Tom Faranda

Pope Benedict has been giving a series of Wednesday afternoon talks over the last few months about each of the 12 Apostles. 

ZENIT has a very fascinating discussion of his final talk today, about Judas Iscariot.

Here is a link to the actual talk ZENIT News Agency–The World Seen from Rome and here is the commentary from ZENIT:

Pope: Judas’ Betrayal Sheds Light on God’s Mercy
Dedicates Address to Apostles Judas and Matthias

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Through Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Christ, we learn that Jesus respects human freedom and waits for a sinner’s repentance, says Benedict XVI.

The Holy Father said this today addressing some 30,000 who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the general audience.

Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis to the figure of Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Christ, and Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas as one of the Twelve Apostles.

The Pope said that to understand the life of Judas means to understand decisive aspects of the mystery of man’s relationship with God.

Even after Judas’ death, said the Holy Father, it is not possible to pass a definitive judgment on him: Although "he departed afterward to hang himself, it is not for us to judge his gesture, putting ourselves in God’s place, who is infinitely merciful and just."

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My town, Croton on Hudson, holds the Harry Chapin Memorial Run against Hunger every year around this time. It’s held in Croton possibly because his record agent lived here.Welcome to

Harry Chapin Harry Chapin – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia was an entertainer and singer (“Cat’s in the the Cradle,” “Taxi”) from Long Island who was involved in raising money to combat hunger worldwide. He died in a car accident in 1981.

We have a local man, Sam Colombo (Sammy) who was disabled in an accident some years ago. Despite this, he takes part in the one mile “Fun Run” and raises lots of money – $8,160 this time around. He also dedicates his run each time to someone in the Croton community, and this year it was to Dave Entwistle, who died of cancer in 1993, at the age of 39.

I had gotten to know Dave in the 18 months before his death, as we were participating in a men’s Retreat group. Despite being a lawyer, he was a great guy, with a dry, slightly sarcastic sense of humor. He handled his illness with grace and wit. A good example for all of us.

Dave’s wife Marilyn organized a group to run this year, wearing a Dave Entwistle Memorial t-shirt, which I underwrote through my DBA, Thomas G. Faranda & Associates. The shirt was designed by Tara and Caitlin, Dave and Marilyn’s daughters. Besides the Fun Run, there’s a more serious 10K. I have mixed the pictures together from the two runs.

Here are some pictures from the day, starting with Sammy

Here’s Marilyn and her daughters, Tara and Caitlin. the shirt has a quote from Steve Prefontaine, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” The back has a picture/outline of Dave.

The fellow wrapped in the blanket is Paul Dinter, Marilyn’s husband, along with other supporters for the day.

Here’s the back of the shirt

For LOTS more pictures hit the continue link right here:

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