Good Bye Bernardi

This morning, I leave the gates of the Bernardi House for the last time.  After four months of amazing adventures, incredible experiences, and many new friendships, it is time to leave this house for good.  And it is a very bittersweet parting.  These past couple of weeks have been challenging for a number of different reasons, so it is definitely nice to be getting out of community life and have a bit more relaxed of a pace.  But at the same time, it is very sad to be leaving the people who have become some of my best friends over these past 4 months.  The Lord has really blessed all of us during our time in Rome and He has changed our hearts during this powerful encounter with His Church in Rome.  Fr. Justin, one of the house chaplains, preached at Mass on Monday that we have changed because of this semester.  Do we recognize a lot of the changes?  Not at all.  But the way we pray, the way we look at the Church, the way we talk about the saints, the way we love those around us, has all been formed by this experience in Rome and we cannot let the graces we received here die.  Because so often during the semester, the question ran through my head, Why me?  Why do I get to experience all of this?  I mean, when you think about it objectively, I have had some of the greatest experiences of my life during the past 4 months, with the Resignation of Pope Benedict and the Election of Pope Francis easily at the forefront.  And so the question is Why?  And to be honest, I wish that I could give you a quick and easy answer right now.  But the reality is that I have no idea.  I just have to trust that the Lord wants to use these experiences to both form me into a better man and to reach souls one day as I minister to the good people of God in the Diocese of Joliet.  I am being called to share what I have received with whomever can benefit from it, both in the stories I recount from my semester here and the witness I hope to share by the life I live.  So as I move across Rome for a couple of days with Bishop Conlon at the NAC, it is definitely a sad day, but also a day of great excitement.   And that is because this is where the real adventure begins.  Was this semester incredible?  Absolutely.  But the best part will be coming back to share everything I have received and to fulfill Christ's desire to "set the world ablaze."  So please pray for safe travels for everyone and in two short weeks, I will be returning to the great state of Illinois!

Sts. Peter and Paul - Pray for Us!