I got burnt, but it was worth it. The Holy Father wore his red sunhat!
I'm in the bottom corner, with the light blue shirt.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
St. Philip Neri-pray for us!
Today is the feast of St. Philip Neri. I knew basically nothing about him until today! Haha. Fr. Justin (one of our chaplains) has a strong devotion to him (he's a BIG fan). He celebrated mass at St. Jerome's which is where St. Philip began the Oratorians. They are kind of diocesan priests but they live in community.
he was very very prayerful, he counseled many people, especially popes
he had the gift of prophecy and knew who the next pope would be so he'd counsel them a great deal beforehand so they would be ready. This was especially important because it was right after the Reformation
the most amazing thing was that he often went to pray in the catacombs of St. Sebastian and once while praying he asked to love like Christ and the Holy Spirit came in a ball of fire into his mouth and to his heart and physically expanded his heart
which broke some of his ribs
haha pretty crazy
but people said when you’d go in the room where he was you could hear his heart beat because it was so big. and even in the cold his room would be so hot because of the heat his body emitted
haha yeah!
and apparently after he died they examined him to see if his heart really was enlarged and it was
but he celebrated mass at the place where the Oratorians were started then we crossed teh street where his body was and the chapel where he would say mass later in his years. apparently he would go into these great estasies during the words of consecration
that he was too embarrassed to say mass publicly
so at consecration when he would go into ecstasy the servers would leave the chapel and it would be many hours later before he would ring a little bell and they would come back to assist him in finishing mass
and also he would run past the chapel or dance past it or crack jokes because otherwise he would go into ecstasy
but yeah so it was neat going through it all with fr. justin because he knows so much about him it was like getting to know his best friend lol
for more about him go to http://www.the-oratory.org/history.html
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Almost there...
Cinco de Mayo...Sarah made a makeshift pinata that was filled with peanuts. It was a mess of fun! And apparently frightening for Katie...
Monte Cassino
Archbishop Burke led the procession at our school on May 13th (Our Lady of Fatima). Archbishop Burke is the former Bishop of St. Louis and even more former Bishop of LaCrosse. Now he is working at the Vatican. (not sure which department though). About 10 days left.
10 days.
Has it really come this far? I've been really trying to hang onto my seat as I see this year fly past me. Stop. Soak it in. Look around this city: crazy, busy, frustrating but somehow beautiful and so alive and always full of suprises.
The last few weeks:
May 2nd the girls of Bernardi took a day trip to Monte Cassino with Fr. Carola and Fr. Justin.
Monte Cassino is the first monastary started by St. Benedict. AKA the beginning of Western monasticism, as Fr. Cozzens says.
It is a beautiful monastary perched on top of a mountain above the town of Cassino, hense it's name (the mount of Cassino!).
It was bombed by the Allies during the war due to suscpicions that Germans had taken it over and were hiding there.
One of the miracles Fr. Carola half joked was that they were able to restore the monastary exactly how it was, a very traditional way, which for the 50's is basically amazing. Haha.
Fr. Carola and Fr. Justin were able to celebrate mass for us there right below the altar and right above the crypt where St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica are buried.
The saints are real, and their prayers are powerful! I am just reminded of this day after day living in this country. Start digging into the lives of the saints. They are so inspiring. They can seem intimidating, but after reading some of their autobiographies/biographies it is so inspiring to realize how real they are. They are not to be feared, but they are real people with real struggles that we also deal with, they just were able by God's grace to say yes to Him through it all.
Mother's Day I was able to attend Mass at the church of St. Anne which was very special for me to be there. I like to think of St. Anne (the mother of our Mother Mary) as a Grandmother to us all.
Especially for my family this seems extremely evident. My Grandma's name is Ruthann, my mom's middle name is Leeann, my Godmother's name Lou Ann, and all of us girls have the middle name Ann. It is a very cute and quaint chapel tucked right inside the Vatican. There is a stunning picture of St. Anne and our Lady above the altar and just reflecting with a friend of mine the significance of Anne and her role as the mother of the Mother of God.
