Category: Mission Journal

Christian Unity

[Pope Francis] has tellingly spoken about what he calls the “ecumenism of blood”, pointing out that today’s Christian martyrs — and there are many — are killed without regard for their denomination. The persecutors don’t ask whether they are murdering a Presbyterian or an Evangelical, he has insisted, they just know they are targeting a Christian. In this, they understand the reality of our true unity in the Christian faith better than we do. Indeed, by baptism we are already united!

From an article by Robert Mickens

Sunday of the Transfiguration and Hiroshima

A prayer for the Sunday on which we remember the Transfiguration and the bombing of Hiroshima

God of life, in a blaze of light on Mount Tabor, you transfigured Jesus, revealing him as your beloved son and promising us a share in his glory.

But in a blinding flash of warfare at Hiroshima we–the children who inherited the promise of glory–annihilated human life, disfigured the face of Christ, and mocked his gospel call to gentleness and peace.

Let the beacon of that gospel pierce again the clouds covering the earth, so that even in the darkness of these times we may believe your day will dawn. We ask this through Jesus Christ, your beloved Son who lives and reigns in the unity of Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen.

Sheesh….

I clicked on some notification from Facebook about someone contacting me and found I had dozens (hundreds?) of comments that people made in response to my Facebook posts. I had no idea they had come in.

If you made a comment on my Facebook page and I didn’t reply, I’m sorry! It was an oversight.

Well!

I’m embarrassed… I wasn’t able to access the Internet everyday on my trip to the US for the funeral of my sister Ann, but I was taking photos so I could give a summary when I returned. Well….I’ve returned but I’ve lost the photos! I downloaded them from the camera but I don’t know where I put them on my laptop! I’ll find them… Hang on!

Ann Dittmeier

My sister Ann Marie died today in Louisville, Kentucky. It was rather unexpected. Ann was eating lunch and had a seizure and died. I am the oldest of the eight brothers and sisters and Ann was the oldest of the sisters. This picture of Ann and me is from a Christmas probably in the late 1960s.

Retreat: Friday

I have a lot of good reflections and memories from this year’s retreat for priests. One of the best memories is meeting Archbishop Julian Leow from Kuala Lumpur. He is a Francis bishop and just what the church needs. He renews my hope.

May Lay Missioner Meeting

Every month lay missioners from many different sending groups and different countries meet in a support group in Phnom Penh.

In the meeting today, Maryknoll Sister Regina Pellicore gave a reflection on the rosary. It was both interesting and substantive because most people just start saying the rosary as children and no one ever explains or discusses how to pray with it.

The lay missioners gathered today came from eight different countries.

Maria Montello worked out an activity, actually making individual rosaries as part of a prayer together. The activity was followed by a dinner prepared by Maria and Kila Reimer.

AMD Testing

This is Dr. Long Chhour, an eye specialist, who has been testing and treating me for Age-related Macular Degeneration in my left eye. AMD in my case causes a fuzziness to appear in my central vision in that eye. The electronic unit is for testing with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). I have been lucky to find Dr. Chhour in Phnom Penh.

These are the OCT test results. The shallow part of the green curve indicates degeneration of the macula. It is a really interesting testing procedure.