Ryan Adorjan!

Well, Ryan had a very busy day today.  As usual, Ryan went to Mass, because he is a good seminarian and desires to receive the Eucharist.  Right after Mass, Ryan went to go get some fine Italian espresso with SJV alum Scott Valentyn.  Scott, the former RA of 2nd floor and a 1st year theologian at the NAC studying for the Diocese of Green Bay, thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast with Ryan.  They went to the Gregorian Bar, a small cafe located in the school run by the Jesuits where you can get the cheapest breakfast in town.  You can see here that Scott is laughing at Ryan's joke about the millions of pigeons, or as they are better known as, flying rats, that inhabit the city of Rome.

After breakfast, Ryan went with Nathan Schuster to explore the Victor Emmanuel Monument.  The Victor Emmanuel monument, which is visible from all over Rome, is one of the most hated monuments in Rome, specifically by the Romans.  It looks like a large wedding cake, it cost millions of euros to build, and it was built with the idea that it would be the secular version of St. Peter's Basilica.  So while it is not very well liked in Rome, it is one of those huge things that everyone has to see.  It is kind of like Wrigley Field in Chicago.  Nobody really likes it, but everyone just kind of wants to go see it.  And once they do, they take a picture, shrug their shoulders, and move on with their lives.  So needless to say, Ryan had a great day.

In other non-related news, I purchased a bunch of Pope Benedict memorabilia today, specifically some new Popeners!  And what is a Popener?  A Pope Bottle Opener!  Yes.  How cool is that?  Definitely a good investment.  Well that is all I've got for today.  I am headed to Assisi this weekend with all of the seminarians and Fr. Carola, our chaplain, which I am very much looking forward to.


St. Francis and St. Claire - Pray for Us!              

Bernardi

Well, I thought that it would be good to talk about where I am living this semester while I am in Rome because one of the biggest parts of the Rome experience is the community life.  I live at what is called the Bernardi Campus, which is a house owned by the University of St. Thomas.  The house, built about 100 years ago, used to be both a private home and a Carmelite monastery.  It now houses about 35 college students who are spending 4 months of their lives experiencing the city of Rome.  Located on the banks of the Tiber River, it is about a 25 minute walk to the Vatican and about a 40 minute walk to class everyday at the Angelicum.  It is really an ideal location for the semester and I am really enjoying living here.  One of the best parts about living at Bernardi is the community life.  I live with 34 other students, 14 of whom are seminarians, and the rest are lay men and women.  It has been such a blessing to live in a Catholic community where it is evident that everyone there is truly pursuing holiness.  And while you may say, "Well isn't that what seminary is like?"  And the answer is yes, everyone in seminary is pursuing holiness.  But the fact that I get the privilege to live with people who are pursuing holiness and different vocations really helps shape the community.  It is very edifying to see men and women who are seriously seeking holiness not because they desire to be priests or religious  but rather because they know that they are called to be holy.  The reality of it is that all of us are called to be holy, to be saints in the world, no matter what our vocation is.  Now, I could rant on this for quite a while, but I need to talk about the house, so I will.  But remember, YOU are called to be a saint.  And that, my friends  is awesome.  

Anyways, the most important room in the house is the chapel.  While it is a small space, we have Mass there together Wednesday night, which we call community nights.  It is also just great to have a place where everyone can go and pray really any time they want.  To live in the same house as Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist, now that is a gift.      

One of the coolest features of the house is the rooftop terrace.  We have absolutely stunning views of St. Peter's Basilica and the Roman city center.  So it is definitely a cool place to hang out and relax.  When we get out of the dead of winter (highs in the 50s) I am sure that I will be spending quite a bit of time up there.               

My Room!

So that is the house in a nutshell.  It is a real blessing to live with such a great community while I am here in Rome.  Overall, my experience has been just surreal.  Between living in the Eternal City, the Holy Father's resignation, and encountering myself in a new way because I am out of my own "bubble," Rome has been a great gift from God.  Pray that I may continue to grow in relationship with the Lord and truly take advantage of this incredible opportunity.  Please be assured of my prayers for all of you!    

Orvieto

This weekend, Paul Solomon, one of the esteemed Joliet seminarians from the North American College, took myself, Mike McMahon, and Max Behna to the beautiful town of Orvieto.  It is a small town an hour north of Rome situated on the top of a hill in the rolling countryside.  So needless to say, it was an absolutely gorgeous area.  Here's a panorama from just outside of town.    

