From January 31, 2020
I have a 3:39 flight this afternoon to Port-au-Prince. I’m eager to get home and back with my unconventional family. I only had six full days in Florida on this trip and thanks to all the work I needed to do that short span of time precluded any serious rest or relaxation. I never made the short walk to the ocean. But that’s OK.
From January 30, 2020
make films, yet I don’t actually think of myself as a filmmaker. My photography has been published and praised, yet I don’t think of myself as a photographer. I have written five published books, one of which garnered two prestigious writing awards, yet I don’t really think of myself as an author. I’m the head of a non-profit charitable organization, yet that is not who I am.
From January 29, 2020
Contemplation and poverty
are natural partners.
Contemplation helps us to see,
to see both inside us
and to see around us.
Our contemplative vision improves
as our lives become
more simplified.
From January 28, 2020
Jesus was a magnet for the broken. Think about all the broken people in scripture who were drawn to Jesus. At the top of list is Zacchaeus, whose encounter with Jesus is found in the Gospel of Luke. He was a chief tax-collector at Jericho and wealthy man. You need to erase from your mind an image of a buttoned-down IRS accountant. In Jesus’ time, tax collectors were more like Tony Soprano, the fictional TV mob boss.
From January 27, 2020
After the Divine Liturgy yesterday at Ss. Cyril & Methodius Byzantine Catholic Church, a woman from the office (Eleanor) said to me, “Gerry, we have some money for you. Come to the office with me.” She had a stack of bills—lots of one-dollar bills, as well as some fives, tens and twenties, which she sorted and counted.
From January 26, 2020
God can be found in the simple tasks of daily life. Everything is sacred.
From January 25, 2020
Ecarlatte has vacated the apartment. I truly hope that Ecarlatte can let go of all her anger and resentment. Her mental illness prevents her from the kind of self-reflection she needs for a healing. All we can do is pray that her new environment, with its beauty and crisp, clean air, will be a soothing balm for her hurting spirit.
From January 24, 2020
With Ecarlatte’s move to her new apartment which hopefully be completed today, we begin a new chapter in the life of the Santa Chiara Children’s Center. In May we will celebrate five years of caring for dozens upon dozens of kids. As we look to the future, we can’t fall into the trap of only seeing the things we did wrong. We need to honor all the good things we did, all the precious young lives we saved.
From January 23, 2020
My stomach was tied in knots yesterday morning. History has taught me that at any moment things with Ecarlatte can be derailed. Because I’ve known the tap-tap driver who arranged for the truck and would be coming with the driver, I had full confidence they would be here at 10:00am as promised. But I was worried that Ecarlatte would pull another of her stunts and the move would unravel.
From January 22, 2020
I don’t like writing about our precarious financial situation. I will offer you, in the spirit of transparency, the bottom-line situation and the relief that is on its way. But of greater importance is the steps we are taking to reduce expenses and ensure that we pass with the flying colors the next government inspection.
