Dec, 23, 2019

Perhaps you can answer this question.

Why do liberals think Trump supporters are naive’?

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Terry McCann	6:35 PM (2 hours ago)
to me

Someone I know published this on his Facebook page. I thought you might want to read it.

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From an excellent comic book artist, Steve Lightle, comes this:
"LET US UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER "
An anguished question from a Trump supporter: ‘Why do liberals think Trump supporters are naive’?
The serious answer: Here’s what we really think about Trump supporters - the rich, the poor, the malignant and the innocently well-meaning, the ones who think and the ones who don't...
That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought "Fine." That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, and his subcontractors, you said “Okay." That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, "No problem." That when he made up stories about seeing Muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, "Not an issue." That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn't care, you chirped, "He sure knows me." That when you heard him illustrate his own character by telling that cute story about the elderly guest bleeding on the floor at his country club, the story about how he turned his back and how it was all an imposition on him, you said, "That's cool!" That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw. That when you heard him brag that he doesn't read books, ( except Hitler’s bio) you said, "Well, who has time?" That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn't commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, "That makes sense." That’s when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, "Yes!" That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man's coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, "What a great guy!" That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, "Thumbs up!" That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, "That's the way I want my President to be." That you have watched him remove expertise including worker safety, consumer and environmental protection from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they're supposed to be regulating and you have said, "What a genius!" That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, "That's smart!" That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was the middle of water and you have said, "That makes sense." That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, "falling in love" with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, "That's statesmanship!" That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids, (6 have died in custody) has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas - he explains that they’re just “animals” - and you say, “Well, OK then.”
That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, including reducing taxes for the highest incomes and raised taxes on middle class by redefining the tax brackets, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise, via his narrative it’s ok to harm anyone that disagrees. That he suddenly abandons our allies, the Kurds, who have helped us fight terrorist groups for years, a withdrawal strategy contrary to the vehement opposition voiced by our Generals and you assume he knows best. That reliable mainstream news sources have documented over 14,000 of his lies in about 3 years and you rationalize it away by saying , “all politicians lie.” That you claim the President is supposed to be a role model for children and demand the ouster from office any Democrat who has been caught cheating on their spouse or has 1-2 sexual harassment claims made against them, yet totally ignore a “man” who brags about being able to “grab them by the pussy” and has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 23 women with an additional 43 allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump published in 2019 - and you say, "It's locker room talk. All men do it."
What you don't get, Trump supporters in 2019, is that succumbing to frustration and thinking of you as ignorant may be wrong and unhelpful, but it's also...hear me...charitable. Because if you're NOT naive or ignorant, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.”

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Christmas blessings and Peace

Terry

some people, besides me, try to understand where the Trump supporters are coming from in light of what I take oto be "facts" that are known and recorded. Perhaps you can help me to understand. many thanks. and have a blblessed Christmas.

Dec. 23, 2019

Again, almost three weeks. Funerals cropped up 3 times so that we had to cancel something we had planned and the time before Christmas was just too short to be able to reorganize, so we just had to scrap the plans.

   Just quickly some of the things that happened in the meantime. A Christmas party for the deaf. They come here to one of the monastery buildings on several Sundays a month and one of our Mariannhill priests (who took over from an older priest who now passed away), who is learning sign language, invited us old timers to their party. It was vey quiet as you can imagine, but at the same time, very lively.

    I managed to get my Christmas letter out to most people (I always mange to miss a few, my apologies if one of them is you) and I also got my Christmas haircut. Ha.

  We (MIKE Pillay and I ) took communion to the sick who are housebound, before Christmas. They were happy that someone actually took notice.

I  had a visit from two comrades who now live in Pretoria, who survived the apartheid days, being underground activists and almost getting caught. One of those I took to the border to escape back in those days, I gave my roman collar to and told him that it just may help him if he was wearing it. I met him a couple of years later in Somafco, an ANC camp in Tanzania, where the ANC was trying to look after those kids who had to run away or be thrown in jail and be tortured or even killed. I spotted the one with the collar way in the back and we reconnected. I asked whatever happened that night. He laughed and said that he put the collar on and when they were trying to cross the border in a taxi, they were being searched by a big Afrikaans cop. Edwin knows Afrikaans so he began preaching at the cop, have you met jesus …have you turned your life over to him, etc. etc. etc. The cop got annoyed and stopped searching and just said, hayi, voetsack, hamba.  Just get out of here. Ha. So a collar can help in a pinch. We reminisced the whole evening at the Tre Fontane guest house, run , by our CPS SISTERS.

