Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

So obviously, my post is a little late for the title, but the blog was inspired on Thanksgiving day, so there you go. I heard from pretty much all of the priests who have studied here in Rome along with the older guys who are still here that the first holiday season away from home is the toughest.  I am sure that will be the case.  However, so far it has been a good kind of hard.

First off, Thanksgiving weekend here is crazy busy.  We had Thanksgiving on Thursday (obviously) which included each hall getting together for a breakfast, then mass at noon, followed by a huge Thanksgiving day meal, but that was just the beginning.  We also had our New Man class dinner on Friday night, followed by the "New Man" and "Old Man" shows Saturday night, then to finish it all up, the "New Men vs. Old Men" football game known as the "Spaghetti Bowl".  All of these activities helped to once again make the new men feel like we were at our home away from home with our new family for the next 4 to 5 years.  Although these activities were wonderful, fun and comforting, I still had plenty of time to miss my family and friends and reflect a bit.

It is amazing that it has taken being thousands of miles away from home to realize just how blessed I am.  On Thanksgiving my mom's whole side goes to one of her sister's house (the same sister every year).  We get there mid to late morning, visit for a while, the men watch football, the women talk, the men turn the T.V. louder, the women talk louder, then we eat.  This is usually followed by napping and more eating.  It is such a simple tradition, but it is great.  The family is all there simply enjoying time together.  It was particularly difficult being away since this is the first major holiday since my grandfather passed away in February.  I was able to see how it is because of his strong faith and focus on the family that my family still gathers frequently, not just for big holidays, but every Sunday at least a handful of people go to my grandma's for lunch.  It was absolutely amazing that I was reflecting on all of this just before mass because I know through faith that once that mass started and most especially during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I was intimately united to my grandparents that have passed away, my family and friends back home and all of the members of the Church past and present...how awesome!

Only a few days after Thanksgiving, I had another occasion for great joy as my parents celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary.  What a great example they have been to me throughout my life and in particular during my time in the seminary.  They have done nothing but support me from the moment that I told them I had decided to apply and for that I am forever grateful.

So, even though I am far from Louisiana, I have much to be thankful for as we approach the celebration of the Birth of Christ.  I am thankful for my family, especially for my parents and grandparents and for the gift of faith that I have received from them.  I am thankful for my friends.  I am thankful for all of those back in the diocese that continue to sustain me with their prayers and support.  I am thankful for this opportunity to study in the Eternal City and for God's call for me to follow His Son.

Happy Feast of St. Andrew!

Main altar in the Basilica of St. Andrew in Rome.

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - I am also thankful for a package I received yesterday which had 4 pounds of Community Coffee and gumbo and red beans and rice supplies amongst other things!

Consistory Weekend

Hello Again Gang,

As you can see from the frequency of my posts, things are getting a bit hectic around here these days.  This weekend was the consistory where Pope Benedict elevated 24 new cardinals to the Sacred College of Cardinals.  Their most well known task is electing the pope, but they also perform many varied important roles for the Church.

Of course, looking forward to this weekend I was excited to see the inner workings of the Church and the "Church Celebrities", but I never knew how fruitful of a weekend it would be spiritually.  I had a ticket for the consistory on Saturday, but due to large crowds, I was not able to get into St. Peter's for the event.  I came back to the college and relaxed for a while as I had to work the reception afterwards here at the college for the two new American cardinals, Cardinal Wuerl and Cardinal Burke.  My job was to serve drinks and this lasted from about 12:15pm - 3:15pm.  It was amazing that in such a simple task, I had so much fun and was unusually joyful.  I really felt like St. Theresa was watching over me helping me to do a simple job with great love.  I had many opportunities to visit with people who had come to witness the event because they knew one of the two cardinals.  It was so humbling hearing them thank me and my brother seminarians over and over again, offering us words of encouragement and most importantly assuring us of their prayers for us.  Recently I have been praying about being more focused on what I am doing at any given moment.  I feel called to do this especially when talking to people.  Maybe they are keeping me from what I "should" be doing (according to my plan), but perhaps God has put me there to talk to them for a reason.  This was especially insightful when related to my desires to do something great for God, to be the saint I am called to be.  Typically, when I think of the saints, I think of the great things they did and wonder how I could ever do these grand works.  Through prayer, I have realized that most of the actions of the saints, taken individually would not be too grand, but their constant normal acts inspired by the love of Christ have changed the world.  This is what we are all called to do.

