St. Gertrude Catholic Parish

Dear St. Gertrude,

We are almost through the dreaded beast of January. If we can stay unfrozen we come into the land of Lincoln, Valentines and wood teeth. Though we have an extra day in February, March is within sight and before you know it we are sweating in August looking for the cool breezes of our beloved beast of January. Such is the journey of life. Time whizzes by. People ask me my retirement plans. I go to the mirror to see how bad I look, lower the wattage of the bathroom bulbs, and bravely state that I am here for the duration, the duration of my health and the patience of the congregation. I love what I am doing and I have more job security than Bill Gates. There is a dearth of young priests and no changes planned to increase the pool of candidates. So it looks like the parish is stuck with me for the foreseeable future.

But we have talked about looking for prospects who would eventually take over the job. Pat Reardon was given the job of calling on a few phenoms, invite them to look us over, say Mass on a Sunday, and get into our files. We will let you know. Meanwhile, we are planning the synod so that the parish can talk over the priorities and policies we agree upon. This will be a series of open meetings for the whole parish with materials to be pre-read and an opportunity to hear each other as we contemplate our present situation and our future possibilities. You will be hearing much more about this. Don’t let the word “”synod”" scare you. It just means a gathering in a church context.

I’m probably the only one in the parish who has seen 8 of the top 10 movies of each critic in Chicago. I know that the popular movies, the ones that make the big money, are usually disgusting, violent no-brainers. But, I don’t go to those. I find that the artful, small and human movies which the critics (the good ones) point out and champion are wonderful ways to spend two hours. I know they are expensive and that people do not have as much time as I do, or interest, but I can’t think of a better way to spend New Year’s Eve, a late night pick-me-up or even a matinee on a holiday (saw Triplets from Belleville in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.). So, what are my picks for the 10 best movies of 2003?

Nowhere in Africa (A fascinating subject)
In America (Two great young girls)
Barbarian Invasions (An intellectual delight)
Lost in Translation (Bill Murray is from St. Gert’s)
Monster (Yikes!)
Whale Rider (The ultimate foreign experience)
Cold Mountain (I like Nicole Kidman!)
The House of Sand and Fog (and Ben Kingsley)
Girl With a Pearl Earring (Sister Wendy would love it)
A Beautiful, Ugly Time (or something like this about immigrants in London)

What bothers me most is that I cannot understand what is going on in “”The Lord of the Rings”". I will gladly concede that it is a great movie if only someone could explain to me how you can like someone named Frodo or an orc. I just don’t get it.

Meanwhile, I am sneaking out to see “”The Fog of War”".

Keep on truckin’

WK

Filed under: Dear Saint Gertrude