Well, Garrett and I have landed in Tanzania. Fr. Mike has taken us in the next couple of days before heading over west towards Lake Victoria/Mwanza.
More to come. But just an fyi that we're here and safe.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Beatification of JPII
On Divine Mercy Sunday this year, Pope John Paul II was declared Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI. JPII has been such a positive influence upon the world by being the world’s spiritual father. He wasn’t just a father to those who were Catholic. Instead he worked tirelessly to help heal the divisions within the whole Body of Christ. Thanks to a high ranking Oklahoman over here, some of us Okie seminarians were able to get seats in the forward section. We were also lucky, because we sat about 5 yards from where JPII was shot in 1981. As we walked in at around 8:30 am, we talked to some of the people in the main section just over the barricades from us. They had gotten there at 5…p.m, the night before. There were so many people there, given. And also a given, the largest percentage were from Poland. I heard about some pilgrims that walked the entire way from Poland to Rome for the beatification. Just amazing dedication. The Mass and ceremony were absolutely beautiful. It did take about 3 hours, not including the waiting on either side of that. But every bit was worth it, and then some. The Popemobile stopped right near us. The Holy Father kissed a couple of babies. It was just great to see.
During the Mass, the relics are brought up. Most of the time they use bones. However, JPII’s presented relic was blood. While it’s not all together rare to have a blessed’s or saint’s blood, it isn’t the most common relic either. It was presented by a nun who had been stricken with Parkinson disease. She had prayed for the intercession of JPII and was completely healed. This is not something that you just get over. She carried the relic right up there. The other really amazing thing about that Mass was the music. I have included a youtube video here of the principle song: Aprite le porte a Cristo (Open the doors to Christ).
The recording cannot due any justice to it. St. Peter’s Square was filled with love for JPII and his dedicated life to Christ. We saw in him the One Who first saw us. The music flowed from the hearts of the people to echo the great moment in heaven as JPII was given the title of Blessed.
After it was over and we were trying to leave, we came up against a barricade that hadn’t been there when we came in. It was blocking our way out, ie: there was no exit. So we hoped the barricade with a Dominican, Franciscan, and a few high ranking Polish military officers. It was a good day.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Holy Week and 1st Week of Easter
Once again, we made the trek up to Aviano to visit our favorite Air Force servicemen. We arrived on Saturday afternoon before Palm Sunday. We had our ritualistic Taco Bell. Then, to the chapel to start work on setting up Palm Sunday. The services were beautiful even if we could find a donkey for Fr.
That Monday we dropped down to Venice for the day. What a fun city! We went to St. Mark, which was very nice. We might have taken a gondola ride, but it was outrageously priced. Instead we just wondered around getting lost and finding awesome churches. We wandered into one simple church only to find that the interior was absolutely beautiful and there were the bones of St. Zachariah, father of John the Baptist.
On Tuesday, we rented a car and drove over to Slovenia. There was an island in the middle of Lake Bled. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We took a row boat out to the island, which had an 8th c. church beneath an 11th, beneath a 16th century one. Then we had to get back to Aviano to work the Holy Week.
All of the Triduum was beautiful. The Veneration of the Cross, the washing of the feet…it’s just a time of year that has very special liturgies to help us complete Lent. One of the coolest Italian things that we got to do was on Good Friday night. We went through the streets of Budoia and Dardago following the Via Crucis, Stations of the Cross. The pastor asked us translate the names of the stations for the English speakers who came. It was absolutely beautiful to watch the devotion of the people. An old woman lighting candles along the way stood out as one of the most powerful images of the night for me.
After a wonderful week with the kind, kind, kind community of Aviano, we made o
ur way to Leuven, Belgium. There is an American seminary there; however, it will be shut down this summer due in large part to low numbers being sent there. To get there, we took a train to Milan and flew out early the next morning. Leuven is a nice town, but definitely it is a college town. While many of the building proclaim its Catholic history, Belgium, like much of Europe, is working through their secular stage. Near the school is the church of St. Damien of Molokai. His story is a powerful testimony to the Will of God, and what is asked of those strong enough. St Damien was a priest from Belgium who went to Hawaii as a missionary. While still nice in 1865, it wasn’t the paradise it seems to be today. When he heard about the plight of the people on Molokai (leprosy colony), he discerned to join them for they had no one to bring Christ to them. He lived with them; he cared for them; and he died of leprosy with them. He sacrificed his life, his comfort, and his entire self to be Christ for them and to bring Christ to them.
We also went to Brussels one day. It was nice. I don’t think I’ll ever go back. It’s a city. Yes, the EU headquarters are there. But, eh. Not so impressed. Especially because their “greatest” treasure was a statue of a little pissing boy, who is famed to have so loved Brussels that during a horrible fire he decided to help put out the fire. Is it true? Who knows. I’m just not impressed. The Cathedral, on the other hand was very nice. It provided many picture opportunities.