After serving for the reception, I made my way over to St. Peter's where we took part in the traditional greeting of the new cardinals.  Certain areas of the Apostolic Palace were opened up that are closed to the public except for this event and the new cardinals were spread throughout receiving anyone and everyone.  I made my way to about 7 of the new cardinals.  I first greeted and congratulated them then asked them for a blessing and for them to pray for me, usually after they had already requested for my prayers for them.  This was so humbling.  Here were men who have faithfully served the Church and have been called to be Princes of the Church asking me to pray for them.  It was a great witness to their humility and it showed me that they are truly no longer living their own lives, but Christ is living in them (in the words of St. Paul).  It was such a powerful experience for me to get to meet them and see that they are people just like me.  The only reason that they have been so successful in their ministry is because they realize (as indicated by their requests for prayers) that it is not about them, but it is about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven and that they need a personal relationship with him if they want anything they do to bear fruit!

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI,
processing out after mass.

Cardinal Koch blessing another seminarian and me.

To round out the weekend I was able to attend mass in St. Peter's which the Holy Father celebrating and all of the new cardinals attendanced along with several other cardinals (including Cardinal Arinze!!), bishops, priests and deacons.  Mass with our Holy Father never ceases to amaze me.  It is so wonderful being able to attend mass celebrated by the head of the Church here on earth.  The awesomeness of the experience was even that much greater since this was my first time being at mass with him in St. Peter's where the altar upon which the holy sacrifice of the mass takes place is directly over the tomb of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles.  St. Peter's successor celebrating mass on an altar resting on the tomb of St. Peter...it doesn't get much better than that.   As Pope Benedict was processing out after mass, I was able to make my way near the railing and was no more than 10 feet from him as he passed.  What a great opportunity it was to be there.  I heard a quote when I first got here, that "the pope of your time here in Rome, is the pope of your heart".  Pope Benedict truly has been the pope of my heart from the time he was elected.  I look up to him as a role model of a good priestly life and hope that I can follow his faithfulness to God's call.  Thank you for keeping me in your prayers and please know that you are all in my prayers. 


In Christ,
Patrick

First Travel Weekend - Athens

Hello all,

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 2500^th 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

Recent Happenings in the Eternal City

Well things have gotten into somewhat of a routine here the past couple of weeks with the start of school.  Yesterday marked the end of week two of my classes at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (a.k.a. The Angelicum or The Ang) and so far so good.  Since we finish our degree in only 3 years here as opposed to 4 back home, we end up taking a good number of classes.  This semester I am taking 8 courses: Fundamental Theology, Intro to Scripture, The Acts of the Apostles, Intro to Theology, The Pentateuch,  Biblical Greek, Intro to Patristics and Ancient Church History.  Lucky for me I go to one classroom and the teachers change out each class so I don't really have to remember which class I have on a given day...I just make my way to my classroom and wait.  The setup for classes here is spoiling me already.  We have 4 - 45 min classes each morning starting at 8:30.  After each 45 min class we get a 15 min break, even if the class goes over two of the periods...it is quite nice!  Even better, there is a coffee bar in the university about 30 seconds from my classroom, so we are able to have a nice cappuccino in between classes...this does wonders to help one stay awake and alert in class...not that it matters for me, but it is a big help for those who have trouble with that sort of thing!

