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Share your bread with the hungry

Helping others is getting a bad name in our country. You probably are thinking, “What the hell are you talking about?” But, really have you listened to the discourse on the news? The latest scary news is that if certain politicians are elected we’ll be subject to socialism.

I have to laugh when folks I know start railing about socialism. The roads we drive on are all publicly financed. Most of us have toilets that connect to sewer systems that are publicly financed. Many people fly around the country or the world and the runways and air traffic control itself is publicly financed. Income redistribution is occurring and has occurred for quite some time for the common good.

Media outlets, politicians and others would have you believe that socialism and totalitarian communism are the same thing. They’re not. Many countries including our own have limited forms of socialism that ensure that the most vulnerable are protected. We have Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public schools and more that are financed by levying taxes. What’s changed in the past forty years is that the lions share of that burden has fallen on the middle class. The top earners and big business pay little or no taxes while enjoying all of the benefits that I’ve mentioned while the rest of us pick up the tab.

The media and politicians are quick to ask ‘how can we afford X social program?’, but never ask those same questions when starting another military intervention.  Over the weekend I had the chance to help bring some peace and love to our world and it involved self sacrifice and self giving to others and with others. I’ve found that I’m most content when I’m helping others. I’m not sure about others but helping is in my DNA and it elevates my spirit in more ways than one. Yesterday’s first reading at Mass iis one of my favorites and it connects with what I’ve been sharing. Sharing what you have with others is good for me and good for our world. Peace 🙂

Thus says the LORD:
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday. – Isaiah 58: 7-10

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A day to remember

There is not a February 8th that goes by that I don’t remember graduating from the US Navy Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes. With that on my mind earlier today I drove to St. Bonaventure University with a load of groceries in the rear of my car. I was joining a group of Franciscans and other members of the St. Bonaventure University community to assemble food packages to be sent to the Arizona-Mexico border.

On my way to the campus my car started making some scary noises and lights appeared on the console to let me know that something was seriously wrong. I slowed down and drove along the shoulder of the road and arrived at the campus of St. Bonaventure and unloaded my groceries. Br. Joe Kotula, OFM drove me to a local repair shop where mechanics quickly determined that my car needed a new wheel bearing. Joe drove us back to the campus and when we arrived we were joined by dozens of volunteers who took hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars worth of energy bars, meat sticks, and other snacks and placed them in large plastic bags along with a greeting in Spanish and English.  Each note was signed by a volunteer who packed the bags. In all three-hundred-fifty-two plastic bags were filled with snacks and other goodies. They filled 15 shipping boxes and were shipped to Elfrida, AZ. There these care packages will be taken to the US – Mexican border and given to migrants who need some love and care.

This wonderful venture was inspired by Br. Joe who recently returned from three weeks that he spent with the Franciscan Intentional Community in Elfrida who make regular trips to the border to help migrants and recent immigrants on both sides of the border. Before we started packing and after we were through Br. Joe shared his personal journey to the border along with great photographs of the people he met, the conditions he observed and the thirty foot high border wall which is being constructed along our southern border to keep immigrants out. In some places the border wall is topped with concertina wire designed to seriously injure anyone who would attempt to scale and climb over the wall.  Joe’s voice was choked with emotion as he described the experiences he had on both sides of the border and of the horrific plight that these migrants face and the reasons that they are gathering at our border.

As I helped pack bags and worked in assembly line fashion with the dozens of volunteers my eyes filled with tears and I knew that we were truly doing God’s work. Immigration is a serious problem. That’s for sure but there must be a more humane way to deal with it. One of the stories that Br. Joe shared was of an migrant boy who threw stones over the wall and how one of the border guards killed the boy with his weapon. The guard shot through the wall into Mexico and after killing the boy refilled his weapon and shot the dead person some more. What motivates a person to do that? The boy was wrong. He should not have thrown stones over the wall, but does it justify murder in cold blood?

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. — Jeremiah 7:5-7

I hope that our efforts with BonaResponds today helped to atone for the way we are currently treating the aliens in our midst.

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Blue Cross Arena Hoops Classic

Tonight I’ll be joining my wife, son and grandson at the Roc City Hoops Classic. The matchup features the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The Bonnies have been hot lately winning 10 of their last eleven games. We are season ticket holders and longtime St. Bonaventure fans. As I look forward to tonight’s game I thought of a night nearly thirty-nine years ago when I accompanied this lovely young lady to our first date which was a St. Bonaventure vs. Duquesne game. Now almost four decades later we’re going to be joining our son and grandson at the game.

It’s a new year and a new decade filled with lots of promise. While the outcome is far from certain there is one thing for sure and that is gratitude for this amazing journey of life. Bonaventure literally means “The Good Journey,” and our lives have certainly been that. The names change from year to year but the men in brown and white still exemplify the spirit of this small Franciscan University on the banks of the Allegany River that continues to draw a crowd at larger venues like Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.

