To the Land of Pleasant Living:

Celebrating Together in the Holy Land

2012-01-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

I recently read in a reflection written by Brother Roger of Taize that we can live the Gospel only together-- that living the Gospel requires community and communion. I think that this is so true and that I experienced this during my pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Last month I went with 35 other seminarians and priests from the NAC to Israel for a two week pilgrimage. We were in Galilee for 6 days, including Christmas, and in Jerusalem for 6 days, including New Years. The trip was absolutely incredible and was filled with grace and many substantial periods of silent prayer with the Lord. From the moment we first arrived in Galilee through our last day in Jerusalem I was filled with a sense of being home-- a sense that I have been here before and this place where Jesus lived, taught, healed, and gave himself for us is in some way my home. And in light of what Brother Roger says, I think that I felt so at home in the Land of Jesus because there in some special way I was united with him and with countless Christians from over two thousand years in our effort to live the Gospel.

Like many religious sites which attract pilgrims, the Holy Land stands as a symbol and representation of the universality of our faith. We believe that Christ came

for all people-- for people from every corner of the globe. And it is truly awesome to see people from every corner of the globe coming to Christ on pilgrimage, in prayer, in service to one another, in their parish community, etc. It is an inspiring witness. And it was together that we, believers from all over the world, prayed at these religious sites, together in worshiping the God who came to our world for us and together in praying for our loved ones back home.

Our group celebrated Mass together each day at different religious sites of historical significance. We celebrated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, on the Mount of Beatitudes (pictured above), in Capernaum where Peter lived, at Peter's Primacy where Jesus forgave Peter and commissioned him to feed his sheep. We celebrated at the spot of the Annunciation in Nazareth, at the chapel of the Upper Room in Jerusalem, in Gethsemane where Jesus had his Agony in the Garden, and in the chapel of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre on the site where Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and rose from the dead. And at all of these celebrations we were mindful of those countless droves of pilgrims who have prayed and celebrated the Mass in these places.

One Mass stands out in particular. We were invited to join a German community of Benedictines

for Christmas morning Mass at their monastery in Tabga, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. In addition to our group and the Benedictines there were a fair number of German pilgrims there for the Mass too. And in their typical great hospitality the Benedictines did everything they could to help us Americans feel welcome. At the very beginning of Mass the main celebrant, one of the Benedictines, said with great joy in German and in English that today, Christmas, is an international cause for great joy and celebration. The birth of our Lord and Savior is a reality that breaks every barrier and brings life for every single person-- regardless of race and language. And really it is a reality that breaks those barriers forever. That Christmas morning we worshiped together, German and American alike. Our Mass was bi-lingual. We sang hymns in English and German. The readings and homily were in English and German. The prayers were in English and German. And how fitting. How fitting that we praise the universal savior together who came for all, united in gratitude and in faith.

Another international experience that stands out was while we were praying in the Basilica on the Mount of Beatitudes. Our group had spread out in the church and were praying silently on this spot where Jesus gave the Beatitudes when a large group of pilgrims from Africa came in and filled the church. They continued to then fill the church with their prayers and songs as they cried out to our God in their own way. It was interesting to note the differences in how we prayed. Our group sat quietly, spread out, many with Bible or Breviary out, whereas they packed in together and prayed out loud. We were all doing the same thing, but we were doing it somewhat differently-- each in our own way. But we were there together and there was a richness in our diversity.

The Gospel does not only call people together from different nations, but it also calls together people of different Creeds and denominations. To be clear, there is certainly much work to be

done in Christian Unity and the Holy Land is no exception. There are divisions between the Christian denominations and certain te

nsions continue to make those divisions clearly visible. But there is also the reality of people of all Christian faith traditions praying together. Though there was a clash between monks of two different Orthodox traditions in the same church three days before, I went into the cave area where Jesus was born in Bethlehem with Orthodox Christians. Though tensions continue to exist, people from each denomination go to these sites to pray-- and they go together. Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant-- all go together to these places and pray side by side at the site of the crucifixion on Calvary. Side by side at the site where Jesus went on trial and was condemned to death. Side by side at the site where St. Stephen was martyred. Side by side on the site where Jesus rose from the dead. Every single day people from different denominations and different Christian traditions come together and pray side by side, recalling in great gratitude the loving actions of God on earth, bringing with them all of their loved ones from home.

One experience of this coming together really touched me. During one of the days that we were

in Jerusalem we stopped in to pray in a basilica that was built by the crusaders. It is very rare for a church, or much of anything, built by the crusaders to remain standing in Jerusalem. But this particular church building remains because of its beauty and its great acoustics inside. And so groups of pilgrims who visit this church typically sing, raising their prayers to God in this historic church. After our group had been there for a little while we sang the Pater Noster, the Our Father in Latin. The acoustics were impressive as the words of this prayer echoed throughout the church-- plus I think we did a pretty good job singing...

After we had finished singing we spread out. I went downstairs to see the lower level, and as I came back up the stairs I heard an incredible sound; a non-denominational group from America had gathered around the center of the church and was singing Amazing Grace. It was awesome. I sat down and listened to the prayers as they rose up from this circle of pilgrims. They continued their praise, song after song. And as they prayed my spirits were lifted. As they prayed I prayed. And in that moment we were together as Christians, praising our God. And it was good. It was fitting.

I also experienced this transcendental togetherness in the reality of praying in places where Christians have prayed for over two thousand years and being in communion with them. One of

the places where I felt really united to the countless millions of pilgrims who had gone before me was in a place just on the outside of Old Jerusalem where Jesus was held over the night of Holy Thursday, after being arrested in the Garden. Historians and scholars hold that during that dark night Jesus was lowered into a deep and lightless pit that was only accessible through a small hole, just wide enough to lower a person into the pit and pull them up out of the pit. And it was in this pit that Jesus stood and waited.

He had already firmly set his heart on the will of the Father. He had already resolutely determined to give himself, his very life, for all of humanity. He had already said Yes. But he had to wait. And he had to wait in dark silence. He had to wait in solitude.

He had to wait in uncertainty as to what the next day would bring.

While our group was in this pit together (there are now stairs that go down into the pit from the side) we prayed from Psalm 88: "I cry out before you... for my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near to the grave... You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths... and darkness is my only friend." Strong words that communicate stronger depths of agony. These are words that I imagine Christ would have prayed that night in this very pit. They are also words that countless pilgrims who have gone to the Holy Land may have prayed in that very pit. And how accutely we can relate to them. How powerfully and intimately we can relate to that pit. I imagine every pilgrim who has ever stood in that pit felt the knee buckling shock of standing with our Lord in his despair and fear and darkness. And what a gift, to stand there with Jesus, our Lord and our Brother, supporting him and praying for him and in union with him. And we pilgrims did that together-- together in the timeless and transcendent communion of our faith.

It is so beautiful too to know that in that pit I stood with Christ our Lord and Brother, all of the pilgrims who have stood in the pit over the years, and also every single person who has spent any amount of time in the pits of despair. Every one of us, to whatever degree, can intimately relate to the words of Psalm 88. Every one of us can relate to standing in a low and dark pit with uncertainty as to what tomorrow will bring. And because our God loves us-- Not one of us prays those hallowing words of Psalm 88 alone. Not one of us stands in our pits of darkness and fear alone. We are never alone. Jesus is there with us. Think about it; over that night as Jesus stood there in the dark depths of the pit-- he stood with us and we with him. And that will not change.

In addition to being together with Our Lord, Christians from around the world, Christians from all time periods, I was also in a special way with my family, friends, co-workers, students, parishioners, and fellow seminarians who I took with me on pilgrimage.

As our group celebrated the Christmas Midnight Mass in Galilee we prayed that our gift to God this Christmas might be these people that we bring with us on pilgrimage: may we bring them, their struggles, their joys, their petitions, their needs, and present them to the Lord at the sites where he taught, where he healed, where he called the disciples, where he prayed, where he was baptized, where he reconciled Peter to himself, where he instituted the Eucharist, where he was arrested, where he was held overnight in darkness, where he was put on trial, where he was crucified, and where he rose from the dead. In each of these places I brought these people-- my family, friends, co-workers, students, parishioners, and brother seminarians. And in the act of presenting them to God, in praying with them, I was together with them. I was together in communion with them as I prayed especially that they might share in the ultimate cause for hope and joy-- the Resurrection; especially that they might in some way experience a taste of the Resurrection now-- and that that taste might spark a fire in their lives to somehow live the Resurrection.

