Welcome to "Meeting the Twain." This is my first attempt to blog. Actually it's my second. I tried to get one going about an hour or so ago and it just disappeared after an hour of crafting a long introduction. Obviously i hit the wrong key. For actually more than an hour I tried to retrieve it. Then I switched to Google. I feel a lot more comfortable here. You now have a ringside seat not only at my very first blog but also my first lesson learned in the (brand-new for me) world of blogging.

At this moment you are reading the newest blog from the newest blogger in the world. Oops, by now someone else has usurped my 'newest' status. Sic transit gloria mundi.

We begin at the beginning with my 92 year old aunt (and godmother) needing some rehab after a shoulder operation. When she met the hospital chaplain, he told her he was going to Tennessee for the weekend. Then, she informed him she had a nephew who was the pastor of a parish in the city where he was to land (Chattanooga) on his way to Athens TN.

He called me and I offered to meet him at the airport and host him the night before his return trip. During that visit he told me his story. That included his first love. He hailed from India. His heart is still there with those who have a great deal of difficulty coping with life. He told me his work caring for them. Now that he was in the US he was helping them by supporting various institutions that help by establishing schools, hospitals, orphanages and other programs. They help families about to sell themselves in indentured service, those with HIV-AIDS, orphans, and many other folks who cannot help themselves. Later, he found others who were doing the same. They joined forces and organized what they dubbed, "Love and Care Missions."

I became very interested in their work and invited him to speak at St. Jude Church. Everyone was impressed. His message struck a particular chord in me. Since grammar school I wanted to be involved in the foreign missions. Of course, I was joyfully redirected to parish ministry. The Lord did move me from my native Brooklyn to a different culture in Tennessee. Yet, I was still in my own country. At this time, I was contemplating retirement and I was looking for a direction for the rest of my life. Could it not be supporting the good work sponsored by "Love and Care?"

Fr. Anthony later invited me to attend a Board meeting in Queens. After that I was asked to join the organization. They asked me to join in soliciting funds by speaking at parishes that favorably responded to their solicitations. I told them I would under two conditions. The bishop would have to allow me to retire and I would have to go first to see the projects in India first hand. I wanted to make sure they were doing good and there was no waste of money. Besides, I could speak in the first person when I begged and could reliably answer most of the questions that might arise. The conditions were accepted and, when a bishop was named and installed, he gave me the permissions I sought.

Now, I was about to prepare for the journey of my life. I'd like to take you along with me through the medium of this blog. Bob Keeler, a classmate at Cathedral Prep, demanded I do so at a reunion we had this summer. I couldn't refuse. It might even be fun.

In the course of time, I expanded the time I would spend on this trip and its scope. The Board members who rejoiced at my second condition advised me that eleven weeks would be a good enough time to get to know the country, its customs, its way of thinking, and all the projects that would give me a good overview and taste of what we are doing. But, the objective also expanded as my contacts increased.

I wanted to experience the culture. As opposed to that old voice of the nineteenth century British colonial viewpoint, Rudyard Kipling who penned, "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet." I am a twenty-first century American who thinks all things are possible especially people of different cultures meeting and engaging in dialogue and coming to a mutual understanding. That's one additional accomplishment I hope to attain.

Another new goal I have added has to do with another priest I met in New York. He was a protege of Mother Theresa. Indeed, she handpicked him to go to the Pope with her to help lead a movement of diocesan priests that would be based on her theological and spiritual insights. I have read his initial book on the subject and am extremely impressed. I would like to learn more about it. It seems it dovetails nicely with some ideas of parish ministry I developed as I was working on my D. Min degree. I'd like to write a book outlining a pastoral theology based on the major themes of the movement and some of my own insights that compliment those ideas very closely. That justifies a trip to Calcutta and a further ride from there to Darjeeling, a trip Mother made that opened her up to a new vocation. Who knows if the Holy Spirit strikes twice on the same train?

I also have some misgivings on the way "Love and Care" solicits funds. It does work. However, even my bishop echoed my thoughts when he was wary of their method. They call up parishes until they find a pastor that is willing to allow them to preach about the program on an agreed upon Sunday. At that time the distribute envelopes. That idea has about saturated the country. Instead, it has dawned on me from various discussions that it might be better if we could bring together bishops in India with their counterparts in the USA. Both would gain much. The Indian bishops would find a site for funding their charities. The Americans, based on what I was told about the state of vocations in India, could tap in to a source of priests who may want to come here as well as a good number of seminarians. it may not work; but, it's worth a try. So, I'll work to get a few good interviews. I have at least one important connection already thanks to a St. Jude parishioner.

So, I'm about to embark in a couple of weeks on a monumental journey. I invite you to join me. If my new electronic notebook works and I can figure out how to take pictures, import them into my computer, and post them on this blog, then you can share my experiences and help me sort out all the many lessons I'll be learning.

All aboard!!
Fr. Joe Brando