THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT -- 2013

On Friday, the 13^th we invited friends and neighbors to help us put up our Christmas tree.  We had plenty of salad, pizza, and wings, plus some ice cream and brownies for our guests.  The pictures tell the tale. When guests arrived the salad and pizza were ready; but the tree was still boxed. 

"Nice pizza--but what have we gotten ourselves into?"

As it happened, the more senior guests gathered in the dining room, while the younger used sofas and the rug in the living room.  [That is what we got the rug for!]   In order to be supportive, the more senior guests settled on affirming the good work done by the more youthful guests, instead of interfering with their process.  Our neighbors, Glenn Lirette and Randy Miller, and Srs. Nancy Hale and Pauline O’Reilly kept Br. Bob, Br. Charles and Br. John company. 

Glenn, Sr. Pauline, Br. Charles, Sr. Nancy, Br. John and Randy supervising from afar.

The volunteer’s guests went by first names—sort of like being in a witness protection program.  Lauren’s guests included a young man “J.A.”, also part of Americorps in New Orleans, and a young woman from Buffalo, Jessie, a college friend who spent several days with us.  Erika invited Jeff, Dan and Jenna, Jesuit volunteers who work at the Harry Thompson Center which shares facilities with Lantern Light Ministries.

Dan, Jenna, Travis, AJ, Jeff, Lauren and Jessie discuss their approach to tree trimming.

"I wonder if they noticed this great haircut I just got--ah well, now where is that tree?

Erika oversaw the buffet; Travis took care of the pizza and putting up the tree.  Br. John wrestled the brownies away from Br. Charles to give to the young people, telling the volunteers they could also have ice cream when the tree was up!  

Senior staff with ice cream cups and  brownie bites--will they share the brownies?

 

Tree is installed by Travis, AJ, and Lauren, note the ''sidewalk superintendents.'

 

Lauren searches for just the right ornament to put up next.  AJ and Dan await, breathlessly.

Jeff, with a height advantage, adds the star on our tree

Erika took the pictures that accompany this blog.

On Sunday, December 15^th, the community went out to dinner for a Christmas celebration.  Last year, at precisely the same time on the Third Sunday of Advent, we celebrated Matt Beben’s 23^rd birthday.  He had his first escargot, and he and Bob had ‘Seafood Courtbouillon, [gulf fish, shrimp, mussels, tomato shrimp broth, green onion butter crustini].’  It was a joy to see Matt’s delight in new foods, something so appropriate in New Orleans.  This year, as last, Travis and Br. John, had the ‘trois mignon’  as did Erika and all pronounced them good.  We had to skip dessert since one of our number had her heart set on a dish of vanilla ice cream from the freezer at home. ‘C’est la vie’.

REFLECTION:

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

--Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE -- 12.12. 2013

Thanksgiving was a treat here at 4219 Constance.  We accepted an invitation from the Presentation Sisters at Lantern Light Ministries to celebrate with them, but so did a number of others and it seemed to us that their house might be a bit crowded with 22 people!  So we invited them to celebrate here—we set up the Blessed Pauline Room and provided liquid refreshments; while the Presentation Sisters, the Holy Faith nuns, and Cabrini Sisters provided turkeys, dressings, casseroles, and desserts:  apple pies, ambrosia and Pavlova.  Travis ferried some of the food in the van, others brought their culinary treats and we luckily got to keep a lot of the leftovers!  It was a delicious deal.  Our guests included Ryan, a friend of Travis’ and Dave Werthmann who spent a week as our guest—he is a long time friend of John’s.  

Lauren Zanfardino spent Thanksgiving on Long Island with her family for a wedding and the holiday.

John began December with school visits to Holy Cross and Pope John Paul II as part of the Discovery Walk Program.  A school visit to Damien Memorial in Honolulu beginning December 9 never came off;  flight cancellations due to winter storms affected connecting flights out of Dallas. 

Our Christmas lights on the balcony are complemented now by lights on the kumquat tree in front of the house.  Our kumquat is BIG—not like the ones used for bonsai!  It is difficult to recognize our tree with the description that follows but they are one and the same:

“When the kumquats are divided into multiple species, the name Fortunella japonica (or Citrus japonica) is retained by this group. The round kumquat also called Marumi kumquat or Morgani kumquat, is an evergreen tree, producing edible golden-yellow fruit. The fruit is small and usually round but can be oval shaped. The peel has a sweet flavor but the fruit has a sour center. The fruit can be eaten cooked but is mainly used to make marmalades and jellies. It is grown as an ornamental plant and can be used in bonsai. The plant symbolizes good luck in China and other Asian countries, where it is kept as a houseplant and given as a gift during the Lunar New Year. Round kumquats are more commonly cultivated than other species due to their cold tolerance.”

