March 18, 2017 · 5:13 pm

A couple of books

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I read the English copy of this book by Peter Hessel entitled Hitler’s Boy.  He was in Arnprior last fall to speak about it so I bought a copy.  It is the fascinating tale of what it was like to grow up in Germany during the WWII years.  Peter, raised by a single Mom was enthralled with Hitler and joined the Hitler Youth.  He proudly wore his uniform and badges at every opportunity.  He longed to fight for his country and to even die for the Furher who was seen as making Germany great again.  He was too young and never able to soldier.
Hitler told the Germans that the Poles were committing atrocities against Germans which was a lie, in order to justify the invasion of Poland.  He also told the Germans that the Jews were dangerous.  Everyone was following orders and hence there was no limit to the wrongdoing that could be and was done to the Jews in the holocaust.  After initial victories in the east and west, gradually the tide turned and shortages of food, fuel and commodities grew.  For example citizens were asked to hand over their jewelry to be melted down for munitions manufacture. Finally he and his mother, near starvation are forced to move back from Prussia to the homeland.  There are constant air raid sirens and eventually the Americans liberate their home town for the Allies with little bloodshed.
The book is an interesting first hand account and eerily relevant of how a demagogue can brainwash a whole generation through lies, scapegoat others and emerge as the invincible savior of a nation.  Well written personal family history, well worth the read: 4.5 stars of 5  If you want to borrow my copy, let me know.
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This is book I inherited from mom and had always intended to read.  Written by evangelical journalist Philip Yancey, it has sold many copies since its 1995 release.  A little wary of what an evangelical Christian might say, I was pleasantly surprised that there was no Catholic bashing, and in fact praise for Catholic theology.  As well, the author is not as fully supportive of Trump as the 80% of white evangelicals who voted for Trump are.
Talking about the parable of the Pharisee (who thanks God for not being a tax collector) and the tax collector (who admits he is a wretched sinner) whom Jesus exalts in Luke’s gospel, he concludes: “Can we infer from Jesus story that behaviour does not matter, that there is no moral difference between a disciplined legalist and a robber, evildoer and adulterer. Of course not. Behaviour matters in many ways; it is simply not how to get accepted by God concludes Yancey.  A great point.
In writing about the Sermon on the Mount Yancey talks about the great reversal that the Beatitudes must have heralded: Blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall inherit the world.   Then if so, why does the church strive to eradicate poverty rather than promote it Yancey asks?  He says the strict rules laid down by Jesus here was his way of describing what God and heaven are like. Yes we should strive for this behaviour on earth but no, we will never attain it. Enter grace the new logic of the world. Because God loves the poor, the suffering, the persecuted and sees no undesirables, so should we!
The author praises Doesteyesky and Tolstoy novels saying they showed him what the Sermon on the Mount really means! The Brothers Karamazov he says is probably the best novel ever written.  The novel tells the story that perhaps Jesus made the wrong choice when tempted in the desert by the devil.  All he had to do was cure some major disease forever, wipe out war etc. to ensure the triumph of Christianity.  Tolstoy on the other hand tried to live the Sermon on the Mount, gave everything away and constantly tried to serve others (except his wife and family members apparently.  He died a lonely impoverished in a train station as did not get the grace and forgiveness part.  I had forgotten about these Russian authors.
I started to lose interest near the end of the book as Yancey seemed to be just repeating what is in bible verse.  The main point I took away from this book is the huge restraint Jesus used throughout his ministry.  He could have literally moved mountains, eradicated poverty, ended racism, defeated Rome etc. Perhaps this was a mistake Jesus did make in his ministry the author wonders?  Rather Jesus chose a rag-tag group of low levels to be his disciples and pass the word on to the world. He permitted himself to die on the cross.  It was all God’s will, not necessarily his.  4 out of 5 stars.

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March 16, 2017 · 1:48 am

Nature Calls

As we enter our last two weeks in Florida, we wanted to show you some of the beautiful birds, animals and fish we have seen here.  The birds in particular are very numerous and active.  It’s fun to sit and watch them as they go about their daily routine of feeding and calling.  All the different species get along with each other so nicely.  There are so many other birds (e.g., hawks, green heron) that I just could not get a photo of in time.  Here is a sample of what we see down here everyday.

