One of my favorite pieces of literature is Don Quixote, the Man of LaMancha by Miguel de Cervantes. I remember reading it as a student at De Paul University in a remote corner of Alumni Hall in the 1960’s. It is the only classic that I remember really enjoying which of course says more about me than the “classics”. I totally identified with Mr. Alonso Quixano as he went after windmills and damsels in distress. He knew how to dream.
Dan Pallotta also knows how to dream. Born in 1961, he is an author, public speaker, entrepreneur and humanitarian activist. He is also married to his husband and together they are raising their three children. In 1961 such a description would most likely have banned him to a life of obscurity. The above credits belie such a fate and suggest to me Dan learned how to dream. His talk demonstrates that well.
Pope Francis is a dreamer. The Catholic News Agency reported Pope Francis’s dream. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pope Francis said: “I have a dream…”, this one for a unified Europe, this past Friday May 6, 2016 as he accepted the Charlemagne Award. He joined the ranks of other famous unifiers like, Pope John Paul II, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, King Felipe of Spain and a host or other winners. That’s quite a litany of dreamers.
Guess I’m not the only one who liked Cervantes’ work either. Dale Wasserman’s famous 1965 play, Man of LaMancha is based on Cervantes’ work. That play inspired the 1972 Movie by the same name. Both feature one of my favorite songs, The Impossible Dream with lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh.
Think I’ll join Don Quixote, Dan Pallotta, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pope Francis and dare to dream another word for prayer, the second definition in Dictionary.com. Want to come along?
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