Another great experience, which I mentioned briefly in my last post was being able to attend a Papal Mass in St. Peter's Square where Pope Benedict and Holy Mother Church elevated 6 people to Sainthood.  Among them of note for the NAC community, were Sts. Mary MacKillop and Br. Andre Bessette.  St. Mary MacKillop is the first saint from Australia and so the Aussie population in the house was glowing and gitty with excitement for the big day.  St. Andre was a Holy Cross brother from Canada, so the 1 1/2 Canadians in the house along with some from the Northern U.S. were also very excited.  I was able to share in the excitement of the day by attending the mass with about 6 of my Australian brothers and a fellow American.  We really got to enter into the excitement as we (the two Americans) were assigned to prepare and hold the Australian flag...we were honorary Aussies for a day!  It was great to see how getting a saint really boosted the guys faith.  Not only were they happy and proud to have a saint from their motherland, but they were also excited about what her canonization was doing for the Church in Australia.  There were many people who came to Rome for the canonization and the guys here were telling us of the effect St. Mary was having back home.  The faith of the people was truly increased by having a concrete and personal example of how to live a Christian life.  I feel like I truly got to see what the whole meaning behind having devotions to saints is all about.  Also, being at mass with the Holy Father was amazing.  It was the first time since Would Youth Day in 2005 that I have attended mass with him and I was reminded of the universality of the Church and the pope's role as chief shepherd of the flock on earth.  A final amazing thing about the mass was that my next door neighbor here at the college got to chant the gospel.  He was one of the men recently ordained a deacon in St. Peter's, so at that point he was a deacon for less than two weeks.  He chanted the gospel in Latin in front of the Pope, several cardinals, a plethora of bishops priests and deacons, and o yeah a square full of people!  I mean it was time, he had been a deacon for almost 2 whole weeks!

I guess that is about it for now.  I hope that all is well back home.  Let us remain united in prayer.

In Christ,
Patrick

Viva il Papa

Well folks, yesterday was a pretty amazing day for me.  Riding the wave of amazingness (I make up my own words) that came with attending mass on Sunday in St. Peter's Square where the Church elevated six Blesseds to Sainthood, our Holy Father wrote me a personal letter!  Well if you want to get technical he wrote it to all seminarians, but nonetheless, I felt pretty special.  Having been at mass with him the day before and the fact that he lives all of about 7 minutes away on foot made this letter take on a whole new meaning and made it very real. I am not ashamed to admit that I even got a little teary-eyed towards the end of it.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take a moment to read it.  Even if you are not a seminarian, which I suspect many of you reading this are not, I think it would be great for you to read it.  I think it will give you an idea of what is expected of us in the seminary from Holy Mother Church.  You will also see our Holy Father's view of seminary formation.  With this new knowledge I think that your prayer for seminarians will be more real and fervent (not that I am doubting your prayers for me in the least, but a little help can never hurt)!  Anyway, lest you spend too much time here and not reading the letter, here it is:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20101018_seminaristi_en.html

In Christ,
Patrick

Holy Ordinations Batman!

Fortunately for my own sake, but for most of you unfortunately, my sense of humor has not changed as seen in the title of this post.  One of the greatest sources of humility since arriving here in Rome has been the fact that people from other parts of the country (and the world) don't get my sense of humor(or maybe they just don't like it).  At least if y'all don't like my jokes back home you at least give the impression that you think I am funny, but here, not even a courtesy laugh, just strange looks.  O well, I am still entertained by my jokes, so they will keep coming!

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to post is to tell you about the diaconate ordinations yesterday in St. Peter's.  3 "words": O MY GOODNESS!  They were amazing.  I was in the choir so my seat provided limited viewing of the actual ceremony, but this was a very moving experience.  First of all, experiencing 30 men being ordained at one time was truly inspiring.  In a time where we constantly hear of a lack of vocations and shortages of priests in dioceses, this was an awesome opportunity to see God still very much at work in the hearts of His faithful.  It was great being with the deacons in the days leading up to their ordination, to witness their preparation and to see them ready themselves to say yes to God's call for them in an official and concrete way.

