Spring Break 2013!

Well, I am headed to the airport today to get out of Rome for Spring Break.  While I do love Rome, it will be great to get out for the city for a while.  I am traveling with 2 of my good friends, Mike McMahon from Joliet, and Peter Stine from Lansing.  And to think that we will be released into Europe, into a country where we have no idea how to speak the language, and just told to be back by Sunday night is kind of intimidating, but I am not too worried.  While we will be gone, I won't be posting anything, so be looking for a big post about a week from now.  Now, you may be asking yourself Where are you going for spring break?  And there are 2 ways to answer that question.  The first, and the most boring, is to just say it.  But the second option, and what I will be doing, is to leave a series of YouTube videos for you to enjoy set in the lands to which I will be traveling.  So please enjoy these videos, and know that the third video is definitely my favorite.  And I am kind of anticipating everyone in said country to be like this, and will be sort of disappointed if it is a false assumption.....

Also, Happy Opening Day to all of the White Sox fans out there!  You can put it on the boooooooooooard YES!

Please pray for safe travels for all of us, and I will be sure to pray for all of you as well.

He is Risen!

Beatissime Pater, annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, quod est Alleluia!

Holy Father, I announce to you a great joy, which is Alleluia! - Deacon at the Easter Vigil  (One of my favorite lines from last night)

Christ has Risen!  Alleluia Alleluia!  What a beautiful day to celebrate the Resurrection, the single most important event in the history of mankind.  By Christ's rising from the dead, we clearly see that death and sin have no power over us.  The grave could not contain the Goodness that is the person  of Jesus Christ.  Even the Romans knew something was coming.  We see in Matthew's Gospel that the chief priests and Pharisees station guards outside Christ's tomb because they were afraid something was going to happen.  Even the people that killed Him knew that His death on the cross would not be the end!  Christ brings new life to all, and it is only through His Resurrection from the dead that we are saved.  Through His saving act, we have salvation.  Sin has no power over us any more.  Because of Christ's victory, we can conquer sin and death.  On our own, again, we fail.  But it is through Christ that we can live in the light of His Resurrection and in the freedom of God.  

Let the joy of Easter radiate from your hearts this day and everyday!  Everyone you meet should realize that you are different.  And you are different because you have embraced the new life that Christ offers to those who follow Him.  Let us praise God for this incredible gift of new life, of salvation, and of hope for eternal life with Him!  

Jesus Christ is Risen Today 

Resucitó

Good Friday

Today is the day.  It is the day that Jesus Christ, God Himself, is condemned to death and crucified.  All for our sins.  It is because of us, because of you and me, that Christ dies on the cross.  It is the only possible way that we could be redeemed.  All throughout history, people have tried to offer things to God in reparation for their sins. But the problem is that because we are so distorted from our original state of grace because of sin, everything we offer to God will fall short.  It just does not suffice to heal the chasm that has developed between God and His beloved creation, the human race.  It is only through a perfect a sacrifice, the sacrifice of God Himself, that we can be redeemed.  It is through the death of Christ on the cross that we are brought back into union with the Father.  And we are called to join Christ upon the cross.  When Christ's heart was pierced by the soldier, two significant things happened.  The first is that blood and water flowed out.  Blood and water, symbols of the 2 great sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist, are the cornerstones of the Church.  From the pierced side of Christ flows the Church, which He has formed in His image.  We must be purified by the saving waters of Baptism and nourished by the true Blood present in the Eucharist.  Christ's death brings us new life.  And it is only by dying with Christ that we can hope to receive the new life that only He can give.  The second significant thing is that because Christ's heart is pierced, it is now open for all to dwell in.  We must find our refuge in Christ, in His heart.  We must let His precious mercy abound in our hearts and trust in His saving power.  His heart is now a refuge for sinners, in need of His Divine Mercy.  He desires to use us as His instruments of His love, but we must first come to know His love ourselves if we have any desire to share that with others.  He invites us to dwell in His heart this day.  Dwell in His Sacred Heart.  Upon the cross, Christ said "I thirst."  Do not think that this was just a physical thirst.  Christ deeply desires us.  He thirsts for us.  And our love will satisfy that thirst.  He wants to meet us at the cross, so that He can open our hearts and draw us into His kingdom.  But it is only through accepting that invitation of Christ, of acknowledging His desire for us, that we can do that.  May we, one day, hear those same words Jesus said to the repentant thief "I promise you, this day, you shall be with me in Paradise."

O Sacred Head So Wounded 

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday.  One of my favorite days of the whole year.  Because it is at the Last Supper that we as Catholics receive two of the most important things we could possibly receive from Jesus Christ: The Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood.  First, the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.  It is what separates us from any other faith, what makes us holy, what draws us into the heart of Christ.  When we receive the Eucharist, we are receiving, into our very being, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord.  What an incredible gift.  God did not just send His Son to the world to be with the people who lived from 0-33 AD.  No, Christ gives us Himself, in a very real way, to be with His Church forever.  God is physically present in that thing that used to be just a piece of bread.  And God's love for us is so incredible that we get to RECEIVE HIM every day.  He truly wants to dwell within us and draw us into a deeper relationship with Him.  And that is why we need to treat the Eucharist with great reverence, because it is God.  It isn't just a piece of bread that we like to look at.  It is God.  And it is pure gift.  We don't deserve to receive Him, but we do.  And it is solely because God desires to be with us and transform our hearts in the Sacred Heart of His Son.  So often, people just go up and receive the Eucharist at Mass because it is the "thing to do."  But we must realize that we should be different after every time we go to Mass.  Because if you think about it in a very simple way, when you eat something, usually the food changes a bit and you change a bit.  For example, I had some pizza for lunch.  The pizza was converted into energy for my body, and I may gave gained a bit more body mass because of it.  But when we consume God, God doesn't change.  So we are the ones who have to do all of the changing.  God wants to change us, to give us new hearts, to draw us closer to Himself.  And this is all through the power of the Eucharist.  He is truly present and that is why we commemorate the Last Supper tonight   It is the night that Christ gave Himself to the Church for ever.          