 The first thing that we did when we got to Orvieto was to go to a Dominican Church.  Inside the Church is a very famous crucifix.  The story goes that St. Thomas Aquinas, when he was finishing his Summa Contra Gentiles, presented his work to the Lord.  Thomas, not believing that his work did a whole lot, felt like it was a waste of time and paper.  But he still gave it to the Lord.  But the crucifix said to him "You have written well of me Thomas."  So God literally spoke to Thomas Aquinas through the cross in this Church.  This is where one of the greatest theologians in Church history encountered the living God.  And I got to pray where he prayed.  To talk to God where he spent hours talking to Him. How cool is that?  And here is the picture of the crucifix.

After that Church, we went out for lunch to a very nice place Paul knew about.  We had some awesome food, including something that was "thinly sliced pork cheek."  Super tasty.  I guess they have a lot boars/pigs in that region.  Please note the picture on the left. And my main dish was a pasta that had been soaked in red wine for the past day.  It was phenomenal.  They know what they are doing food wise in Orvieto.  And Orvieto is famous for its white wine, which again, was very good.  So overall, a great meal, with free desserts because the owners liked Paul so much.  One of the many benefits of having an Italian speaker traveling with you.  

After lunch, we went to what the town is famous for, Il Duomo, or the Cathedral.  The church is a ridiculously large building and is home to two very famous things.  The first is a chapel painted by some famous dude (I really should remember the name, but it is escaping me....)  The moral of the story is that it was basically a prefigurement of the Sistine Chapel.  So because no pictures were allowed inside, I don't have any evidence, but it was just amazing.  But the biggest attraction isn't a piece of art though, it is a simple piece of cloth.  That is because the church has the a blood stained corporal from a Eucharistic miracle that occurred in 1263.  To summarize the story briefly, a priest from Germany was on pilgrimage to Rome.  And this pilgrimage had one purpose: for him to regain his faith in the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.  Because as Catholics, we believe that at the Last Supper, Christ gave priests the power to take bread and wine and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, transform it into the Body and Blood of the Lord.  So the Eucharist isn't just some symbol of what happened.  It is 100% Jesus Christ, alive and present.  And to believe otherwise would mean that you aren't Catholic.  So this priest, while he desires to believe, is having trouble believing.  But one day, when he was celebrating Mass, said the words of consecration: "Take this, all of you, and eat it.  For this is my body, which will be given up for you." And after he elevated  the host and placed it back on the paten (gold tray), the host began to bleed.  Literally.  It was bleeding.  So what was just bread started to bleed.  Blood.  There is no natural explanation for that.  You can try, but I doubt that you can get a piece of bread to bleed.  So talk about a miraculous event.  And in the church in Orvieto, you can see the corporal (the white cloth from the altar) that has the blood stains still on it.  Some 750 years later.  And it is because of this miracle that we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, today.  So being able to pray there was just an awesome experience.  Begging the Lord for deeper faith and a deeper love for the Eucharist.  Because no matter how far along we may think we are in the spiritual life, we always need to grow in faith.  And while miracles like these shouldn't be the basis of our faith, they should help strengthen us in our faith.  Being there truly helped me come to a deeper love for the Eucharist and strengthen my desire to bring people to Christ through the Mass.                  

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Well, that was my weekend.  A very fun day.  Rome has just been incredible, and I look forward to growing in my love for the Church throughout the rest of the semester. Please continue to pray for vocations to the Priesthood!  

Ryan and Max go on an Adventure

Well, Ryan was off exploring Rome again this week.  He got to go see some pretty awesome things, but he did spend quite a bit of time with fellow Joliet seminarian Max Behna.  And Max, because he was feeling a little homesick, decided that he needed to find a place where he could relax and feel at home.  So where did he go?  The Egyptian Embassy of course!  So here is our favorite Egyptian seminarian hanging out with Ryan at the Egyptian Embassy this week!  You can even see part of the Egyptian flag flying over Max's head.  Who knows where Ryan will end up next.  Perhaps in the conclave?  One can never know....

(Note: Max Behna is half Egyptian and to all concerned Mothers, he is not actually homesick, it was something I used for the story.)

Ash Wednesday

Lent is upon us!  I have been here in Italy for a week and a half, and it is already time to enter into Lent.  Lent is a good, but hard and demanding, season of the Church that needs to be taken seriously   Lent calls us to deny our own desires so that we may follow Christ on His road to Calvary.  And as Christians, and more broadly as human beings, we need to learn how to die.  Death calls us out of our own little worlds to realize that there is more to life than fulfilling our own desires.  It makes us put aside our plans so as to follow the Lord and His plans for us.  And it prepares our hearts to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord.  Because if there is no death, there is no new life.  If we don't know our sinfulness, then there is no need for God's mercy.  If we aren't broken and dependent on God, then why would we need Jesus as our Savior?  So I hope and pray that this Lent will be a fruitful one, where you can come to a deeper knowledge of your utter dependence on God and His mercy in your life.  