This pilgrimage to the Holy Land was awesome. It was personally a time of growing in intimacy and communion with the Lord and with his people. All of these experiences also deepened my understanding of and peace in my ongoing formation and training to be a priest in Baltimore. Part of the role that I hope to enter into in Baltimore is to be a witness to how we are united in so many ways that we may never know; united as Catholics as well as Christians. We are together. We pray together. We live together. We stand in the pits and on the mountain tops of our lives together with one anoty this reality. May we bear witness to our communion and work tirelessly for a greater visible union. And when we all, as people of faith, are persecuted-- as is the case for many Christians living in the Holy Land, as is the case for many Christians living throughout the Middle East and in parts of Africa, as is the case for many Christians in Asia, as is the case for many who suffer violence, and as is the case for people of faith in the United States as religious freedom and the freedom to follow one's conscience is threatened to be denied by the government-- may we stand together. And may we look to our Lord who is with us and to his Spirit who wants so much to guide us.

We are called to live the Gospel. And to live the Gospel together.

From Generation to Generation

2011-12-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

A common blessing in Scripture is "from generation to generation," meaning that a particular blessing or grace will be invested in you from generation to generation. So many of the blessings and graces that we enjoy today come through our ancestors, from the generations that have come before us.

The faith and practices that we hold today-- some of those things that bring us so much life and energy-- have been passed down to us through the previous generation. All of us know this well in our relationships with our parents. We know that we bear many of the same mannerisms and interests and joys and even some quirks as our parents. It is amazing to think about how much we receive from them. Most of the opportunities, the lessons, the perspectives that we have had in life, at least early on, have been given to us by our parents and the generation before us. This is a cause for great gratitude-- a gratitude that we should probably express to our parents and all of those people who have formed us into the people that we are today.

In a broader sense we experience this in the Church as well. We receive the faith that we have and hold from our parents and from the teachers, role models, and priests who have played a role in our lives. Being a seminarian I am incredibly grateful for the priests, especially in Baltimore, who have given their entire lives to passing the faith on so that we in our generation can join them in ministry and hope to do half as good of a job as they did for us.

One place in the seminary where this reality of blessings coming from generation to generation takes place is in spiritual direction. Every seminarian has a spiritual director-- and the role of the spiritual director is to spiritually, and even literally in some cases, walk with the seminarian as he discerns God's will and seeks to give himself to God and the Church. The spiritual director listens and helps the seminarian to discern how and where God is active in his prayer and daily experiences. He can also function as a confessor, celebrating the sacrament of Reconciliation with the seminarian. It is a unique and priveleged relationship.

Two weeks ago many of my brother seminarians and I said a temporary good-bye to our spiritual director, Fr. Bill Lyons. Fr. Bill had been fighting cancer for some time and passed from this life in peace, just moments after receiving the Eucharist from one of his best friends.

Fr. Bill was a great spiritual director. He was able to communicate incredibly well to his directees and the many other seminarians who sought his advice that he was really with us-- he was really walking with us, on the journey to the Father. He was a prolific presence here in the community as well. A few of the guys here have said that he had one foot here on earth and another foot in heaven, because he a unique perspective of patience and hope-- almost like he had tasted heaven so really that he knew that there is really no reason to get worked up about the small stuff, no reason to worry about much at all-- Jesus did come, his Spirit is with us and within us, and he will come again.

And thanks be to God and our ancestors in the faith, we were able to mourn, pray for, and celebrate the life and eternal life of Fr. Bill. His funeral Mass was one of the holiest experiences of worship that I have ever been a part of. It was full of gratitude, of joy, of sorrow, of hope, of love, of communal support. It was full of our faith. It was a blessing to be here and get to know and walk with and learn from such a man and to take part in such a fitting celebration.

I know and have already seen how Fr. Bill lives on and how many of us here are enjoying the blessings that he has helped us to receive and to foster and to cultivate and to learn how to pass on. Thanks be to God that he is so good and that our faith is so rich and that our Church is so lifegiving-- from generation to generation.

Fr. Bill now joins those who have carried the torch of faith well. He now glances to us from time to time to pray for us as we give our lives to carry that same torch. May it set the world on fire!

Journeys Home

2011-09-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

This past summer was absolutely incredible and it allowed me to grow in a lot of ways. It was a bit of a spiritual journey for me-- marking the 12 month point of being away from home: family, friends, parishioners... Baltimore. It was a summer that culminated in not being able to return for a best friend's wedding. But more importantly, it was a summer that expressed and in some sense captured the spiritual journey that I am on-- plunging deeper in love with God towards a life lived entirely for him and for others.

This summer I was able to meet, work with, and learn from soldiers and their families. I was able to get to know, learn from, and laugh with the poor and rejected of Dublin, Ireland. I was able to welcome 56 New Men to our seminary community and introduce them to the great spiritual journey of the next 4-5 years, one that they have been making their entire lives. I was also able to travel and bond with other seminarians-- friends who have become spiritual brothers and co-journeyers.

All of us human beings are on a journey home. We are all on a pilgrimage of trust that will hopefully bring every one of us to an eternal union with God our loving creator who desires more than anything to be at the core of our lives as our Lord, Savior, and dearest friend. And this summer I was able to accompany two of my brother seminarians on a bit of a journey home.

Mark is Irish. Both of his parents are of Irish descent and he excels in embracing his Irish heritage. This summer three of us accompanied Mark on his first ever trip to Ireland. We landed in Dublin... by the way, this picture records Mark's first contact with his native land. From Dublin we drove to the great town of Galway, which was our home for a few days as we made day trips out to the Cliffs of Moher, St. Bridget's Well, Croagh Patrick Mountain, and the Our Lady of Knock Shrine.

During the trip Mark was our tour guide and expert in all things Irish. It was awesome to be able to share in the excitement of his first trip to Ireland, the home of his ancestors. There was a certain rightness, a sense that this fit—it made sense. It was cool.

Jon is Italian. Towards the end of the summer I was able to travel with Jon and two other seminarian brothers to Jon’s homeland—to Siracusa, Sicilia. Jon loves his Italian heritage and embraces it well as a creatively traditional Italian chef and a selflessly generous spirit. We landed in Catania and drove to Siracusa—where Jon’s ancestors are from. In Siracusa we were able to eat cheap, awesome, and traditional Sicilian seafood, visit ancient Greek ruins, experience open-air markets, see a church where St. Paul preached, and visit the original cathedral of Siracusa. Inside the cathedral was a baptismal font that dated back to the 3rd century. It was awesome to stand and pray next to this font of life—a font that brought countless people over 1500 years into Christianity. No small or insignificant basin of water.

Like Mark in Ireland, Jon was on cloud-nine in Siracusa. It fit. In a way he was home. And, like in Ireland, those of us who were able to join him in this journey were incredibly thrilled and grateful to be able to be there and experience the joy.

In both Ireland and Sicily there were great moments of silence. There were several times where we just stood in awe of everything that was around us—in awe of the epic green landscapes of Ireland. In awe of the generous hospitality of the Irish people. In awe of the rugged climb up Croagh Patrick. In awe of the breath-takingly sacred beauty of the view at the Cliffs of Moher and at Croagh Patrick. In awe of the calm blue sea of Siracusa. In awe of the fresh fish and life in abundance. In awe of the rugged character of Siracusa. In awe of the longevity and grounded holiness of the Church in Southern Italy.

In both of these places we were moved to silence as we stood in awe of beauty and rightness. We stood in silence, in awe of God who had and continues to intentionally create these beauties—just as intentionally as he continues to create each one of us. We stood in awe of the process of returning home… the progression of this spiritual journey. What an opportunity. What a gift.

Last night I returned to my weekly apostolate—the Dono di Maria, a house run by the Missionaries of Charity that houses disadvantaged women and runs a supper program for homeless men. Each week I go with a good friend and brother seminarian to the Dono to help prepare and serve supper to these men of God. The best part of the apostolate undoubtedly is the men themselves and the many conversations, jokes, and relationships that are formed around the simple meal. Last night I was reminded that a consistent relationship with the poor is an absolutely essential part of my journey. By that I do not mean an abstract or romantic ideal of service—but rather a realization that the poor, known by name and countless stories, are some of the closest in my ecclesiastical family. And just to be clear, I mean the materially poor who suffer daily because they do not have what we take for granted.

