As some of you know, I was fortunate enough to spend this past weekend in Athens, Greece. This trip was amazing for several reasons. First of all, it was great to venture out from the college for a little while. Though I thoroughly enjoy being here, it was nice to get away. The main reason for this is that when I came back, it felt like coming home (though South Louisiana will always be home). In a way, it really helped to ease my homesickness.
Though Athens is great in general, this weekend was extra special since they had the running of THE marathon yes the original route from Marathon to Athens. This year marks the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon which took place in 490 B.C. The marathon originated after a man ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the leaders in Athens of their unexpected victory over the invading Persians. To add to the excitement, one of my brother seminarians ran the marathon. It was his first ever marathon, but as he said, “I did train for three weeks”. You can see from this statement why his nick name is “Cavallo Pazzo” (Crazy Horse). Cavallo Pazzo ended up finishing in 3 hours and 41 minutes, which is a very good, especially since it was his first and since the course was very difficult (more than half of it was uphill!). This was my first time being at a marathon and it was quite exciting. I went to the Panathenaic Stadium, where the marathon ended, and took part in the festivities there waiting for Cavallo Pazzo to finish. It was great being in a stadium with thousands of people cheering on the runners. It was especially exciting whenever a Greek would finish because they would start playing Greek music then dancing and cheering would ensue.
In addition to the marathon, we got to see some amazing things in Athens. Saturday morning we made our way up to the Acropolis, which houses the Parthenon (temple to the goddess Athena), a building which housed the Vestal Virgins which were attending Athena in the Parthenon, and various other buildings. It was great walking around a city so foundational to western culture and philosophy, especially after spending the last two years studying philosophy. It was great walking in the footsteps of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and so many other great philosophers.
After eating some amazing Greek food we then embarked upon the greatest part of our trip (for me anyway). Since we were quite full and still in need of some prayer time for the day, we made our way to the Areopagus. Right now you are thinking: “Patrick, what on earth is the Areopagus?” The Areopagus is the location given in the Acts of the Apostles (Ch 17) where Paul gave his speech to the men of Athens. This location was home to our holy hour/midday prayer/post-lunch nap and it was awesome! Even though I have visited Paul’s tomb at St. Paul outside the Wall and I know that he walked all around Rome, which I get to be in everyday, this was such a powerful experience for me. The Areopagus is a rock located in between the Acropolis and the Ancient Market Place, both full of temples dedicated to the Greek gods. Paul stood in the middle of these two areas so sacred to the Ancient Greeks and proclaimed the one true God of Jesus Christ. May we all have the courage, the wisdom and the holiness to do the same!
The final thing I would like to comment on is the faith of the people that I was fortunate enough to witness. We stayed in some rooms in a Jesuit student housing complex. The area of town where it was located is home to many immigrants, including many Polish immigrants. The Jesuit Church had several masses on the weekend, more than half of which were in Polish. We went to mass on Saturday evening and when we got there (a little late due to circumstances beyond our control) the church was overflowing. There must have been between 25-50 people standing in the back and even outside of the church. One thing that was particularly moving to me was a rather simple and humble gesture. When it came time for the consecration, everyone present, young or old, man, woman or child, inside in a pew or outside on the cold hard floor, everyone knelt. It was such a great outward expression of their interior faith in what happens during the consecration and in the true presence of God in the Eucharist.
As always, please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Please pray for me.
In Christ,
Patrick
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