Other than that, we ate at Pizza Hut and an all-you-eat ribs place. Neither was stellar, but it was good enough for us. We kicked back and relaxed, and returned home in time for the Beatification of JPII. But that’s for another blog entry.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Mardi Gras
Our class, 2014, was in charge this year of the Mardi Gras party. The event centers on the Mardi Gras or Carnivale, which are very important to prepare oneself for Lent. While the craziness and debauchery is not a good way to start Lent, enjoying a great feast is. Why? It’s the same principal as the saying: “it’s always darkest before dawn.” We see the difference greater when we compare black to white than when we compare gray to light gray. Our Lent should be brilliantly white. We should take seriously the preparations we make in our hearts for the Passion and that Great Salvific Morning. What gives us that contrast, that sharp break and distinction between Ordinary and Lenten times? Having a celebration on the Tuesday before brings to conclusion the time of celebration that we’ve been enjoying since Christmas and the Epiphany. The celebration on Tuesday night is also a preparation before our own voyage into the desert for 40 days. However, these preparations cannot be done sinfully. No sinful act prepares the heart for Christ, because all sinful acts are a turning away from He who suffered and was crucified for us.
That being stated, our class put on a grand dinner with games and contests and confetti and prizes. It was a fun ordeal. Originally, the games were going to the biggest undertaking. We had games during the afternoon. Unfortunately, most people had seminars or conflicts on Tuesday afternoon. Here are some pictures from that: bike jousting, balloon defense, bocce.
The dinner that night was something else all together. We had the most amazing meal! Our great class chef, Ficara, prepared an amazing meal of shrimp etouffee, fillets with bearnaise sauce (wow!) and a side of asparagus, topped all off with the most amazing bread pudding with a whiskey pecan sauce. Incredible.
The festivities were great as well. There were contest and games. We had a parade made up of the different hall ways. There was some history and trivia. And my favorite part, though no one got a picture, was the confetti cannons. What a wonderfully fun mess!
The whole thing was great. Our class put on a first class party that rocked out. We prepped for Lent very well. There were many people to thank throughout the whole affair. There was the entire cooking crew, the games people, the food runners, the live band, the hosts, the donors (the school, the Student Council, a private donor for the food, and Jim and Debbie Bury for the decorations…and confetti cannons). I was the man in charge, but it was a colossal coming together of so many people working really hard and people being generous with their time and treasures. I’m just glad it’s over.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Finals
During February, I had my first round of finals. Since we start our fall semester in mid-October, it puts the finals off until then. Thankfully, I only had to take one final in Italian. They take it easier on the new students their first semester or two. But I will have to be taking them in Italian later on. However, the one I did have to take in Italian was my Greek test. All of them turned out well. Most of them were oral tests which lasted about 15 minutes. The Greek was written and took me 2.5 of the allotted 3 hours. But a few weeks later, I found out that I had gotten mostly A’s with two B’s. So, overall, I’m very happy and thankful for all the people who prayed for me. Next round is in June. I might actually still be in school for my birthday.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Natale–Christmas
This Advent-Christmas season I wasn’t able to come back to the States. But I did get the next best thing. I went immediately after classes up to Aviano Air Force Base. There was a 4-day retreat about the Air Force Chaplaincy program that I attended. That was great. It was very different that I thought it would be. The Chaplains on base, non-combat zone, resembles a parish priest in many ways. We enjoyed serving the all of the Masses, but Christmas was especially nice. The 5:30 Mass had the children’s Christmas pageant. I was in the kitchen cooking our Christmas Eve dinner. It felt great getting back in a kitchen, even if I didn’t know where anything was in that kitchen. We had a proper feast: bacon wrapped shrimp, velvetta-rotel dip (Brian’s handiwork), artichokes with lemon butter, French onion soup, chicken kiev with wild rice and asparagus, and pumpkin pie (also Brian). We were stuffed for the midnight Mass, which was packed. The next day we had a wonderful Christmas Day mass. Afterwards, we dined at a very kind and generous family’s house. The food was simply incredible.
The hospitality that we received there was absolutely beautiful. We could not have asked for more. We are so thankful to everyone there that gave us the best Christmas we could have enjoyed away from our families. We received so much. We are praying that God blesses them for all they’ve done for us.
On the 26th, we stopped back in Rome for a quick wash of the clothes and repacking before heading out at stupid o’clock the next morning for Ireland.
Fr. Patrick was a great host. We stayed in the heart of Cork. Ah, it was good to hear English again. We took a few trips around, but mostly just relaxed. Luckily, we found a Pizza Hut. Unluckily, we got stuck at the train station for 1.5 hours in the driving cold. On Sunday, there was a Solemn high Mass for which we were asked to serve. I was amazed about how intricate each server’s job was. While I didn’t get all of the prayers because they were in Latin, it was a very beautiful Mass. On the way back, I spent a day in Dublin before flying back alone. It was a very fun city. Somehow, I thought it would have been bigger. Regardless, it was a wonderful trip full of great experiences.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Optimized
I just got this site optimized for mobile viewing. So it won't bog down your phone trying to download all of the fancy stuff. Next update within the week. We're getting ready for finals.
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