The second thing we receive at the Last Supper is the Holy Priesthood.  And while I can rant for quite a while, I will focus on just one aspect of the priesthood: the call to humble service.  We hear in the Gospel that Christ got down on His knees and washed the feet of His apostles.  And while Peter at first rejected His service, he immediately let Christ wash his feet because he realized the gravity of what He was doing.  A master never served his followers.  That is just absurd.  That would be a complete contradiction of being a master.  But as we have already seen, Christ's kingdom is a complete contradiction of the idea of the world's kingdom.  Christ came to serve.  And He gives this commission to all, but in a very special way, He gives it to His Priests.  He tells them that they must do the same thing for the people that will become their followers.   You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am.  If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. - John 13:13-15.  Christ calls His priests to serve.  As the teachers and masters of their parish, they must learn that their leadership must be based on service.  At the Mass of the Last Supper, the priest gets down on his knees and washes the feet of 12 of his parishioners.  After renewing his priestly promises at the Chrism Mass earlier that week, he goes, in a very real way, to act upon those promises.  He washes the feet of his parishioners.  And while some may say "O, I don't want Father to wash my feet.  I don't need to be served" or "Everyone should wash people's feet, because everyone is called to serve," we need to be like Peter and accept this act of humble service.  Christ gave this command to His priests.  While this doesn't limit the call to service to just priests, it does, however, mean their their primary vocation is to serve the people of God.  And that is why the washing of the feet is so important in this Mass.  A priest publicly reminds his parish, and himself, why he is at that parish.  He is there to serve the people and, through his service, draw them closer to God.  A priest needs to be a man molded closely to Christ, specifically Christ the Servant.  And it is only through serving others that He fulfills the noble vocation of the Priesthood.              

I close with my favorite Eucharistic hymn, Pange Lingua, a hymn sung in honor of the Eucharist, as the Eucharist is moved from the tabernacle to the altar of repose for the rest of the night.  Written by St. Thomas Aquinas, it is one of the most beautiful hymns of praise in the Church.  Have a holy Triduum!  

Seven Church Walk

So while I said that I wasn't going to write about what I had been doing during Holy Week, I just had to post about my adventure today.  St. Phillip Neri, a great Roman saint, had a Holy Week tradition that involved walking to 7 of the biggest churches in Rome.  And because it is Spring Break and we don't really have a whole lot going on, I was definitely looking forward to the day.  And while in some parts of Rome, you can walk to 7 churches in about 15 minutes, these 7 churches were rather spread out, so we ended up walking about 15 miles over the course of the day (leaving the house at 6 AM, not getting back until 630 PM).  So while it was a very long and tiring day, it was a really great time.  We had 23 Bernardians, and of course, our good friend Ryan Adorjan came along.  And needless to say, he had a great time!  Just look at all of these pictures!

We started the day at St. Mary Major, where we had the Last Station Church Mass.  The Church is Rome's biggest church dedicated to Mary, and it is a beautiful church.  The highlight is easily what is located under the altar, namely, the crib of Christ.  Ya, that's pretty neat.  The crib that Christ slept in in Bethlehem, just chilling here in Rome.  And here, Ryan is hanging out with the one and only Gemma Roselle Schaffer of Staples, MN.  That's right, Gemma's middle name is Roselle.  Super cool.  So Ryan went from Oswego (his hometown) to Roselle, IL, to Rome, to hang out with Gemma Roselle.  I love it.
 

After St. Mary Major, we went to St. Lawrence Outside the Walls.  The church suffered a lot of damage during the war, but it was still a beautiful church. Underneath the alter, St. Lawrence, St. Justin, and a relic of St. Sebastian were all buried there.  These are some of the most significant early Church martyrs, especially here in Rome, so it was cool to be able to pray with them.  St. Lawrence, an early Church deacon and patron saint of comedians, was literally grilled alive.  And when this was happening, he said to his executioners "Turn me over, I'm done on this side."  Pretty legit.  And here is Ryan with Tulsa seminarian Vince Fernandez and all-around rock star Catherine Huss.   

After St. Lawrence, we walked to Santa Croce in Gerusalme, an absolutely ridiculous church.  This was my first time visiting the church, and talk about a beauty.  The highlight was definitely the relics the church has in a back room.  All together, the church has some pretty amazing things.  These include: the world's largest relic of Christ's Cross, a nail used to crucify Christ, 2 thorns from the Crown of Thorns, the inscription that hung above the Cross, and the finger of St. Thomas the Apostle.  So ya, talk about crazy.  Especially Thomas' finger.  Just thinking about the fact that the finger that was right in front of me was inside of Jesus Christ, resurrected from the dead, is incredible.  Also, St. Helena brought back a ton of dirt from the Holy Land, and so when the church's title include in Gerusalme, it is meant very literally.  The church was built totally on a foundation of dirt from the Holy Land.  And Ryan had the privilege of hanging out with Liz Robeck of Albertville, MN and Emma Voelker from Wisconsin Rapids, MN, two super fun girls.  Liz did, however, take one for the team in this picture.  As she was getting into position, a bird decided to send her a little love from the skies, if you know what I mean.  But she handled it very well and still managed to take a great picture.
 