    I did a bit of Christmas shopping for our staff here and for the family that looks after the outstation I try to serve (now with the help of a priest friend who is presently not assigned to a place so helps us…we are a duet.

    I had a cup of coffee, informally, with my dentist (sr. Michael), who never asked about my teeth. She already knows the story. Ha.

I was hearing pre-Christmas confessions for old people (mostly) at 10 am  Last Saturday, 21^st. Later that  morning and afternoon, A group of men from neighboring parishes had a braai vleis (cook out, barbecue) for us old timers, a chance to have a beer or a glass of wine, pre-christmas and to meet the generous laity.

    I say Mass on Monday evenings at the Srs. of Mother Theresa and that is always a joy. About 20-25 people in their care, some physically challenged others mentally challenged. I think that we love each other because we are on the same page. Hmmm.

   Tomorrow, Christmas eve, we have an evening Mass at 6pm. The midnight Mass is a think of the past here. To many drunks and thieves moving aaround  at night.

Well, that’s it for now. I am busy preparing for tomorrow night , expectant like a couple waiting for the water to break and the pains get closer together, indicating that the child is ready to be born any minute. Christmas almost here with its precious gift.

   I wish you all, again, a loving, peaceful, joyful Christmas and a not too exciting new year. Love and peace .     Cas

Dec. 6, 2019

   Not much to tell over the past 2 i/2 weeks. My recovery has been phenomenal, people say. I just heard a few people saying what they experienced when visiting me when I was sick and down and out. One said that I talked to her for a long time but she couldn’t understand a word I said. Another said that I didn’t recognize her and talked to her in either Zulu of Xhosa. Others said that when they saw me they thought that it was all over for me….that I would never get out of that bed. I am hearing more and more of these stories. I never felt that way at all. I knew that I was drugged (they brought my meals up to me as it was hard to get out of bed ) and I was pretty much confined to my room. No masses, no hospital, no Savannah Park. By the 20^th I was almost back to my old self, except for the spasms that kept coming and continue to come even now. But it seems that I have told you some of this already.

   One of the highlights of this time was my birthday lunch. Some time back my friend Shirley asked where I would like to have lunch for my birthday. I thought this over for a few days and then got back to her and said Italian. I love Fetuccine Alfredo (it is a pasta with white sauce, not tomato sauce. I started taking it because when I eat tomato based pasta, I leave the menu on my shirt. White sauce doesn’t stain as badly.) She came with the parish priest of her parish (we are good friends and Shirley is already 85 yrs. Old and deserves to have someone drive her around.) They found a delightful Italian restaurant not too far away called LUPA ( a female wolf—you know the story of Romulus and Remus being reared by a mother wolf, the foundation of Rome). I ordered my dish and they brought it and I thought that I would have to ask for a doggy bag. But, ha,  I ATE THE WHOLE THING. So my appetite is back.

   I had to have some things done to the car like an oil change and it is very expensive. My friend who passed away used to do it for free and only now I realize what a gift he gave me,

I also went to the urologist for my annual prostate check up. No cancer. He said that my urological health is like that of a 40 yr. old. Nice to hear good news.

I blessed a car, had a home mass, and will be conducting a wedding soon. So I feel that I have improved greatly.

The only bad thing , and this is very bad, is that I doubt that I will be going back to the States (via Europe) any more because the flights are too long to be able to survive the spasms. When I went to Zambia in September, I noticed that the flight from Lusaka to Joburg was 2 hrs. I also noticed that I was very aware of the spasms that whole time because I had nothing else to do but sit and watch my legs and grit my teeth. Maybe (I pray for this) something will happen to take the spasms away. If I am busy doing something, I can ignore them and focus on what I am doing. So I can handle them. Thank God that they don’t interfere with my driving.

I also went to the bank today to have Br. Tendai, who is our bursar, be added to the sisgnatories on my bank account. The only two who are still on the account are Fr. Guy (long dead) and Fr. Winfried, now semi-retired and possibly going back to Austria in his old-er age.  

I found out that the sisgnatories cease having authority to use the account if I die. Everything is canceled. It is only the executer of my will who will be able to access my account. So now I have to start thinking of a will and including that in it. Mariannhill Congregation as the executor.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. I feel much better and am getting active again and everyone says that I look  so much better. Thanks to the Lord and you and your many prayers.

