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Dear sisters, dear brothers,

“I am trying to remember how it was before the war. It is so hard,” said Father Misha when we ran into each other at the door of our warehouse filled with humanitarian supplies. He seemed to be surprised by his own emotions. It was a beautiful sunny day in Kherson with a chill in the air. Yet as we were unloading multiple tons of flour by hand, we couldn’t feel the cold. Similarly, we didn’t pay much attention to the repeated sound of distant explosions that we could hear from this frontline city of southern Ukraine. The flour we brought was for the bakery and kitchen which supply the people in need and are run by the House of Saint Martin de Porres. Every morning they make hundreds of loaves of bread. The bakery workers had quickly learned to bake the finest bread, rolls, and sweet pastries. We all do everything we can to make sure that what we hand out to the city’s citizens is of the highest quality. I understand what Father Misha means. It is very hard to remember what our life looked like before February 24, 2022 — the day that the first Russian rockets fell on our country just before dawn.

Friends,

This speech from our Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker came on my car radio recently while I was driving. Realizing that he was saying something of significance not only to Illinois citizens but to the rest of the country, I parked the car on a side street to listen with greater attention. I found his well crafted speech delivered with a sense of urgency and conviction and had a message for the whole country. I place it here inviting you to take time to hear it and to read some of it here. I hasten to add that it holds a message that is about right and wrong, good and evil, survival and not surviving. Please take the time to consider and act on his words however you may choose to do so. 

May our country survive the forces that assault us.

— Joseph Kilikevice
Shem Center Director Emeritus

Dear sisters, dear brothers,

“If we truly trust God, then maybe this most stupid war in the world will come to an end. I came because the Pope wanted me to be with you during this Christmas time,” said Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, while in Fastiv the day before Christmas Eve. This was already his second visit to Fastiv since the beginning of the full-scale war. This time we celebrated together with the people from the refugee house, the members of the Dominican family, and the volunteers and friends from the St. Martin de Porres Center. “I want to share with you joy because God is born, and he brings peace. Let’s hope that this is the last Christmas of wartime.”

Sixty years ago, the first night of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII came out on a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and gave his impromptu remarks now called “the moonlight speech.” I remember it well, making its way into the world via the news media.

Looking out over the crowd and smiling the Pope said,

“Here all the world is represented. One might even say that the moon rushed here this evening – Look at her high up there – to behold this spectacle.”

Pope Francis on Oct. 2 opened the final session of a closely watched Vatican summit on the future of Catholicism, encouraging participants not to use the monthlong meeting to push individual agendas, but to seek unity in diversity in the church so “each person feels welcomed.”

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” Francis said during his homily for the opening Mass of the synod on synodality.

The international religious Dominican order to which the Shem Center Director belongs receives an occasional letter informing its members regarding the brothers and sisters in Ukraine who have chosen to remain with the people during this war-torn time. These first hand accounts add citizen perspectives to the news reports we receive in the media. These members of the Dominican Order of both men and women date from the 13th century, its world wide membership having been formed in its spirit and purpose in very similar ways. We consider ourselves a “family” living within a tradition of many noteworthy theologians, artists, itinerant preachers and those serving God’s people in many different ministries.

The Full Transcript of Biden’s Speech on Ending His Run for Re-election, From The New York Times, July 24, 2024

President Biden delivered remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday on his decision to abandon his bid for re-election. The following is a transcript of his speech, as recorded by The New York Times.

On January 28, 1985, some of America’s top-selling pop musicians including Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles arrived at the A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA and recorded “USA For Africa – We Are The World.”

After the morning Mass, I asked the Missionaries of Charity Sisters how they look at the future. “I was thinking about that a couple of times,” said Sister Immaculata. “But the only response that comes to mind is to trust God every day and do what we can. Love Him and love our neighbor. And live. He knows best what is awaiting us and what is good for us.”

We’ve reached the second anniversary of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, although perhaps it would be more correct for me to write that it is the tenth year of war. Everything started in 2014 with the Russian occupation of Crimea and the fighting in the Donbas. A couple of months earlier, the Revolution of Dignity had begun, which saw President Viktor Yanukovych removed from office. Millions of Ukrainians had gathered for demonstrations to show that they wanted to bind their future with the free and democratic Europe.