We then headed to St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome.  This is where the Pope's cathedra is, so it is kind of an important Church.  It is an absolutely monstrous church, and has an incredibly beautiful apse (big curved area above the altar) and baptistery.  It is just a great church, and we were able to pray a rosary in there together by an altar dedicated to Mary.  Here, Ryan is hanging out with an old friend, St. Paul-Minneapolis seminarian Nathan Schuster.
      

After a brief lunch, we hit the road again for the longest, yet most scenic walk of the day.  We went out to the Basilica of St. Sebastian, which is located on the very historic Appain Way.  The Appia Antica, as it is known in Rome, is one of the most historic and famous streets in Rome.  It takes you out of the city into a bit more rural atmosphere, so it was so cool to ''escape'' the urban jungle of Rome and walk through some beautiful scenery.  The road, which has walls on either side, was rather tight, so all 23 of us went single file as cars were flying by to make it out to St. Sebastian's.  This church is beautiful and houses the remains of St. Sebastian, another early Church martyr and the patron saint of athletes.  Here is Ryan with Evansville seminarian Keith Dewig, Grand Rapids seminarian Mike Steffes, and Cincinnati seminarian Micheal Mazzei.  Look at all the fun they are having!         

After St. Sebastian's, we headed to one of my favorite churches in all of Rome. St. Paul's Outside the Walls.  This church is again enormous, and houses the tomb of the great apostle Paul.  The columns lining the whole nave make the church appear a lot larger than it actually is, but it is definitely one of the biggest I've ever been in.  They have mosaics of all the popes wrapped around the top of the church, but Francis has yet to make his way up there.  Hopefully by the end of the semester, they will have the new Pope Francis mosaic up.  The mosaics in this church are stunning, and the apse with Christ the teacher is just incredible.  But my favorite part of the whole church is the courtyard in front of the Church.  And look who I found there?  Ryan was hanging with the amazing Taylor Fischer, from Hartington, Nebraska!  I have to say that I'm jealous of Ryan, because hanging out with Taylor is always a good time.  
       

Our last stop, and the most important stop, was St. Peter's Basilica.  And while I could write about St. Peter's for a while, I think that it is pretty self-explanatory.  It is the most important Church in the Church because it is where St. Peter is buried.  It doesn't get better than the rock that Christ built His Church on.  And here is Ryan celebrating the end of his arduous walk with Greg Billion, Lansing seminarians Peter Stine and Brian Goulet, and Anna DeMarais!  After 15 long miles, we finally made it.  All 7 of Phillip Neri's Holy Week churches.  What a grace filled day.
    

This week, Fr. Michael Becker, the esteemed rector of St. John Vianney Seminary, came to check in on us and do our year end evaluations.  As for my evaluation, I am coming back for another year and it has been a good year, so it went pretty smoothly.  Anyways, Fr. Becker was very pleased to hang out with Ryan at Bernardi. While he thought that he would be escaping Ryan by coming to Europe, there is no escaping the infamous Mr. Adorjan.  And here is Fr. Becker with Ryan, clearly living it up in Rome!
    

Palm Sunday: Behold the man

Ecce Homo - Ciseri

Behold the man!  (John 19:5)  Christ, God-made-man, who was beaten, whipped, and condemned to death, is presented to those who wanted his death.  He is presented to us.  For the first time all Lent, it is today, Palm Sunday, that we hear why we have been fasting, doing penances, and dying to ourselves.  And while we always "know it," for the first time, we know what is coming.  Christ's passion and death come to the forefront of our minds.  It is clear that in the coming days, we will walk with Christ.  We will suffer and die with Him.  We know this.  And He knows it.  Christ, as He rides the donkey into Jerusalem, knows what is coming.  He knows that He will suffer greatly, have his closest friends abandon Him, carry His cross to the top of a hill, and eventually be nailed to a piece of wood.  So if He knows all this suffering is coming, we have to ask "Why?"  Why does Christ continue?  Why does He never defend Himself before Pilate, before the Sanhedrin, before His accusers?  Why does He let the soldiers treat Him like a hardened criminal?  And the only answer is that Christ has His eyes on the prize.  He knows why He is going to suffer.  He knows why He will be nailed to the cross.  Christ willingly suffers and dies for us.  For all of us.  He desires us so much that He is willing to give everything, even His very self, so that we can be with Him forever.  God is madly in love with us.  He wants us.  And He is willing to completely humiliate Himself, completely put aside ALL of the glory and honor that God deserves, just so that He could die for us.  THAT IS ABSURD.  Every human heart should be constantly be giving praise and honor to God.  Yet, here He is, standing before the people who want His death, without anything to His name.  He has been beaten, mocked, scourged, and crowned with thorns.  And when we sin, we stand in the place of the Roman soldiers doing this to Him.  If we claim Christ as our King, why on earth would we ever subject Him to that kind of pain and punishment?  We are weak and broken individuals, in need of redemption.  We are in need of a king who will save us, who will not condemn us, but draw us to himself out of pure love.  And that king can only be Christ.  But we look upon the image of Christ, being presented to the crowds who want Him dead, and we don't see an image of a king.  But it is in this moment that we must realize that Christ's Kingship is different from anything anyone anticipated, even the apostles.  People thought that the Messiah's Kingdom would be one of power, glory, and fame.  The King would rule from a golden throne and subject all to his rule.  But Christ established a Kingdom that is the exact opposite.  It is a Kingdom in which humility, lowliness, and self-gift are the most important virtues.  It is a Kingdom where the King rules from the cross and draws all to share in that act of redemption.  That is why we claim Christ as our king.  That is why we sing hymns of praise to Him this day, Palm Sunday.  Christ, God made Man, completely accepted the Father's will and fully embraced the cross.  He knew His mission, and He did it.  Christ fulfills His mission out of love for us.  He gives Himself because He desires to be with us.  And it is because of this great love that we sing hymns of praise to God and recount the glorious act of our salvation this day.

