I'm chuckling over a conversation I had the other day. I was talking with a Palestinian Christian who lives in Jordan about his time in the Boston area. He earned a Master's Degree at Boston College in theology and wanted to stay away from liberal theologians who might support feminist theology. When I asked him about it, he said, "In the Middle East, we have no need for feminist theology. We are a male dominated culture....."
I still don't think he realizes what he said.
I enjoyed Mass today in Sweifeih. Today, we turned the choir around to face the congregation and the people really liked it. The music filled the lofty space and the nuances of the music could be heard in all parts of the church. The parishioners loudly applauded the choir. I like that the choir and parishioners can relate well to each other in this setting.
I enjoyed meeting the many parishioners after Mass: Filipinos, Sri Lankans, Indians, Jordanians, Americans, Asians, and Europeans. It is quite something to look out and find so many nationalities. In a funny way, Latin seems to be the unifying language. However, we are the English-speaking parish.
I was wondering if I had any grace left in me when I returned home. I did no cursing, but driving can be a harrowing experience. I keep telling myself that the drivers have no ill-will. They are just trying to occupy an empty space, even the tiniest space. To me, it seems as if they have no regard for other people, but I'll say one thing about this experience: I continue to learn something new each day. Measurements are different. I'm learning to distinguish the distance of meters, but I still think in terms of miles. I just wonder if all the grace has been popped out of me by the time I return home.
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