Monte Cassino

Ok, so Saturday I took a day trip with one of the third-years I knew from Franciscan. He was looking for someone to go with him and I would have just spent my day back at the college, so I was happy to go along. Montecassino is an old* monastery founded by Saint Benedict himself (his first and most important, if I remember correctly, though I could be mistaken on that). "Old" is used rather loosely, as the place has been destroyed and rebuilt roughly five times since it was first founded, most recently at the Battle of Monte Cassino during WWII (where sadly we Americans bombed it to smithereens, but that's how it goes sometimes- I heard from another guy there that one of the bombs that fell immediately next to the high altar and down into the crypt with the bodies of Saints Benedict and Scholastica did not explode and is still there to this day- praise God for that). It was a beautiful example of how nice modern art and architecture can appear, when we so desire. The place was stunningly beautiful. We took a 110 minute train to Cassino, a small to mid-sized Italian town at the foot of the mountains. From there we took a bus up the mountain to Montecassino. The morning was beautiful in its solitude and quiet- there was a heavy, low-lying layer of clouds which hung around the base of the mountain, so that, by the time we got to the monastery, we could not see anything- the noise and distractions of the city were hidden from view and quickly forgotten. Saints Benedict and Scholastica are both entombed in Montecassino, so we prayed at their tombs for a few quiet moments. The chapel there was stunning- I'll let most of the pictures do the talking and comment only where necessary. I've very glad Riley invited me to go with him- it was a perfect day trip and a good end to our time of orientation and acclimation.

Ok, I couldn't help putting this picture in my post- the juxtaposition was

too beautiful to resist. If you look very carefully, you can see Monte Cassino through the graffiti-covered window of the train just above the "I", partially covered by the train line outside.

Again, I couldn't help it. Welcome to Europe, everyone!

Here's a better view from just outside the train station.

And we arrived here...

The solitude on the hill I mentioned- this is actually quite a good shot- that's

really how shrouded we were in the clouds.

Ok, notice the statues of Benedict and Scholastica. When you see the picture of Our Lady, that's the rear of the main altar, the spot in the main chapel where Sts. Benedict and Scholastica are venerated. Also, the very golden chapel is the crypt church underneath the main church. It's where the bodies of Sts. Benedict and Scholastica are. I tried to get shots of them, too, but they weren't great. It was a good thing another tour group got down into there to pray- it appeared that the lower chapel was not always open. Notice the incredible marble work on the altars and walls, especially the Blessed Sacrament altar (the first one you see in the set of pictures right before the main altar). It's incredible what we can do with modern technology. The final shot is of the Polish graveyard from the war down the mountain a little from Monte Cassino.

Ok, here begins my commentary silence. Enjoy!

The Diaconate Ordinations

Ok, so after the last post I realized that I had not updated you on the ordinations. It was an awe-inspiring experience getting to sing in the choir at St. Peter's. The ceremony was very beautiful and I'm sure the families and friends of the ordinandi were most appreciative for all that everyone did for them- the lectors, MCs, hospitality crew, and everyone else involved. We had any number of receptions and events going on around the house and, as enjoyable as it was, I think the whole house breathed a collective sigh of relief and thanksgiving when the post-ordination reception was over. That really, in a way, marked the end of the chaos and the quiet before the storm, err, school year. Half the house was probably napping after that reception. [:) Here are some pictures from the event. NOTE: All pictures were taken well before the start or end of Mass, so none of these were particularly irreverent (despite how they might look).

Here we are, mulling about in the choir area almost an hour before Mass.

Since I can't bilocate, I had one of the organists take this picture so you could see where I was sitting/standing in the mix.

If you look carefully, you can figure out exactly where we were located in the Basilica- notice the column of the baldachino. Mass was actually held at the altar of the chair, not the altar in the center.

Here are the new deacons with Archbishop Carlson, among others, taking

their group photo after the Mass.

This was from the reception afterward. It was held in our courtyard

at the college. Most of the students were required to perform some service at the reception- I poured drinks until they closed our station. Notice that this picture was taken as I was leaving, so at the peak there were probably six times this many people socializing and celebrating.

