Soon and Very Soon

Well, it is 5 days until I leave for Minnesota and 10 days until I leave for Rome, so needless to say, the anticipation is definitely building.  And when I talk to people about Rome, I usually get 2 questions.  The first "Wow, are you excited?"  The second, "Do you know any Italian?"  And my usual response to the questions are Yes and No, respectively.  But to say that I am excited about Rome wouldn't really give you the full picture about how I'm feeling.  Am I looking forward to my time over there?  Absolutely.  But is it all excitement?  No.  For one thing, it is hard to be excited about something I don't know a whole lot about.  I've heard tons of great stories from people who have been there before, but I have never experienced anything like this.  So just the vast amount of unknown makes it hard to be very excited about the whole semester.  Also, as I am preparing for the semester, I am realizing that it will not be an easy, 4 month European vacation.  Living in a completely different culture, with people who do not speak my language, studying with some of the most important theologians in the Church, is pretty intimidating.  Also, there is the part of me that will miss the seminary community at SJV and my family and friends because I will not be able to come home at all.  I will be forced out of my comfort zone and into a completely different world.  

So when I start to put it like this, it sounds like I am not excited about Rome whatsoever.  But that is not the case at all.  It reminds me a lot of the feeling I had the summer before going to seminary.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I knew that it wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world, but I was very excited to begin the adventure that is seminary formation.  And I think the same goes for Rome.  Do I have any idea what to expect?  Not really.  Will there be challenges?  Yes.  But I could not be more excited.  Because it is during the times when we are challenged that we grow the most and learn to depend on the goodness of God.  So I pray that I can learn this semester to have a deeper trust in the Lord and experience His love in entirely new ways.  As for the Italian, I hope I learn at least enough to survive.

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe - Ruega por nosotros!