Favorite color? What makes you happy? What are you good at? What is your greatest fear… “Twenty Questions” is a regular feature in which SCJs and those with whom they minister and collaborate share a bit about themselves in an informal Q&A. Participants are given the same list of questions and are invited to answer as many as they would like.
Fr. Ralph Intranuovo, SCJ, is retired and a member of the Sacred Heart Community in Pinellas Park, FL.
Q: Where were you born and raised? Describe your family.
FR. RALPH: I was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised there. My parents were Italian immigrants who came here when they were young; my mother was seven and my father was 16. I had five sisters and four brothers. Myself and two sisters survive today.
Q: What is your favorite book or movie?
FR. RALPH: Movie: Silence of the Lambs Book: AWARENESS by Anthony DeMello
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world post-pandemic – without concern about the expense – where would you go and why?
FR. RALPH: If I were able I would go to Japan. I’m fascinated by their culture, especially their hospitality and ancestor worship. I would also like to go to Egypt.
Q: What are you good at?
FR. RALPH: I used to be very good at racquetball and so-so at tennis. I am good at history trivia and word games.
Q: What is your favorite color?
FR. RALPH: Cobalt blue.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or pastimes? If so, what are they and how did you get interested in them?
FR. RALPH: Mentioned above (“what I am good at”), but I also enjoy reading about politics, archaeology and new ideas in science. I like to surf on YOUTUBE for historical trivia and old cultural habits.
Q: What is your favorite food?
FR. RALPH: Pasta e Fagiole (beans and macaroni), an Italian peasant dish
Q: What is your least favorite chore?
FR. RALPH: That would be getting rid of stuff I don’t need.
Q: Who — living or deceased — do you most admire and why?
FR. RALPH: When I was in a Doctor of Ministry program there was a professor who was a great teacher who had a hobby of composing music. He could cut through trivia and get to the core of psychodynamic issues.
Q: What would surprise people to learn about you?
FR. RALPH: I am sometimes lazy. I have to force myself to get motivated.
Q: What skill or talent would you like to have that you do not? Why?
FR. RALPH: I would like to be able to read musical notation. I want to learn more and more about music.
Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
FR. RALPH: I remember writing in my grade school graduation book wanting to be a radio announcer. That amuses me now.
Q: What makes you happy?
FR. RALPH: Listening to really good conversation (not necessarily my own), listening to favorite music, seeing a good movie I have not seen before. The last good movie I saw was Fargo. I like reading a thriller murder mystery.
Q: What is your greatest fear?
FR. RALPH: Violence of any kind, physical or verbal.
Q: What trait or habit do you dislike in yourself?
FR. RALPH: Criticism and being judgmental of myself or others.
Q: What trait or habit do you dislike in others?
FR. RALPH: Name-calling, especially when practiced by adults.
Q: List three words that describe you.
FR. RALPH: Sometimes too intense, seeing humor in daily situations, empathy.
Q: How did you come to know of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians) and what interested you about them?
FR. RALPH: I saw an ad in a Catholic newspaper about adult vocations (I was 39 at the time). I answered it and the long story follows.
Q: Do you consider yourself a Dehonian? If so, what does that mean to you?
FR. RALPH: It means having a caring heart, especially toward those who seem to be lost or unaffirmed.
Q: What changes, adaptations or insights do you expect to stay with you from the pandemic? In other words, how do you expect to be changed by COVID-19?
FR. RALPH: After some months of forced inactivity, getting to be at ease with less activity, searching more depth in spiritual reading and practice. Letting go of left brain concerns.
