mattersofthemoment

We made it to Florida on Dec 17 unscathed.  We welcomed the return of the warm sun and the gorgeous foliage and summer smells.  The weather has been spectacular – setting some all time high temperatures in December and being the warmest place in North America north of Mexico.

Our 2 bdrm. condo is delightful and fully equipped.  Everything is clean and well thought out by the owner.  She was very helpful in quickly getting us hooked up to internet and answering our questions.  We are very pleased.

Christmas here we go

View from the lanai

100 steps to the pool

We hit the beaches and pool.  In the days leading up to Christmas there was absolutely no traffic.  We went to Sanibel Island (20 min), Fort Myers Beach (15 min) and Cape Coral beach (10 min).  There is only one other couple staying in our 8 condo building at present.

Our little lake – ducks, muscovy, ibis, green heron and anhingas abound

The Pool

We made it to church on Christmas Eve – it was packed.  A 10 piece choir ensemble complete with pounding organ, violins and much volume added to the beautiful service.  It is good to be back in this place – Church of the Resurrection.

On Christmas morning we opened a few gifts and then headed to Fort Myers Beach.  Thinking everything is closed, parking will be free etc… were we wrong.  It seems the thing to do in Fort Myers on Christmas day is go to the beach.  It was as crowded as March Break.

We enjoyed a great day and headed home to call Kyle and text Michelle.  All was well with our loved ones and they were having a great Christmas too.  Looking forward to Michelle and Tim’s visit with the boys in Feb and to Kyle and Ashley’s wedding in May.

Had a surprise visitor – Marie’s nephew Bradley drove down from Inglewood.  He is on holiday there with his wife.  Marie’s brother Kevin will be coming down for a visit and we will do New Years together.

In general Christmas by our standards is low key here.  There are a few decorations and lights around.  We were not inundated with flyers, sales, Boxing day etc.  They don’t even do boxing day here – it’s an English thing.  Anyway, no complaints.  Bye for now.

On Feb 22, 1931, St. Faustina wrote in her diary while in her cell in Plock, Poland:

“In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment.  One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, ‘paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the
inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.” (47)

Painting of the Divine Mercy Image and St. Faustina in the Sisters of Divine Mercy Convent    Jezu Ufam Tobie – Jesus I trust in You

Restoration of the Plock convent destroyed by the Nazis in WWII is well underway

Original Divine Mercy Image painting, Vilnius, LI

In Advent we await the coming of Jesus, the Incarnation of the Word, our Saviour.  But the Kingdom of God is already at hand (Mt. 3:2, 4:17).  We do not have to wait, according to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is already in us (Luke 17:21).

St. Faustina wrote in her diary on Feb 1, 1938:

“O my Jesus, I have only one task to carry out in my lifetime, in death and throughout eternity, and that is to adore Your incomprehensible mercy.  No mind, either of angel or man, will ever fathom the mysteries of Your mercy, O God.  The angels are lost in amazement before the mystery of divine mercy, but cannot comprehend it. Everything that has come from the Creator’s hand is contained in this inconceivable mystery; that is to say, in the very depths of His tender mercy.  When I meditate on this, my spirit swoons, and my heart dissolves in joy.  O Jesus, it is through your compassionate Heart, as through a crystal, that the rays of divine mercy have come to us.” (1554)

On April 30, 200o Pope John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina Kowalska and included these words: “Sr Faustina’s canonization has a particular eloquence:  by this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium. I pass it on to all people, so that they will learn to know ever better the true face of God and the true face of their brethren. “

The Kingdom of Mercy is at hand.  St Faustina, pray for us.

The visit to Wurzburg and tour of the Prince-bishop’s Palace or Residence was one of the highlights of our river cruise this past year.  It was a glorious day with plenty of sunshine.  We had a wonderful guide, an architect-historian with a great sense of humour.  Finally it was not crowded so we had an intimate tour.

Wurzburg is a city of 25,000 in the region of Franconia in northern Bavaria.  It is situated on the Main (pronounced myan) River halfway between Nuremburg and Frankfurt.  “Don’t call us Bavarians” I remember our guide saying, “we are Franconians!”

The Wurzburg Residence was constructed over the period 1720-44 by Johan Philipp Franz and Frederik Carl von Schonburg, both Prince-bishops.  They wanted to built a palace that rivaled Versailles in Paris and the Schonbrunn in Vienna.  They succeeded.  Their masterpiece is considered one of the greatest baroque palaces in Europe!