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Take a deep breath and release

With those words my prostate cancer surgeon released me from life with a catheter. I’m grateful that I’m no longer tethered. I was learning to get along with these extras. They provided the necessary bridge to health after the robotic prostatectomy. The doctor gave me an excellent pathology report too. Only twenty percent of my prostate had cancer cells. I’m not sure what all that means in the long term but I’m very grateful for now.

Yesterday I began the next phase of my journey to health post prostate. Following the cystogram and catheter removal I donned my maximum absorbency underwear. Now, I’m on the same page as grandson. I have a temporary continence problem. I began the prescribed Kegel exercises in earnest as my wife drove us home. Our first stop was lunch at Tim Horton’s. I opened the passenger side door and stepped out into the warm afternoon air and then ‘whoosh.’ Oops, I forgot for a split second that I don’t have bladder control. That was my first epiphany. I smiled and shared the discovery with my wife. I’m reminded of the Saturday Night Live skit ‘Oops I Crapped my Pants.’

Once we got home I went for a walk enjoying my new freedom. The days and weeks ahead will have their challenges as I do the Kegel exercises and retrain my bladder muscles. It’s great to be alive and enjoy the rest of summer.

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Reformation of Discovery and Healing

Shameless: A Sexual Reformation

Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was the second book I’ve read in the past week by the author and I found her insights keen and a welcome conversation to what is a dim landscape when it comes to common sense and sexuality in religion. I love her writing style and her very open approach to the subject. I’d love to hear one of her presentations and/or attend one of the House for All Sinners and Saints services. I highly recommend this book even if you’re an atheist or agnostic. There is great insight and powerful sharing here for everyone.


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Grateful for the journey

My life has had a lot of ups and downs in the past year. I don’t want to recount them now. A few months ago I learned from expert medical attention that I have prostate cancer. Who isn’t afraid of a cancer diagnosis? But compared to the other tribulations that have occurred in my life in the past sixty-six years it was just one more thing.

Upon learning the diagnosis my wife and I began a series of office visits with different clinicians to determine the best possible course of action. I had three options. One was to do nothing for a year and see what happened. That didn’t seem reasonable. I thought that would be like sitting on a landmine hoping for the best. Another option was radiation and the third was surgical removal of the prostate.

Many relatives and friends stepped forward to share their experience. I’m grateful to all of them. My sister was perhaps the most persistent advocate for surgical removal. Her husband had prostate cancer twenty years ago and opted for surgery. In addition to them I had other friends who had relied on radiation therapy and were almost five years cancer free. I went back and forth and prayed on it along with my wife. After a thorough examination of all possibilities and counsel with my wife and the medical teams I decided to pursue the surgical route.

In the days and weeks leading up to my procedure I did a lot of thinking . I went on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi with a group of United States military veterans. I spent a lot of time in prayer there and in the quiet places I love closer to home. A few days before my surgery while attending an evening program at Mount Irenaeus an entire congregation prayed for me. A Franciscan priest told me he would offer his mass on the day of surgery for my intention. A former minister put me on his prayer list. Fellow prostate cancer survivors and their families reached out and slowly with their help and encouragement I moved forward. Faith is not the absence of fear. It is continuing to move forward in spite of that fear. Faith is walking through fear and trusting that things will work out.

The countdown ended the afternoon I arrived for my surgery. I was admitted to the hospital, prepped and put in one of those little hospital gowns we all know and love. I was surrounded by my family. My son left work early to be there along with my wife and daughter. The professional staff of the hospital got me ready and came an hour early to take me to the operating room. I remember the anesthetist putting something over my nose and then … I woke up hours later in my hospital room. While I was asleep a team of highly skilled doctors and nurses performed a robotic prostatectomy. I am grateful that such people surround me.

It’s now nine days hence and while I still have a catheter for the time being I am returning to health and wholeness. I have been surrounded by love and care. I have received phone calls, text messages and personal visits. My wife has been a private duty nurse who has had to modify our home to accommodate me. Each day is a new adventure. I have returned to writing again. Yesterday I was able to attend the weekly meeting of the Opensource.com moderators. Later I ventured out with a friend to a meeting twenty miles from home. I got a text message from the mother of one of my Python coding classes. She let me know that she and her son were keeping me in their thoughts and prayers. I am surrounded by love and at times it has been overwhelming. I am very grateful to everyone who has given something of themselves. This has been the good journey. In its own unique way it has been a pilgrimage which has led to some new understandings of life.