I will catch you before Christmas. Stay well and don’t let the material preparations for Christmas over whelm you but think of your spirit as well, what Christmas means , more than Santa Claus

Love and Peace, Cas

Nov. 20, 2019

     It is rainy and cold and I have to fight off the temptation to jump on the bed and just lie there. I don’t know what happened to my energy. On Monday our computer, IT guru came

And successfully got my computer talking to my printer (I hope that the stay on good terms now…for a while there they weren’t talking to each other). That was a satisfying moment

Because I have some work to do that involves the printer.

I finally wrote down the alternative name for Valium. It is Diazepam. Just check it out on Google and you will see why I am not interested in meeting her/him again.

Yesterday I popped in to see our travel agent, Rajes. We have become good friends over the years. From there I went to the paulines, a catholic bookstore, and picked up a couple

Of catholic calendars, one for Mike Pillay at church and one for me. I was heading for my physiotherapy session but was way too early, so I popped in at Nazareth House to visit

My friend, Fr. Chris Lockyer, an OMI (Oblate of Mary immaculate) who is suffering from Parkison’s disease and looks permanentllly at his toes. So sad.

    From there I went to the physiotherapist who walked me through a new range of exercise, es. No use going to her regularly because with the spasms there isn’t much she can do.

Then I went to visit a couple whom I have known since we buried their waterhead baby way back in the 60’s. They came to visit me while I was down and out and confessed that

They didn’t think I was ever going to get out of that bed and told others the same. That shocked me. I didn’t realize that people thought I was going to die (I guess that it was the same at

Savannah Park with the hugs…they really didn’t expect to see this walking corpse. Ha. No wonder. But I must say that I never felt like dying. I just wanted to recover and have a drug free

Life.

Today, I did almost nothing. I saw the mechanic yesterday and he put on a new cam belt today. That is the belt that kind of keeps the valves doing there thing in the right order. If that

Breaks, you are in big trouble. It should be changed like every 100,000 kms. At the least. We were up to 165,000 already and were pushing our luck. But the bill threw me. R1566.00

I thought something like R500 or 600. Wow. We will have to talk about that. Otherwise all seems to be slowly but surely improving. I walk around the room without the crutch and

Try to walk up straight. Christmas is coming soon and I haven’t done a thing to prepare for it. We shall see.

    I asked my provincial if the province could pay for the retreat I would like to make between Christmas and New years. He asked me to check how much that would be and he

Would put it before the committee. I phoned the retreat house and they said it would be R1640.00 (usually it is R420 a day). We will see what he says. An ordinary person can

Hardly afford that. Maybe I will have to just give up the idea, as do many others because it Is just out of my financial bracket.

Life goes on.  Stay well, you all. Open your hearts for the coming of Christ, bringing inner peace to a very un-peaceful world.

    I am reminded of the story of the grandmother who was with her 6 yr. old grandson in the mall when he turned to her and said. ’Grandma, there Is the line for Santa Claus,

 But where is the line for Jesus? Hmmm. 

Nov. 17, 2019

Last Saturday, Nov. 9, I went to the Paulines (Catholic bookstore) and got a diary for 2020, which is fast approaching. We have had lots of rain this whole past week, kind of on and off, but

Also quite heavy at times, so that there were floods in some places and lots of damage to houses. Here, around Mariannhhill and Durban, there are only hills and more hills.

Bad for rain. On Tuesday last week, Nov. 12, I took the dreaded step and went to the Traffic Dept. to renew my driver’s licence. I was prepared for a looooong queue, but as soon as

I arrived, a lady from the staff said, Woza Mkhulu, Come on over here old grandpa (skipping the queue) ue sat me down in a very short queue (only 4 people, older like me). So we went

Flying through the process, but I now have a renewed licence that is good for another 5 yrs. . Bishop Lobinger (92 yrs. Old) drove me

There and picked me up. The whole thing took only an hour.

    I decided to make an appointment with the surgeon to see is he was satisfied with what is happening to my left leg, and if I should be doing something else or, maybe,

    I had finally gotten rid of all drugs and was now drug free and felt better for it, but now the surgeon, Dr. Naidoo, gave me a script for a muscle relaxant and pain controller,

Just when I thought I was finished with drugs. Hmmmm..

     I think the idea is that somehow this medicine ( the name is spanmend) will help to lessen or eliminate the s-pasms. We whall see.. I will give it a try for a week and if I don’t see

Anything of the sort, I will stop. 