Canonization and First Day of Classes

So we all survived our first day of classes! Yesterday began "ordinary time" at the college, so to speak. We have finally begun our school year schedule, which comes as almost a sort of relief after the craziness of the last six or so weeks. We begin each day with 6:15 Morning Prayer, followed by Mass and breakfast, then the half-hour walk to make it to class on time. Classes generally run from 8:30 to 12:30, after which we walk back to the college for optional class rosary and then lunch at 1:15. The afternoons differ from day to day- we have a seminar Tuesday afternoons and a house formation night Thursday evenings, I believe, but other than that we generally don't have anything regularly scheduled until 6:45 Evening Prayer, so the afternoons are our time to really get in some studying, praying, working out, and maybe a little napping, too. Today our two morning classes were cancelled, which is why I am able to write this post at this moment.

Sunday was the big canonization Mass of five new saints of the Church. The best known of them for Americans was most certainly Saint Damian of Molokai, the apostle to the leper colony in Hawaii. I arrived with a couple classmates about 90 minutes before the event began, and it took us every bit of an hour to get to our seats. The place was jam-packed. It really was very moving seeing so many turn out in honor of these holy souls and the God Whom they served. I heard that we even had some lepers turn out for the ceremony!

Yep, that's how far back we were a solid twenty minutes into our wait in line.

Not a great seat- we certainly weren't inside- but not a bad seat, either.

At least we got seats.

Here's a closer up at the portraits they had of each saint. The close-ups follow.

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After the Mass, the Pope prayed the Angelus with the pilgrims. Here he is.

Here are some of us, having just arrived back at the college.

A handful of our men from the college got the chance to serve for the Pope at this Mass, which must have been an amazing experience. One of Kalamazoo's own, Francis Marotti, even got to be candle-bearer and got to wash the Pope's hands during the Mass. He said he was shaking like a little girl (well, maybe he didn't put it exactly that way, but I know I probably would have been shaking like a little girl, so...). It really was a moving experience getting to be there on this momentous occasion. At the end of the canonization proper, the prefect of the congregation for the cause of the saints came up, along with other representatives, and personally thanked the Pope on behalf of the Church for this great gift. The program stated that he was going to give the Pope a hug, though I think he simply kissed the Pope's hands. What a remarkable statement, what a touching show on behalf of all of us!

It really made me think about the significance of this pronouncement. How beautiful it is that we have five new, officially declared, older brothers and sisters in Christ as role models and intercessors! I would encourage everyone, if you have a bit of time, to look up their stories- they are a varied group, an appropriate selection of new patrons. They are a reminder that, young or old, no matter what our call, God meets us where we are and holiness is found in living out our lives for Him whatever our vocation happens to be. All five were religious or ordained of some sort, I think, but they ended up in very different circumstances through their calls, ones which they probably would not have chosen if they had known when they first started. Holiness is not simply for those who live out their days in a cell in some obscure cloister. One of the newly canonized, Raphael Arnaiz Baron, was only 27 when he died, and, if I recall correctly, he didn't even succeed in becoming a full Trappist friar because he was sick so often and had to constantly leave to receive medical care. How difficult that must have been and what a good example to us all when everything seems to be falling apart around us. He did not achieve his will, even his desires in God's service, but he united his will to God's and was greatly exalted by God for his child-like trust. He was known for his mystical spiritual writings and his joy and friendship offered to all. Saint Damian definitely wound up in unusual circumstances, exiling himself to the leper colony of Molokai to be their pastor, administering the sacraments and offering hope to those otherwise abandoned by most of the world. He contracted the disease himself and died a brother leper for all those whom he served in life.

Other than that, things are finally starting to slow down around here, just as school is picking up. I'll try to get another post up later today or tomorrow, maybe, to tell you about my trip to Montecassino Saturday. I don't remember putting pictures up after the diaconate ordination Mass, either, so I'll try to get those up, as well. For future reference, I'll try to get a post up once a week to keep you updated on things around here. May God richly bless you all.