The stage upon which all of this took place definitely helped to make this a memorable and mind blowing experience.  We went into St. Peter's through a side entrance and as soon as I was able to see the sanctuary underneath the Chair of St. Peter, I was reminded of St. Therese of Lisieux's presence as there were beautiful white roses in several places throughout the sanctuary.  The basilica seemed even more beautiful that day, brightened both by extra lights they turned on for the big event, and by the light of Christ shining through the sacraments to be administered.  As I gazed up to the pilgrims that were touring the basilica that morning and looking down to the ceremony from the dome I could only wonder at what they were thinking.  What a view it must have been to be up there seeing 30 men lying prostrate symbolizing humility and their laying down their lives for Christ.  And, lest we forget, this is all happening so near to the tomb of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, many other saints buried in St. Peter's, and the successor of St. Peter, Pope Benedict, who was most likely somewhere in the Vatican at this time.  Needless to say, this was a great way to end the introductory/orientation time in Rome the week before we started classes.

I told some of the priest on formation here, that the ordination made me want to go and do an extra holy hour to make sure that I am in that position in three years.  Please continue to pray for me, that I will continue to follow the Lord's call for me and know of my prayers for all of you.

In Christ,
Patrick

God Still Answers Prayers

Today, I bring you the second installment of my reflections from my recent silent retreat.  Before getting to that however, I ask for your continued prayers for the 30 men who will be ordained to the Diaconate this Thursday in St. Peter's Basilica and for their families and friends who will be traveling to take part in this special occasion.

Once again, I have kind of given away the topic of this post in the title.  But you may be saying to yourself, "self, what does he mean God still answers prayers?"  Well, self, this is what I mean.  Everyday after mass, I say a small prayer of thanksgiving for what I have just received.  Usually my prayer consists of something like this;  "Lord, I thank you for allowing me to take part in this celebration.  I ask that you allow this mass to effect my entire life.  Help it to transform me to be more and more like you.  I PRAY THAT MY EVERY WORD, ACTION AND THOUGHT WOULD GLORIFY YOU."  On around the second day of the retreat I found myself praying this prayer and God kind of nudged me with a grin on His face and made me realize that a part of this prayer was realized during this retreat.  As I said before, it was a silent retreat.  No talking, not even to say hello to my brother seminarians...we all knew we were not being rude, rather, we were entering into the silence.  The only time I was able to speak was during morning and evening prayer, during mass to respond at the appropriate times, to say grace before meals and to speak to one of the priests during spiritual direction.  With every word I uttered I was truly giving glory to God!  And not only was I praising Him, He allowed me to see the great grace to realize how good He is to me.  I pray that I will continue to be open to seeing how God answers more of my prayers as I know He does indeed answer them (sometimes I just fail to realize it).  I pray that more and more my every word, thought and action will give glory to the Lord.  As always my thoughts and prayers are with all of you back home.

In Christ,
Patrick

Holy Priests

Well, I just returned from a week of retreating silently.  It was absolutely amazing and therefore, I hope to post a series of reflections from my time in Greccio (where the retreat was) over the next few days.  This first post is one that comes from a heart full of gratitude and humility.

So many times people thank me for being a seminarian, which is great, but too often I fail to thank you for being amazing Catholics!  One of the first days there we were told that the cost of our retreat was a pretty hefty sum.  Faithful Catholics just like you pay a great deal of money for us seminarians to be able to go away for a week and "waste time" with Our Lord.  Why would people give money for us to go away and, in the eyes of the world, to do nothing?  The answer is simple:  YOU WANT HOLY PRIESTS!  You want priests who are have a deep personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes, you want priests who know their theology, celebrate beautiful liturgies, can relate to people, etc, I am NOT saying these things are not good, they are very important, but all of these things flow from being in a loving relationship with Christ.  Being in silence with God for a week, doing three holy hours each day, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, attending Mass, hearing talks and simply being quiet (both externally and internally) allowed Him to do much talking to me.  The best thing he said to me was, "I love you"...you will see a few ways he told me in my upcoming posts!