Palm Sunday Hymn - All Glory, Laud, and Honor

                             

Holy Week

As Holy Week quickly approaches, I have decided to do something a little different in the coming days with my blog.  Instead of telling you what I've been doing, I think that I will take this opportunity to share some reflections on some of the celebrations of Holy Week and some of my favorite hymns from the celebrations.  I am hoping to have something to share for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. I am not exactly sure what form they will take, but I am hoping to post some of my thoughts on the significance of this week, the holiest week of the year.  So be on the lookout for those.  Hopefully, I will be able to celebrate many of the liturgies with Pope Francis, but the ticket situation is still up in the air.  So we will have to wait and see where the Lord wants me to experience the Triduum.  Also, we just started Spring Break, so it will be great to just be able to spend Holy Week in a more relaxed state, just being able to focus on prayer and not worrying too much about other commitments.  

Know that I do pray for all of you, especially my family and the good people at St. Walter's.  I know that it will definitely be strange not being in Roselle for the Triduum, but hopefully I will be able to fully enter into the experience that is Holy Week in Rome.  Please continue to pray for me and all of the Bernardi house.  The Lord has truly blessed us this semester and has done a lot of good things within all of us thus far, and I cannot wait to see what He will do in the second half of the semester.  

Our Lady of Sorrows - Pray for us!  

After the Pope's Installation Mass, Max Behna and I found a legendary hot dog stand here in Rome. It's no Portillo's, but it will suffice.

Ryan with Illinois students (and 2 of my good friends!) Brian Geary and Rachel Holmes in St. Peter's Piazza!  

Weekend in Bologna

San Petronius

This weekend, the whole house took a trip to Bologna with our art teacher for an "outside of the classroom" class.  (And contrary to popular belief, it is pronounced Bo - loan- ya, not Ba - lone - e)  While it was great to see a ton of beautiful art in person, I will be the first to admit that there is only so much art that I can take.  But there were definitely some highlights from the weekend that are worth sharing.  We left Bernardi at 6:30 Saturday morning on a coach bus.  The ride took about 5 hours, so while it was long, I did get to take a nap and see some beautiful mountains on our way north.  And once we got to Bologna, we were off to the races.  We visited churches, museums, the oldest university in the Western world, and got to see the heart of the city. In the realm of churches, my two favorites were San Petronius and San Domenico.  Saint Petronius is the patron saint of Bologna and is basically their home town hero.  Everyone there loves him and has a great devotion to him.  I wish I could tell you anything about his life, but he is kind of a big deal only in Bologna, so I don't know a whole lot about him.  In building this church, the people of Bologna built it to fit their personality, using local materials and trying to make it as cool as possible.  And while they tried to make it as big as St. Peter's in Rome, it did not happen.  The Vatican actually helped build other buildings around San Petronius so that the church couldn't be extended.  We went to Mass their Sunday morning, and because these churches are enormous and centuries old, they lack some modern amenities  like heat.  So you know that is is a good Mass when you can see your breath.  But it was a beautiful church and I really enjoyed it there.

Chapel of the Rosary 

My other favorite church was San Domenico, which is the church where St. Dominic was buried.  St. Dominic is kind of a big deal because he founded the Dominicans, one of the greatest orders in the history of the world.  And again, if you remember my Siena post, I was asked by my friend who is in formation to be a Dominican priest to pray for him through the intercession of different Dominican saints.  And I feel like St. Dominic is a pretty legit Dominican saint, so it was great to be able to pray for Brother John Dominic there.  The Angelicum, the university where I am studying this semester, is also run by Dominicans, and a priest from the Angelicum (Fr. Dominic Holtz O.P.) came with us for the weekend.  Having him with us was great.  Not only is Fr. Dominic super cool, but he gave us some of the spirituality behind the art that we were seeing.  So it wasn't just looking at art for arts sake, it was looking at art to encounter God, which was just beautiful.  St. Dominic did some awesome things, but one that he is most famous for was the fact that he gave the Church the rosary as we know it today.  So I was able to touch my rosary to his tomb, so that every time I pray the rosary, he is also interceding for me.  Praying with the saints is a great gift, because they are role models for us.  I love the saints because it shows that the Christian life is possible.  There is great hope for Heaven and when we fight the good fight, to quote St. Paul, we will, one day, receive the gift of eternal life.  Lastly, in the very front of the church, they had an enormous set of choir stalls, where Dominican brothers or sisters would pray together.  They were just beautiful and we were able to sit tin them for a while.  I have an awesome picture of Colin Jones, St. Paul-Minneapolis seminarian, praying in one of the stalls.

