills and the like. There are also programs for the elderly and the mentally handicapped. Al also may have the opportunity to utilize his culinary skills. We would live in an apartment above a store. There would be another missioner there from our program staying in the area as well as a community of Franciscans nearby. The couple that is doing what would be our job now, also have a little girl, so we are trying to get as much specific info from them as we can. We appreciate all your support and prayers. We are barely into the preparation, but we are already beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of a task we are undertaking. Please continue to pray for us, as we will for you. Love to you all, Beth, Al, and Rachel (woof!) P.S. For the most recent picture of Rachel go to www.vw.com/radio/photos and enter 30141-963 or 30142-9918 or 30140-2918. All 3 should be photos of Rachel taken this past Saturday. 8 October 2002 Dear All, Well, it's that time again. We just left New York City where we stayed the weekend and celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi at All Saints Franciscan Parish in Harlem. It was built in 1879 by Irish immigrants. Currently, we are writing update #3 from Maryknoll, New York. We are on a collaborative formation week retreat with three other overseas missionary groups, Maryknoll, Scarboro (Canada), and Society of African Missionaries. The retreat started Sunday night so we really don't have much to say about it as of yet, and we thought we would save that and the weekend in New York for the next update. Anyway... Many things have happened since the last update, and we're not exactly sure where to start, so here we go. I guess we should start off by telling you about Rachel. She is doing wonderful. She is getting along so well with her babysitter. She has not cried for the past couple of weeks when we've dropped her off or picked her up. She has done exceptionally well acclimating herself to this new environment. We are so proud of her. Thank you all for your prayerful support which we believe was very important in her "turning the corner." Of course, that's not the only wonderful thing Rachel has done. She had her thirteen-month birthday. Beth taught her the "American sign" for milk which she now uses regularly when she is thirsty. She can now say woof, bye-bye, wow, daddy, mama, papa, and uh-oh! We are so proud of her. Thank you all for your prayerful support which we believe was very important in her "turning the corner." Rachel and I spent a long Saturday morning and early afternoon biking down to the F.D.R. Memorial and other monuments. We had so much fun playing on the "mall." It is such a joy and blessing to have a child. These times are ones that I will cherish my whole life. Rachel had it made. She sat back in her trailer and relaxed while I biked up the never-ending hills of the District. One of the biggest changes/challenges occurred about ten days ago when Michael discerned that mission work, more specifically F.M.S. [Franciscan Missionary Service], was not for him now. It was initially quite a shock. We lived, ate, prayed, laughed, cried, etc. with this man for a month, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone. This may seem melodramatic, but it was a definite adjustment for us. Michael and I went out later and discussed in more detail why he was leaving. He made it clear to me that it wasn't anything in particular about F.M.S., but rather it was that overseas mission was not for him, now. And he stressed to me, now! It then hit me that I will not only be the only extrovert left in the group, but I will be the only guy. With this new development in community, I started to feel a bit stressed. To top all this off and to make matters more challenging, our workshop the next morning was on "Feminist Theology." Michael was quick to point out that even so, "You still have Rachel and Beth." I nodded my head in agreement. The next day came around, and we went to the feminist theology workshop. After it was all said and done, it turned out to be a very informative and fulfilling workshop. I really enjoyed it. Later on that evening, I started to feel a bit trapped. I was the only male. What was I going to do? I retreated to our room. Shortly thereafter, Beth came to the room. We sat down and talked about my issue. It was a great conversation. Beth put my mind at ease. She said. "What is different about the other women now [as compared to] yesterday?" "Nothing," I replied. Simple words and questions work wonders. Some of the other topics we have had are "History of Mission in the Catholic Church," an on-going country study of our prospective sites, and Scripture study, amongst other topics. One workshop we did not mention was "Non-Violence/Conflict Resolution." We were given some great tools to utilize when a conflict arises between us, our work, our friends, etc. The workshop went on to show us that what we think are the facts are actually our judgments. The speaker said, "one of the things we should do when someone is expressing concern or displeasure about a particular situation is to restate in our own words the