Many of the men who frequent the Dono are homeless and unemployed because of mistakes that they have made. In most definitions of justice they deserve what they experience. But in my journey so far I have encountered a God who refuses to accept such a simple justice. A God who refuses to remain silent and inactive in our patterns of mistakes and self-destruction. I have encountered a God who pours himself out into our lives to bring us home. He freely empties himself to bring us home—a process that takes a lifetime of growing in trust and intimacy that gives way to make a home for Faith, Hope, and Love within us.

And so as I grow in awareness and recognition of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a priest, I have come to realize that at some level it means standing with those who are furthest from home and helping them to see, through word and witness, the God who is also standing with them—a God who has been there the whole time—waiting eagerly to begin the journey home. The journey to fulfillment. The journey to real justice. The journey to peace. The journey to love which is union with God.

On my way to school today I ran into a friend. Giovanni is a native of Rome who is addicted to alcohol and is homeless. For about a year now Giovanni and I have been exchanging greetings and carrying on full conversations in the form of bird noises. It’s a long story of how this got started, but the short of it is that we have shared our fair share of laughs every weekday morning and afternoon. Well, today Giovanni asked me if I wanted a coffee. After getting our two cappuccini I reached for my wallet only to be yelled at by Giovanni who insisted on paying. He would not let me pay. This was a huge gesture on his part that I will never forget. In this gesture Giovanni, a homeless alcoholic, helped me to see God on my journey to the Gregorian. Giovanni helped me to more freely and lovingly continue and commit myself to my journey with God today. What a gift.

Today is the Feast of St. Luke, an evangelist who has told the world that Jesus Christ is the incarnate God who came to save all people—breaking restrictions on invitation and love to include all, especially the poor and rejected. Our Lord Jesus calls us to love God above all things with our entire being and to love our brothers and sisters. While we are on the course of our own journeys home, why would we not choose to walk with others? How could we choose to not stand with those most rejected?

What a gift it is to be on our journey home. What a gift it is to be able to accompany others on their journey home. What a gift it is to have a home that is far beyond our comprehension and far more beautiful that anything we could ever imagine.

Diligence in Dublin

2011-08-13T11:00:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I went to the one of the art museums in Dublin hoping to find some inspiration to help process the past two weeks. The painting to the left is called The Diligence in the Snow, by Gustave Courbet. An abbreviated title of this work, on the plaque below it, is The Snow. I think that it captures the Dublin that I saw and experienced quite well. The diligent, those trying to make their way, are surrounded by what seems to be turbulent waves crashing down all around them. And yet they are diligent. What's more is that the diligent make up less than a quarter of the entire frame. In other words, at a look they are pretty small and a busy glance at the beauties of the nature scene could easily miss the diligence of the travelers. A romantic depiction of the many beauties of Ireland's amazing landscapes, cultural treasures, perfections of Stout, traditional prominence in sport, etc. could miss the daily pains and struggles of the many diligent who carry their scars with them as they travel on into another day. The snow boughs are massive in this painting, but we would be at a complete loss if we did not see the diligence of the diligent. The same is true of any city and country. The lives of the poor and the marginalized are essential to the identity of the culture. We do not know Dublin unless we know the poor of Dublin-- their names, their stories, and have shared a laugh with them. We do not know Baltimore unless we know the poor of Baltimore.

I have been here in Dublin, Ireland working with an organization called De Paul International. De Paul is a Catholic organization named after St. Vincent De Paul that seeks to minister to the most marginalized of society. In Dublin there are several homes run by De Paul: one for women who are just finishing jail sentences, one for active drug users, one simply for the homeless, and two for men and women who are addicted to alcohol. For the past two weeks I worked at Sundial House. Sundial is unlike any other service provider that I have seen before. It is a community of men and women who are addicted to alcohol. The mission of Sundial is to provide a house, medical treatment, community, opportunity for recovery, and harm reduction to its residents. And like all of the sites of De Paul, Sundial houses the marginalized-- men and women who are addicted to alcohol, many of whom have been kicked out of hospitals and other service agencies. As I heard many times over the past two weeks from a variety of different people, Sundial takes in the people that everyone else kicks out. Oh, and Sundial is a wet house-- meaning that the residents are not forced to stop drinking. They are given a home and accepted as they are. It is one way of ministry to the addicted.

This ministry is risky and it is raw. The majority of conversations are filled with explatives and yet are sincere and authentic. The residents have the disease alcoholism and the effects of years of abusing alcohol are vividly apparent. In the two weeks I got to know many of them well. As they said yesterday, we had us some good chats and boy did we have some laughs. I'd like to tell you about a couple of them.

John (also known as Ben Ten, Barger, and Santa Clause) is quite a character. He wears a tie just about every day and sports a white beard over his beaming smile. Several months ago John had a stroke and continues to be restricted in his speech and posture as a result. That does not, however, keep John from giving everyone around him a hard time. He is the first to alert the staff or other residents when they are not doing what he thinks they should be doing. But in getting to know John I got to know a man of great integrity and great joy in making others laugh. John shared a few of his stories with me and I got to know what made him tick-- what would get him to laugh almost beyond control. But I never saw John more proud or more excited as when a woman on the street came up to him and asked, "John, how are you today?" He was delighted because this woman knew his name. And he stopped walking to bask in the joy of being recognized. If the moment itself didn't make a big enough impression on me, John reminded me of it more than a couple of times as the day went on.

Phillip (also known as HOOCH) is a delightful character who sees it as his duty to keep everyone at Sundial cool and laughing. You can tell when Phillip is coming around the corner when you hear his walker scraping along the floor and hear him yelling out, "Hooch!" Phillip goes to Mass every week and eagerly shares with everyone that the priest at church lets him light the candles on the altar. In conversation Phillip is the first to share a good joke or ask someone a question that is sure to stir up some excitement and laughs. Phillip has the ability to energize the group and can turn a tense situation into an opportunity to laugh and not take things too seriously.

These are two of the thirty residents at Sundial. There is a similar house around the corner, Orchid House. And as I said before, these ministries are risky and they are raw. The residents are diligent scrappers who are well acquanted with fighting to survive and have surprising resiliency. There is a rare occasion of recovery in which a resident succeeds in giving up alcohol and gets his/her own housing. But the majority of the residents will never see recovery or lasting sobriety. In the house there are harsh words. There are fights. There are falls. There are trips to the hospital. There is also diligence. In Sundial there is the diligence to love. The residents and the staff are diligent and persistent in how they interact with one another. The staff are amazingly diligent in loving these men and women and providing an opportunity for community with them. I have learned a lot from these men and women, both the residents and the staff.

My big picture goal for this summer was to gain some experiences that would add to my formation-- especially experiences that would give me resources to engage the many realities in Baltimore City. Over the four weeks working with soldiers and their families in the US Army I learned a bit about families and the many struggles that military families and really all families encounter. I also learned a bit about violence. I learned about the effects of violence on human beings. And in these two weeks with De Paul in Dublin I learned about a new and daring way to minister to people who have addictions.

Additionally, through daily prayer, Mass and the example of others, I have been able to see the role of the Church in all of this. I have seen the Church as an unwaivering community of believers who hold firm to the Standard of Christ and live their lives giving witness to the faith, hope, and love which they profess. The Church is huge with many many different ways of worship and ways of celebrating and ways of proceeding. We are one Church, one community, professing one faith in one Lord. And we are charged with the call to live our faith-- part of which is to love and to bring the knowledge of the love of God to all people, withholding it from no one. As Christians we cannot afford to not serve the poor and engage the marginalized of society with love.

Baltimore has its fair share of margins and marginalized. Baltimore is seeing its fourth generation of heroin addiction. Boarded homes and prisons are common sights. The city section of the Sun paper is filled with reports of violence, addiction, gang activity, etc. As Christians in Baltimore we cannot afford to do nothing. Get involved. Get to know the poor. Visit Gift of Hope, any of the sites run by Catholic Charities, any of the sites run by the Saint Vincent De Paul Society. Get involved in your parish. Get involved in your community. Pray.