The next weekend I think I just hung out here in Roma.
Last weekend I went to Assisi with a group, then Victoria and myself stayed overnight. We finally made it to San Damiano. That is the church where Christ on the crucifix spoke to St. Francis and asked Him to rebuild His house, for it is in ruins. The actually church of San Damiano was in ruins, so St. francis started rebuilding that first, then realized that Christ actually mean the Body of Christ. Francis renounced radically all worldy goods to give himself entirely to spreading the Gospel!
Saturday Victoria and I did our own things. I made it to mass right above St. Francis' tomb, then made the hike up to the hermitage where St. Francis would go to pray and get away from the busy-ness of the city of Assisi. There is abeautiful monastary there now. There were many Italian tourists there though, so I kept hiking up to get away. Eventually I found a small path to Mt. Subasio, so I followed it up and up. I really needed to get back soon to make it to my train, so I just prayed for a view because the trees were so thick I couldn't see anything. Not a minute later the tree-line broke and I was at the top of the mountain, which was clear of trees! I found the highest spot and had the most amazing view of the city, and the whole land around Assisi. It was so breathtaking! God's creation is soooo beautiful.
I had about 20 minutes up there and I REALLY had to get back. It was 11:20 and I said I would meet Victoria at the BOTTOM by the train station at 1pm. It took me about an hour to just get from the top of Assisi to the hermitage, and I was at least a half an hour beyond that. So I basically sprinted down (my shins HATE me!) and almost dominated myself many a time. lol. But I made it last minute!
It was so relaxing and a beautiful way to retreat for a bit and get to know St. Francis better. The next day was Sunday, Fr. Carola's birthday, and a day trip to Norcia. Again it was a very relaxing time. Some of the Little Sisters of the Lamb joined us, including Susan Verly! She is a postulant, and just graduated from St. Thomas last year. It is amazing to see her in the community, she fits so well! The sisters are so much fun. They live a beautiful life of poverty and SO MUCH JOY. :) Sister Maryanna gave me a holy card of Our Lady of Guadalupe and kept saying "You ask her to help you, but watch out...she's dangerous!" lol.
Fr. Carola celebrated mass for us at the Poor Clare's convent, afterwards they prepared us a HUGE lunch, and teh Little Sisters of the Lamb made up a song for him to the tune of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" because that is where he is originally from. :)
Then we just meandered through the valley and relaxed adn soaked up the fresh air :) We ended the day with Vespers (evening prayer) with the Benedictine monks.
This weekend just trying to see people and hang out. The seminarians went back home for graduation so it is really quite and weird.
My good friend Renae came to visit for about a week and it was sooo so good to see her. I also went to the audience on Wednesday and got BURNT. But the Holy Father was wearing his red sun hat so that was fun. :) And we were right up in the front so I got to look directly into his eyes as he went past in the Pope-mobile. What a blessing he is as a father figure for us all!
Sorry I stopped being so reflective. We are going out to dinner in a bit for one of the girls birthdays.
I look forward to seeing you all soon! I fly out on the 3rd. Please pray for all of us for our finals and goodbyes! and flights etc...
10 days.
Has it really come this far? I've been really trying to hang onto my seat as I see this year fly past me. Stop. Soak it in. Look around this city: crazy, busy, frustrating but somehow beautiful and so alive and always full of suprises.
The last few weeks:
May 2nd the girls of Bernardi took a day trip to Monte Cassino with Fr. Carola and Fr. Justin.
Monte Cassino is the first monastary started by St. Benedict. AKA the beginning of Western monasticism, as Fr. Cozzens says.
It is a beautiful monastary perched on top of a mountain above the town of Cassino, hense it's name (the mount of Cassino!).
It was bombed by the Allies during the war due to suscpicions that Germans had taken it over and were hiding there.
One of the miracles Fr. Carola half joked was that they were able to restore the monastary exactly how it was, a very traditional way, which for the 50's is basically amazing. Haha.
Fr. Carola and Fr. Justin were able to celebrate mass for us there right below the altar and right above the crypt where St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica are buried.