Known for its Baroque staircase and vaulted frescoed ceiling over, it is a feast for the eyes and imagination.

(Photo by Myriam Thyes – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51453126)

I remember too, the Room of Mirrors and the immense gorgeous tapestries that hung from many of the walls.  Napoleon slept here on 3 separate occasions and signed a declaration of war against Prussia.

Then we went outside to the beautiful and easily accessible gardens.

A prince-bishop was a bishop who was also a civil ruler of an ecclesial state – a secular principality that was also a diocese.  Prince-bishoprics were most common in the Holy Roman Empire, where many were formally elected and awarded the rank of an Imperial Prince, granting them the power over a certain territory and representation in the Imperial Diet.  The Pope would then confirm their appointment as a Bishop. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the title became finally defunct.

The Bishopric of Wurzburg existed from 1168 to 1803, a long time indeed.  Johann Philipp Franz von Schonborn was born into a wealthy Wurzburg family in 1673.  His uncle was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz.  He was educated at a Jesuit school, at several German universities and in Rome.  He was elected Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg by the Wurzburg Cathedral Chapter in 1719 and ordained a priest the following year.  He commissioned the Wurzburg Residence in 1720 but died of a heart attack in 1724. His brother Friedrich Karl von Schonborn, took over as Prince-bishop and continued the construction, seeing it largely finished in 1844.  He died, presumably a happy man in 1849.

Balthasar Neumann, Principal Architect of Wurzburg Residence

On March 16, 1945 a devastating air raid severely damaged Wurzburg and the Residence.  The central building was almost totally burnt out.  Fortunately some of the furnishings and sections of the wall panelling had been removed in time escaping the inferno.  The building was completely and lovingly restored from 1945 to 1987.  This work was guided by an American who I recall, had been part of the bombing party.  In 1981 the Residence, Court Gardens and Square were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site

We also visited the Palace of Versailles near Paris on this trip.  While it is even more impressive in scale and stature, we found it too crowded and too immense.  In the moment we much prefered the intimate scale and peaceful grandeur at Wurzburg.  Oh, oh Baroque!

Some people don’t care for Florida, others do.  We are partial to Florida because we can drive there, stay longer, the weather is great and the people very friendly.  This year we headed down in mid-January and immediately embarked on a cruise.

Leaving from Fort Lauderdale

We headed south, way south to Grand Turk, Curacao and Aruba.  The food and itinerary were good, we didn’t particularly like the layout of this ship.  They had these bleacher seats that some people seemed to really enjoy for people watching.  We much prefer a quiet sunny/shady spot not too far from the pool which we were able to find.

Time for a beer

Coming into Willemstad, Curacao it was really windy

Even the flamengoes found it windy

We went to a beach and toured the Curacao (blue) liqueur factory.  I read recently that Venezuealans were taking flimsy boats to Curacao across the 100 km straight to escape hunger in their collapsing country.  Very sad and dangerous.

We set sail for Aruba on our second visit there.  Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire are part to the Dutch West Indies.  Aruba is the most economically well off.

The shopping is great in Oranjestad, Aruba

An iguana up close

Our favorite towel animal

Heading back now

Back in Florida, we felt well primed for more sun and headed for Fort Myers, our 4th visit there.  The first time we drove down MacGregor Blvd in 2009 between all those tall royal palms, it felt like home.

Fort Myers Beach looking north

Friendly gator napping in Lakes Park

Dave’s namesake is big in Fort Myers

We rent a condo in South Fort Myers about 25 min from Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island.  We find the location central to a lot of fun activities.  We enjoy daily walking, going to the beach once or twice a week, hitting the pool for some laps or a noodle ride, going to Lakes Park for the green market, yoga in the park, visiting with friends and special events.

Our modest condo in February

Gorgeous places to walk

Our local church is within walking distance

Fort Myers Beach

My cousin Cheryl with husband Larry at Lakes Park

With John and Anita at the Mucky Duck

Yoga in the park, free every Saturday

Our condo in March was really nice

Pool heated to 29 deg C every day

Dancing at the Punta Gorda Wine and Jazz Festival

A smooth jazz blowout concert under the palms

A powerful Osprey

With Anita and John on Sanibel Island

March Break crowds

With friends Dick and Carol who live on Sanibel Island

With cousin Cheryl and family at the Grandeeza County Club

At Hammond field to watch the Twins and the Pirates

At our favorite restaurant

Before we said goodbye to Florida, we put the word out around the pool that we would like to come back for an even longer time in 2017.  The night before we left a lady called us to offer her condo for rental for 3 mos. at a reasonable price.  By the time we got home we had booked with her by email.  It was a great trip and we thanked God for his protection, our good health, his mercy and the many gifts we received on this trip.