   I felt better these day  and had more energy and . The desire to move, not just sit around. I went for Mass today at Savannah Park and was practically hugged to death

We were happy to see each other after a break of more than a month. They had been a reports that I was really sick and couldn’t even get out of bed, so it was like

A resurrection before Christmas. I will try to see the physiotherapist this week to make a plan as to how to get the left leg even with the right.                                                                                                                                                                                

So that;s it for now. I feel much better, and will try to be faithful to my exercixe schedlule so that, hopefully, I will be able to walk norrmally again. (Maybe that is wishful thinking). I was shuffling with the 4 legged walker, but now have been using the elbow crutch except when I am in my room when I just hobble around without the use of the crutch.

Chtistmas is just around the corner and I don’t think I will be doing much gift giving this year as I don.t think I have the energy to go through the running around.

Hey, I am going to leave it here for now. I have \been getting to bed earlier and slowly adapting to a 7 hr. or 8 hr, sleep as opposed to the 6 hrs. I used to be satisfied with .

Good night.

Nov. 8, 2019

     Ha, I was thinking that as you get older, the topics of conversation change and in such a way that you could never have imagined that you would be talking about your latest hysterectomy, or prostate op, or BM, of the knee job. But here we are.

    Well I was having my own problems with constipation which comes with the ageing process (not enough exercise any more, meds that encourage it, slowing down or stopping peristaltic movement, etc. Well last night, I eventually went to my records of past colonoscopies and checked how to get ready. I noticed that there were 3 sachets, eadh having its own atomic bomb. I only used two , one at 2pm and one at 5pm. And I am a new man. I will share more when I have more time later on.

November 1,2019

     Yesterday, I drove the car for the first time in q month. i went to the hospital for some xrays.  I got there at 8:30 am and was f inally finished at 1pm. Crowds of people and long queues.

 But the xrays showed that all was OK.

    i have pretty much gotten rid of most “medicines”. I have cut the half in half and have finished more that a week of that and will start a bit every other day for this week and then say

that;s it.

   My sense of balance seems to be coming back too and my appetite is much better but I am down to 150 kg (I think that that I a bit less than 70 pounds, I lost a lot after the spinal op.

I tried using the crutch for a bit today but I think I will wait a bit yet. I wand to feel more sure and confident.

    I have to get my driver’s licence renewed this or next week. Ha, I wonder when I hobble up there if they will think it I a joke that I want to renew my driver’s licence. Ai hope not.

I want ti thank you all for the support of your thoughts and prayers. It is too slow for me but it is coming. Take care. Soon Christmas. Wow, so fast. Lots and lot of love to you all.

Fr. Cas  

October30, 2019.

QUALITY OF LIFE (in spite of spasms)

Before the drugs (medicines)

85%

1.       Able to drive 

2.       Took services at

-Srs. of Mother Theresa—Monday eve.Shallcross

-services at St. mary’s hosp.—Tues and Thurs mornings,

-Service at Savannah Park on Sundays

3. Drove to appts, for doctors and physios

4. Shopping---Pavilion, Pinecrest, Knowles, Pick N Pay, Pinecrest

5. Climb stairs with crutch—no problem.

6. Services and meals downstairs-walk with one crutch

7, Dress and shower self

8. Visit sick people in hospital and at home.

9. Could walk to garage to fetch car and return it. (100 meters)

10. Slept well at night

(Spasms came after sitting or lying down. When you were busy during the day

You didn’t notice them although they were 24/7)

(Didn’t appreciate my quality of life---nothing to compare it with…)

After taking the medicine---Oct.1,2019

(a cocktail of medicines, mu quality of life dropped down to about .05

-i can’t drive

-I can’t climb stairs

-for a while, I needed the food to be brought to

-couldn’t attend Mass

-medicine caused hallucinations—drugged

-still feel the spasms, though less often

-confused—seeing double-----pres p and get x or pres5 and get 3,

couldn’t communicate either by phone or computer- very frustrating

--after a week Dr. Bhagwan said to cut the dose in half.

-I want to cut the dose in half again and then ease off altogether and

Be drug free.

-I shuffle, I don’t walk. I use a 4 legged walker but am frightened about

Falling—not confident---need something to hang onto (A wall, a bed,

A table, a chair, a desk, anything, to feel somehow secure.

In the beginning, my life was eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat sleep…not my idea of quality

Of life. It is improving slightly and slowly. I seem to be always sleepy, especially

After breakfast and lunch.

    The medicine is also causing constipation…but we are dealing with that problem.

Hopefully, by Christmas I will be back in shape. (fingers and toes crossed and prayer)

I hope to have better news net time. Thanks for all the moral and spiritual support.