The saints are real, and their prayers are powerful! I am just reminded of this day after day living in this country. Start digging into the lives of the saints. They are so inspiring. They can seem intimidating, but after reading some of their autobiographies/biographies it is so inspiring to realize how real they are. They are not to be feared, but they are real people with real struggles that we also deal with, they just were able by God's grace to say yes to Him through it all.
Mother's Day I was able to attend Mass at the church of St. Anne which was very special for me to be there. I like to think of St. Anne (the mother of our Mother Mary) as a Grandmother to us all.
Especially for my family this seems extremely evident. My Grandma's name is Ruthann, my mom's middle name is Leeann, my Godmother's name Lou Ann, and all of us girls have the middle name Ann. It is a very cute and quaint chapel tucked right inside the Vatican. There is a stunning picture of St. Anne and our Lady above the altar and just reflecting with a friend of mine the significance of Anne and her role as the mother of the Mother of God.
The next weekend I think I just hung out here in Roma.
Last weekend I went to Assisi with a group, then Victoria and myself stayed overnight. We finally made it to San Damiano. That is the church where Christ on the crucifix spoke to St. Francis and asked Him to rebuild His house, for it is in ruins. The actually church of San Damiano was in ruins, so St. francis started rebuilding that first, then realized that Christ actually mean the Body of Christ. Francis renounced radically all worldy goods to give himself entirely to spreading the Gospel!
Saturday Victoria and I did our own things. I made it to mass right above St. Francis' tomb, then made the hike up to the hermitage where St. Francis would go to pray and get away from the busy-ness of the city of Assisi. There is abeautiful monastary there now. There were many Italian tourists there though, so I kept hiking up to get away. Eventually I found a small path to Mt. Subasio, so I followed it up and up. I really needed to get back soon to make it to my train, so I just prayed for a view because the trees were so thick I couldn't see anything. Not a minute later the tree-line broke and I was at the top of the mountain, which was clear of trees! I found the highest spot and had the most amazing view of the city, and the whole land around Assisi. It was so breathtaking! God's creation is soooo beautiful.
I had about 20 minutes up there and I REALLY had to get back. It was 11:20 and I said I would meet Victoria at the BOTTOM by the train station at 1pm. It took me about an hour to just get from the top of Assisi to the hermitage, and I was at least a half an hour beyond that. So I basically sprinted down (my shins HATE me!) and almost dominated myself many a time. lol. But I made it last minute!
It was so relaxing and a beautiful way to retreat for a bit and get to know St. Francis better. The next day was Sunday, Fr. Carola's birthday, and a day trip to Norcia. Again it was a very relaxing time. Some of the Little Sisters of the Lamb joined us, including Susan Verly! She is a postulant, and just graduated from St. Thomas last year. It is amazing to see her in the community, she fits so well! The sisters are so much fun. They live a beautiful life of poverty and SO MUCH JOY. :) Sister Maryanna gave me a holy card of Our Lady of Guadalupe and kept saying "You ask her to help you, but watch out...she's dangerous!" lol.
Fr. Carola celebrated mass for us at the Poor Clare's convent, afterwards they prepared us a HUGE lunch, and teh Little Sisters of the Lamb made up a song for him to the tune of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" because that is where he is originally from. :)
Then we just meandered through the valley and relaxed adn soaked up the fresh air :) We ended the day with Vespers (evening prayer) with the Benedictine monks.
This weekend just trying to see people and hang out. The seminarians went back home for graduation so it is really quite and weird.
My good friend Renae came to visit for about a week and it was sooo so good to see her. I also went to the audience on Wednesday and got BURNT. But the Holy Father was wearing his red sun hat so that was fun. :) And we were right up in the front so I got to look directly into his eyes as he went past in the Pope-mobile. What a blessing he is as a father figure for us all!
Sorry I stopped being so reflective. We are going out to dinner in a bit for one of the girls birthdays.
I look forward to seeing you all soon! I fly out on the 3rd. Please pray for all of us for our finals and goodbyes! and flights etc...
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