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Muscovy duck

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Osprey

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Easter Bunny

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Cormorant

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Tern

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Gopher tortoise

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Monk parrot

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Yellow bellied slider turtle

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Brown pelican

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Great Blue Heron

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Snowy egret

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Bottlenose dolphin

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Night Heron

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Flying stingray (he had it on his fishing rod)

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Pileated woodpecker

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Great white egrets nesting

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Tri-colored heron

This abundance of nature is thanks and due to God the Creator.

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March 7, 2017 · 7:42 pm

The gift of pilgrimage

 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

Psalm 84:5

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In medieval times many millions of people were ordered by their Bishop or Abbot to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Santiago de Compostela or other sacred place as a penance for sin.  Since they had to walk there, this disrupted their life and many died along the way.  Pilgrimage was a punishment back then.  Today pilgrimage is more of a means to deepen ones faith by journeying to a holy site or shrine to increase consciousness of God.  As they say on the Camino of Santiago, it is about the journey, not the destination. Hence we see pilgrimage as a gift.

While living in the U.S . with all its consumer choices and temptations, we remain conscious of being pilgrims, particularly during the Lenten season.

We feel blessed to be full-fledged pilgrims, especially since retirement.  It has been almost 10 years and many of our travels have been to sacred sites that have enhanced our prayer life and relationship with God.  This is our 4th year traveling to Fort Myers and every year we know that God wants us to be here.  Despite the consumerism, shopping, food, traffic and aggressive people – especially the drivers – we still connect and glorify in the beautiful graces we receive from the Almighty while we are living here.

We seek to live within our means in a simple and safe condo environment without having all our worldly possessions with us.  Some stay in gated communities or highrises on the beach for shorter vacation periods – this makes perfect sense. As pilgrims, we seek to stay longer down here in a way we can afford and still really enjoy.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”                                                                                                                                      John 14:6

We are surrounded here by beautiful nature that we love and revel in.  For example, the spring fed lake with the palm trees, birds and fountains right out our back door.  Plus all the beautiful sunrises and sunsets on Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach and the Cape Coral Yacht Club beach.  We thoroughly enjoy the quietness and serenity of our winter environment.  We are able to pray each morning, meditate and go on fabulous walks through the villas and poolsides of our neighbours.

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The lake out back

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Our nearest neigbours

There is one little special place we have found with a bench to pray the rosary on most days.  The Lord has given us the gift of beautiful sunshine, lots of vitamin D, healthy bodies and plenty of exercise that we enjoy outside away from the cold elements of the north.  We truly love the proximity to the Catholic churches, especially the Church of the Resurrection and the beautiful outdoor farmers markets, especially Lakes Park where we buy delicious organic produce every week.

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Our Rosary bench

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View while praying the Rosary

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Church of the Resurrection of the Lord

Another fabulous gift we receive in Florida is more frequent contact with family and friends who we do not see as often back home.  We also have met a beautiful community of friendly snow birds who are hospitable and like to socialize at the pool.  Are we coming back next year?  We can emphatically say yes, the Lord willing.  Are we also being called to do a sacred pilgrimage on the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Fatima?  Yes.  We are contemplating going to France, Spain and Portugal with the Divine Mercy group in October.  Please pray for us as we discern if God is really calling us to go on this pilgrimage.

 

 

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Divine Mercy group in Poland

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Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco at Fatima, Portugal in 1917

 

We give thanks and praise to the Lord for all we have, especially the gift of pilgrimage.

 

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Love and Blessings,

Marie and Dave

 

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March 1, 2017 · 6:39 pm

Lenten Journey

Getting ready for Lent has been a great experience down here.  There are many Catholics at the pool, on the golf course and of course the Catholic churches are packed.

The other day I played golf with a couple of Irish Catholics from Boston.  We had a great time and I learned more about Boston and golf.  One of them shot a 76 (that’s good!)  I shot 93.

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Getting ready to tee off with the Boston group

Then there was the fat Tuesday party at the pool.  A Catholic couple from Cleveland organized it.  Chuck plays the keyboard and sings.  John from Kanata accompanied him on the concertina (tiny squeeze box) and ukulele.  They played and sang from a songbook the types of songs everyone knows e.g., O Sola Mio.

