The Americans are Vacating the Premises

So I think its a world war, or nuclear disaster, or maybe its just time to go back to school, but the Americans are leaving en-masse. Last night Ashley left to go back to Texas, tomorrow, Anne-Marie, Joe and Bernadette leave, and over the next two weeks almost all the rest of us will be gone. (Many French are leaving also... though mostly to continue their touring).



Last night we threw a party (well, gathered for dinner) with the Irish at Peter Cats to say farewell to everyone who's leaving in the coming days. It was nice and we had quite a blast, though I don't think Indians understand the boisterous Americans and even-more-so Irish.

(Yes, the small red things are cherries on the eggs...)

American Decadence or the Promise of God??

So today I went to 915 mass in the Upper Church at St. Therese (On AJC Bose road near Shishu Bhavan, which means nothing to anyone not in Kolkata or familiar with it, but that basically means it's a 10 minute straight walk north of the Missionary of Charity Motherhouse).

I showed up expecting to enter into a low ceiling affair that wouldn't be terribly beautiful, but I was wrong on both accounts, it had a huge ceiling, though it is on the second floor, and it was very beautiful, though also very simple.

I sat in the pew and noticed that the confessional was out (in India, confessionals are movable affairs with a screen, a kneeler facing the screen and a chair on the opposite side, they can either be one or multiple pieces). So I looked a bit more and noticed the priest was still there!?! 7 minutes before mass. So I went to confession and had one of the best Confessors I've had in a year or so.

Then I went and waited for mass to start (he stayed in the confessional even as the openning announcements were made, and only left after the announcements finished.) During the homily, He started by talking about "a study made in the land where you all want to go", "at least in your dreams". "In America." The study researched how one fifth, 20% of all food is wasted. How in America there are huge markets with food on all the shelves, and each piece of food has a date on it. (As he was talking I could see the dream of America captivate everyone, including the Priest and the lone American.) "In America on the day that the food is stamped, no one will buy it, and all of it goes to waste. So in the Markets, the day before they take all the food and throw it away."

I was thinking about how much we waste, and how much Indians reuse and recycle every single thing, even used soda bottles and plastic bags. I felt guilty for being an American, a person who throws away on a good day 10% of the food on my plate, and won't drink milk that has just "expired" according to the date. I thought about all the decadence I see in America that we've become numb to, all the excess and wastes of resources. And I was bracing myself for a scolding.

But none came. Instead he continued "this is the promise of God!" That He will give us abundantly every day more than we need.

And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.
2 Kgs 4:42-44


And I began to feel blessed by God. I began to take pride in being an American who daily recieves the blessings of God, though hidden from my blind eyes.

It was not a scolding that I recieved, but a blessing, it was not a teaching on decadence but on God's providence. How even in this country that is SO poor, people are not envious or jealous of Americans, but instead they too take pride in their brothers and sisters across the sea, even if they are white and not brown.

I learned again today that my own selfishness is manifest in the thoughts I give others, in my expectations of what they will do.

The priest proceeded to interpret the scriptures in a way that was both very interesting, honest and theologic. I was captivated by his references to the Church fathers, and his call on the young to give their five loaves and two fish...

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jn 6:1-15


(the whole readings can be found here... http://www.usccb.org/nab/073006.shtml)

Salty Beds

So I'm beginning to get frustrated with these occaisional bouts of health... they really distrupt a good thing. I mean who doesn't love having to use inhalers, decongestants, asprin, hydrocortizone, steriod creams, etc every five minutes?

Anyhow... I think I may have solved part of the reason I get intestinal problems so much and its something rather simple (I hope)... Salt. I need salt... I'm going to dramatically increase my salt intake over the next few days and keep it high while I remain... Indians apparently don't salt their foods much when cooking so I think I'm in a salt deficiency... which apparently causes sickness, weakness, allergies to increase, cramps, etc... which explains alot.

Also, I've had the joy of being bitten repeatedly by small insects lately... and no it's not been mosquitos... they don't seem to like my blood, but these buggers do...
bed bugs... these suckers leave welts that itch way more than mosquitos, and they are more annoying because they only seem to attack when you're just in that nice spot of sleep ...

Uh Oh...

So I just now had time to review our flight returning to the USA... and not only was I off by one day but by two days in my thoughts of when we were leaving...

I thought we were leaving the 15th... but we're leaving the 14th... well actually a few minutes after midnight on the 13th... i.e., August 14th at around 1am.

Returning Flight(s)

depart

Delhi Indira Gandhi Intl (DEL)
Monday, August 14, 2006
12:50am (Morning)
Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS)
5:50am

depart

Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS)
12:55pm
Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
2:50pm

And then I take my flight to San antonio....