19 October,2019 Blog
/ssorry about the delay. alots of problems. Medicine that turned me on my head, hallucinations and all. The promie bas y the doctor was to improve the quality of life..ha......sleep, eat, leep, sleep, sleep is not what he had in mind.on top of that the cell phone and computer decided to quit working at the same time so communication was impossible. Besides, I was seeing double...press p and out comes x or press 5 and out comes 7. I hope to get back to you later this week or early next week. I have no energy.we pray for a liveable outcome.Thanks for the prayers and support. I love you too.

Sept. 28, 2019

My Last Blog was? I can’t remember and I can’t find it anywhere. I have been plagued by not finding things, like my blog, on this bloody computer, or by having whole files just disappear. This, it seems, has been happening ever since I had One Drive installed. I don’t know if it is the culprit or not but I suspect it.

I can’t find anything where I put it and it has really caused havoc for my time frame. I need a guru sitting next to me I think.

Anyway, off the top of my head---my computer was getting so slow that you couldn’t work with it so I had to spend a small fortune to have an SSD (solid state drive) installed, 250 GB, plus another 4 GB of memory to speed up things to normal. I also had to buy a 4 wheel carry on suitcase since the one that only has 2 wheels and that you pull, the doc says, no, it will twist your back after the op. OK. Two small fortunes gone. Then I noticed that my front tires were almost bald so i had to buy two new tires, balancing, wheel alighment, etc. another fortune.

I went to several other doctors who were recommended and found out that my blood flows beautifully, up and down, but my  physiotherapist is still frustrated because the 24 / 7 spasms keep spoiling her work. She advised another neurologist, Dr.Baghwan, who seems to be a whiz at solving problems that others coulddn;t solve so he is my last hope. That will be on Oct. 1^st.

The real highlight of these past days was my trip to Zambia, from Sept. 6 to 16. It was sooo refreshing and like a a retreat. My youth group from back when I was in Zambia from 1972 to 1977 and their kids organized the fare for a trip to Zambia. That goes back to almost 50 yrs. Ago, and the Spirit is still alive and well. Wow. I cried with joy. I met the new members of the family and we blessed those who were m-arried recently (say 5 ti 10 yrs. And their kids, and then, the net Sunday, we had the renewal of marriage vows for the old timers, 40 yr., 39, and 38 yrs. And 5 yrs. But finally getting things done properly. Fr. Sax, a good friend of the family, took the time to compose a service that was beautiful.

The family I stayed with organized a 4 wheel walker to make my movements easier. But even then I fell down 3 times and broke the skin on my arms so that they took me to a clinic to have me patched up. The scabs are still there but they healed nicely. Falling is the easy part. It is the getting up that is the challenge. Ha. Just wait. You will see.

They took me to visit other friends and my CMM brothers and CPS  sisters in Lusaka, and then we went up to Kabwe, about 100 km. north of Lusaka, my old parish, where we did some more visiting. I stayed with another family , the husband of which gave me his bed to sleep in because it is close to the toilet. Very thoughtful and loving.

IT was very hot the whole time, although they say that OCTOBER is the really hot month, suicide month they say. I enjoyed the interaction with the youngsters. I was really “hobble-alon Cassidy” with my trusty crutch.  /everyone helped my by tqking my hand and keeping me from falling when my left side wanted to give in.

However, it was pure unadulterated joy and love. I am still feeling it now.

The experience on the plane convinced me that, if this spasming continues, I won’t try to fly home. The flight from LUSAKA  to Joburg is two hours and since there is nothing to take your mind of the spasms, you just sit and watch and feel them coming, 5 a minute. It would be too much, I THINK, to deal with for a long 10 or 12 hour flight.

I am going to Mthatha next week to attend a board meeting of Sabelani, probably the last one. And to bring some old clothes to the village. I will be back on the 29^th of Sept. I am grateful that I can still drive. And dress (it takes a lot longer, especially getting my red socks on, ha.) and take  a shower.

I will catch up with you when I get back. In the meantime, lots and lots of love and please pray that the doctor can come up with a solution.  Peace,     Cas.

September 11, O fateful day, just a note to you all that I am in zambia till the 16th of Sept. No wi fi, be patient. see you then . In the meantime, when I get a chance, I will fill you in. lots of love. Cas,

August 30, 2019

   Nothing so special these past two weeks, except for a thing or two.

My electric scale gave up the ghost so I got a manual scale. I also followed the instructions of the doctor to get a 4 wheel carryon so as not to pull my muscles in my spine to one side.  Tried another new medication since re was no change with the last medication regarding the spasms. Still 24 / 7. The usual advice---magnesium, calcium, drink more water. Ha.

I confess that I used some of the money from the socio-pastoral fund, to upgrade my computer. It was getting so slow that one couldn’t work with it any more. But it still is not right.