Our neighbor, Glen Lirette, got the lights and installed them so our kumquat TREE is quite elegant.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE:

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The opening prayer at Mass spoke clearly of the Church’s commitment to work for justice so we might have peace.  This wider context is perhaps convenient to overlook—if we concentrate only on the miraculous creation and preservation of the image but neglect the meaning for men and women in poverty and of color today, living among us, unknown personally to us as our brothers and sisters, but only as someone we minister to. 

 

O God, Father of mercies,
who placed your people under the singular protection
of your Son's most holy Mother, grant 

that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe,
may seek with ever more lively faith
the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace.

Interesting that seeking the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and peace can be passed over so lightly in a city that owes much of its recovery to the sweat and labor of immigrants from among the very people that Our Lady appeared to!  

Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s reflection in GIVE US THIS DAY was more in keeping with the vision of Pope Francis in the concern for the poor and in at least an oblique reference to the sin of racism.  He wrote: “But the apparition truly marked the birth of the Mexican people—a  fusion of the Spanish and Indian races and culture.  With her dark skin and Indian features, the Lady offered an image of divine compassion for a demoralized people.  At the same time, she called the Church to heed the voice of the poor, to serve as a vehicle for their cultural and spiritual survival.   

As the Advent hymn reminds us:  

     Wake, awake, for night is flying,

     The watchmen on the heights are crying;

     Awake, Jerusalem, at last!  

BLOG 12.12.13 Our Lady of Guadalupe

NOVEMBER 2013: The Middle Days

Charles left on November 6 for a province meeting in Jacksonville, Florida and began with a few days of visiting family in the area.  The meeting was a very serious one; Charles shared his concerns and what he heard with Bob and John after he returned—the view ahead for the province is rather bleak.  So what does one do about it?  It reminds me of a line from Mary Oliver:  “And that is just the point... how the world, moist and beautiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That's the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. "Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?”

John attended a Peace Conference at Dillard University on the evening of November 6.  Members of various religious groups confronted the orgy of violence on city streets here.  Archbishop Aymond spoke eloquently and has given great leadership in this area.  Mayor Landrieu, and representatives of various Christian, Islamic and Jewish faith communities signed a covenant to work together to combat the violence.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, top center, joins Temple Sinai Rabbi Ed Cohn, left center, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond, top left, and Erika McConduit, Interim President & CEO of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, top right, as they stand next to Imam Rafeeq Nu'man, bottom, as he signs his name on a covenant that they all signed along with pastors and faith leaders from across the city at the NOLA Interfaith Peace Initiative held on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at Dillard University. (Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune) caption

On November 7^th three Jesuit volunteers, Jeff, Daniel and Sara, who work at the Harry Thomson Center at the Rebuild Center joined us for dinner cooked by Erika Enlund. 

Then on Saturday, a group from Iona Prep joined us for dinner and reflection after their mission visit to New Orleans.

Taken after we had dinner, time for reflection and dessert--time for the group portrait.

The 21 students and 4 faculty from Iona Prep in New Rochelle joined us for dinner and reflection Saturday evening.   The young men stayed at Camp Restore, a Lutheran group that welcomes volunteers and helps them find work, and work they did.  The young men valued the chance to work with long term adult volunteers and to meet and interact with the homeowners they helped. 

Iona men and woman at work

Yeah, we can do that!

It was edifying to hear their reflections of finding God in the circumstances of their time in New Orleans.

The time with us begins with dinner in the Blessed Pauline Room.

Lauren with her group

Travis, who did most of the organizing with his table

Erika and Br. John at their table

 After dinner we go upstairs to the community room for reflection--then dessert.

Iona Prep students during the group reflection in the community room at 4219 Constance

 

On the 11^th we celebrated John’s birthday with dinner at home and two guests: Sr. Nancy Hale CHF and Sr. Pauline O’Reilly CHF.  Sr. Pauline brought a “Pavlova” for the cake.  It is an elegant culinary confection with a meringue base, and a mound of homemade whipped cream studded with fresh raspberries, blackberries, mandarin orange slices—you get the idea. Bob made it home just in time for dinner—he had been at the convention for the Catholic Volunteer Network in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Charles returned from the Province meeting on the 12^th—a piece of “Pavlova” had been saved for him.

Despite a broken bone in her foot which necessitated wearing a boot, Erika flew to Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday the 16th, meeting her family for a weekend culminating in a Monday night Justin Timberlake Concert.  This was a BIG DEAL for Miss Erika.  REALLY BIG.  The concert, I mean!

Lauren Zanfardino has fallen victim to what happens to most new teachers—sick in bed with a bronchial infection.

