a week of sadness, joy, and in Miami--elation

The week, and the school year started off with the tragic news that one of our football players died of heat stroke. It's a sad, sad day for everyone. I didn't know the young man, but any sudden and accidental death of a young person is shocking to everyone, and leaves me weepy at the thought of the family, and the young life snatched away.

In a different reaction to death, we also lost our beloved Fr. Charles, who died Tueday morning. He was approaching 90, and so very very anxious to go to heaven that mixed with sadness at losing his presence here on earth, is the joy that he is very happy now. God rest his soul.

And of course...

Who can deny the elation at Castro's apparent demise? The bastard's days are numbered, finally. It's surreal to be watching it from afar, in our second exile, away from Miami. I hope the people keep it peaceful. I fear that there might be a Romanian-style uprising in Cuba which would be tragedy upon tragedy.

Meanwhile, of course, the speculation continues. Is he dead? Is this a cover up? Is it a test run?

I think, in the end, regardless of the man's condition, that this has the potential to set into motion what the people in that island prison must ultimately do, and that is demand change. That's the tricky part. There are scores of exiled Cubans ready to support the movement. How will that be taken by the Cubans in Cuba?

I anticipate that there will be a need for a great deal of healing for both sides. After all, for the exiles, they left a Cuba that no longer exists. In a way, it's like the old Americans remembering their "Father Knows Best" period in the 50's, and their nostalgia for a by-gone era. Those days are gone, for Cuba as well as the United States. What's left is a country mired in the middle of the 20th century, while the rest of the world is racing in the 21st century.

There will be much more than rebuilding the beautiful cities that are in disrepair. Constructing a building, fixing wiring, applying spackle and paint are the easy cosmetic solutions. What has to be rebuilt with great care and compassion is the psyche of the Cuban people.

What kind of damage has been done to a society that was once used to an open market? What of commerce? It's essentially a welfare state, where hook ups and connections have replaced fair trade. Survival has certainly created some odd bedfellows, and a value system that may no longer complement a democracy. For most, communism (okay, let's call it what it really is: TOTALITARIANISM) is all they've known.

What kind of damage has been done to the integral unit of society, the family? For almost 50 years, it has been the mission of that despot and his regime to break up families, to cut ties that are greater and more wholesome than the repressive government. When you have no means of income, and no means of support, only then will you submit to the Caesarian God he has created for himself. Thankfully, Rome fell, too.

Finally, what damage has been done to the spiritual lives of a people? How has an atheist state molded the morals and values of a once predominantly Catholic nation, that understood God's people, and our place in the universe? How has a lack of real brotherhood broken the human spirit? How has a lack of hope fomented despair?

These things are the real challenges faced by the next generation of Cubans. If it has taken 50 years to bring a society to its knees, how much time will it take to nurture it back to health?

Pray for strength. Pray for cooperation. Pray for vision, and compassion, and stamina. Pray for peace.

Pray.