GUERRA MEXIO AMERICANA
Benjamin Maurice Read,
pioneer native New Mexican historian, in 1910 wrote from his perspective a history
of the US-Mexican War waged from the occupation of Santa Fe by US forces on
August 18, 1846 to the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of February 2, 1848. A century and a half after the occupation, my
Uncle Tom (my father’s younger brother by seven years) helped me translate
eleven chapters from Spanish to English.
Recently, Antonio José Martínez (it’s no accident this Harvard-trained
lawyer for Amazon Books has the same name as the famous Cura de Taos) nudged me
hard to finish the work. With the help
of his father Vicente, with whom I have for years been collaborating about the
Padre, the work of translation is almost completed. UNM Press has shown interest in publishing it.
Stay tuned!
POPE FRANCIS IN BRAZIL
For the past six weeks, I have been helping to celebrate Masses at Big Bear Lake,
CA (almost the same altitude as Taos!) while the pastor has been away. It has been a welcome relief from the
desert’s summer heat where I reside, but am now returning to help out at a
parish in Cathedral City.
This past weekend has been
especially busy for me: four weekend Masses and two sessions of Confessions
that is pretty routine. What made it “busier” than usual, but at
the same time so JOYFUL and ENJOYBLE, was trying to keep up with Pope Francis
and the THREE MILLION PLUS young people with him in Brazil. What an
extraordinary event! Through the miracle
of wi-fi and computer, I was able to keep tabs on what was happening. My
guardian angel woke me before 5 AM on Sunday, on time to watch what led up to
the Mass and its celebration on Copacabana Beach below the giant image of
Christ the King. I was reminded of the final scene in Slum Dog
Millionaire that has about a hundred young people doing a dance routine between
two long lines of stationary railroad cars. MULTIPLY THAT to equal
3,000,000 plus! Before the liturgy began, Pope Francis viewed that choreographed
homage from a TV in the sacristy. All banners were lowered, and a
reverential silence ensued immediately preceding the Mass.
The Pope’s most historic and well-received visit to Brazil was strong in both
style, but more importantly in substance. I commend Canadian Catholic
media outlet Salt and Light for their
excellent live coverage in the U.S. and throughout the English-French speaking
world and beyond http://saltandlighttv.org/live/
Congratulations
to the parents of the newly born royal baby!
By the way, the infant has the same
name (besides that of several of his ancestors) as our new American pope (from the continent of America) given at
his baptism—JORGE that means Geroge.
A few coming dates important to me personally:
August 31 – my 75th birthday; October 23 – my dad’s hundredth birthday; he died in 1996; April 30, 2014 – my 50th anniversary as a priest
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