Be diligent in loving others.

Going to the Frontiers

2011-07-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

I have been in Catholic schools my entire life, and the majority of those schools have been Jesuit institutions. I, like many of my friends, am incredibly blessed and grateful to have been taught and formed by the Company founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

This evening I was able to attend the celebration of St. Ignatius' feast day in the Jesuit mother church, the Gesu in Rome. It was pretty cool. In his homily, the Superior General of the Jesuits, Adolfo Nicolas, spoke about the Holy Father's vision for the New Evangelization and how this is so incredibly necessary in the world today-- especially for the young.

Not too long ago in an official meeting with the Jesuits, Pope Benedict charged the order with the mission to go to the frontiers-- to take the Gospel to the borders of society today. To engage the ever changing world with an evolving theology and a spiritually grounded way of proceeding.

In his homily this evening, Fr. Adolfo talked about how necessary this is in our world today. He talked about how empty and meaningless our lives can be today. How it seems to be ever harder to find beauty in the world-- in society, in art, in music, in thought, etc. And he talked about young people today, who lack above all else patience. He says that they lack patience because they are tired of hearing empty words. Empty promises. Empty lyrics in repeating songs. And he said that we as the teachers, we as the priests, we as the parents, we as the adults must be patient with them! We must be patient with the young. He said that their conversion happens in conversation. In the New Evangelization we must listen and engage people at the level of conversation.

Fr. Adolfo used the example of the spiritual director, the guide during the Spiritual Exercises, written by St. Ignatius. The director searches for and identifies the workings of the Holy Spirit in a person's prayer and then guides that person to accepting the invitation and following the will of God. This process happens in conversation. So too must our evangelization.

It was a good homily. And it was inspiring to hear these words alongside hundreds and hundreds of people who were packed into the Gesu-- teachers, parents, people from the streets, religious sisters, students, priests, tourists, etc.

After the homily we professed our faith in the form of the Creed used at Baptism and Confirmation liturgies... giving our full consent and proclaiming our belief by saying, "I Believe." And I realized as I prayed this Creed, that I can believe more fully because of the great teachers that I have had. I realized that there have been many men and women who have in a very real way collaborated in the process of forming me in the faith. And during the rest of the Mass I thanked God for those people. I thanked God for my parents, role models, and friends that I have had around me my whole life. I thanked God for the teachers and coaches who have helped form me. And I thanked God for the many Jesuits who have done the same as teachers, spiritual directors, and friends-- who have taught me to search for God in all things, in all people, in all situations; and to truly celebrate that. To celebrate every occasion of finding God in the ordinaries of everyday life.

The Jesuits and their partners in mission have a saying for after you've been a student in a Jesuit school or had a Jesuit spiritual director, ruined for life. I guess its true.

Tomorrow I head out to Dublin, Ireland for a couple of weeks. I will be working in a homeless shelter run by the St. Vincent DePaul Society, getting involved with a program that ministers to men who are addicted to alcohol and do not have a home. Through volunteering in this program I hope to get some ideas and resources to, like everything else that I learn and experience over here, bring back to Baltimore. Should be awesome. And like most experiences with reality, it might even ruin me a little bit.

A Memorable Celebration

2011-07-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July was definitely one to remember. There were burgers and ribs. There was a party of over a thousand. There were plenty of American flags and red-white-and blue everywhere. And of course, there were fireworks.

But this celebration was different. It was sobering. As the last song of the celebration, Proud to be an American by Lee Greenwood, blared in the German night sky I looked around and the mood of the party had shifted from light-hearted celebration to a rather serious and sober presence. All of these people, soldiers and families of soldiers, stood together. They stood together, some singing softly, some just standing silently. But they all knew something. They know, both from their own personal experiences and from their shared life in the military, that freedom is not free and it certainly is not cheap. They know that being in the military requires a counter-culturally sacrificial way of life.

Some of these Americans have family members-- husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers-- who are "down range." Some are preparing to be deployed. And some, many, are coping with the experiences that they encountered while down range. The sacrifices that these men, women, and children make are real and they are costly. And for many the effects of these sacrifices last a life time.

But yet we all came together that night. We all stood together out on that field. We all took part in the ribs and the burgers and most, those who would not be "set-off" by the loud explosions of fireworks, stood under the colorfully lit sky looking up in awe at the different shapes and formations and colors and varieties of fireworks.

Though it was sobering, this was most definitely a celebration. It was a celebration of freedom, of our country, of the relationships and deep fraternal bonds that we share. It was a celebration of the values that this community lives by.

For four weeks this summer I am working with a US Army Chaplain. In the past two weeks, from meeting and listening to soldiers and their families, I have been absolutely floored time and time again. I have been floored by the depth of sacrifice that these men and women and children offer. In this short amount of time it is clear that two major issues for military families are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and marriage. For some it seems like a constant struggle. Deployment means 365 days. That is 365 days that a husband and wife do not see each other, except through a computer screen. That is 365 days that a father/mother does not see his children. That is 365 days that a child does not see a parent. Additionally, it is 365 days of stress and fear and life-changing events.

My prayers for peace and an end to all violence as well as the safe return of all soldiers has increased in both volume and intensity.

What floors me even more, though, is the resiliency. The resiliency of these men and women who live bold lives. I met a woman who is married to a soldier. She and her husband have three sons-- one of whom was born while her husband was down range. Luckily he was able to come home for a short time after his son's birth to be with his family. But now he has returned and his wife is courageously raising their sons.

I also met a soldier who has been down range three times. He suffers from PTSD and fights many battles daily-- some days more successful than others. But in the midst of this struggle he is turning to God and recognizes an inner hunger for a deeper relationship with God.

I have also met many young people on post-- childern of soldiers-- who are some of the most un-assuming teenagers that I know. They go through the same struggles that most adolescents do, but gradually with an advantage, I think, because of their knowledge that true commitment costs. Not only are they well acquainted with the costs of commitment, but they are eager to give. They look forward to the future as an opportunity to see what the world has to offer and in the same spirit to see where they can contribute. Some of them have aspirations to be professional athletes, some to work in business, and many hope to follow in the proud tradition of their parents and become soldiers themselves, enrolling in various ROTC programs.

As has been the case since entering the seminary, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have met and gotten to know these bold men, women, and children who stand together for our country and for freedom. Although they do not decide exactly where they go and what they are to do, these people give of themselves and seek the best possible outcome of every situation.

They are heroes and deserve prayer and support.

So let us stand together and pray for them as we continue to pray and to work for an end to all war and violence.

Holy Spirit

2011-06-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday I go to the Dono di Maria (Gift of Mary). It is a refuge for many of the poor in Rome, run by the Missionaries of Charity and located directly next to St. Peter's Basilica. Here they offer housing for women of all different backgrounds and a dinner every night for men who are in need of good eats. It has really been a highlight of this past year for me-- especially because of the people that I have met there, both guests and hosts.

Two weeks ago I had a conversation with one of our frequent guests, a Polish Catholic who has been homeless in Rome for quite some time now, that still occupies much of my thoughts and prayers. I had talked with him many times before, both in the Dono and on the streets, but this conversation was different. While he was eating his meal I went over to him, put my hand on his shoulder and asked, "How are you today?" He looked up at me and shrugged. I asked, "How is today so far?" He put down his fork and as he slowly looked up he began to cry. He then started sobbing as he told me, "This life is not for me. This life on the streets is not for me. I love books. I read. I have read many books: big books, small books, fiction, non-fiction. I have read the Bible. But now. I live on the streets and have nothing. I read nothing. I don't know the words."

I stood there, with my arm around him. I thought that I didn't have anything that I could to offer that could help. I had no money, not that he would take it. I had no books, not that they were the solution. And most humbling for me, I had no words. So I stood there with my hand on his shoulder. After a while of sharing in this somewhat awkward and humbling moment, I told him that I will pray for him and assured him that no matter where he is-- he is never alone. Then I walked away to continue passing out the bread.

What keeps drawing me back to that moment, I think, is the vulnerability that was shared. This man had nothing. He was reduced to tears with the realization of his current situation. And I too, who was there precisely for him and the other guests, had nothing. I had nothing to offer him other than myself in listening to him and in praying with him. I guess it's tough to articulate, but in that moment I was reminded of how little we have. I was reminded of how imperfect we are. Of how, when things seem to get most real, we have no words to formulate.