Prayer Intentions

Ok, I wanted to start a post for prayer intentions for which people might want me or anyone else who visits this sight to pray. I hope this works- we'll see how it goes for now. Feel free to leave them as comments to this post- just give a first name and a general idea of for what we are praying- even if you cannot give a name for whatever reason, please do not just put "special intention"- I like to have some vague direction in which to go with my prayer. I'll take anything from

"Please pray for me for a big test tomorrow. -Joe"

to

"My mother, Mary, is going in for a triple-bypass surgery tomorrow."

to

"Please pray for my wife. She's going through a very tough time right now. -Anon"

or anything else appropriate

There is a link to this post on the side of the blog so people can make it to this post directly. Also, please keep me/us updated on the status of the person(s) for whom we are praying, whether they have gotten over their grave illness or passed away or passed the test or whatever the intention happens to be.

Thanks for all your prayers- I'll try to check this every day or two or three to keep you all more specifically in mine! Please pray for each other, as well. God bless.

Sant'Onofrio

This morning I and the other three men in the first-year class from Franciscan decided to pay a visit to the old stomping grounds of our Pre-theologate director in Steubenville, Father Ken Cienik. We arrived at this small church almost literally next door to our college and prayed for a while. Then we admired the art work and took pictures. We asked the lady working the information desk if we could speak with the friars there, and she checked for us, but the rector was in Assisi for the week and the others were not available, so we'll have to go back and introduce ourselves at some point in the future. It really was a nice, peaceful place to pray and I think I will have to pay them some visits in the future. Here are some of the pictures I snapped while we were wandering the place.

Here's Dan in my shot of the sanctuary of the church

This is from the chapel of Sant'Onofrio. I wish it had turned out a little better, but so it is. To be honest, none of us really knew much about his story. He was an early Church ascetic, perhaps like an eastern desert father or something of the sort. I'll look him up and maybe fill in a few of the details at some point.

This is from the inner courtyard, next to the Church in the residence of the friars (at least we were pretty sure that was what this area was)

NAC Orientation Part VII - Cenone, Confession, and the Casa Santa Maria, Oh My!

If you notice the name of this post, this is one that has been long in coming. I think during the second week of orientation, we took a trip to the Casa Santa Maria, which is the house of study for older priests from the States and other English speaking countries. At least, that was the impression I got, since I met an English priest there as well as a couple from other countries. The Casa is almost immediately adjacent to the Gregorian University, where I and most of the men will be studying. We were given a tour of the place and then treated to a grand dinner- without a doubt one of the top ten biggest meals of my life.

Let me see if I can remember correctly- we had an appetizer of meats and cheeses and rocket salad (like arugula, I think), followed by fried chicken and mashed potatoes, followed by a big steak and green beans, which was, in turn, followed by a nice salad, which was followed up with a homemade fruit tart and a large bowl of homemade gelato. I swear we don't eat that well all the time! It was big enough that its name is actually changed in Italian- "cena" is the word for dinner in Italian, but this was "cenone"- BIG dinner. In Italian like Spanish, suffixes are used with some frequency to express size. In our defense, we ate dinner over a LONG period of time. We were there for more than two hours. As slowly as I eat, this was a wonderful experience for me.

In the original post for this, I had gone to confession the night before this trip to the Casa (though some of us probably could have used to go again after that dinner...) and was going to comment on how beautiful the sacrament really is. Perhaps I will save a long ode to confession for another day, but simply take this moment to encourage everyone to develop a love for it. It's capable of being an embarrassing experience, to be sure, but that is bound to happen when we make ourselves vulnerable to our Lord. There can be very little growth in the spiritual life without that openness and frankness with God. Now, admittedly, it is really the frankness with the priest which is the primary problem for most people, but two simple thoughts on that-

1)there really is something to be said for having to vocalize our sins and our rejection of them. Giving word to such a thing really does help us better turn our hearts to God and experience that which we profess in our words. For better or for worse we are physical creatures and creatures of ritual- we learn and grow in our habits not merely through thinking but through doing, which is exactly what is done in confession. We do not merely think about our contrition and our repentance but we actively confess and actively repent.