Date: Monday, August 14		Flight: NW 1849
Departs: Minneapolis/St. Paul-Int'l, MN (MSP) at 7:30PM
Arrives: San Antonio-Int'l, TX (SAT) at 10:19PM

Humble men who walk with God.

This past week I met and got to know better four humble men who walk with God, and ten men who aspire to be like them.

(Fr.s Noel, Cyril and David; Fr. Steve was leading a multi-day conference at the time of this picture)

I met Fr. Steve the first day I was in Kolkata and Fr. David is my spiritual advisor, but the other two I didn't know existed. ;-) I was really impressed by their holiness, which was not conveyed in anything they did or said, but which you knew by the humble way they carried themselves and the spirit of silence that came from them even as they talked.


This was my bed... the first time I recall sleeping under a mosquito net ever... which was really nice because without chemicals I was able to sleep without getting bit (except for the last night).
Every morning we had to wake up at 5 am to be ready for 530 adoration... as you can see Hetti slept in... and that was not at all uncommon... she almost never left the room.
Washing clothes was really nice at the house, as I learned from Indians how they do it... and my clothes have never been cleaner! (well maybe in the US but not in India). I even managed to get out stains that had been around for a month and a half or more!



Every night we'd have recreation for an hour, where the community was required to play together and hang out. Some of the guys would play music and the rest of us would play games. They had such fun beating the drums and playing the table organ, though most of the time they didn't know how to play.

I gradually got better at the table billiards game (I have no idea what the real name is.) I even got down two shots in a row that amazed the guys! (The first one was lucky and accidental but looked really good, the second intentional). As a result I won the queen piece (the red disk) and I also got a point for our team (the white piece).

(I was really proud of myself, I even stood up had high fives around, and bowed comically.)

Eventually when Hetti perked her head outside of the room, the guys saw her and thought she was dinner...

During our time I learned quite a bit more about MCs in general and also about their life in Kolkata. I worked at the Sealdah Dispensary two days, Kalighat one day, and Prem Dan one day. They also work the streets looking for people to feed or to bring to Kalighat or Prem Dan and people and to affirm that people forgotten by society are human; through conversation, presence and touch. It's a bit amazing to have been allowed to come and see how they answer God's call. And how though few people know about them, they walk so humbly with God... not asking for a spotlight or even a mention. They want to serve Christ in his distressing disguise, and they too are disguised and hidden as priests that "only say mass for the Sisters, right?"

Calm before the storm

A quick post today before more indepth ones later.
So I'm back...
I got back this morning around 1145am (just before noon). but I should have been back about 45 minutes before that but I ended up getting lost and a 30 minute walk turned into an hour and a quarter. But I got through 5 or 6 rosarys which was nice (I stopped counting after three). And I had my first soda in a week... sprite... it was sugary, and I think I'll stick with water... my mouth isn't adjusted to sugar that much anymore... after eating rice and curries for so long.

But yes I'm alive, and I really don't think I'm supposed to be a priest (praise God!).

Well, off to go find a wife.

(Just kidding).

Haircut

I got a hair cut... check it out... sirhair.blogspot.com

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I go to the MC father's house... which is good, because right now Kolkata is inundated with volunteers. I went to Kalighat today (lately I've just been working at the mother house, resting to keep from being sick, or sick in the mornings so I've not gone to Kalighat frequently lately). And the whole time there were about 7 people just sitting (though the 7 people at any given time were different, and after the laundry was done I sat, since I'm sick and don't want to kill the patients with a random germ... or get more sick from the patients.) I'm a bit uneasy about this whole thing... I heard Fr. David's story, and it scared me a bit as it sounds akin to the path God has been leading me, so perhaps God chose Fr. David as my spiritual director to lead me to the MCs? and the fact that my spiritual director is also the Formator (aka. novice master) for the MCs in Kolkata is another coincidence that I'm wondering about. So this is me scared, yet trusting in God's divine providence. I trust Him, He's always been good to me, and I think I'm ready to lay down my hopes for His, if He does ask. It will be a struggle, but then as John the Baptist said "He must increase, and I must decrease."

I tried to eat lunch today, but apparently my appetite is gone... which is not a good sign. I could barely force down some yougurt and piece of fruit (and A french fry). So I hope I'm not more sick than I feel... that would be bad... (and I've been feeling quite tired and a little bit sick for a while).