However, the real important news I am copying here from a message I sent to Br. Tendai, our bursar.

Dear Tendai,                                                                                                                      Aug. 29, 2019

     To put you in the picture. A friend from St. Paul’s parish put me in touch with Dr. Nadvi, a semi-retired neuro-surgeon at St. Augustine Hospital.

    He saw me to day and after studying my case history, decided to have a look at my left leg (the one with the new knee) and was shocked to see it so swollen and hard, in comparison with the right leg. He feels that this could be the cause of the problem because it is clear that there is something wrong with the blood In the left leg, as though something is blocking the flow of blood so that it swells and gets very hard.

    So he phoned a friend who is a vascular surgeon and made an appointment with him for Monday where he will have a scan of my left leg to see what is causing the swelling. It will cost R1500, he says, which is half the normal charge for a consultation visit and a scan. I think that both of them are being kind. No charge at all today.

Also, I made an appointment with the physiotherapist to have her check whether  I am doing the right exercises and if they are having an effect on the straightening of the left leg. That is on Tuesday.

     I am hoping that this is the breakthrough  we have been waiting for, but am afraid to put too much trust in this new path lest it also lead to a dead end and continued spasms.

Cas.

All the while I was writing this, my right leg was spasming like crazy. It is driving me nuts. I really hope that the meeting with the doctor on Monday, sept. 2^nd will be the answer to the problem that has been hounding us for months now.

    But, if it doesn’t work out, I remember that many of you and lots of others too have to deal with worse situations health wise in your lives so, if need be, I will just do it. Ha. With the help of lots of prayers, and I pray for all of you too.

Lots of love, as always,    Fr. Cas.

August 18, 2019 (Feast of the Assumption)

    Ai have to go now for supper. I will be back after supper and the news and will try to update you on my happenings and thoughts then. See you soon.

I am getting lazier and lazier or lethargic. Not like me but before I needed some outside activity (cutting grass, trimming trees or bushes, washing the car, some kind of physical activity. But, with this stupid problem with spasms I am not sure about my balance unless I have something to lean on.

    Let’s start like this. Sr. Eugenia helped to persuade me to start Mass again at the hospital so I have been going on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mass at 6am. Which means I am up at 4am, take a shower, bang my bionic knee with hot hot water to loosen it up, do my exercises, get dressed and make the bed and check for emails or WhatsApps, and leave the house about 20 past 5 to fetch Sr. Eugenia at 5:30 from the convent and take her to the hospital where she organizes the altar and we have Mass. Usually there are two or three who come pretty regularly, rarely more, sometimes less. It doesn’t hurt to ask God to bless all those involved in the healing ministry (one way or the other, including maintenance people, kitchen, administration, etc.) as well as those who hope to get healed. The world offer plenty of other topics and situations to pray about.

On the 6^th and the 8^th of August I had Mass for grade 9 kids from a Catholic school called Holy Family School. Ha. Out of maybe 60 kids, 7 or 8 might be Catholic. So I have to adjust the service  a bit and explain a bit too. I don’t want them to feel as though we are jamming Catholicism down their throats. But we always find common ground when w reflect on the Scripture readings and question how we can apply our beliefs and values to the situations we find ourselves in.

Yes we remembered Women’s day on the 9^th of August.

On the 11^th I had a funeral, the father (99 yrs. Old) of one of the choir leaders at Savannah Park where I go on Sundays. It was supposed to start at 11am , but this is Africa, so no surprise when the body wasn’t around yet, an there was no program. But I was prepared for all eventualities. We had pretty much finished everything when the program finally came and then came the speeches (these are an essential part of a funeral here in Africa---the obituary, exactly how the person came to dying, his work life, his home life, hic church life, etc. …some if not all of these. But he was so old that it was only a few members of the family who had anything to say because there was no one old enough to know the rest. ( we had already had our usual Sunday Mass at 8am, but it is so difficult to find place to bury someone or have them cremated, that often it has to be done on Sunday. Lots of people die here.

My legs are twitching from the spasm stuff and it is getting towards my bedtime so I will leave it here for now and try to get back at it tomorrow. Good luck. I may slip into one of my lazy moods. Goodnight.

Mev Puleo was a journalist who specialized in affairs in Central America. She had more or less lost her faith (she was a Catholic) but rediscovered it when she saw the dedication and willingness to put their lives on the line of the Sisters  and priests working with the poor in Central America. She died of cancer around 1996 or so. Young, maybe 45 or so. She also studied ad JSTB in Berkeley (Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley) where I did my sabbatical in 1995. She was an inspiration to us all.