ASPM seminarian (and my roommate) Colin Jones 

But to be honest, my favorite part of Bologna was nothing that we actually went to Bologna to see.  That is because my favorite part was the street performers that played all through the city.  There would just be these bands, usually composed of 4-6 people, who would just sit together and jam.  And they were phenomenal.  They had guitars, upright basses, trumpets, saxophones, drums, violins, and even banjos (I thought those were only in the south...)  But I could sit and listen to these guys for hours.  They were just having fun, not doing anything too serious, and playing some great music.  I even have a picture of one of the bands playing, and look who is in the background!  It is Grand Rapids seminarian Mike Steffes with our good friend Ryan!  They seem to be enjoying themselves!

Lastly, I just want to share a quick story that happened in Rome Friday morning.  I was going to be showing some friends around St. Peter's Basilica that morning, so I decided to go to Mass there.  And one cool thing about St. Peter's is that any Catholic priest in the world can say Mass in the Basilica, from 7-8 AM.  There are a ton of altars, and my plan was going to be to just hop on with a priest and go to Mass with him.  But as I was waiting by the sacristy, I noticed 2 priests and this third guy walking together towards the sacristy.  And almost immediately, I recognized that "third guy" as the Catholic Guy, Lino Rulli!  Lino hosts a talk show on Sirius XM's The Catholic Channel, and it is easily my favorite radio talk show out there.  His whole goal is to show that you can be both a normal person and a Catholic at the very same time, which is something that I really appreciate and try to model myself.  So I was like OK I'm going to bail on this Mass idea for the moment, and I will wait to say hi to Lino.  And that is exactly what I did.  He was with his occasional co-host Fr. Jim Chern and Fr. Dave Dweyer, another Catholic Channel radio host.  So I chatted with the three of them for a while about the program I am here in Rome with and about the new Pope.  It was so cool to meet these guys in person, and of course, I had to get a picture.  It was so cool to meet Lino and just to tell him how much I appreciate the work he is doing for the Church.  The Church needs witnesses to show that being Catholic isn't weird, boring, puritanical, or lifeless.  No, being Catholic means that you are full of laughter, life, joy, and peace.  And Lino really does that in his own unique way.  So being able to thank him for that was a great gift.  His ability to engage the world while still pursuing holiness and virtue have been very inspirational for me, so it was a great joy to meet him.  And don't worry, I got to Mass about 20 minutes later.  Please continue to pray for all of us over here and especially Pope Francis!

Lino Rulli, the Catholic Guy!

  

Sts. Peter and Paul - Pray for us!                      

HABEMUS PAPAM!

Well, as I am sure you are aware, we have a Pope.  And his name is Pope Francis.  Wow.  Here are my thoughts from the past few days.  Also, my camera battery died, so I do not have any pictures from the anything, but that is OK.  I was able to take it in and not really worry about taking pictures, which was a good thing.  The conclave opened with a Mass Tuesday morning with all of the Cardinal electors, and I was privileged to be able to attend the Mass with most of the house.  While some of my classmates went to class that morning, I weighed my options: 1 (one) moral theology class, or being a witness to history. And history won.  So I was at the Mass.  I sat next to Sister María Ella, a sister from Bolivia.  We had a great conversation in Spanish for about half an hour before Mass, and that was neat.  She is a very holy women and was very edified by the presence of so many young (and good looking) American seminarians.  The Mass was very cool, knowing that the future Pope was there with us.  While we weren't very close to the aisle, I did see Cardinal DiNardo from Houston, Cardinal Dolan from New York, Cardinal O'Malley from Boston, and Cardinal George from Chicago all process in.  (Favorite Cardinal George quote: "It is great to be here in the marvelous Diocese of Joliet.")  So that was great.

That night, the seminarians had our formation night in the Square so that we could see the smoke when it came billowing up from the Sistine Chapel.  While we knew that there would not be a pope elected that evening, we still were out there, standing in the cold and rain.  I really appreciate the time we spent out there because it solidified what was really going on when we saw the smoke come out.  Like I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Cardinal electors were gathered in that chapel, praying and voting, to elect the next pope.  It wasn't just something that existed in my mind, it was a reality.  And that was super cool to realize. Knowing that this was actually happening  and that I was there, was unreal.

Wednesday was a pretty big day, so I will try to get it all on here without rambling too much.  The day opened with Mass, as it usually does, but this wasn't just an ordinary Mass.  We had Mass at the tomb of Blessed John Paull II, which was incredible.  Knowing that we were praying with such a holy man was a great gift, and I definitely took advantage of this opportunity to pray for my favorite summer program: Totus Tuus!  Totus Tuus was the papal motto of JP2, so it was cool to be able to pray for the continued success of the program in Joliet, and especially for the teachers (and coordinators!) who will be working this summer.  After Mass, I went to class, where I missed the morning smoke.  But class blew my mind, which is what usually happens when you have the papal theologian teaching you.  Learning about the different vocations of men and women was very eye opening.  The vocation of women is unbelievably beautiful, so all you female readers out there, keep on being holy and bringing us men to God!  But it was after class that the real fun began.

