Kayts-ee-yow yow, Friends of KNMI.
I hope you have had a wonderful summer of beautiful weather and the renewal of the relationships that are the network of our lives. On May 12 this year, I was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in my colon. It had entirely blocked my colon so I was immediately given a colostomy. After leaving the hospital, I had 5 weeks of oral chemotherapy (pills at home) and twenty eight sessions of radiation in Walla Walla, Washington. All of that was to keep the tumor from growing any more and hopefully shrinking it. The surgeon hasn't found any sign at all that it has metastasized to any other part of my body. At this point, Dr. McBee is planning to remove the tumor and re-connect my plumbing on September 24, 2019. The amazing thing is that I have had no pain at any time, and the side effects of the radiation and chemo have been minimal, so I've been able to carry on with my ordinary responsibilities (Masses, etc.). I attribute this directly to all of the prayers for me for which I am very grateful. I can "feel the power.” I expect to be at our first gatherings at all three places. After the surgery, and with almost 2 weeks of recovery time, I should be back in the saddle in time for the gathering in Spokane on the first weekend in October as well, and good to go for the rest of the year.
We will finish our study of Exodus this year with Maureen Foley-Bensen, and then move on to Isaiah. The in-depth study that Maureen provides is challenging but so illuminating about how these ancient and foundational books of the bible originated in the tribal stories of the Peoples that eventually came together as the twelve tribes of Israel. For me, it makes it all the more clear how the Creator revealed himself to the Native Peoples in their histories, remembered also in the stories handed on by the ancestors. What a different history we would have experienced in the meeting of European Christianity and Native revelation if the effort had been made to understand and respect that revelation. In the past few years we have read and discussed written materials available about the Assiniboine culture (Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana), about the Blackfeet history and culture, and the Colville with a focus on the Arrow Lakes Band. All of the materials were written by members of the tribes themselves and are part of their heritage, and we will continue this segment of the program this year.
Some of the participants have asked that we read a book by Matthew Kelly, Rediscovering Christ. Many have been inspired by this book and supported in their daily journey with Christ to the Father. This is a foundational part of our gatherings together, because all of the ministry our participants are engaged in flows from the Spirit. It is the renewal of this Spirit that is the purpose of our gatherings so that all of us can continue meeting the challenges of serving the Lord with enthusiasm and with inner peace, no matter what storms make break around us. Please keep me in your prayers as I will you.
We are sending out only one newsletter a year, and at the beginning of our yearly cycle, so that all of you, our benefactors and interested friends, will have a good idea of the investment that our participants make in continuing to equip themselves to carry out the many ministries they are engaged in, especially in this time of discovering the failures in leadership, the abuse of power that afflicted all too many people, especially children, over these last 50 years. It is a challenge to one's own faith and certainly makes evangelization, our mission, immeasurably more difficult. In the face of all this, we are all the more grateful for your support. The Church is all its people, not just its leaders, as Vatican II reminded us. Renewal and healing is the ministry of all the baptized.
God bless you and keep you safe,
— Fr. Mike Fitzpatrick, S.J.