Ms. Puleo wrote: “When I was in my early teens, a thought took hold of me. Jesus didn’t die to save us from suffering — he died to teach us how to suffer, to be with us in our every anguish and agony, to give meaning to our pain. . . . Sometimes I actually mean it. I’d rather die young, having lived a life crammed with meaning than to die old, even in security, but without meaning.”  Mev Puleo

Summary
"If I were to choose a single book by means of which to introduce North Americans to the real meaning of liberation theology, it would be this book." -- From the Foreword, Robert McAfee Brown "More than any other book I know, Mev Puleo's The Struggle is One, brings alive the world of liberation theology in contemporary Brazil for the North American reader. We meet the men and women from both the educated elites and the desperately poor favelas and rural areas whose burning faith and committed lives are expressed in the continued re-creation of a Christian vision and praxis of prophetic struggle." -- Rosemary Radford Ruether "While other books on liberation theology help us to understand its significance in terms of doctrine, Mev Puleo's The Struggle is One, a book full of 'living human documents,' leads us right to the heart of its spirituality." -- Henri Nouwen "In a way that is difficult to find in other forms, Mev Puleo's book, The Struggle is One, presents first hand information by asking incisive questions in a gentle and gracious manner. Members of Christian communities as well as bishops are given a voice. But perhaps what speaks more powerfully are the photographic images. Mev Puleo is an artist who vividly portrays the life and faith of a people." -- Gustavo Gutierrez "An excellent contribution to liberation theology in Latin America. I strongly recommend it." -- James Cone "This book puts real faces and vibrant content into liberation theology." -- Harvey Cox Mev Puleo is a freelance photojournalist whose work appears primarily in the religious and alternative press. She is currently an advanced degree student in Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. In addition to having worked as a high school theology teacher and campus minister, she has done volunteer work and has initiated documentary photography projects in Haiti, Brazil, Mexico, and El Salvador. She is a co-author of Faces of Poverty: Faces of Christ.

In Italy, views of Church from the papers and the pews seem very different

·         Elise Harris

Aug 18, 2019

SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

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(Credit: Pixabay.)

COURMAYEUR, Italy - In Italy, the days surrounding the Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary, which coincides with a major national holiday, are typically a time of national relaxation kicked off by pious celebration.

Visitors who stumbled across a Catholic church on the Aug. 15 Feast of the Assumption likely would conclude that the faith here, despite it all, remains alive and well. Parishes are typically packed, including whole families who still see going to Mass that day as part of the traditional mid-August ferragosto holiday.

Overall among European Union members, according to Gallup data, only Poland and Ireland have higher weekly church attendance rates than Italy, which clocks in at a robust 37 percent nationally - compared to 13 percent in Germany, for instance, and 11 percent in both France and Belgium.

Yet that’s not quite the story about Catholicism one would have gleaned from the Italian media during this year’s ferragosto period. Seen from the papers rather than the pews, the Catholic story in the pope’s backyard this year has been one of silence, decline, and vulnerability.

In northern Italy, the former Saint Francis elementary school in the city of Cigliano, which used to be run by nuns, has long been abandoned and is falling into ruin. According to Italian paper Nuova Periferia, locals believe the chapel attached to the school has been robbed, because it’s now “completely empty” with none of the adornments it previously contained.

City authorities are reportedly hoping to restore or repurpose the property, which some say has become “a toilet for cats.”

Not far away, in the northern town of Carbonara, thieves broke into the cathedral Aug. 16, the day after the Assumption, stealing vestments, gold-plated patens used during the distribution of communion and the copper cover of the cathedral’s baptismal font.

The incident made headlines in Italian paper La Voce di Rovigo, which reported that on the same day, a hailstorm also damaged a precious stained-glass window, leaving it in pieces.

Separately, in the city of Modena the church of San Damaso was also hit by thieves who stole money given in the offertory Aug. 14. Italian paper Il Resto del Carlino reported that the money was later found by police in a parking lot and returned to the parish, however, the incident has left parishioners surprised and anxious.

Another article published in the Italian paper Il Fatto Quotidiano on the eve of the Assumption, focused less on the celebratory and devotional nature of the coming feast, and more on the Church’s political footprint in Italy.

Author Francesco Grana, a longtime Vatican reporter, was critical of Italian bishops for what he said is an “unusual and deafening silence” in response to the country’s increasingly complex and dizzying political situation.