Thank you for your prayers and support.  Thank you for wanting and demanding holy priests.  Thank you for supporting us seminarians in whatever way you are able.  I hope that in some way these posts bring you closer to our loving God.

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - It is not letting me upload pictures at the moment, so take my word that the place we stayed was great!

My 1st Month via Foto

Well, today was my last day of official Italian classes and they were...okay.  I still have a long way to go, but as they say here, va bene (it's good).  I finally posted a few pictures on Facebook so feel free to check them out.  There are not many, since I have been taking advantage of not having to take a picture of everything I see since I will be here a while.  I will try to take more so that you can see more cool things.  I will probably not post again until after next week.  "Perche?" you ask.  This brings me to my next point.

I will be leaving on Sunday (with the rest of my class) for a week-long silent retreat.  Please keep me, my classmates, and the fourth year seminarians (who will also be on retreat, just not with us) in your prayers.  This will be a great way to prepare for the new school year which is quickly approaching (we start classes on Oct 11th).  I also ask that you continue to pray for my Italian studies, especially praying that I stay dedicated to studying on my own!  Thanks.

In Christ,
Patrick

Italian Class

This one is just for fun.  The second week of class, after I had gained my teachers trust (or after she knew I was a wise guy), I showed her this clip in class and told her this is what I heard when she spoke Italian to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhuOicPFZY

Praying for all of you on the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle.

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - As an extra homework assignment my teacher is making me type up a list of all the funny things she says in English and the Italian words she uses constantly.  I made the list one day in class when my brain was on Italian overload...it was only 10 minutes after class started!

God's Mysterious Ways

Our view of the Vatican from the roof of the college!
(The glare was pretty bad)

I am posting again and so soon...permission to be impressed granted!  I hope all is well.  Now that our daily excursions have ended I have time to write down a few thoughts that have come up in prayer and in life in general.  First, as a side note, I feel the need to say how amazing Skype is and the internet in general.  I have been able to speak to many family members and friends via Skype, including watching my niece at her birthday party and joining in on the singing of "Happy Birthday"!  I am also listening to Delilah fuss at a girl for not going after a guy she likes as I type this...O Delilah!

The main thing that has blown me away in my time here is the mystery between being so far away from home, yet feeling so connected to all of you.  The internet has some to do with that since we can be in contact so easily, but as in all things, there is something bigger; there is Someone bigger.  I have heard priests say at their first mass how much they felt the power of peoples prayers during their time in formation.  While I did not think they were lying, I did not know exactly what they were talking about.  Of course I have always appreciated your prayers and support, but until recently I guess I just viewed them as any other type of support...like a pat on the back.  Since I have arrived here that has changed.  I now see (with limited ability of course) the spiritual connection that we truly have when we pray for one another, especially during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, since we participate in the one eternal sacrifice.

As you can tell from my previous posts, my time here so far has been amazing and blessed.  I would be lying, however, if I said that my time has been without struggles.  I have freaked out over my Italian classes several times.  I have felt like I was not learning anything and that I never would.  That has since changed and I feel like I am progressing, slowly but surely.  I have talked to a couple of guys and we are set on learning the language so that our experience in Italy can be that much better.  We are making plans to study together during the semester and in order to stay focused, I have decided that I will not be singing in choir the first semester to ensure that I have the time I need to dedicate to my Italian studies.