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, was a whirlwind of experiences, and as does the Bible, let us start in the beginning.  I woke up Wednesday morning at 4:45 AM to get ready to go to Mass.  Now you're probably asking yourself Why would anybody ever get up that early to go to Mass?  Aren't there later Masses?  And the answer is Yes, there are later Masses, but there is a beautiful Lenten tradition in Rome called the Station Churches.  The Station Churches are churches all throughout Rome, and each day, there is Mass at a different church.  So you wake up and walk each day, sometimes 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes over an hour, to go to these Station Church Masses.  The English Mass usually starts at 7 AM, but on Ash Wednesday, Mass started at 6:45.  It was about an hour walk to Santa Sabina, which is an ancient church on top of one of the 7 historic hills of Rome.  So I left the house with my seminarian brothers at 5:45 to get to Mass on time.  The Church, which was rather simple, is home to the Dominican Order, and St. Thomas Aquinas actually said Mass there quite frequently.  Talk about praying with the saints.  At the Mass, Joliet Deacon John Lovitsch read the Gospel from the ambo where Aquinas preached, which was super cool.  We (the Joliet seminarians) chatted with John after Mass and took this awesome picture! 

After Mass, we went to class, which was good.  I will share more about school later  (yes, contrary to popular belief, there is some schooling being done here).  But right after class, (we may or may not have ditched our Conversational Italian Class) we walked to St. Peter's Basilica to get in line for Ash Wednesday Mass with the Pope.  He announced that this would be his last public Mass, so obviously, we wanted to get there.  While I was waiting in line, I recognized a seminarian who sat by me at St. Peter's Sunday for Mass.  While I never spoke to him Sunday, we both recognized each other, so he happily used me as an excuse to hop in line with us, cutting off a few thousand people.  His name was Sebastian, and he is a seminarian from Germany.  He spoke pretty good English, so we happily chatted for quite a while.  He was an interesting guy to say the least, but it was a great time to get to know to him.  And we even got a picture together!

The highlight of the day though was of course Ash Wednesday Mass with the Holy Father.  It was really cool because when a Pope dies, you never get to thank him for his service.  But at the end of Mass, there was about 5 minutes of applause after a Cardinal thanked Pope Benedict for his service.  It was just such a beautiful way to end his last public Mass, thanking him for his Yes, his generous service to the Church.  He didn't make a big deal about his resignation, but you could tell at the end of Mass that he was pretty emotional about it.  I am hoping to get to his last 2 Angelus' and possibly even his farewell audience on the 27th.  What a gift Benedict has been to the Church, and how lucky are we to have been a part of the Church that the Lord called him to guide.  He is an incredible man, and his leadership will be dearly missed.  While I did not take any pictures during the Mass, I do have this one from the processional.  At first, I didn't think that it turned out well, but when I looked at it later, it turned out super cool.  So here it is.  Have a very blessed Lent and please continue to pray for the Cardinals as they prepare to elect the next Pope!  

Pope Benedict

Well, as I am sure you heard, Pope Benedict announced his resignation yesterday, and what a shock it was. I was just doing some homework in the library, and one of my friends came running in and told me that the Pope resigned.  And really, I did not know how to react at all.  I did know, however, I would not be retaining much more of the reading I would be doing.  The Pope resigning?  Has that ever happened before? What is going on?  But now that I have had a bit of time to consider the situation, I do have a few thoughts.  First off, I want to just say how much I love Pope Benedict and how grateful I am for his service to the Church.  He has been the only Pope I have seen in person and has been such a blessing for the Church.  Being elected the Pope after Blessed John Paul II, he had some enormous shoes to fill, especially for a man elected when he was 78.  But his willingness to submit to the will of the Lord should be a model for us.  He faithfully exercised his role as the Sucessor of Peter, giving all that he had to the Papacy.

In respect to the fact that he actually retired, I have to say that it is an incredibly humbling witness to his love for the Church.  Benedict, because he knew what the vocation of the Pope entailed, did not believe that he could fulfill its duties.  Now this can cause some controversy because some people say "Well is anybody really able to carry out the ministry of the Pope?"  And on his own power, no, but with the help of God, yes.  And Pope Benedict, through careful discernment, believes that this was the best time for him to step down from this office because he physically cannot handle the pressures of the Papacy anymore.  His love for the Church is so great that he realizes what a Pope needs to do, and how he is physically incapable to fulfilling that need.