New Orleans is happy with its teams: the Saints are winning and the Pelicans are doing OK, too.  Despite stubborn crime statistics, the economy is producing jobs at all levels here, there is still a great deal of reconstruction to be done, and this gives hope.  And the civic and religious communities are openly talking about “the battle of today against violence, murder and racism."  These latter words a quote from a prayer originally composed and promulgated by Archbishop Aymond and now adapted for use by all faith communities. 

 

The Archbishop as he went to start the proceedings at the Interfaith Peace Initiative

REFLECTION:

This prayer is adapted for all Faiths from one composed by Archbishop Aymond for use in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Loving and faithful God, through the years the people of the Greater New Orleans Area have turned to you in times of war, disaster, epidemic and illness. We come to you, Our Creator, and ask you to help us in the battle of today against violence, murder and racism.

We implore you to give us your wisdom that we may build a community founded on the faith values that give respect to the life and dignity of all people.

Bless parents that they more form their children in faith. Bless and protect our youth that they may be peacemakers of our time. Give consolation to those who have lost loved ones through violence.

Hear our prayer and give us the perseverance to be a voice for life and human dignity in our community.

AMEN

BLOG 11.19.2013

OCTOBER TURNS TO NOVEMBER -- 2013

On Tuesday, October 29, 2013 Br. Charles celebrated his 88^th birthday.  Celebrations began on Monday at Lantern Light; folks had him pegged at 87, 88 or 89!  He wasn’t telling.  Birthday cakes were offered up, and a box of chocolate was given.  On the day itself, the community went to La Petite Grocery, a wonderful French restaurant around the corner from our house.  We never had gone there thinking it was too expensive, but had not checked the prices.  It turned out to be about the same as most fine restaurants and, hey, Charles was 88.  The room is beautiful, the service excellent and the food beautifully prepared.  Charles and Travis had the “osso bucco” and pronounced it superb, John relished the shrimp and grits and Bob had his first serving of rabbit!  Erika and Lauren ordered hamburgers, one with no bun, no nuthin’, and each put in a side order but did not eat a ‘mac and cheese’ and a salad.  As a group, we do better eating at home so various dietary needs and food preference [texture is very important to one member] can be accommodated—or one can make a piece of toast, and make something to eat later.  “Travy’s” grilled burgers and sausage are very popular with the distaff side and the yard cat, which folks happily abandon the dishes to feed with any leftovers from the grill. 

 

Each year, food preferences vary.  Our drink of choice this year seems to be pink lemonade, and if John buys it, the root beer is guzzled pretty quickly.  We drink gallons of milk and green tea ice tea goes down well.  

Years ago, we used to have the goblets disappear from the kitchen and end up on the third floor.  This year it is teaspoons—they somehow end up on the third floor although no one would think of eating up there and drawing creepy, crawly critters.

On October 30^th we had a community hour of reflection conducted by the volunteers.  The Brothers reflected on a prayer for volunteers, while the volunteers reflected on a poem called “Dream Chasers” about the role of the Brothers as they see it.  This was followed by a conversation about what we read and reflected on.

Lauren recently received a lovely recognition from her fellow teachers at Langston Hughes—who are referred to as “Dream Keepers” as an exemplary “dream keeper.”  

Erika continues to enliven the ministry at Lantern Light.

John began his coaching visits to schools as part of the Discovery Walks program of the School Leadership Center at the University of New Orleans.  On the 31^st he was at John Paul II High School in Slidell for a 7:45 AM meeting with administration, and was at Holy Cross near the lakefront for a 9:45 meeting. 

Travis Wain’s  ministry for the homeless was mentioned in the Fall newsletter of the Harry Thomson Center.  The Harry Thomson Center provides the services through Travis.  “The VA CRRC Partnership -  On October 7, the HTC began providing laundry and shower services at the newly opened Veterans Administration Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC) located in downtown New Orleans in a renovated wing of the old VA hospital. The City, through its Emergency Solutions Grant Program, is providing funding to HTC to provide services at the CRRC.  In the photo are Rickey Paul, Chanitra Casmier, who serve as Center Assistants, and Travis Wain, our Site Coordinator who is an Americorp Volunteer with the Christian Brothers Volunteer Program.  Not pictured are other Center Assistants Trolean Tolliver and Khristian Hamilton.  Welcome to all of you!  

Bob left for a conference sponsored by the Catholic Volunteer Network on Sunday.  

John helped facilitate a gathering of religious concerned about violence in New Orleans on Monday evening.  The ‘Burning Bush Initiative” shares information about programs that seek to heal and help end the cycle of death resulting from racism, poverty and lack of education.  It has introduced folks to mentoring, bereavement and public witness initiatives that religious may consider joining.  

Charles leaves for the Brothers community leaders’ workshop in Jacksonville, Florida on Wednesday. 

Reflection:

The Dream Keeper

Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamer,
Bring me all your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world. 

Langston Hughes