Grana argued that the bishops seem “stunned” by the apparent demise of Italy’s populist coalition government, yet a “Catholic proposal” is “almost absent” as the nation gears up for elections after Deputy Prime Minister Matto Salvini last week declared he was pulling out of the coalition.

Salvini took office in 2018 as part of an accord between his far-right League party and the left-wing Five Star movement.

Grana noted that many practicing Catholics in Italy voted for Salvini in both his 2018 election as deputy prime minister and in the European parliamentary elections in May, despite the fact that the firebrand minister is at odds with Pope Francis on hot-button issues such as immigration. He has been criticized by several Italian bishops for using religious symbols such as the rosary during political rallies.

Grana said the “quiescence” of the Italian bishops is a source of great concern, claiming the only Catholic entity in the country attempting to fill the void left by the bishops is the Democrazia Solidale party, nicknamed “Demos,” which is linked to the progressive Sant’Egidio community, generally viewed as adopting a liberal ecclesial agenda and which is a favorite of Francis.

The Sant’Egidio community, widely known for its advocacy on behalf of migrants and refugees, was established by Italian politician and historian Andrea Riccardi, who for a short stint in 2011 served as Italy’s Minister for International Cooperation.

Established 10 months ago, Demos is the brainchild of former Deputy Italian Foreign Minister Mario Giro and the Lazio Regional Counselor Paolo Ciani. It’s designed as a means of bridging social gaps and giving a voice to the poor and economically disadvantaged.

With a mandate to “reform” political life in Italy, the organization, according to its website, says it wants to offer a contribution based on three primary principles which they say are at the heart of their identity: a political commitment inspired by “democratic Catholicism”; a communitarian and “non-individualistic” idea of democracy; and a model of responsible autonomy and solidarity, which they say are pillars of “a united but plural Italy.”

Yet perhaps the real standing of the Catholic Church in Italy during ferragosto 2019 was glimpsed in the city of Brescia in Italy, where Nadia Toffa, a popular television personality and host of the long-running show Le Iene (“The Hyenas”) was laid to rest on Friday. Everyone of note in the country, from celebrities to politicians and financiers to fashion designers, either were physically present or offered public condolences.

Most of those “influencers,” in all likelihood, are not regular church-goers and don’t take their cues on much of anything from the bishops. Yet the funeral took place in Brescia’s cathedral before a packed house, and the most-quoted figure in the media was the priest who presided: Father Maurizio Patriciello, a pastor from Naples and a personal friend of Toffa, selected by her prior to her Aug. 13 death to lead her funeral Mass.

Patriciello is considered a hero to people in his impoverished Naples neighborhood, known as the “Land of Fire,” both for his stands against dumping industrial waste in the area, which he holds responsible for elevated cancer rates, and his anti-mafia activism.

In other words, a quintessentially secular figure wanted a celebrated Catholic priest to be the one to deliver her last message to the world, and she wanted it done in a Catholic church. That pretty much says it all in a country where the Church may be perennially in crisis and decline, but where it also still has a hold on hearts and minds that’s proven stubbornly resilient.

A few items of bed time reading, to stimulate your thinking.

On the 12^th of Aug. I went to see the neurologist only to let him know that there was no change in the pattern of spasms. And on the  13^th I went to the travel agent to fetch my  visa for Zambia. It is a piece of paper that says I paid and submitted the necessary documents and pictures and all he has to do is just stamp the visa in my passport. The time is approaching rapidly.

    I got a haircut on the 14^th (there is still a small, thinning forest on top of my head, believe it or not). On the 15^th my computer guru explained why my computer is so slooooooow. It is full, like my brain, and needs more time to dig through years and years of files. He explained that the memory (RAM) was only 4gb and they were totally used up so it was using my hard drive to get some space but the hard drive is 100 times slower than the RAM, if that makes sense to you.

   On the15 I blelssed a friend’s house / home. Asking the Lord to make it a place of peace and joy to be experienced by all who live there and come for a visit and to spend some time there.

On Sunday the 18^th, I was the main celebrant and my friend who concelebrated gave the homily. However, at the offertory, I had to sit down. The spasm hit my left leg and was squeezing it tight so that I counldn’t concentrate on the Mass so my friend took over. I keep thinking of Jesus who said, when he was scared topas death in the Garden of Gethsemane, “please, Father, let this chalice pass from me…” and then, after thinking about it for while, he added, “ but let your will, not mine be done.” I guess that that is where I am at at the moment.

Someone told the story of the man who jumped off a thirty story building and was heard, as he passed the 20^th story on the way down, “ so far, so good.”   Remember, Murphy was an optimist.   Lots of love. Cas.