Six Degrees Redux

...I've long been fas-
cinated by the concept of "Six Degrees of Separa-
tion." Tonight, my good friend Michele R., who'd given me the heads up on the Martin story (below) wrote me further about that story. She told me something I did not know, but was delighted to find out. The late Abbot Claude of the Prince of Peace Abbey was also a real fan of the Martin family. It turns out that sometime in the late 40s or 50s he'd gotten to visit Lisieux and also got to stay in the Martin home overnight. It further transpired that he was lucky enough to say Mass for the Carmelite nuns, AND had also given Holy Communion to Celine, Therese's older sister. It charms me to know that both Celine (who I always thought a real live wire in the family) and I had both received Communion from the same priest.

It turns out my friend Michele also know a friend of Fr. Sean Finnegan of Valle Adurni. Fr. will be visiting San Diego next week. I think we Catholics are often more closely connected than even we realize!

It's very reassuring to read the Catholic blogdom. When you check on websites that have links to their parish bulletin, no matter what country the bulletin's in -- we see the same types of items, and realize that parish life, though with different flavors and twists to be sure, is not that dissimilar to own's own. It's a nice comfort to know that people around the globe can often share the same Catholic values that one was raised with.

No parish is perfect, everyone has a wart or two there. And there is no such thing as the "perfect" or "typical" Catholic family - even the "holiest" Catholic family has its black sheep and prodigal sons and daughters. And somehow, that's reassuring too. Everyone has similar ups and downs in life.


(This photo of the Abbot was taken two years ago on the occasion of my 50th b'day - Michele and I had visited the abbey that day. Fr. Stephanos belongs to the same Abbey. Fr. Claude was nearly 100 when he died last year.)

Six Degrees

Please pray for PFC Patrick J. Martin USMC, and all these guys, for a safe return home from the War. I'm a cradle Catholic. But sometimes it even slips my mind that "Catholic" means universal. Most of us have heard about "Six Degrees of Separation." i.e. Any two given people on the planet are more than likely not to be connected through knowing at most six people in a chain. I.E. We both know the same person - that's "one degree" of separation. I know Sparky Jones, so do you. Sparky is the "one degree." Or I know Sparky, who knows Suzie, who knows you. Two degrees between me and you. The trick is to figure out WHICH people separate you. I've always figured that any two Catholics pretty much qualify for this or anyone who knows a Catholic. You probably know your priest, your priest knows your bishop (who has to do an ad limina every so often, so he's met the pope) and down the chain back to you. Pope JPII through his many years of office was the lynchpin for this. And of course, add all the people you know to this chain. Some links can be cut. I may know the bishop who may know your bishop who may know you directly. TWO degrees of separation. Cool.

Okay, got that?

St. Mary's Cathe-
dral. Now here's where it all comes to-
gether. I was visiting the Cathedral in Wichita for Sunday Mass. Afterwards I stopped in front of the tabernacle for a bit to pray. Right next to it, was a nice poster of all the servicemen from that parish (or friends/family members of people in that parish.) I saw a couple go up to the poster and hold hands for a few minutes, and when they came back I asked "a relative?" They said "Yes, our son." I inquired as to his name so I could pray for him as "I'm from San Diego, and our parish has a lot of active serving members." They said "That's our hometown too. We just moved here last year." I said "What was your parish?" And they said "Santa Sophia." I said "Ah, then you must have known Father Prendergast, who was there a long time, before he was pastor at the San Diego Mission." Indeed they did know him. I knew him from back in the 1970s, when he was at my parish in Old Town. He has come back to the parish to live "in residence" following his recent retirement. Small world. Of course I will pray for PFC Martin, who is currently stationed in Fallujah, Iraq, and the others. Sometimes it's nice seeing the meaning of the word in literal action.