Welcome home Gran Marie and Papa Dave!

As we near year end, I would like to reminisce about some of the wonderful experiences we have had this year.

Wadowice is a town about an hour away from Krakow.  It is the birthplace of  St. John Paul II.  We spent a delightful few hours there in May.  It is a lively place.

St JP II’s childhood church. His family apartment is in the building on the right, now a museum.

This is the baptismal fount he was baptised in.

Pope JP II pays a visit to Wadowice and kneels at his baptismal fount (photo on wall).

Fr. Tim Devine celebrates Mass with Fr. John Fletcher left and Fr. Albert MacPherson right.

St. JP II: “Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

In the town square flagstones mark the countries and years JPII visited them.

On the way back to Krakow, we stopped at Kalvaria Zebrzydowska, a famous Franciscan Marian shrine.

Kalvaria Zebrzydowska

It was established in 1600 to provide pilgrims with a substitute of Jerusalem lost to the Muslim Turks and thus unavailable at the time. With its 42 churches and chapels of all shapes and sizes in addition to the central basilica and the Franciscan monastery, the vast complex of buildings scattered among woods on the slopes of the 527-meter-high Zar mountain grew to be the biggest such compound in Europe. Over the ages the pilgrimage to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska influenced millions of Poles. We toured the facility, had lunch and wondered up the hill where JPII used to come, exercise and pray.  

17th Century Angelic Mother of God Church

Our Lady of Kalvaria

Note the distance to Santiago de Compostela!

Pilgrim trail

Small church half way up Mt. Zar

Gorgeous chapel well worth the hike

It is hard to underestimate the cumulative affect these pilgrim sites and group experiences had on us while we were in Poland.  We felt connected to God and others in a deeper way thanks to the powerful witness of the Polish people in their humble devotion to Jesus, Mary and God.   Pope St. John Paul II’s goal was to reunite man with God and the Church.  For us, he succeeded.

Pope Francis yesterday called on all Christians to reject the trappings of “power or glory,” and to embrace a life that’s “free, faithful, poor in means but rich in love.”  Such a lifestyle, the pontiff suggested, would be the real legacy of his Year of Mercy.

Pope Francis closes the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica signifying the end of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy

From his earlier talks and writings on mercy:

Lord Jesus, mercy is the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us.  Mercy, as regards external works, is the greatest of all virtues. It is proper to God to have mercy.  Through mercy God’s omnipotence is manifested to the greatest degree. The very salvation that God offers us is itself the work of his mercy.

God’s mercy is great, forgiving us by caressing us.  The steadfast love of God never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.

Divine Savior, your invitation to mercy is intended to draw  us into a deeper imitation of God our Father: “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (cf. Lk 6:36).  Your gaze, O Jesus makes us feel an interior wonder, and makes us hear your beckon: Follow me.

Mercy is the bridge that connects God and the human being , opening our hearts to a hope of being loved forever, despite our sinfulness.  Mercy brings us peace!

To become merciful, we mist first acknowledge that we have done many things wrong: we are sinners!  I need to know how to say: Lord, I am ashamed of what I have done in life.  With this attitude of repentance I will be more capable of being merciful, because I will feel God’s mercy upon me.

To become merciful, I need an openness to expanding my heart.  Shame and repentance expand a small , selfish heart, since they give grace for God to forgive us.   A big heart does not get entangled in other people’s lives.  It does not condemn, but forgives and forgets.

The way of mercy is the way of life.  A Christian must necessarily be merciful , because this is the center of the Gospel.  Mercy overcomes every wall, every barrier, and leads us always to seek the face of the other – of the person.  And it is mercy that changes one’s heart and one’s life – that can regenerate a person and allow that person to integrate into society in a new way.