problem. The next step is to ask for positive affirmation regarding your statement." These steps can be of great assistance. A week ago Sunday, we all went down to a peace rally and march from DuPont Circle to Vice President Dick Cheney's house to protest the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. A week ago Sunday, we all went down to a peace rally and march from DuPont Circle to Vice President Dick Cheney's house to protest the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. It was amazing the turn out. I wasn't going to go, but the priest at mass that day said something that stuck with me. He said, "It's not enough to say you support something; you should put your words into action." So, that is what I did. I headed down to the march in hopes I would find Beth, Rachel, and the rest of their group. I did find them at the very end of the peace rally/march. It was an amazing event. The Tuesday after that, I received a call from Dennis Kucinich's office in D.C. He wanted to meet the family. We discussed a variety of things with the most important being what more are we going to do for Peace. Congressman Kucinich has been a leader of peace on the Hill. He was very gracious and helpful. Well that's all from D.C. for now. Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers. We are just about at the halfway point in our training/discernment. All of you are in our prayers. Oh, please keep in mind Beth's family as it is harvest season in Northern Maine and the family is working hard. Pray that they will be safe and that the harvest is bountiful. Love, Rachel, Beth, & AL * * * * * Padre Franco The Bell Ringer (Padre Franco derives the title for this column, and for his monastery, from the movie "Cinema Paradiso," where the village priest was the local censor. Whenever he found objectionable parts in a film, he would ring his bell and the projectionist would cut the scene out. While the Padre is a little like the priest in the movie, ringing a bell with his words, he takes some license with the concept in rating the films, using a scale of one to five bells - the more bells, the better he liked the picture. Padre Franco would like to remind everyone that the Monasterio de la Cinema Paradiso is open to anyone with a passion for movies who cares to share their reflections with the larger Community. Men, women, and teens are encouraged to join us. Popcorn will be provided.) Moonlight Mile %%I seldom enter a theater without reasonable expectations when I am about to view a movie with a good cast. But despite all the expert acting that went into "Moonlight Mile," I came out of the theater in a rare mood of irritation. This movie portrays a bizarre expression of grief for the death of a beloved daughter as if it were a prime time TV situation comedy. It is an inept and artificial examination of grief. Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal), the fiancé, comes to town for what seems to be preparation for a wedding with a couple's daughter. Before anything transpires, the bride to be happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a nut case shoots and injures his own wife, while killing the daughter. After the funeral, a series of surreal scenes take place where the bereaved family treats the occasion as just an irritating blip on their everyday routine as they prepare to get on with their lives. After the post-funeral gathering, we find the mother, JoJo (Susan Sarandon) complaining of writer's block and burning gift books on grief management in the fire. She invites her daughter's friends to come and pick out any clothes in the daughter's room, and they descend on the bedroom like a band of vultures. The girl friends hit on the fiancé, and get him to go to a bar with them, where, with just a very small show of sorrow, he almost immediately starts a romance with the barmaid. The father, Ben, (Dustin Hoffman) with no outward show of remorse focuses on getting back to his real estate deals and includes his might-have-been son-in-law in his plans. Apparently, Joe had no plans of his own. Joe is required to stay in town for the prosecution of the killer and the parents take him in to wait it out. In the meantime, the romance with the barmaid progresses to a point where he can drown his grief in a standard bedroom scene with the barmaid. I often wonder if directors and producers have any statistical knowledge about American social behaviors proving that typical middle-class romances usually end up in premarital sex, or if they are trying to convince us that premarital sex is okay. The characters are not well developed and the actors seem like cutouts going through the motions of bereavement. Whatever the case, JoJo overcomes her writer's block, Ben changes his work profile, Joe proceeds with his romance, the injured wife forgives her husband, and the daughter is comfortably buried in the cemetery. A closing observation: at the showing I attended, three couples refused the sheer agony of sitting through the movie and walked out. I hope they hadn't tragically and unexpectedly lost a loved one in a similar manner. Padre Franco Tuck Everlasting %%% 1/2 | ||||||||