The main source of my struggles, as you could imagine, has been being away from home, from you my family and friends.  Along with being away from you, I have left behind my culture, my brother seminarians that I have been in formation with the past two years and just about everything that is familiar to me.  I came here having met 1 out of the 230 men here.  As tough as the change is at times, God has granted me the grace to view this challenge as an opportunity to grow closer to Him.  Nothing is familiar, except for God's love and my relationship with Him.  When I feel lonely, He has made me aware of my suffering so that I can offer it up for others.  When we suffer, we are intimately united with Christ on the Cross.  One of the readings I came across recently recently is from St. Paul's letter to the Colossians when he said, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church." ~ Colossians 1:24  The Lord's ways are truly amazing.  Over the summer, I began reading Pope John Paul II's letter entitled Salvifici Doloris (The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering) in which he tells of the great power of suffering.  It is a  brilliant letter and is much needed in a world that tries to do everything possible to avoid suffering.  I have also begun reading Those Mysterious Priests by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.  I am only about 35 pages in, but so far he has talked about how the priest is called to be both priest and victim, just as Christ was and is.  The priest is to offer up his sufferings for his flock and for the whole world and so become a victim.  Just when I was feeling like I was getting nothing from the book (I mean I had read a whole 15 pages) I read this description of the priest/victim at just the right time!

The one caution I had about writing this is people reading it and thinking I am miserable.  Let me tell you I AM NOT!!!  I am in Rome close to the Holy Father and the heart of the Church.  I have had my trials and will definitely continue to have them, but they are nothing I cannot endure with our Lord's help.  I believe that God is allowing me to go through these trials so that I may draw closer to Him.  It has also allowed me to realize that other people suffer the same separation from family and friends for much more challenging reasons than studying for the priesthood, in particular, those removed from their families due to war, violence, and economic struggles.  All this reminds me to pray for our military, those in war torn countries, and for all who must leave their families in order to make enough money to provide for their basic needs.  Being the foreigner and not knowing the language (yet), has also given me a new prospective on immigrants back home.  I greatly admire all of my brother seminarians from other parts of the world, especially the Hispanics that I got to know at St. Ben's.

Recap:  Please continue to pray for me!  Know that I am praying for you and please email me if you have specific intentions.  Pray especially that I will decrease and He will increase (See John 3:30).

I encourage you (if you have not yet) to read the speeches Pope Benedict has given while in the UK.  I have started and they are wonderful!  They can be found at http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/ or http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/travels/2010/index_regno-unito_en.htm.

In Christ,
Patrick

My view of the sports field from my room window.  This was
  the battle of the undefeated teams.  2nd Year vs. 4th Year.  2nd Year
 won, which made us look better since they beat us on Labor Day.

Assisi Weekend

Baptismal font where both St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized.

I apologize for the delay in posting.  The demands of Italian classes, other obligations and my first run in with the Italian power system (I fried my power cord for my computer) kept me from writing another blog, but alas here it is.

I will write about the main event now and if time permits, I will add to it later.  September 3-5 we took a class trip to Assisi to visit the holy sights there and to relax a bit.  This was a much needed break from the hectic pace of orientation.  Since Assisi is a relatively small city and I had been there twice, I was able to take a lot of time to relax, sleep and allow myself to finally overcome the jet lag.  I did tour some of the sights with one of the guys who studied Italian for a month in Assisi, so he was able to tell me about several things I did not know.  This weekend was extra special for me, because I learned an interesting fact since the last time I had been to Assisi.  As most of you know, my grandpa (Paw Paw) passed away this past February.  The fact that he was a very spiritual and religious man was no secret to me, however I learned in his last days that he had a great devotion to St. Francis of Assisi.  I found this interesting because the last time I was in Assisi, I bought a statue of Jesus on the cross being embraced by St. Francis to give to my grandparents (not knowing about Paw Paw's devotion).  I was excited to get to Assisi and pray for my grandpa at a place that would have been so special to him.  As the weekend went on, I thought about Paw Paw and prayed for him several times.  On Sunday morning we ascended the mountain to have mass outside at the hermitage where St. Francis lived after his conversion.  Somehow in my two previous trips to Assisi I had passed over this amazing place.  When I arrived before mass, I immediately had a peaceful feeling.  It was a beautiful wooded area, the weather was cool and I was in the place where one of the greatest saints in Church history lived and prayed.  I was able to walk through his humble hermitage before mass and saw the rock bed where Francis slept.  I felt a great peace there and felt like I was so close to God, St. Francis and Paw Paw.