There is a famous church here in Rome called the Pantheon. It used to be a pagan temple and, like many other things in Rome, was "baptized" as Christianity spread throughout the ancient world and converted into a Catholic church. As you can see above, the ceiling of the Pantheon is a dome and at the apex of the dome is an opening. As an analogy to human nature, the Pantheon is open to the sky. It, at its apex, has no barrier, no protective roof, no cover. And we too, at our apex, when we are most aware of the truth of ourselves, our brokenness, our various experiences of incompetence, we are also aware of the openness-- the lack of barrier. And it is through this opening that the light of the sun shines in on the Pantheon, illuminating it. So too with us, it is so many times through our brokenness that true light shines, the light of a God who entered into, embraced, and totally liberated every fiber of our brokenness, our emptiness-- making of us a new creation. This continues today. Every day.

Today is Pentecost. It is the day that we remember, cherish, and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the birthday of the Church. It is the day that we are reminded that our vocation, our faith, is one that necessarily takes us to the brink. It necessarily takes us to new challenges, to meet others where they are and dare to love them. Today we remember that being a person of faith is courageous. To be a person of faith means to embark on the life long process of identifying and engaging your own brokenness, inviting God in to fill that space. And even more, to do this in community with others-- generously and without reserve-- giving of your surplus and of your poverty so that all might know, through your words and deeds, the reality of God and the reality of God's infinite love.

Today thousands of rose pedals poured into the Pantheon. A beautiful sight, I'm sure. But beautiful too is the sight and the experience of a person inviting God to fill the brokenness and emptiness of their entire being. While I wonder if my friend from the Dono di Maria has ever seen the rose pedals pouring into the Pantheon, I hope and pray that he sees and experiences the unjustly generous gift of the Holy Spirit filling his brokenness and lighting his heart on fire with love and joy.

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, and in our hearts take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid, To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O Comforter, to Thee we cry, Thou heav'nly gift of God most high, Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.

O Finger of the hand divine, the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine; true promise of the Father thou, who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,and shed thy love in every heart;thine own unfailing might supply to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our ghostly foe,and thine abiding peace bestow; if thou be our preventing Guide, no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit with them One; and may the Son on us bestow the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.

R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Solitude to Communal Celebration

2011-04-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

My Easter celebration has been absolutely incredible this year, and I am truly grateful for the ways and the people in which God manifested God's own self this past week. I spent Holy Week with a couple of brother seminarians from the NAC on a pilgrimage through France that took us from the solitude of a hermitage in Southern France to the town of Chartreuse which is just at the foot of one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world to the bustling city of Lyon to Cluny to an ecumenical community of contemplative brothers in a town called Taize. Throughout this pilgrimage we met literally thousands of people who witnessed through their joy, their simplicity, their love, their beauty, their hospitality, their love for the Lord, their faith... their lives. Here are a few:

1. The community of sisters and the priests of the Community of St. John who greeted us with warm and jovial hospitality and invited us to join them, though for a brief time, in their lives of solitude and simplicity. The lives that these saints live are incredibly simple and yet radically profound. They are hermits. They live in small huts, like the one above, on the side of a mountain in Southern France. They gather daily for Mass and then continue the celebration through their daily work of survival and praising God in the wilderness in silence. They have literally next to nothing and forego plumbing, electricity for some, warm water. Each hermitage is heated by a cylindrical wood-burner and the only available running water comes from a small spicket outside of the hermitage. These hermits truly live in the wilderness, and yet they find, follow, and embrace the Living God without ceasing. One of the priests of the Community of St. John described his vocation as "being a friend of Jesus." And for him, being a friend of Jesus has taken him to Rwanda in the 90's... the same time as the Rwandan Genocide, and to Romania where he devoted himself to building bridges and trust between the Roman Catholic Church and the Easter Orthodox Churches.

2. Silence. Very few things are able to capture the mysteries of Holy Week as adequately, poetically, and harmoniously as silence. And fittingly, silence was a major element and refrain for our pilgrimage. We found silence in the chapels of the hermitages, in the mountains and streams of the wilderness, and in the exclamatory pauses between chants and prayers shared by over 5,000 people at Taize. The communities that we encountered were contemplative, and so they live their lives more or less in silence. Their liturgies are slow, peace-filled, simple, and incredible. I was especially impressed by the silence embraced by the young people at Taize, who paused for 10-15 minute periods of silence at communal prayer (Morning, Mid-Day, and Evening). A church filled with over 5,000 people, the vast majority of whom were under the age of 30, entered into silence intentionally, communally, and unanimously. This silence was incredibly refreshing and incredibly profound. It fit our celebration of Holy Week well-- allowing us to enter into the mystery that is God, inviting us to stand without words at the foot of the Cross, beckoning our participation in the silence of the reality of Holy Saturday, and then finally over-filling us with peace as we sang the universal triumphant word of the Church which far transcends our own thoughts and words. Alleluia.

3. Other pilgrims from all over the world. In Taize we encountered and got to know Christian pilgrims from all over the world. These people came on pilgrimage to seek God in a profound way, and many of them did so amidst profound decisions in their lives. I met a Slovakian couple who have been living in London for several years now. The girl is a nurse in London, but is discerning whether or not God is calling her to return home to Slovakia. The uncertainty of this decision and of its effects were tangible as her and her boyfriend shared their discernment with others and brought who they are to a community of Christians who were previously strangers; to chants of Latin, German, Italian, Slovakian, English; to God in prayer; to the Cross; and to the triumphantly loud singing of praise at Mass on Easter Sunday. I also met a group of pilgrims from Lafia who spent more time on their voyage to Taize than they spent actually in Taize. Over three days they drove across Poland and Germany, over the Alpes, going through quite the adventure as their headlights and brakes went out while they were coming down from the Alpes. And yet, although they had gone through a great deal of stress and sacrifice to make it to Taize, said, "This place (Taize) is paradise."

Pilgrims come to Taize from all over the world. And they, like the brothers of Taize, embraced simplicity and contemplation. They took prayer seriously and invested themselves to God through prayer... prayer that lasted anywhere from 1 to 5 hours at a time. They chose to sit on a hard floor for hours in prayer that included spiritual conversations, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, ancient and contemporary chants, and silence.

4. Relationality. Just as the priest of the CSJ confessed, "My vocation is to be a friend of Jesus," so too, each one of us shares in that very same vocation. And as we deepen our friendship with Jesus we also, at the same time, deepen our friendships with the friends of Jesus... every human being. I experienced this through prayer this Holy Week, especially as I venerated the Cross on Good Friday.

At Taize they venerate the Cross every Friday. They first carry the Cross through the congregation in a solemn procession. Then they lay the Cross down on the ground and the brothers venerate the Cross, mostly by placing their foreheads to the wood of the cross. They then invite the congregation, about 5,000 strong, to venerate the Cross in similar fashion. As pilgrims file into line to venerate the Cross they kneel or sit in the center aisle and slowly move forward as the line progresses towards the Cross. For the two hours that I knelt in line I honestly had no idea what I was going to do when it was my turn to venerate the Cross. I didn't know the words to say or the gesture to make or the thought to share or the image to embrace.

But as I gently rested my forehead on the Cross someone came to mind. She is a homeless heroine addict that I met during my first parish assignment, at St. Gregory the Great in Baltimore City. And I felt, probably because it was the reality, that I was bringing this woman, a woman who I remember in prayer often, to the Cross of Jesus, her friend who is there with her in her own struggle. Then a close friend of mine who is struggling with a similar addiction emerged, and I brought him to the Cross, to Jesus who is with him and with his wife, son, and daughter. And then tons of people, from my family, from the seminary, from parish assignments, brother Baltimore seminarians approaching ordination, from school, from work, from all facets of my life processed, one by one, in prayer to the Cross where they were and are united with Christ.

This reality of holding one another in prayer and how it relates to our faith was made accutely apparent during the intercessions as we prayed for the victims of the recent earthquakes in Japan and then, immediately after prayed as a community of 5,000 the chant, "Nothing can ever come between us and the love of God." I find this to be such a mystery and such a challenge at times, but saw somehow that even in times of great suffering we are so incredibly united with God. And in that same reality, I gained some insight into what it means to be a seminarian and a priest-- as one who lives for others-- in deed, in word, and in prayer-- just basically loving people and trying to serve as a bridge in any way possible between others and God.