And this is an interesting time emotionally for everyone, because there is no precedence for this at all.  When a Pope is done being Pope, it is usually because he is dead, so there is great mourning.  But Benedict isn't dead.  But there is still a  sense of mourning.  He is a good and holy man, so it is sad that he won't be leading our Church any more.  But there is also a great sense of excitement for the future of the Church.  This is a historical event, and the future of the Church depends on it.  So it is a very exciting time to be Catholic.      

Some of the thoughts going through my head include: "Wow, I saw him the day before he announced his retirement!"  "Wow, I am going to be in Rome for a Conclave!"  "The announcing of the new Pope will probably the most important historic event I ever witness in person."  "I can't believe I am here for this."

So ya, it is crazy being here, but what a time to be in Rome.  Please pray for Pope Benedict and his health, and especially for the College of Cardinals that the Holy Spirit may guide their discernment.

If you are interested in reading the text of his resignation address, here is a link for a copy in English http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.it/2013/02/b16-announces-resignation.html

Where did he go now?

Well folks, Ryan has been on the move again.  And to be honest, he made it to quite a few places this week, but unfortunately, some of the places cannot handle the paparazzi that follow him everywhere.  Therefore, there were no pictures taken of him at all in the catacombs, under St. Peters, or some other secret locations. He did, however, make his way over to the Colosseum, courtesy of Mike McMahon and Matthew Bearth.  He had a great time there and thoroughly enjoyed pretending to be a gladiator, fighting an invisible lion.  Needless to say, Ryan's attack techniques were superb and the lion was slayed quickly.  Who knows where we will find Ryan next?

Tu es Petrus

"When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven."  - Matthew 16:13-19

This week has been a whirlwind of experiences, but to summarize it, it was an intense encounter with the rock that the Church was founded upon.  Wednesday, the whole community went to the General Audience with Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th pope.  And any time one has the opportunity to see the Holy Father, to be in his presence, you have to do it.  While most of what he said was in Italian, it was still just an amazing experience to be with him, to see his great joy and life.  And the fact that hall we were in was filled to capacity with several thousand pilgrims shows the great reality of the papacy.  If it was Joseph Ratzinger, the man, giving a talk on theology, the hall would be nowhere near capacity.  Now I am not knocking the Pope here, but I am just saying, not many people in the world want to sit and listen to an old man preach on the Catholic faith.  But because of who he is as the Vicar for Christ, everyone in the hall, including myself, was going nuts.  The Pope radiates a great sense of joy to everyone in his presence, and it is an amazing experience just to be in his presence.

But to assume that seeing Pope Benedict was the highlight of my week would be a wrong assumption.  The highlight, probably one of the coolest things that I've ever done in my life, was to go on the Scavi Tour.  The Scavi Tour is a tour that brings you under St. Peter's Basilica and it was just amazing.  Our tour guide was a seminarian from England, which was just marvelous.  He knew his stuff, but he also knew why we were on the tour.  He knew why we were there because the final stop on the tour is at the bones of St. Peter.  And while there is no exact, scientific proof that shows that the bones belonged Peter himself, the evidence is overwhelming and almost any rational being would conclude that St. Peter's remains are truly there.  We had the opportunity to spend about 5 minutes in prayer with his remains, and what a gift that was.  To be with the man who Christ gave the keys to, the man who God Himself entrusted HIS Church to, was just incredible.  Words cannot describe the feeling of being in St. Peter's presence and knowing that, one day, I will continue his priestly mission by offering the Eucharistic sacrifice.  To be with the ROCK, Peter, the man who denied Christ three times, who walked on water with Jesus, who received the Eucharist at the Last Supper, who professed his love for Christ on the shore, who was the leader of the apostles.  Wow.  Without Peter, we would not be here today as a Catholic Church.  His faith, his trust in the mercy of God, and his love for Jesus should be models for us as we continue to pursue holiness.

I have a lot more things that I could have shared, but really, being with Peter has easily been the most noteworthy.  It was just an incredible experience and one that shows the great history and tradition of the Catholic Church.  Rome has been such a blessing and I will continue to attempt to share what has been going on with all of you.

St. Peter - Pray for Us!
        

Where in the World is Ryan Adorjan?

