These men are a blast.  I attended the men’s meeting at Sacred Heart after 6:45 AM daily mass this morning, learning the meeting is held every two weeks.  I went last week, witnessing several of the men at mass yet there was no meeting.  Today’s meeting proved incredible.  We read the daily readings for Sunday mass and listened to Bishop Robert Baron elaborate.  Topics centered on: a return to roots, self-identity, walls, bridges, and windows.  The group discussion became heated, especially when the topic involved the Sacred Heart school merging with St Clare’s, forming the Corpus Christi Academy.  I find it fascinating to listen to the men, powerbrokers within the two churches becoming central in my practice of faith, discuss the emotional subject of educating the children of the parishes.  There is also a man, a character of substantial intelligence who stirs the group up with his constant attacks upon Sacred Heart’s ministering priest.  One man caught my attention with his remarkable presence.  He was older, crippled a bit, yet loud and foreign in accent, outspoken and awkward I knew instantly he was a man of my liking.  He tended to wave his hand in the air when making strong pronouncements, declaring the ecclesiastic criticizing man was wrong in his allegations of neglect and tyrannical apathy by Sacred Heart’s priest.  During my comment, a humble remark, I was brought to momentary silence, by the man once again waving his hand in the air and pronouncing I was right.  I almost broke into laughter.  The man had that type of effect on me.  He commented toward the end of the meeting about the importance of St Joseph, emphasizing Pope John Paul II and the three books he wrote on St Joseph.  I thought to myself: so this is one of the reasons you want me here Holy Mother.  I am here to learn more about St Joseph.  Immediately after the meeting, I confronted the man, introducing myself, telling him my recent illuminations regarding St Joseph, and the discovery of Father Andrew Doze’s book ‘St Joseph: Shadow of the Father’, presenting quickly some ideas from the book. He declared that was all the things he wrote about in his books.  He insisted one of the men take me down to the Eucharistic chapel and give me two of his books.  His third book is not complete.  Of course before sending me off to attain his books, he wanted to make more pronouncements, waving one hand in the air, while clutching his cane with his other.  He loudly proclaimed I was new and that he wanted me to clearly understand all the allegations brought forth against the priest were hogwash.  The priest was nothing but kind to him, sending the Bishop to speak to him, and both the Bishop and the priest active in promoting his books.  His name is J. Ivan Prcela.

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