5. My brothers. Seeing the sisters and the priests of the CSJ at the hermitage and then seeing the brothers at Taize was truly inspiring and to be honest attractive. Their sense of community and of apostolic zeal was impressive and it was apparent that they, in both communities, live the Gospel. Their intentionality of community and their sharing of prayer and service together for others was impressive to say the least. That being said, my experience of these communities would have been less if it had not been for my brothers with whom I shared this pilgrimage. The laughs, sharing of graces, prayer, and everything else brought so much to the experience. Just another example of how awesome it is to be pursuing a vocation to the priesthood.

For the record, this was my first Holy Week away from Baltimore-- away from St. Stephen's and away from my brother Baltimore seminarians, and away from serving at the Cathedral. But I definitely did not feel as though I was celebrating these great mysteries without those communities and honestly very much felt connected with them and with the whole Church in prayer and in great celebration. And I look forward in great hope and expectation to the unfolding of this Easter as the Octave continues.

Come Together Right Now Over Me

2011-04-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Philosophers and theologians have been saying for thousands of years that we, as human beings are wired for community-- we are wired to get to know and enter into relationships with one another. And the architecture and city plan of every Italian town that I have seen reflects this innate wiring that we all have in the piazza-- the central spectacle and focal point of the town where people come together. To the left is a picture of the main piazza in Siena, where they hold a horse race called the Palio every year. Just about every town in Italy has a central piazza where people gather. The Piazza Commune in Assisi hosts concerts, lectures, marches, wedding receptions, etc. Piazza Navona in central Rome is the gathering place for street entertainers, venders, rowdy ragazzi (Italian teens), couples enjoying a free night, and countless tourists and pilgrims. And certainly the world famous Piazza San Pietro in front of St. Peter's Basilica which welcomes thousands upon thousands of pilgrims for daily Mass, prayers, pilgrim tours, beatifications, major feasts, canonizations, papal audiences, etc. These central gathering spaces are arenas where people come together-- they are the locations in which community manifests itself. And they facilitate a genuine need in bringing people together. In Baltimore we're pretty lucky to have the Harbor and places like Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill, and Belvedere Square where people can gather for a free afternoon, an outdoor concert, etc. One of my favorite places in Baltimore, and one that I am missing a lot this time of year, is the stretch that runs between Camden Yards and M&T Stadium-- that unforgetable walk on Eutaw Street that has come to be coined "Bird Land." I can remember walking to Ravens' games, seeing friends from high school and taking in the atmosphere of burgers and brats on the grill, footballs in the air, and friends and families everywhere. I can remember being late to Orioles' games and singing the National Anthem with friends on the way into the Park.

One of the ways that we build community here at the seminary is rallying around and supporting our soccer team. Every year in Rome there is a tournament between all of the seminaries in the city called the Clericus Cup. Competition in this tournament is intense as seminarians from all over the world try to win the Cup for their seminary and for their country. At the NAC our tradition as fans is to dress up as super heroes and other ridiculous characters to support our team and bring unrivaled sports cheer to the city of Rome. We walk together to the matches and then engage the game as the 12th man through songs and cheers. Here at the seminary we also gather to build fraternity and community through softball, frisbee, football, and basketball games. We come together for BBQs, lectures, and regional celebrations. But above all, we come together multiple times each day in prayer with one another-- looking to God; a God for whom each of us desires to live. We gather for Morning Prayer, for Mass, for the Rosary, for special devotions. We gather for Evening Prayer, for Adoration, and for Praise and Worship. And the communal prayer that we share lays the foundation for our community. It deepens the significance and the depth of sharing that takes place on the sports field and in the classroom and on the patio. And to be perfectly honest, I'd argue that we gather in prayer when we gather on the sports field and in the piazza. We look to the same God whom we love in the communal arenas of recreation as we do in the communal temples of adoration. And when we gather together, as Christians, we always gather together over and with Christ. Whether we be gathering to offer service to one another, support one another, or to enjoy one another-- we do so with Christ in our midst and in our hearts and in our line of sight. My Lenten observance this year has been to spend some time each day contemplating heaven. And whether it has involved the communion of saints, the sheer inability to comprehend or describe in words, the relationship shared between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the relationship shared between the people in heaven and God, etc. it has always involved community and communion-- a sense in which we are so drawn out of ourselves as to be totally conscious of and united with God. And although these experiences of community and of communion that we share here in this life are a mere taste of the eternal experience of heaven... they're pretty good.

Reflection on Mardi Gras

2011-03-08T04:17:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras Tuesday:

Christian Laughter and Crying

Karl Rahner, SJ

Can the subject of our reflection for Mardi Gras Tuesday be anything but laughter?

We do not mean the sublime heavenly joy that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, nor the joy that “spiritualpersons” like to talk about in soft, gentle terms (a joy that can easily produce a somewhat insipid andsour effect, like the euphoria of a harmless, balanced, but essentially stunted person). No, we mean reallaughter, resounding laughter, the kind that make people double over and slap their thigh, the kind thatbrings tears to the eyes; the laughter that accompanies spicy jokes, the laughter that reflects the fact thata human being is no doubt somewhat childlike and childish. We mean the laughter that is not verypensive, the laughter that ceremonious people (passionately keen on their dignity) righteously takeamiss in themselves and in others. This is the laughter we mean. Is it possible for us to reflect on thislaughter? Yes, indeed, very much so. Even laughable matters are very serious. Their seriousness,however, dawns only on the one who takes them for what they are: laughable. …

In the most pessimistic book of the Bible we read: “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a timeto mourn and a time to dance” (Eccl 3:4). This is what laughter tells us first of all: there is a time foreverything. The human being has no fixed dwelling place on this earth, not even in the inner life of theheart and mind. Life means change. Laughter tells us that if as a people of the earth we wanted to bealways in the same fixed state of mind and heart, if we wanted always to brew a uniform mixture out ofevery virtue and disposition of the soul (a mixture that would always and everywhere be just right),laughter tells us that fundamentally this would be a denial of the fact that we are created beings. Towant to escape from the atmospheric conditions of the soul—the human soul that can soar as high asthe heavens in joy and be depressed down to death in grief—to want to escape by running under thenever-changing sky of imperturbability and insensitivity: this would be inhuman. It would be stoical,but it would not be Christian. This is what laughter tells us first of all.

It speaks to us and says, “You are a human being, you change, and you are changed, changed withoutbeing consulted and at a moment’s notice. Your status is the inconstancy of transformation. Your lot isto stop and rest at no one status. You are a manifold, incalculable being that never factors out without aremainder. The being that can be broken down into no common denominator other than that which iscalled God—which you are not, and never will be. Woe to you if, while immersed in time, you shouldwant to be the never-changing, the eternal; you would be nothing but death, a dried up, witheredperson." …

Laugh. For this laughter is an acknowledgement that you are a human being, an acknowledgment ofGod. For how else is a person to acknowledge God except through admitting in her life and by meansof her life that she herself is not God but a creature, that her times—a time to weep and a time to laugh,and the one is not the other. A praising of God is what laughter is, because it lets a human being behuman. …

We are thinking here of that redeeming laughter that springs from a childlike and serene heart. It canexist only in one who is not a “heathen,” but who like Christ (Heb 4:15; cf. 1 Pt 3:8) has thorough lovefor all and each, the free, detached “sympathy” that can accept and see everything as it is: the greatgreatly, the small smally, the serious seriously, the laughable with a laugh. Because all these exist,because there are great and small, high and low, sublime and ridiculous, serious and comical, becauseGod wills these to exist—that is why this should be recognized, that is why the comical and theridiculous should be laughed at. But the only one who can do this is the person who does not adapteverything to himself, the one who is free from self, and who like Christ can “sympathize” witheverything; the one who possesses that mysterious sympathy with each and everything, and beforewhom each can get a chance to have its say.

But only the person who loves has this sympathy. And so, laughter is a sign of love. Unsympatheticpeople (people who cannot actively “sympathize” and who thus become passively unsympathetic aswell) cannot really laugh. They cannot admit that not everything is momentous and significant. Theyalways like to be important and they occupy themselves only with what is momentous. They areanxious about their dignity, they worry about it; they do not love, and that is why they do not evenlaugh. But we want to laugh and we are not ashamed to laugh. For it is a manifestation of the love of allthings in God. Laughter is a praise of God, because it lets a human being be a loving person.