So as you may or may not know, Ryan Adorjan, one of my esteemed classmates at SJV, is stuck in Minnesota while I am here enjoying the Eternal City.  But because of my great fraternal love for my seminarian brother and 2018 classmate, I thought that it would only be appropriate that he gets the opportunity to share in some of my experiences.  So about once a week, I will be posting a segment called "Where in the World is Ryan Adorjan?"  This segment will be based loosely on something that Ryan did for me, when he took me (my freshman year seminarian baseball card), for a mere weekend, to the insignificant Charlotte  North Carolina.  I got to go to a dinner with a bishop, hang out in Ryan's hotel room, and meet a couple of people.  I, however, will be treating Ryan to a much greater trip, where he will have the time of his life.  So for Ryan's first trip, Joliet seminarian Max Behna brought Ryan to a bedroom in Bernardi.  While it may not be very exciting, I thought that we needed to start off slow, to ensure that the jet lag wouldn't negatively affect Ryan's experience.  So keep your eyes open for Ryan Adorjan sightings all over Europe this semester, and I am sure that he will thoroughly enjoy his adventures.

If any one has any suggestions on where Ryan should go, please, do not hesitate to leave it in the comment box!        

Wow, I Live Here Now

Well, here I am in Rome, Italy.  It has been a surreal experience and it is hard to believe that I am actually here.  Quite frequently, I say to myself "Wow, this is Rome.  And I live here.  This is nuts."  But it has just been an unbelievable time.  We arrived Saturday morning and spent most of the day unpacking and getting orientated to the house.  We live at what is called Bernardi, a house located on the beautiful (not really) Tiber River.  I will post about the house in a bit.  But it has just been a super blessed time.  Sunday, we had orientation for the house and went to the St. Peter's Basilica, which was just incredible.  While I had been there before, I had such a more moving experience this time and I really look forward to spending quite a bit of time there.  Monday,we had orientation at the Angelicum, the English speaking university in Rome, run by the Dominicans.  We were divided into teams and raced to the school, even though none of us knew the way.  Thank God for Google Maps.  While my team did not win, it was a great time and we ran into some super cool things on the way.  The opportunity to study at such a historic school rooted in Catholic Tradition is an incredible gift and I very much am looking forward to studying there.

The highlight of my time so far was easily the dinner I had on Monday night.  Paul Solomon, a Joliet seminarian studying here in Rome, took myself, Mike McMahon, and Max Behna out for dinner.  And to be honest, it was just an awesome time being with Paul.  I had not seen him since the end of my freshman year, so the fact that I was with him was surreal.  There was just so much goodness to be back with one of my seminarian brothers.  As the psalms say "It is good when brothers live in unity."  There is a deep bond between the Joliet seminarians, and it brought great joy to be able to be with Paul again.  Even though we may not see each other frequently, the common mission and vocation unite us in a way that cannot be put into words. So it was just a fantastic evening, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to be with him.  Also, the food (and wine) was delicious.

So it is here that I will wrap it up.  And I will promise that I will post more pictures in the future, but here is my first, proof that I am actually here.    

 

Na Na Na Na...

Well folks, today is the day.  I am finally taking off for the adventure of a life time in Rome, Italy.  I cannot believe that it is actually happening, and when my mind does kind of wrap around the reality of what is going on, it is just ridiculous.  But it is going to happen.  I am going to leave in a few short hours and get on a plane headed for Rome.  Wow.

We got back from our retreat yesterday afternoon, which was a really great time.  Being able to spend time in silence was a beautiful thing to re-focus myself after a long break, especially focusing on the ultimate goal of the priesthood.  The retreat was about "The Call" and it was just a humbling thing to pray about the noble vocation of the priesthood and the fact that I, one day, will be ordained to take part in the very ministry of Christ in this world.  Words cannot describe that incredible gift and my desire to give myself to the Church only continues to grow.  In less serious news, I did walk probably 3 miles (round trip) across frozen Lake Buffalo and back.  To quote my sister "Wait, isn't it cold up in Minnesota?"  Yes, and that is why I was able to walk on the lake.  But it was a great way to get out of the building for a bit and get some fresh air.

Now, as I prepare to leave, it is really crazy to think that I am one of the "Men in Rome" at SJV.  Just looking back at the men who have gone to Rome during my first 2 years here, I have always looked up to them.  I see them as the seminarians who know what they're doing, who have their stuff together, who are just impressive guys.  And then now, as I depart, I start thinking to myself, "Man, that's me now...."  And the only reason that I can give for that is that seminary formation works.  I have grown immensely during my time here and feel about as prepared as I can be to encounter myself, and more importantly, the Lord, in Rome this semester.  While it is bittersweet to be leaving the brotherhood at the seminary for the semester, I know that the Lord has many good things in store for me.

So please pray for safe travels for all of the students going to Rome and know that my next update will be from Rome!  To quote thousands of fans at US Cellular Field on a good night for the White Sox: "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey. Good Bye!"  

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe - Ruega por Nosotros!