True mercy takes the person into one’s care, listens to the other attentively, approaches the situation with respect and truth, and accompanies that person on the journey of reconciliation.  Love can never be just an abstraction.  Mercy means first treating others wounds.  And mercy means neither generosity nor rigidity.  Whenever we have an opportunity to perform a work of mercy, we should rejoice as if a fountain has been let loose so that a fire might be extinguished.

And you, our Lady, through your grace, your intercession, and your example, deliver us from all evil and untie the knots that prevent us from being united with God, so that we, free from sin and error, may find him in all things, may have our hearts placed in him, and may serve him always in our brothers and sisters.

Amen.

(source Magnificat Year of Mercy Companion)

Written by ultra-liberal American/Canadian Henry Giroux just prior to the election this year, it is a diatribe on the societal fault lines that Donald Trump has exploited to gain political power.  He cites the following trends as evidence of a disturbing turn to authoritarianism in the U.S:

• state sanctioned violence against afro-Americans (racial profiling, police shootings, high incarceration rates)
• state tolerated lead poisoning of 6000 children in Flint, MI due to corrosive water
• gun lobby which resulted in 2,525 children and teens dying of gunfire in 2014
• corruption of the U.S. media who are more interested in building advertisers revenue than doing in-depth analytical reporting
• blaming of immigrant Muslims for terrorism and Hispanics for stealing jobs
• increasing militarization of U.S. foreign policy instead of dialogue

Donald Trump is a demagogue authoritarian who has and will say anything to gain power.   He does not ask the electorate for a sacrifice and is unconstrained by ideology.  He is interested only in power for power’s sake and the effect that he has on people.  Very scary and dangerous indeed.

Giroux’s hope is that broad based youthful social groups such as Black Lives Matter and the Occupy Movement will lead a broad social revolution in the U.S. that will address the root causes that are leading to the fracturing of their society along ethnic, social, religious and economic lines.

And now we see the Not My President protests beginning.  Let us hope that this movement will remain peaceful and lead to real social, economic and ethnic relations progress and change in the U.S.   I and many others have our doubts and fears.

A timely read, 4 out of 5 stars.

From 1974-78, I was a process engineer working at the now defunct Imperial Oil Ioco refinery on Burrard Inlet near Vancouver, B.C..  In the photo below, you can see how beautiful the setting was.

It was an opportunity to put my university training into practice. In those days, Ioco received light Alberta crude oil via the Trans Mountain pipeline and turned it into refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, propane, bunker oil and asphalts.

As a “contact” engineer my job was to interact with the refinery operators, monitor, report on and optimize the operations.  I was initially assigned the pollution control units of the plant that do the cleanup and then to the crude unit that did the major distillation splitting of the crude oil as it entered the plant – about 40,000 barrels a day then.

I remember peering into red-hot furnaces where the pipes containing crude oil would be glowing red, climbing towers to inspect gauges and equipment, and urging the operators to open the valve a little more to increase production.  We wore a little fabric H2S indicator that if it turned brown, meant you were being poisoned and to get out right away!  It was the best of times and the worst of times.

Well, Ioco refinery closed in 1995 and was converted to a products terminal.  It now receives refined petroleum products from Alberta via the Kinder Morgan (former Trans Mountain) pipeline and ships them out by barge, tanker, truck and rail, all over B.C.

The Kinder Morgan company also sends unrefined heavy (oil sands) crude oil to Vancouver now for trans-shipment to foreign refiners via tanker.  They propose to expand the capacity from 300,000 barrels to about 900,000 barrels/day by twinning the line.  This is causing much consternation among indigenous and local communities along the route.  They are concerned about:

• increased risk and environmental impact of pipeline break and spill
• increased risk of shoreline leak at the Burnaby tanker terminal
• increased risk of tanker leak in the Burrard Inlet, Vancouver harbour and up and down the lower Mainland coast

I tend to sympathize.  Oil sands crude is very thick and although mixed with a dilluent, would tend to make a spill extremely hard to cleanup as it would be very sticky, heavy and coating.  Going from 2 outgoing tanker loads/week to 6 or more certainly does increase the risk of an accidental spill that could damage nature and wildlife for many years to come.  Finally, the motive of Kinder Morgan is to make profits for its shareholders.  Is this a valid reason to increase the risk of such devastation to people’s livelihoods, communities and to nature?

I say no, despite my nostaligic fondness for the industry, that pipeline and the engineers who build and maintain it.  Stop the pipeline expansion now!  And consider making your next car purchase a hybrid or electric one to reduce fossil fuel demand and reduce carbon emissions!