This season brings what one of the other long-term volunteers calls "tourists" as volunteers, those seeking an "experience". Padre Pio's brothers used to kick out people who came to see him as "tourists" or "spectacle seekers". Though I can't say the "tourists" get in the way as much as they would if they were gawking over the wounds of Christ on Padre Pio, I can say that the long term volunteers become much holier during this period than perhaps any other. It requires much patience, from what I observe, to guide the newbies... and to teach people who "know what [they're] doing". Though I've not really had to experience it yet, I know that those who do are growing in humility and patience by leaps and bounds. In a way I envy them and wish I could stay to grow in those ways, but I have other ways to grow... paths that are dark, that I can't see down, and that I'm really scared of. But I step out in faith.

Mother Teresa was right "[the Sisters and patients] don't need the volunteers here, it is the volunteers that need to be here."

Also, in less than an hour I get my hair cut... I'm quite nervous.

Lets play catch(up)! Wednesday July 12

Wednesday I played with Siddharth, Priyanka and Hettie for an hour or so and then prayed and relaxed.



By this time I had started the cough and congestion that is still with me... so the Sister and the resident community tried to get me healthy by giving me medicine and a sweater... yes the sleeves are not rolled up. They really took and interest in me and were very warm.

Priyanka loved playing with my digital camera so I have 20+ pictures that she took (like the garden above). It's a bit fun to look at the retreat center through her eyes.

These are pictures of my room... I liked it alot... it felt like a monastic cell (though slightly more comfortable). I spent most of my time in prayer in front of the blessed sacrament in the chapel, reading in my room or the chapel, or eating.

Lets play catch(up)! Tuesday July 11

I woke up Tuesday and had to run back to my room, since it was so beautiful outside!


The mist cloud made the center seem even more private, more peaceful and more protected. As if I was covered by Mary's mantle. That day I took a short hike in the forest in the morning and had my first encounter with a weird insect/thing that I learned days later were leeches. (I took them off of me before they had a chance to attach).





Later on in the day, Hettie made a few new friends... the niece of the Sister that works at the retreat center (the niece was on holidays from school).

(this is a photo of some of the resident community in the chapel, many of them are lay missionaries of charity.)



Priyanka showed the guests some Indian dances and songs as well as a few English songs she had learned. I didn't get any photos of that, but I have a not so good quality video of one of the dances. It's cute.

A No photo post!

(Yes no photos on this one since I'm uploading photos for another post and that takes time and I can only upload photos for one post at a time).
So I'm planning on going to the Fathers house sometime soon... I haven't decided the exact date yet, but tomorrow is looking good, I just need to call. I was going to do it today, but I went to see Renata at the Hospital, and after being there for 5 hours I'm a bit tired... and I'm planning on going to adoration now.

Anyhow, I'll try to finish up catchup soon (hopefully tonight) and then I'll have to catch you all up again after I get back from the Father's house.

Lets play catch(up)! Monday July 10

The next day we woke to the usual rural sights of India... train tracks, sarees and cows.

When we reached Siliguri (the train station at the bottom of the mountain to Darjeeling/Kurseong) we had to rent a Sumo at a Sumo of a price (1020 rps!). And I took Hettie out...

And this guy almost clubbed me with her... (She was actually a hit... everyone wanted to meet her!)

This is one of the first pictures of a mountain I've taken in quite a while!
While travelling up, we stopped (our driver and porter were hungry, so they ate while we all waited... India is crazy different from the USA at times!). But we got to see this cute lil'pup (that we almost ran over, or that we thought we almost ran over... the drive was just pulling up to park, as the puppy played in the street)

Bernadette was unfortunately car sick, so she had a time to let her stomach settle and rest while we all waited for the driver to finish lunch.

On the way up we spotted our first monkey... he was sitting on the cliffside of the road eating a bannana or potato... couldn't really make it out... it was really exciting and I barely got my camera out in time, and turned on as we drove by.
After over an hour, we hit Kurseong...
And I said Bye to my friends.
And then had to take a second taxi, because the first lied when they said I was at the right place...
But all was well and I arrived at Goethals (home of the retreat center)
Just inside the gate is a man made waterfall that I thought was for aesthetic purposes, but later figured out that it was a practical measure from all the rain and mist they get... leading to large amounts of constant run-0ff water.
after trekking up the private drive on the hill for a while, and then through the school (and asking for directions a few times in between), I made it to the gate that led to higher up the mountain... and to Mount Carmel.
After crossing the gate I saw my next monkeys... (the next time I'd see them I'd not recognise them as monkey, but as a dinner that I thought was a delicious beef pot roast).
The path up to the retreat center was steep, wet and beautiful... it made the retreat center feel very isolated and peaceful!
After checking in, I hit my room for a rest, and then heard clucking outside my window.

Luckily, clucking is a lot less annoying that motorcycles zipping by and honking outside your window. So I got plenty of rest.