2) the seal of confession is really quite absolute. A priest cannot, of course, tell anyone what one has confessed, but he cannot even really treat a person differently according to that confession, if I understand it correctly- it really is as if it never happened between the priest and the penitent (unless of course the penitent desires to discuss it in a later confession or spiritual direction). Besides, I'm growing to discover that priests really have heard it all- they're much harder to scandalize than just about anyone else on the planet. They are also, if they are living out their vocations, approaching penitents with the Heart of Christ Himself, full of love and compassion for sinners and desirous of bringing us all into closer union with Him and full of awareness of their own sinfulness and need for greater conversion of heart.

Ok, so too late- I talked more than I wanted to, but suffice it to say that I think we are seeing in our time a rededication of the Church faithful to the sacrament of confession and that this is a wonderful thing. We should all take advantage of the graces and love Christ desires to lavish upon us in this sacrament. The Holy Father has made a point in this year of the priest to emphasize the place of confession- that he truly desires this to be a year of the sacrament of confession, as well. Perhaps we should all keep in mind that Pope Benedict goes to confession once a week!

Alright, I think I have, at long last, caught up on posts. Anything from this point forward should be relatively recent news.

And Now I'm Back Again. Thanks for Your Prayers!

First things first- a heartfelt thank you for all your prayers. I had a wonderful, moving silent retreat. We went to Greccio, a little place in the mountains where St. Francis started the tradition of the crèche for the celebration of Christmas with his brother friars. The Spirit was moving strongly in our prayers and quiet time. That is not to say that the time was "perfect" in any human sense of the word; everyone still had their own moments (or hours) of distractions, along with some desolations here and there. God works through those moments, too, if we let Him. It was funny though it's something I have experienced with silent retreats in the past- I think, and many others in the class agreed- that we grew more in brotherhood sharing the silence with our Lord with one another than if we had been free to converse. I would have pictures for you, but I decided it might not be in keeping with the spirit of a silent retreat to be taking a whole bunch of pictures there. I kinda wish I had, though, so that I could show you the two scorpions I found in my room there. It was kind of exciting, really. They were really quite small and pitiful- so much so that, perhaps through the intercession of St. Francis, I took pity on them and just took them outside rather than squishing them. For all I know they could have been terribly poisonous, but eh, none of us ended up getting stung, so praise God! The retreat was good in a great many ways, but it was really nice just to get the chance to recollect myself and "waste time with God," so to speak, after all the chaos of the preceding four weeks and right before classes start up.

Speaking of thanks for prayers, I passed my Italian language proficiency exam! Praise God! Believe me, He was definitely responding to prayers, since I and a handful of my classmates would not have passed that thing any other way, at least not with our Italian abilities the way they are at present. As my dad is fond of saying now, "ancora imparo," or "I am still learning," stated by many but attributed most famously to Michelangelo.

Now the difficulty is remembering what else I have not yet put on this blog, since so much has happened these six weeks. I have been, believe it or not, singing in the choir for liturgical celebrations here at the urging of Francis Marotti, one of our seminarians who got here last year. It's really been a great experience. I've learned a lot, having never done anything of the like in a formal setting. Our experience will culminate with Mass and ordinations at St. Peter's Basilica tomorrow, where we will actually be singing! It's very humbling and awe-inspiring to think that I'm going to get a chance to sing for a Mass on the main altar at St. Peter's. Please keep the fourth-year men in your prayers, those who either were just ordained or will be ordained to the diaconate tomorrow.

Classes start next week, so that will be very exciting. I'm actually looking forward to it, I think, as amazing as that may sound. It looks like I will be taking Intro to New Testament, Revelation and its Transmission in the Church, Church History, and Christology and Soteriology, in addition to my Greek class and a Class Seminar that we are required to take (unless we can test of out the Greek, which a few guys have been able to do, but not too many of us).

There are some other things I could list, but I think they will best fit in another post. May God bless you all.