I arrived at the Square at 5:30 PM, waiting to see the smoke.  All of Bernardi came, and all together, we prayed Evening Prayer and a Rosary, which was cool.  Just waiting in the Piazza, the atmosphere was one of great anticipation.  While we were all hoping to see the white smoke, nobody was really counting on it.  We all had out eyes fixed on the chimney, and the seagull who decided to sit on it, waiting to see the results of the election.  But then, at around 7:05, there was a ton of commotion.  And then we realized what was going on, which was probably my favorite moment of the night.  And this a brief transcript of my thoughts during those moments.  O my gosh, there is smoke!  AND IT'S WHITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HABEMUS PAPAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So from that moment, there was a mad rush towards St. Peter's, so that we could see the next pope as he came out.  I ended up being pretty close, probably 75 feet from the front barricade, which was just incredible.  Waiting the hour before he came out, the anticipation was building,  There was so much joy and the atmosphere was truly electric.  We had no idea who our new pope was.  But we had one.  We had a new pope.  And there was great joy and celebration.  And when the time finally came for the Cardinal to come out and announce to the world that we have a Pope, the Piazza went nuts.  Absolutely nuts.  But when they announced who was elected pope, everyone had pretty much the same reaction:  Wow, that's awesome, but who is he? And why did he choose the name Francis?  That's a surprise.... Word spread in the crowd and standing with an Italian speaking deacon was helpful.  But then, after a few minutes of waiting, Pope Francis finally came out.  And my favorite line that he said was what he said right when he first came out: "Fratelli e sorelle, buona sera." (Brothers and sisters, good evening).  It was almost as if he was just like "O hey guys, what's up?"  And to be there when he came out was incredible.  It was easy to see that he is just a simple man who the Lord is going to use to continue the mission of the Catholic Church in the world.  In the Piazza, there was so much excitement, joy, and a real sense of the universality of the Church.  I knew that all around the world, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, were waiting for this moment, and here I was, experiencing it in person.  What a gift.

I really think that the Lord has blessed His Church with a new shepherd.  When I think of Pope Francis, I almost immediately think of Pope Benedict's first words as Pope. They are just humble workers in the vineyard of the Lord.  Pope Francis isn't going to try to be anyone that he isn't. He is just going to let the Lord use him in great service to the Church.  I am also very excited that he is from Latin America, but not for the usual reasons.  I just love Latinos.  I am not a huge diversity advocate or have major problems with Europeans.  I just love Latinos.

Well this is all I've got.  The Lord has blessed His Church with a good shepherd, and it was a blessing to be a witness to that.  As I have said many times, the Lord will never forsake His Church, and He has clearly given us a man who will dedicate his life to bringing his people, the whole Catholic Church, to Heaven.  And to close, I end with one of my favorite toasts:  Long Live the Pope!  And Death to his enemies!              

Holy Conclave Cardinal-Man!

Cardinal Dolan is Batman!  And the Conclave is upon us! 

Well, it is finally here, the conclave.  If everything goes according to plan, I will be at the opening Mass for the conclave tomorrow with all of the cardinals, which I am looking forward to.  Knowing that I will be at Mass with the future Pope is just kind of mindblowing, especially because only the Lord knows who it will be.  One cool thing that I learned today was that the word "conclave" means "with the keys."  And it is at the conclave that the cardinals decide who will carry on the ministry of the apostle Peter, the man entrusted with the keys to the kingdom of Heaven.  So in a very real way, these men decide who will be the man "with the keys," as Christ's Vicar here on Earth.  I don't have much to say on the whole situation, it is hard to put what is going on into words.  I just can't believe that I am here in Rome for this.  This easily is the most historic event I have ever witnessed in my life, so it is such a blessing to be here to live this.  I don't have to read about it online or watch some biased media coverage of the event, when they only walk about sex abuse, the "oppressive male hierarchy of the Church", or the odds that the next Pope will change Church doctrine (which is impossible, by the way).  I get to live it, and I thank God for this opportunity.

Please pray for all of us, that we will be in the square when the white smoke goes up.  And if that doesn't happen, that the Lord will grant us super speed as we sprint from wherever we are, hurdling smart cars along the way, to get to the square as they announce "HABEMUS PAPUM"  And of course, most importantly, pray for the Cardinals, as they discern who the Lord is calling to serve as the next Pope.

Lastly, I leave you with a very scary possibility.  According to Canon Law, any person who is male and Catholic is technically a candidate for Pope.  And last time I checked, our good friend Ryan fulfills those qualifications.  So here he is, the one and only Ryan Adorjan, practicing his Pope wave, just in case the Cardinal Electors happen to call his name!  

Upcoming Events

Well things have been going well over here in Rome.  As always, life is just crazy, but it has truly been a blessed time.  One thing that is becoming more and more apparent is that living in a completely different culture is a really good thing.  Because when you are outside of your comfort zone, you are forced to face the reality of who you are and you have to find your identity and your joy in the Lord.  The things that I typically use for my immediate gratification are just not here in Italy, so the Lord is showing me that I have to find my joy in Him.  And what a gift that is.  Looking ahead, we are coming to a crazy time, especially considering the fact that the conclave will be quickly approaching.  As I write this, the time of the conclave has yet to be announced, because all of the cardinals must be there to decide when to begin.  But that will be such a hectic, yet exciting time.  Please remember to pray for the cardinals, that they will be guided by the Holy Spirit as they discern who the Lord wants to serve Him as the next Pope.  Here is a great prayer for the election of a new Pope.

