Update - at last!

In spite of all my good intentions and New Year resolutions, I slipped again!
Volcanic ash from Iceland kept myself and Terence in San Francisco for a week longer than anticipated. But we were well cared for by the friars at Our Lady of Angels and suffered no hardship except for some cancelled meetings - unlike other people, especially those travelling with children or on a tight budget. It was a relief to get back to Europe .
Next on the agenda was the international meeting on Migration held in Bangkok. It was a very good meeting - informative, practical and provided an excellent space in which to hear from the friars about all the work that is being done in this area.  One of the highlights was certainly a visit to a refugee camp near the border with Myanmar where it was very moving to hear the young refugees share their dreams and hopes for the future.
I visited Pakistan towards the end of May. The weather was too hot for Northern Europeans like myself, and the situation was not helped by regular power cuts, night and day. The atmosphere was tense because of recent killings in a mosque quite close to the Capuchin friary in Lahore and the incursion into the hospital the following night to finish off those who had survived.  Reading the newspapers and watching the TV, one gets the definite impression that Pakistan is a very violent society where life is cheap. The friars there, however, continue to live the Capuchin life with hope and courage.
A number of chapters took place during the summer: Malta, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Lebanon, the latter followed by some time in Ireland for a rest.
I came to Quebec on 26th August to conduct a visitation of the province. The province here is ageing, without many vocations, but the presence of young Indian friars from Kerala brings much hope for the future.  Together with the young local friars it will be possible to open up new paths to bring the Gospel message to a society that has passed from being a staunch Catholic presence in North America to a very highly secularised one with little interest in religion. The history of Quebec reminds me very much of the story of the church in Ireland, except that what took 50 years in Quebec has happened much more quickly in Ireland.
Back to Rome on Saturday next and the merry-go-round takes off again. Pray for us.