St. Francis' "bed".  A rock floor in the corner of his tiny room.

Needless to say, mass was amazing.  Afterwards a group of us went down to the lower part of the city and visited the church ( which houses the small church where Francis was brought to die.  The weekend was amazing because I got to pray in amazing places and finally caught up on my sleep.  Now I am ready to conquer this thing they call Italian!  Hope to post again soon, but until then, please continue to pray for me and know of my love and prayers for all of you!

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - Please pray for Garrett, the 15 year old godchild of my aunt's friend who has an inoperable brain tumor.    Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, pray for him.

New Italian Challenges

Ciao!

     It has only been four days since my first post, but a lot has happened since then.  First, the next morning I began my Italian studies.  We have several tutors who come to the college each morning and teach us in groups of about eight from 8:30am to 1:00pm with a thirty minute coffee break at 10:30am.  It was a little intimidating, since my tutor came in speaking about 85% Italian!  It is frustrating at times, but I know that being immersed in the language will pay off in the long run!  That being said, after only four days, I feel like I have made some progress.  I am not ready to go out on the city and strike up conversations, but I am able to make those sarcastic remarks to my tutor during class that you all know is a big part of me!  Today, to make sure that she knew I wasn't being mean to her, I told her, "Io sono sarcastico" - I am sarcastic.  She responded by basically saying that I didn't need to tell her that!  Monday afternoon we were privileged to be given a tour of the Swiss Guard Barracks and Armory.  This was amazing.  One of the actual Swiss Guards gave us the tour, telling us about how they got started and showing us the weapons and uniforms they have used throughout their history.

Our Swiss Guard tour guide in the uniform room.

Part of their extensive armory.  These are 99% retired weapons.

     Tuesday morning had more Italian classes in store (we will have them M-F for the next 3 weeks).  After class this week, we are having 1 hour conferences on different aspects of formation and how they are run hereat the North American College.  Then, Tuesday afternoon was probably the best thing since getting my fan...the Scavi Tour at St. Peter's Basilica.  For those of you who don't know, the Scavi tour requires a ticket which usually takes several months to secure.  The tour is of the excavations underneath St. Peter's Basilica where tradition tells us St. Peter was buried.  This point has been debated over the years, but Christians, and especially Catholics, hold this tradition very dear.  The tour was given by a 2nd year guy here at the NAC and along the way he gave us the entire story...basically, tradition + excavations lead to the discovery of St. Peter's bones directly under the altar at St. Peter's Basilica.  I knew the basics of the story before I went and though I was extremely excited, I didn't feel like I was amazed as I should have been.  When we got the the end of our journey this all changed.  I was standing literally 5 - 10 feet away from the bones of the Prince of the Apostles.  As we were there praying, our tour guide read this passage to us from Sacred Scripture:

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
                   Matthew 16:13-19

I really can't explain how I felt at that moment.  I have never felt so connected to and in love with the Church! I was literally starring at the rock upon which our Church was built, both spiritually and physically.  I took the opportunity to ask St. Peter for his prayers, that I may persevere in doing what God has called me to do, and also prayed for all of you who have supported me so much thus far.  I suggest that ANYONE who knows they will be going to Rome try to do everything in their power to go on the Scavi Tour!  It is well worth the money, time, and anything else it will take to do it!

This plaque marks the spot where the obelisk near the spot where St. Peter was martyred stood
until it was moved to its current place in St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica 

     The week has finished up on a somewhat quite note...just Italian classes, multo homework and little sleep. Tomorrow morning we leave for what seems to be a slow and relaxing weekend in Assisi.  Please pray for me and my classmates as we continue to grow together as a class, and for all those who will be making their way back to the college in the upcoming weeks.  I hope to post something about Assisi when I make it back either Sunday or Monday.  Until then, let us remain united in prayer.