Lord Jesus Christ, you who have established your Church on the solid foundation of the Apostle Peter and have promised to remain with us until the end of time, grant we beseech you, that we may remain steadfast in faith and filled with zeal for the glory of your Name.  We humbly ask that you grant to the College of Cardinals the Spirit of Truth that they may know your will, and, acting in courage and faith, may elect as Supreme Pontiff him who you have chosen to be Chief Shepherd of your flock, Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome, and Servant of the Servants of God.  Grant to us a Pope who will teach and guide by word and example so that together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may arrive at eternal life in your Kingdom where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.  Mary, Mother of the Church, Ora Pro Nobis!  

On a more personal note, this weekend, our whole house will be going on retreat, which I am very much looking forward to.  It will be a silent retreat, so don't be expecting anything from me over the weekend, because I will be silent.  But Jim you ask, can't you type in silence? And the answer is yes, I can be silent and type.  But the exterior silence is meant to help build interior silence, so that we may listen to the voice of the Lord.  While the retreat is a short one, only Friday through Sunday, it will be very nice to relax and have a lot of time for prayer.  Life is so crazy here, it will be great just to slow down and be with the Lord.   We will be at a retreat center right on a lake in the mountains oustside of Rome.  And the coolest part is that the retreat center has a new neighbor, His Holiness, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  That's right, just across the lake is where Benedict is currently living.  Will we see him?  Probably not.  But will we be able to unite ourselves to him in prayer and continue to pray for the Church in this time of sede vacante?  Absolutely.  Please pray for the whole community, especially those who have not been on a silent retreat before, that we may all be open to the many graces that the Lord has in store for us.  While silent retreats can be tough, there is a lot of goodness there, so hopefully it will be a grace filled time for all.

Lastly, I want to leave you with a picture of Ryan Adorjan with Rockford seminarian, SJV grad, 3-time Totus Tuus teacher, and thoroughly awesome guy, Sean Grismer!  They are hanging out at the Angelicum with St. Joseph and Jesus, so it looks like quite a party.

         

A Sunny Saturday in Siena

Yesterday, Father Carola and the rest of the chaplaincy group at Bernardi took the whole house (all 34 students) to the beautiful city of Siena for a great day of prayer, fun, and fraternity, three of my favorite things!  We left on a bus at 7 AM and we arrived in Siena around 10:30.  The first thing that we did was to go to the church of San Domenico, a church that St. Catherine actually used to pray at.  Now, the church is actually the place that houses St. Catherine's head, which was proudly on display for veneration.  And you may be asking yourself Her head?  Where is the rest of her body?  And the answer is that it is here in Rome, about 30 minutes walking from Bernardi.  Why her body is here and her head is not is a question that I don't have the answer to, but now there are 2 churches that you can pray at if you have a devotion to St. Catherine.  (I am hoping to do a piece on relics in the near future, talking about some of my favorite relics I've found in Rome and explaining the theology behind them, so check back later if you're super confused by this.)  But I really enjoyed praying there because earlier this week, I received my first letter here in Rome from Brother John Dominic, a good friend of mine who is in formation with the Dominicans in Cincinnati.  And he asked me to pray for him through the intercession of Dominican saints as he prepares to make his first vows in August.  But it just so happens that Catherine of Siena is a Dominican saint, so it was a great opportunity to pray there, especially for Brother John Dominic.

After San Domenico, we made our way to San Francesco, a church that is home to a Eucharistic miracle.  In 1730, some hoodlums decided to steal some consecrated hosts, which, as I am sure you know, is stealing Jesus.  And last time I checked, it isn't a good idea to steal anything, let alone God.  So after a couple of days, some priests found the hosts hidden in donation box in another Church in Siena.  The hosts were all counted and brought back to San Francesco with great solemnity, but were never consumed.  I am not sure why, but nobody ever ate them.  Usually, bread will deteriorate over time when it is just left sitting out, even if it is in a ciborium in a tabernacle.  But the thing is, the hosts never deteriorated.  All of them look as fresh as ever, even though they are 283 years old.  In my house, bread that is a couple of weeks old is usually thrown out.  But a couple of centuries?  That is another story.  That is clearly not bread.  That HAS to be Jesus Christ.  As it says in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."  And if this Eucharistic miracle doesn't prove that, I am not sure what does.  So being able to pray just inches away from these hosts was a great blessing for the whole community.

Greg Billion, Angela Deeney, Max Behna, and RYAN!

After that, we had a lunch in the historic Campo, a plaza where the city hosts a world famous horse race every summer.  After lunch, we had some free time, so I climbed up to the top of a tower attached to the cathedral in Siena.  While it was a bit windy up there, the views were gorgeous.  Ryan even came up with us!  Then we were able to go into the cathedral, which, as with almost every church in Italy, was enormous and beautiful.  The stripes are interesting, but they seem to be a fairly common theme in Italy.  I wish I knew why.   Then we went to have Mass at the church next to the home of St. Catherine.  And all I am going to say about that is that Mass is great.  It is the source of summit of our Catholic faith.  Go to Mass.  

