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Motivation, solace for teachers in two new books

By |2011-09-06T13:46:46-05:00Sep 6, 2011|General|

MonthofMondays"A Month of Mondays: Spiritual Lessons from the Catholic Classroom" by Karen Eifler. ACTA Publications (Chicago, 2011). 135 pp., $12.95.

"Will There be Faith? A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples" by Thomas Groome. HarperCollins (New York, 2011). 348 pp., $15.99.

After a long day of molding minds and grading papers, Catholic schoolteachers can find motivation and solace when reading two new books from Catholic educators Karen Eifler and Thomas Groome. While Eifler's "Month of Mondays: Spiritual Lessons from the Catholic Classroom" is a quick, anecdotal read for tired teachers needing a literary boost, Groome's "Will There be Faith? A New Vision for Education and Growing Disciples" is more for the scholarly type.

Eifler, an educator in the Diocese of Oakland and Archdiocese of Los Angeles for 15 years and professor at the University of Portland in Oregon, wrote her book with the busy educator, catechist and administrator in mind. It is a compilation of separate humorous, touching and meaningful reflections about the grace she discovered in her students and fellow teachers. The 30 true stories, which add up to a month of Mondays, open with a chocolate bar fundraiser heist, which clearly sets the stage for an interesting book.

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Books provide basic but needed instruction about Mass

By |2011-09-06T13:31:00-05:00Sep 6, 2011|General|

Understanding-the-Mass"Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers" by Mike Aquilina. Servant Books (Cincinnati, 2011). 116 pp., $13.99.

"Catholic Update Guide to the Mass," edited by Mary Carol Kendzia. St. Anthony Messenger Press (Cincinnati, 2011). 48 pp., $5.99.

It could be that those charged with instructing Catholics about the new Roman Missal realize that in an age where messages are transmitted with a minimal amount of characters and as quickly as possible, instruction will need to be conveyed as succinctly as possible. Not only can they expect the Tweeters and text-messagers to want information as concisely as possible, but those who use neither of those media may also welcome "the short form" – to use a liturgical term – of instruction.

"Understanding the Mass" is even more basic than "The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition," the book Aquilina and Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl co-wrote earlier this year. Basic but thorough. In a question-and-answer format, Aquilina provides information about which worshippers have wondered, but never knew who or how to ask, e.g., What are rubrics? How does the church pick the Bible readings for each Mass? Why does the priest mix water with wine?

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Brother Beekeeper creates buzz at retreat center

By |2011-09-01T17:58:11-05:00Sep 1, 2011|General|

CHN11Redemptorist Br. Gerry Patin, affectionately known as Brother Beekeeper, looks over a honeycomb from one of the 14 hives he tends on the Oconomowoc property of the Redemptorist Retreat Center. Br. Patin, director of the center, raises funds for the center by selling honey, lip balm and soaps made from products from the hives. (Submitted photo courtesy Redemptorist Br. Gerry Patin)While roaming the Redemptorist Retreat Center’s 20 acres of natural woodlands, the only sounds injecting themselves into the silence are those of nature. Listen closely, and the hum of honeybees busy at work may draw even the most unnerved a bit closer.

Several hives in a corner of this Oconomowoc haven contain thousands of bees. They fly out; they fly in, collecting pollen from the sweet smelling flowers on columbine, lilies and other wild flowers that line the property.

Affectionately known as Brother Beekeeper, 62-year-old Redemptorist Br. Gerry Patin, director of the Redemptorist Retreat Center, lovingly tends his bees.

Each of his 14 hives contains between 50,000 to 60,000 bees during the honey flow season, and can weigh more than 100 pounds by the end of summer. Each colony has a queen, tens of thousands of workers who make the honey and hundreds of drones who mate with the queen, then die; to that, add the weight of the comb with eggs, brood and larvae, pollen stores and honey. In general, beekeeping is easy and fun, according to Br. Gerry, and while considered a hobby, it was one he entered into unexpectedly early in his religious life.

“It was 1969 when stationed at our high school seminary in Edgerton, Wis.,” he explained. “The brother taking care of the bees was transferred and I was asked if I would be interested in taking over the 10 bee hives that were at that facility. I responded, ‘absolutely.’”

After a crash course in learning about beekeeping, the brother gave him an instruction book on the subject. Quickly reading anything he could get his hands on, he found the beekeeping to be not only calming and enjoyable, but a great success.

“Eventually, we closed our high school seminary and I sold all of the bee equipment, along with the hives,” Br. Gerry said. “I was transferred to Holy Redeemer Parish in Detroit for the next 17 years.”

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