In Christ,
Patrick

Off and Running

Statue of Mary in the gardens of
the Castelgondolfo property.

     Literally from the moment we landed in Rome at 7:30 Thursday morning, we have been going non-stop.  A group of the orientation staff meet us at the airport and took us to the bus they had waiting for us.  We took a very brief tour of the city (from the bus) on our way to the college, passing by St. Paul Outside the Wall, the Colosseum and St. Peter's Basilica to name only a few of the places.  When we arrived at the college we were greeted by the orientation staff, the faculty of the college and those men in our class that had come early to study Italian.  They clapped us off the bus and all the way into the main chapel where we prayed midday prayer.  The day finished up with unpacking, a tour of St. Peter's Basilica, guided by the men of the orientation staff (giving tours of St. Peter's to American visitors could be my pastoral assignment next semester!), mass, and dinner outside on the 5th floor of the college, which provides one amazing view of the city!

     The next day, Friday, we had to rise early to make it to St. Peter's for 7:15am mass at the tomb of St. Peter...I guess it was worth waking up early!  After mass we were able to walk around a bit...I took advantage of the time to pray in the blessed sacrament chapel they have in St. Peter's.  An Italian placement test, sojournal (residency) papers, mass and a walking tour of the city (including gelato or Italian ice cream) rounded out day two.  A small group of us continued on to the basilica in honor of St. Augustine to pray at the tomb of St. Monica (St. Augustine's mother) on this her feast day (Aug 27th).  What a wonderful privilege to be able to be so close to so many holy men and women of God!

     Day 3, Saturday...the best thing yet!  I had seen St. Peter's and the Colosseum, prayed at the tomb of St. Monica, but nothing could compare to this...I GOT A FAN!  There are no air conditioners in our rooms and it is pretty close to South Louisiana hot here, so this was a great accomplishment!  After our time to roam around Rome (I haven't lost that great sense of humor yet!), we prayed a rosary together near an image of Our Lady of Humility that hangs in the college.  After the rosary, one of the priests blessed smaller copies of this image and each new man got to take one of this room.  After mass and lunch, we returned to The Basilica of St. Augustine, to pray there on his feast day (Aug 28th).  The day ended with a free night in the lounge where we were able to get beverages and snacks at no charge.

     Day 4, Sunday...it keeps getting better!  Today we had mass at 7:45am so that we could depart for Castelgandolfo, where the pope spends his vacation each summer.  There we had the opportunity to see the Holy Father and to pray the Angelus with him.  After that, he greeted the different countries in attendance.  When greeting the English speaking countries, he added a special greeting to the men of The Pontifical North American College, giving us his best wishes in our studies and letting us know that he would pray for us to grow in our relationship with the Lord during our time in Rome.  We also sang him a song entitled "Ad Multos Annos".  Following the Angelus we had lunch at a restaurant that was on the side of a mountain and overlooks an old volcano which is now a huge lake.  We were joined at lunch by Archbishop Burke, the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, and Archbishop James Harvey the Prefect for the Papal Household.  After lunch Archbishop Harvey led the group on a tour of the gardens at the popes summer residence, which houses the pool that Pope John Paul II had installed when he was elected Pope!

     As you can tell, it has been an amazing time so far.  I truly feel like I am at home here.  I am studying with guys from all over the U.S., one guy from Canada, and several Australians.  It is a neat experience to be able to go to places as amazing as St. Peter's Basilica and not take pictures because I know that I will have the opportunity to do so later.  I am allowing myself to simply be here and soak in all of the amazing things that are happening.  Know that I am praying for all of you back home and please pray for me especially as we start Italian classes tomorrow.  I hope to update this blog regularly as a way for you to know what is going on in between personal contact.

In Christ,

Patrick