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Left to right Jack, Chuck and John

Everyone brought some food and drinks. There was pizza, egg rolls, spinach pie, spare ribs, chicken wings, salsa and lots of sangria.  Yum!  People gathered round or stayed in the pool.  We had so much food and drink, no dinner was needed. Americans are very sociable, hospitable and loud!  We had a great evening and the temp was 32 celsius.

Ash Wednesday we went to the 9 AM service at the Church of the Resurrection of our Lord.  It was a wonderful solemn mass with Msgr. McNamara celebrating.  We  lingered to take a few pics.

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Then it was off to Lakes Park for the Wednesday morning green market stroll.  We felt blessed with the abundance that God has provided us with as we embark on our Lenten journey back to Him.

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Our Lenten journey begins

May you have a productive and deeply spiritual Lenten journey too.

Here is a poem I loved reading this morning by Rita A. Simmonds entitiled Almsgiving.

An unseasonably warm March morning has brought of assortment of souls to the boardwalk:

Young women pushing strollers, talking on cell phones, the local crowd conversing loudly, swilling beer before lunch, old men sunning themselves on benches reading Russian news, a pack of boys on big-tired bikes riding, skipping school –

All seeking sun and warmth leaving behind the longest shortest month.

Me too or so I thought, but why this cry I can’t suppress, “A perfect day is not enough!”?

A thin dark man with missing teeth somehow must have heard.

He came to me with cup in hand, but it wasn’t the giving that made me glad.

It was the coming of the man.

(The Magnificat Lenten Companion, c. 2017)

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February 22, 2017 · 4:21 pm

How Did Fort Myers Get It’s Name?

 

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Marion Myers nee Twiggs

Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The winter homes of Thomas Edison (“Seminole Lodge”) and Henry Ford (“The Mangoes”) are a primary tourist attraction in the region. The city is named after Colonel Abraham Myers.

It was the love of a woman that got Fort Myers its name, but that same woman’s tart tongue effectively ended its namesake’s career.

The name originated as sort of an engagement gift from General David. E. Twiggs, the commander of Fort Brooke in Tampa, who in 1850, was in charge of a fort on the Caloosahatchee,  yet the Jewish Confederate who received it, never actually visited the place.

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Brig. Gen. David E. Twiggs

Twiggs was not the kind of man you would like to invite home for dinner, yet he commanded the respect of his men. Staff officer, Abraham C. Myers born 1811 in Georgetown, S.C. (he did however like) an 1833 graduate of West Point and the scion of a prominent Southern Jewish family, Myers was the son of an attorney, and a descendant of Moses Cohen, the first rabbi in Charleston, S.C.. He’d fought with distinction in the Seminole and Mexican Wars before becoming the Chief Quartermaster of the Department of Florida. Twiggs’ daughter Marion fell in love with Myers, after meeting him in Texas. In honor of his future son-in-law and to make his daughter happy, he named the fort for Myers. The couple married in 1853 when she was 15 and he was 42.

 

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Col. Abraham C. Myers

Confederate President Jefferson Davis also liked Myers who had joined the Confederate Army in 1861. He appointed him the first quartermaster general and Myers remained in that post until 1863 when Myers had some “problems.”

Marion caused the problems, as she was “quite the gossip.” Beautiful with “a wicked tongue” and her father’s temperament.

The final blow to Myers’ career came when Marion publicly described the olive-skinned Varina Howell Davis, the president’s wife, as a ‘squaw’.

Historians are unsure whether the colonel apologized to Mrs. Davis, yet Davis replaced Col Myers in 1863. In 1865, the Myers family left for Germany and returned in 1876.

Florida became a US Territory in 1821, the ensuing wave of settlers asked for protection from the native Seminoles. Fort Myers was built along the Caloosahatchee River, one of the first bases of operations during the Seminole Indian Wars. Fort Myers was named in honor of Colonel Abraham C. Myers, the son-in-law of the commander of Fort Brooke in Tampa.

The fort was abandoned in 1858 and reoccupied by Federal troops from 1863-1865.

The Southernmost battle of the Civil War, a skirmish between Northern and Southern troops occurred across the river in 1865 and is reenacted annually at the North Fort Myers Cracker Festival.

The fort itself was disassembled, and some of the wood used in construction of some of the first buildings in what would become downtown Fort Myers. No more than ten families lived in the original town when it was platted in 1876.

 

 (Reprinted with edits from the Sun Bay Paper Feb 16-22, 2017.)

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