Express your opinion on this important decision to Prime Minister Trudeau by signing the petition to stop this pipeline expansion now.

Dave

Wilno (Polish for Vilnius) is the first and oldest Polish community in Canada.  Located between Barry’s Bay and Eganville in Ontario, it was first settled in 1848 by families from the Prussian area of Poland.  It has fascinating cultural history such as the tradition of  building crosses at cross roads.  Our pastor in Arnprior, Fr. John Burchat is directly descended from these immigrant families.

Last Saturday Marie and I went on a pilgrimage to Wilno with our Divine Mercy friends.  The occasion was the Feast of Saint John Paul II.  The day retreat was led by Fr. Dan Dubroy, Ottawa Archdiocese and assisted by St. Mary’s pastor Fr. Jan Wadolowski, OMI and St. Casimir Associate Pastor Fr. John Bosco Gali, OMI, located in nearby Round Lake.  Frs. Jan and John are from the Assumption (Polish) Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

We were truly amazed at the size and beauty of St Mary’s Church, high on the hill overlooking the gorgeous fall colours of the Ottawa valley.  It hosts a number of special icons.  In particular:

• a specially commissioned Divine Mercy painting from Vilnius, Lithuania
• Our Lady of Sorrows from the Vilnius Gates of Dawn Chapel (visible at left below)
• Our Lady of Czestochova above the altar

Because we had visited Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Provence where as the legend goes, the Three Marys landed in exile, I was particularly intrigued by an etching depicting the Three Marys mourning the death of Christ.  Presumably these were Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary of Clopas.

We had a very full and holy day filled with prayer, reconciliation, Eucharist, adoration, veneration and stations of the cross.  At lunch I chatted with Fr. Jan and Fr. John who were delighted to meet an Oblate Associate from Lacombe Province.

We tried to get a group picture outside but it was too windy and cold.  We chanted “JP2, we love you!” to stay warm.

On the way home we stopped at the famous Wilno Tavern to pick up some delicious cabbage rolls and pirogues for dinner.  A wonderful spiritually meaningful day’s outing in this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Is an award winning author who writes for the Atlantic about cultural, social and political issues affecting African-Americans.  I picked up his latest book Between the World and Me from the library.  It won the 2015 National Book Award for non-fiction.

The book is in the form of a letter to his son about U.S. history, endemic racism and the ongoing fear this invokes in black people.  He explains to his son that as an African-American male, he is in constant fear of having his “body broken” by the police.  Even if it is a misunderstanding, an error or an “over-reaction”; a black man in the U.S. today (and since day 1 of the Republic), can be beat up, shot, clubbed, kicked and locked up to die at any moment, by police.

This came as a real shocker to me. There is real terror everyday for black Americans that I as a white person cannot see, feel or appreciate. The streets are a very dangerous place.  African-Americans live in fear of their life everyday.  The gangster rap, bravado and crime we see are just a mask for real gut wrenching fear.  They have no perceived control over their bodies which can be broken at will at any time.

I was disappointed when Ta-Nehisi said “I will not retreat into religiosity” and “I live a Godless life.”  It’s as if he has no soul and his body is the only thing – which of course he does not freely have in American society.  They can never take away your soul Ta-Nehisi.  Perhaps you know this at a deep level – your wonderful prose certainly betrays to me the existence of your beautiful soul.

A little girl’s recent plea for peace, justice and en end to violence in Charlotte, NC breaks my heart:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/zianna-oliphant-charlotte-police-city-council-meeting-keith-scott-death-jennifer-roberts-kerr-putney-a7335156.html

A very gut-wrenching, touching book easy to read in a couple of days.  10 out of 10.

However, not all succumb to “the spirit of fear”.  Witness this reflection by Cardinal Robert Sarah*:

“A Godless society, which considers my spiritual questions a dead letter, masks the emptiness of its materialism by killing time so as better to forget eternity.  The farther material things extend their influence, the more man takes pleasure in sophisticated, narcissistic, and perverse amusements; the more man forgets God, the more he observes himself.  In looking at himself, he sees the deformations and the ugliness that his debauchery has encrusted on his face.  Then, to delude himself that he still shines with the original splendor of a creature of God, he puts on his make-up.  But the hidden evil is like the glowing coal beneath the ashes.