Interior of the Cathedral

Pope Pius II Chapel  

After Mass, we loaded up the bus and drove an hour out into the Tuscan hills to the absolutely beautiful Sant Antimo monastery.  And let me tell you, the Tuscan hills are some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.  It was just awesome to ride through them.  At the monastery, we prayed Evening Prayer with the Norbertine monks there, which was incredible.  While the church is very, very simple (and very cold), it was awesome to be able to pray with these men who have dedicated their whole life to praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the Church.  For those of you who don't know, the Liturgy of the Hours is a set of prayers, based upon the psalms, that is prayed by all priests, deacons and religious five times a day.  It is meant to sanctify the day and the prayer is for the good of the whole Church.  So that means that if you are a member of the Church (which, assuming you've read this far, you probably are) people are praying for you all throughout the day, which is something pretty cool to think about.  The monks chanted beautifully in Latin and it was just a great joy to pray with them.  After Evening Prayer, because we were in the middle of nowhere, we saw about 7 million stars in the sky.  It was ridiculous.  Super beautiful.

Sant Antimo

Well that's all I've got for today.  Things here have been great.  Time is flying by, being here already for a month.  So hopefully I can continue to enter into all that the Lord has in store for me.  God bless!
Sts. Peter and Paul - Pray for us!                         

Me with Catherine Huss, rocking our shades

Thank You, Pope Benedict!

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted.  Life has just been crazy busy over here.  But this post is a big one, so sit back, relax, and strap it down.  Wednesday was Benedict's last audience as the Holy Father, so of course, we had to go.  Luckily, the Angelicum, realizing the magnitude of the event, canceled classes, so we had the whole day free to spend at St. Peter's.  The day started for me at 4:45 AM, when we woke up to get ready to leave for the 10:30 audience.  We left at 5:30 and as we walked to St. Peter's we stopped at this awesome little 24 hour bakery.  It is super cheap, and super tasty, so you can never go wrong.  I ordered my tre ciambelle (three donuts) and paid 90 cents for them.  Definitely a good purchase.

Ryan and Vince Fernandez, Tulsa Seminarian!  

We got to the Square around 6 and joined the large blob of people that was the line.  Waiting there for a couple of hours, I met some students from Franciscan University in Steubenville.  I even saw a Chicago Totus Tuus teacher, whose name I epically got wrong.  It was kind of embarrassing, but those things happen.  When the gates finally did open to get into the Square, talk about one giant bottle neck effect.  It was very tight, but we have learned to box out, stand our ground, and not to be discouraged by the great skill of the 4'11" nuns that seamlessly weave through the crowds.  But as we were going in, one of the guards was like "Sacerdote, seminaristi (priests, seminarians)" and directed us to a special section.  And what do you know, I end up sitting in the 2nd row.  Yep.  It was crazy.  Being just feet from the Pope as he drove by, what an incredible gift that I had absolutely no reason to receive.  And really the only way to react is to give thanks to God for the incredible opportunity and to share that experience with the people I meet, like I am do here on the blog.  I even made a YouTube video from the audience!  While I may not be as central in this video as I am in some of my other YouTube appearances  I still made it!    I'm around 46 seconds in.

So folks, it was amazing to be that close to the Pope on the last day he was seen by the public.  Seeing the peace he had about the decision was very comforting.  And personally, he just looked very weak and frail, so it was just very apparent that he was making the right decision.  So while people may question it, I know that Benedict did what the Lord called him to do.  And as he said, he is only stepping down from the role as Pope, not from an active role within the Church.  He will still serve the Church through great prayer and study from within his new hidden life.  To read the text of his address, where he addresses this issue very directly, check out this site.   Pope's Final Address

And one amazing thing we did as a house was last night, the night the Chair of Peter became vacant, we went to St. Peter's and held a prayer vigil from 7-8 PM.  We prayed for Pope Benedict, in thanksgiving for all that he had done for the Church.  We prayed for the next pope, whoever he may be, that the Lord will guide him as he leads the Church.  And, or course, we prayed for the Church as a whole, that She may stay strong in this time of transition and that Christ, the eternal shepherd, may always watch over the Church.  It was a very moving experience to say the least, and to be at St. Peter's the moment the clock stuck 8 was just cool to experience.  Even though there are rough times, either because of sadness or sinfulness, we know that Christ said that "the gates of Hell will never prevail." The Catholic Church is His Church.  Other faiths come and go.  Different worldviews and philosophies pervade society.  Thousands of world leaders have tried, and continue to try, to end it.  But when you look at history, there is only one institution that has made it this long, and only one will make it to the end.  That, my friends, is the Catholic Church.  So we have great reason to have faith: because Christ will never abandon His flock.

If anyone ever thinks the Church is dead, then why would 200,000 young people come out to see Pope Benedict's final audience?  Just saying, the future is bright.

Thinking about the role that Benedict played in my life, he as been a great role model and has been the Pope for really all of my Catholic life.  Statistically, JP II is technically still leading, Benedict is the only Pope I have seen and has held the office for all of the time I have been very involved in the Church.  His witness of humility, first in accepting the role of Pope, and secondly, in his resignation, show how one man can so whole-heartedly put aside his own desires and plans to serve the Church with great vigor, love, and joy.  Pope Benedict is a true model of Christian joy and trust in the Lord.  His fiat, his yes, to the Lord, some 60 years ago when he was ordained a priest, shows the world that the Lord will do amazing things with your life if you only let him.    
So to conclude, it has been such an incredible gift to be here in Rome during this historic time for the Church.  The Lord has really blessed me here, and I hope that I will be able to continue to share what is going on from Rome.  Please pray for the Conclave, whenever it starts.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the Cardinals and that the Lord's will is done.  We can't just assume that everything will turn out OK.  We need to pray and trust that the men the Lord has called to be Cardinals will cooperate with His grace to choose the man that will be fulfill the role of Peter in the Church today.  Long Live the Pope!