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Prayers for Healing and Wholeness

On Monday they’re going to make me a holey man. Being holey isn’t the same as holiness and yet these doctors who’ll be making me holey will be using incisions and robotically assisted instruments to return me to health and wholeness. The past twelve months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for us for our family. A friend of mine says that “growing old ain’t for wimps.” He’s right. At the same time there is something to be learned from it all and much to be grateful for.

A year ago our daughter in law and son lost her father to a rapidly progressing cancer. Then they and we lost a grandson to still birth. In the interim I survived a pulmonary embolism and learning to live with atrial fibrillation. In late April following a biopsy we learned that I have prostate cancer. Fortunately it’s at an early stage and there are lots of options. Nonetheless, I’ve been very worried and anxious.

All these experiences have drawn us closer as a family and there have been many touching moments. I’ve been spending more quiet time at those quiet places I love. A month ago I was in Assisi surrounded by peace and beauty. I’ve made several trips to Abbey of the Genesee and elsewhere. Tonight I’m sitting next to a beautiful pond at Mt. Irenaeus.

I’m grateful and peaceful and hopeful for healing and wholeness. Prayers for the doctors and nurses who are taking care of me.

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Be Relentless

Relentless: Changing Lives by Disrupting the Educational Norm

Relentless: Changing Lives by Disrupting the Educational Norm by Hamish Brewer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hamish Brewer is anything but typical. A tattooed skateboard riding principal whose zest for life and education transcends tradition, culture, place and every other impediment you could imagine. He grew up in New Zealand in poverty. He found school difficult and oppressive and even was retained a year. However from an early age he had a drive to distinguish himself and do something great. He believes that success in education is about relationships. He writes, “When you acknowledge, respect, empower, motivate, inspire, and believe in people, you can move mountains.” This book will have you on the edge of your seat and you will be hard pressed to put it down. Hamish loves his school and the children that attend there. He builds a culture of confidence and desire by telling children that he loves them. He says, “I challenge you to introduce the word love into the everyday vocabulary in your school. Relentless is a call for everyone to aspire to new heights. We all have it in us to be relentless and this book is an invitation to do just that.

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We Happy Few

As the sun sets on our pilgrimage and on the horizon I’m filled with gratitude for a week of healing and peace. A week ago most of us had never met and now seven days later we are united by the common experience of a journey that took us from Rome to Poggio Bustone, Greccio, St. Mary of the Angels, LaVerna and Assisi and many other villages and hamlets along the way. In June of 1972 my enlistment in the United States Naval Reserve seemed full of uncertainties. It was a disruption or so I thought to my life up to that moment. Little did I realize that I was embarking on a journey that would bring to Rome and Assisi twice in as many years. Nor did I imagine that I was joining a select fraternity of women and men with whom I would feel kinship that transcends time, family and place. As I look across the Spoleto Valley tonight I am grateful for my good fortune and my record of service that has invited me to this sacred place and to relationship with the wonderful folks I’ve been privileged to associate with this week. Frequently friends and relatives thank me for my service but little do they realize what they are saying nor the impact that service has had on our lives. Until you experience the trauma of moral injury and it’s consequences you can’t really appreciate the gravity of military service. Those of us who have worn the uniform of military service and faced a common peril together are bonded forever. We are a band of brothers and sisters

From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered – We few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. – Shakespeare

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A Memorial To Remember

Our morning began with colazione at Casa Papa Giovanni then a short meeting on the rooftop. We walked together along a beautiful trail single file with breathtaking views of Assisi below and to our right. It was a mindful walk of veterans accompanied by Candace Clemens who is a Gold Star mother. We stopped briefly to catch a breath and then on to the precipice of Rocca Maggiore. We stopped here in the shadow of a great fortress.

What followed was the most beautiful Memorial Day service I have ever attended. Fr. Conrad Torganski OFM led us in the singing of “On Eagles Wings” then Michele Trietley read Psalm 91. Michelle introduced Candace Clemens, Gold Star Mother of SSG Shawn Clemens who was killed in Afghanistan in January 29, 2004. It must have been very tough for her to recall the story of her last visit with her son and then recall the memories of his death and the family grief and mourning. Next, Shawn’s battle buddy Francisco Morales recalled his recollection of Shawn their shared service to our country and his death on the battlefield. Frank shared his own story of service and a series of events that led him to St. Bonaventure University and eventually being the guidance counselor Sergeant Clemens son who is now enrolled at St. Bonaventure in the ROTC program. As I looked around I saw many of us blinking back tears.

What followed at the invitation of Fr. Conrad was a litany of friends and family who had paid the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield. As each person shared I was struck by the solemnity and sacred nature of the moment. I will never forget this special morning on the mountainside overlooking the Spoleto Valley in Assisi, Italy where a Gold Star Mother and American veterans paid tribute to our fallen comrades.

You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” He. will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. – Psalm 91