God laughs. He laughs the laughter of the carefree, the confident, the unthreatened. He laughs thelaughter of divine superiority over all the horrible confusion of universal history that is full of bloodand torture and insanity and baseness. God laughs. Our God laughs; he laughs deliberately; one mightalmost say that he laughs gloatingly over misfortunes and is aloof from it all. He laughssympathetically and knowingly, almost as if he were enjoying the tearful drama of this earth (he can dothis, for he himself wept with the earth, and he, crushed even to death and abandoned by God, felt theshock of terror). He laughs, says scripture, and thus it tells us that an image and a reflection of thetriumphant, glorious God of history and of eternity still shines in the final laugh that somewheresprings out from a good heart, bright as silver and pure, over some stupidity of this world. Laughter is praise of God because it is a gentle echo of God’s laughter, of the laughter that pronounces judgment onall history.

But it still is more, this harmless laughter of the loving heart. In the Beatitudes according to Luke(6:21), this is what we find: “Blessed are you who weep now, you shall laugh!” Of course this laughteris promised to those who weep, who carry the cross, those who are hated and persecuted for the sake ofthe Son of man. But it is laughter that is promised to them as a blessed reward, and we now have todirect our attention to that point.

Laughter is promised, not merely a gentle blessedness; an exaltation or a joy that wrings from the heartof tears of a surprising happiness. All this, too. But also laughter. Not only will our tears be dried up;not only will the great joy of our poor heart, which can hardly believe in eternal joy, overflow even tointoxication; no, not only this—we shall laugh! Laugh almost like the thrones; laugh as was predictedof the righteous (Ps 51:8). …

Fools laugh, and so do the wise; despairing nonbelievers laugh, and so do believers. But we want tolaugh in these days. And our laughter should praise God. It should praise him because it acknowledgesthat we are human. It should praise him because it acknowledges that we are people who love. It shouldpraise him because it is a reflection and image of the laughter of God himself. It should praise himbecause it is the promise of laughter that is promised to us as victory in the judgment. God gave uslaughter; we should admit this and—laugh.

Christ in the Poor

2011-03-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Undoubtedly one of the best things that I have experienced since entering the seminary has been the amazing and very different people that I have met: either in parishes or in youth groups or in soup kitchens or in the Gift of Hope in Baltimore or in the City Juvenile Detention Center or in the seminary or in the Dono di Maria. There is no doubt that the Church is extraordinarily wealthy-- and that wealth and richness comes in major part from the people who make-up the Church as they turn towards God. It comes from the people who allow the presence of God within them to shine. And to do this they simply bring who they are to the community, to the Church-- as they come together in worship and praise.

This past February I had a few chances to experience this reality. The first and probably most intense experience was exams. So that we're all on the same page-- 30 of my classmates from the NAC and I go to school at the Gregorian University, a Pontifical university founded in 1551 by St. Ignatius of Loyola that educates over 1600 students from over 130 different countries, and study theology in Italian. As you can imagine, understanding class lectures can be pretty tough, especially in the beginning. This experience, though, of studying in Italian has given me a much greater respect for all of the seminarians, other students, and families who come to America from Africa, Asia, Latin and South America, and Europe. Studying in Italian has afforded me the opportunity to learn more about this great culture and to have a common language in which to meet and get to know my classmates at the Greg who come from around the world. Exams, though, bring a whole new edge to studying in Italian. Luckily I was able to take all of my exams in English, and thanks to the cooperation and team work of my brother seminarians was able to take those exams very well prepared. I did, however, choose to take my revelation exam in Italian. It was certainly a humbling experience to know the answer to a question and have to try and stall time while I searched for the words to articulate that answer. In the end I ended up doing a lot better than I thought and learned a valuable lesson-- that not articulating something perfectly does not always indicate a lack of knowledge.

Another very significant experience was the encounter that took place right after my revelation exam. As I crossed the courtyard in front of the Greg a man approached me. He was bundled up for the cold and as he approached me he said, "Padre, devo parlare. Parlarae con me? (Father, I need to talk. Will you talk with me?)" After explaining to this man that I will certainly speak with him and after letting him know that I am a seminarian and not a priest, I was blown away by his genuine desire to talk and to share his experiences of being homeless with another human being, someone who will just listen. He told me about how he had become homeless and how he had come to Rome from Naples. He told me about his family and how much he misses them. He told me about how people judge him, push him away, and reject him because he is homeless. He told me about how these experiences of being ignored and pushed to the side have caused him to question his faith. And as I listened to him I realized how human and how vulnerable he was, and how much he was affected by the actions of others. And over the course of almost two hours and a cup of coffee, I kept thinking about the depiction of the Last Judgment found in Matthew 25-- about how we will be judged by how we treat others. As our conversation came to an end and we parted ways, I couldn't help but think how I will fare on that exam. Sure it is easy to memorize facts and engage theology for an academic exam, but it is not so easy, at least at first, to truly love someone-- even someone who has made mistakes in her or his life... but that is the exam we really should be studying for. And we can. We can study for that exam by being people of joy who little by little give to others of ourselves, even if it is just time and a listening ear. On my way back to the seminary that afternoon I stopped by the Pantheon to say a prayer for Joseph, and as I looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling of the Pantheon which symbolizes our brokenness as human beings and our innate need for God, I couldn't help but feel somehow deeply connected to Joseph and to his struggles as a homeless man, deeply connected also to all of the people who sleep on the streets in Rome and in Baltimore, and all of the people who are acutely aware of their needs or of their weaknesses or of their brokenness. At the Pantheon there is a tradition of pouring thousands of rose pedals into the church through that same hole in the ceiling to celebrate Pentecost-- the feast in which we remember and turn our attention to how the Holy Spirit pours into us and lights our hearts on fire and stirs us to carry that same flame to others.

After finishing exams a friend and I went to Florence for a few days. It was a great break from studying and from the business of Rome. One of the churches we visited was called Santa Croce. We had come a bit early for a Mass that started at 6:oo in the evening, and when we got to the side chapel where they celebrate daily Mass we saw that there was a Korean pilgrimage group celebrating Mass. And as we sat there in prayer waiting for our Mass to start, we heard the beautiful melody of this Korean pilgrimage group singing their Communion Hymn. And listening to the beauty of their voices praising God I took a step back and just sat in awe at the fact that here I am, an American, in an incredibly beautiful church in Florence where Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Dante are buried listening to a group from Korea sing a song of thanksgiving. Pretty incredible. And even more incredible was realizing that all of us were together in that church in Florence because of our love for and joy in God.

Just before Mass started that night a woman came up to me and asked if my friend or I would be willing to read the First Reading and the Psalm... in Italian. After it was clear that she would not take no for an answer, I agreed to do the readings, hoping that they would be short. Well, it was a long reading from Genesis followed by a Psalm with some pretty big Italian words in it... but somehow I made it through the reading without making too many pronunciation blunders. Like my experience with taking the exam in Italian-- it was definitely not perfect, but somehow the right things were communicated and it sparked a great conversation after Mass with several of the locals from Florence who come daily to this church for Mass.

This past Saturday I had another great experience. A few seminarians and I had the opportunity to help the archivist for the Missionaries of Charity move almost all of the order's archives to a new building in Rome. This involved carrying boxes of newspaper clippings, video tapes, and other important documents of the Missionaries of Charity. First of all-- any opportunity that you might have to get to know or work with or serve with the Missionaries of Charity, DO IT. They are truly extraordinary women who are ministers of joy in an extremely simple and yet extremely profound way by loving other people. They have a house in just about every major city and devote themselves loving the poorest of the poor. Their house in Baltimore is called the Gift of Hope. Go there. The poor that you encounter at their houses and the clear presence of faith and joy will bring you back. The superior of their house in the Vatican told our group on Saturday a little pearl of wisdom, "In life we can only make things more complicated." Something to think about.

The people that I have encountered over the past month come from all around the world, and yet they are intricately woven together in the common faith which we profess and the common condition in which we live, and the common God who loves us more than we can imagine and desires so much to shine through us in our actions.

