Happy Holidays

Greetings to one and all, this time from Mtayleb, just outside Beirut on a hillside overlooking the city where the friars of the Vice-province of the Middle East have gathered for a chapter without elections. So it is a very relaxed, hard-working meeting. There are friars here from Syria who have reported on happenings there. In the Lebanon itself there is no official side-taking; the one wish is for peace.The speed at which Beirut is rebuilt after every one of the wars is amazing. It gives confidence to the many tourists who are beginning to return to fill the thousands of bed spaces, and who are an essential element of the Lebanese economy.
Travels since Easter took me to many corners of the world, but most of the time was spent in Europe at various chapters and meetings.  Holland had a chapter in two parts and have fixed the date for part II on the third Friday in September. In the meantime, they have got the dispensation to have only two definitors.
There was torrid heat in Rome for the first two weeks of July, which coincided with the meeting of the Constitutions commission. Maybe that helped to speed up the work as the third week was free. Unfortunately many of the friars with long-haul air tickets had to hand around, as changing the ticket would have cost too much. But they had time for personal work and even a little tourism!

Happy Easter 2011

As we come close to Holy Week, we are also coming close to the end of our Spring definitory meeting.  Once again, I remain struck by the great richness of our international fraternity: so many different expressions of the Capuchin vocation, such variety and yet, at heart, the same vocation.

Greetings to one and all for a prayerful and reflective Holy Week, and an Easter celebration filled with joy and hope. Càisc fé shéan is fé mhaise dibh go léir.

Desert Storm

Back in Dubai once more after visiting the friars in UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. It was in Kuwait on Friday night that we thought of President Bush and his Desert Storm, as we experienced the real thing.  A vicious sand-storm hit Kuwait from Iraq and Saudi Arabia about 5.30 pm, blotting out the sun and sending people running for shelter. Because of the volatile political situation in many of the neighbouring lands, at first many of the locals thought that the oil fields had once again been bombed. The effect was much the same as what had been experienced back in the early nineties during the Iraqi invasion - but it turned out to be Mother Nature this time. The following day, clean-up operations began. There was sand everywhere, trees down but, in general, relatively little damage given the ferocity of the wind.
There is instability in many of the countries in the region and uncertainty as to what will happen next.  Communication is limited so it is often difficult to have accurate information, but people keep up their good spirits. Dubai has been badly hit by the recession but Abu Dhabi seems to be relatively untouched.

La 'le Padraig

Greetings to one and all for Saint Patrick's Day. I will be somewhere in the UAE with my Capuchin brethren, so it is unlikely that I will find some fellow Irish people to celebrate with. But we will all be united in spirit, le cunamh De.
Tomorrow morning I leave for Dubai to visit the many frairs working in that part of the world. They come from many countries, principally from India and the Phillipines and their task is to offer pastoral care to the millions of immigrant workers in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. I hear talk of some trouble in Bahrain and rumblings in Kuwait, but , please God, all will be quiet while I am there.
The last few weeks were spent in Austria and Alto Adige, in view of the forthcoming unification of these two provinces. There are few vocations in that area of the world and the hope is that, by combining forces, the brothers there will be able to create something new together. We hope for the best.