Heroes From Around the World

2011-01-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

The past two+ weeks have been awesome, filled with excitement, travel, adventure, new cultures, you name it. For the first week of Christmas break I went with two brothers to Morocco for a week- which was an incredibly fun and adventurous trip. And after spending Christmas day here in Rome I went with another brother to Padova for a week. And although during these trips I was able to see a lot of amazing things and terrains, I truly believe that the best way to describe the past few weeks is by describing the people that I encountered, especially the heroes that I encountered. So here it is, in order of appearance, the heroes of the world:

1. The EasyJet check-in attendant at the airport in Rome. This witty employee checked us in for our flight while withstanding loud insults such as "Tu sei maleducatto" (You are poorly educated/raised) with a cool, calm, and collected composure from a disgruntled flier who felt as though he had been passed over in the line. He was able to calmly check us in for our flight and maintain control over the situation at the same time, reminding the angry Italian who was yelling at him that he decides who is next in line. This check-in attendant is a hero for his calm composure in the midst of an all too typical storm of chaotic overly emotional and dramatic Italian frustration.

2. The Franciscan priests of Marrakech. These priests do not evangelize to the community at large. They do not in any way try to convert anyone to Christianity. They do not baptize citizens of Morocco. They do not do these things because such actions are illegal in the Islamic state of Morocco, in which a person must be Muslim in order to be a citizen, and would result in sure imprisonment and deportation. Rather, these men of God selflessly invest themselves totally in the service of two communities of religious women in northern Morocco and an almost entirely transient parish population of tourists and university students. They follow and obey the law of the land and believe that they give glory and praise to God by their lives of prayer and ministry to Christians who happen to find themselves in Morocco. These Franciscan priests are heroes for their entirely selfless and joyful living of the Gospel in a foreign land.

3. The Moroccan foot-carpenter. This Moroccan makes chess pieces and kabob holders with his feet! A huge part of Marrakech is covered with open air markets called the Suhk, which are filled with little shops and eager store owners who try at all measures to convince you to enter their shop and then to buy something, anything. These store owners are almost all fluent (at least in what they need to say to sell something) in French, Arabic, English, Spanish, and Italian. I think that they are convinced that the only valid reason for someone coming to their country is to buy as many knick-knac consumer goods as humanly possible. But this foot-carpenter takes a different approach. Instead of using overly aggressive sales pitches and guilt trips, he uses the skills of his craft to draw in customers and sell his expertly made carvings. It is clear that this carpenter takes pride in his work and in how his work brings joy to others. This foot-carpenter is a hero for his obvious skills and his ease in relating to passers-by.

4. Charles de Foucauld. Blessed Charles de Foucauld had been a hero of mine ever since I first read his "Prayer of Abandonment" on the ordination card of a good friend last spring. And being in Morocco, where Foucauld spent a considerable amount of time, gave me a deeper insight into who this man was and the world in which he founded his communities of The Little Brothers of the Sacred Heart and The Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Jesus. He is heralded even today for his devotion to being a universal brother-- one who is a brother to all people. Through his simplicity of life and intimate relationship with God, Foucauld was able to be a brother to many many people from all walks of life. Blessed Charles de Foucauld is a hero for his dedication to right relationships and to community founded upon and around Jesus Christ.

5. The Catholic Church. Spending a week in a non-Christian country with a culture that thinks completely differently and holds entirely different values left me with a greater appreciation for the Catholic Church-- especially in its emphasis on hope and on love. We returned to Rome on Christmas Eve and just about the first thing that we did was go to the Christmas Eve Vigil Mass at St. Peter’s with Pope Benedict. I was blown away by the enormous crowd of pilgrims from all over the world; and how we all stood together out in the square waiting patiently and joyfully to enter the Basilica for Mass. I was also truly impressed by the message, at least the part that I understood, of Pope Benedict’s homily—that the Christmas mystery is a paradox in which the Truth, the Divine One, becomes a simple, poor, and dependent child—and it is in this weakness that He shows His strength. The Catholic Church is a hero for its unwavering conviction in hope and its dedication to give of self in love and service to all people.

6. Samuel. Samuel is a homeless man from Nigeria who lives in Venice. My friend and I met Samuel on the street as he asked us for any spare change that we have. My friend responded immediately by asking him if he was hungry… he was; and we went into the nearest pizza shop to share some good eats. In our conversation with Samuel I was totally floored by his joy and excitement in learning that we are seminarians and his sincere encouragement for us to stay on the right track and to truly bring the Good News of God to people—no matter who they are or where they are. He then went on to talk about how tremendous of a privilege and joy it is to serve God… we agreed. Samuel is a hero for his genuine witness to the joy of living for God.

7. Fr. Patsilver and Fr. Benjamin. These men are priests from Nigeria who minister to a growing population of African immigrants in Padova, Italy. They welcomed us to their rectory for lunch (pepper bull-leg soup) and eagerly shared with us the joys of being a priest and the very best things of Africa and the many struggles of the Church in Africa. These men, then, went on to share their joy in working with the immigrant population and to tell us about how they were going to bring in the new year. They were planning a praise service which would go all night on the 31st in which they, with the people of God, would sing their hearts out in gratitude and praise all night long. They smiled and laughed in sharing how joyous and appropriate this service is in crossing the threshold into a new year with God. These men are heroes for their passion in being ministers of joy.

8. The gondola workers. For better or worse, in just about every place that I have visited over here some American tourists really stand out. No place was this more clear than in Venice when a group of young adult American tourists rocked a gondola while singing at the top of their longues “Bye Bye Miss American Pie.” Unfortunately there was what looked like an older Italian couple hoping for a peaceful romantic evening in the gondola right next to them. The gondola workers are heroes for their ability to somehow balance not only those long and narrow boats but also to balance the vast diversity of clientele.

9. My brother seminarians here at the NAC. Although this holiday season has been a challenge, being so far from family and friends, and having those interactions reduced to a computer screen and computer speakers; it has been an absolute joy to be over here with the other seminarians. It has been a real joy to travel with many of them to new and exciting adventurous places; and it has been a real joy to grow into the temporary vocation of being a seminarian with these guys. I have been impressed by their faith and their dedication to serve the people of God. I have also been really impressed to hear them share their stories from their travels—and how instead of talking about fancy meals and luxurious hotels, they share stories of the interactions they had with the poor, religious communities, and with the people of the many different places they had visited. They share the joy of meeting people of other cultures and other religions. My brother seminarians are heroes for their dedication to serve and to learn from others.

10. You. You, granted that you lived the spirit of Christmas, are a hero. Several years ago I read a phenomenal reflection on Christmas written by Thomas Merton in which he described the Incarnation as God entering humanity—in a universal way—in which all of humanity is graced with the living God and somehow elevated. And around the same time that I read this reflection I was reading the book The Holy Longing by Richard Rolheiser in which he describes the necessary Christian and Incarnational element of prayer in which we, through the help of the Holy Spirit, incarnate our prayers through our actions. That we not only pray for the sick, but physically visit them and spend time with them. So therefore when you made sacrifices and gave of yourself this past Christmas you, in some way, embraced and lived the Incarnation. You brought the light and the love of Christ to another person. And for that you are most definitely a hero.

Advent as Transition

2010-12-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

Advent is a time of transition for all of us as we eagerly await the coming of the Lord, who is fully divine, fully God, to enter our world, our flesh, and our lives. To be honest, as I have experienced it, transition is not always easy. And if we go with God, it never happens without sacrifices. John's Gospel has a great line-- "He must increase, but I must decrease." And I have found that this is what Advent and what transition is all about. The more we say "Yes" to God; the more we surrender, the more we embrace the moment-- the more God will increase in our lives. The more God will increase in our thoughts, the more God will increase in our joy, the more God will increase in our decisions and actions, the more God will increase in our interactions with others.

Earlier today something struck me-- and it was that those memories and those people that I miss the most, that which I have been asked to temporarily sacrifice and surrender are the very memories that have fuelled my prayer and the very people that I take with me in every one of the experiences that I have had over here in Rome. I think of the building excitement and anticipation of St. Stephen just before Mass starts as old friends and families who have raised children together look around to see each other and greet one another-- greeting those with whom they share an extraordinarily strong faith. I remember the ground shaking vibrancy of prayer at St. Gregory the Great as choir members sing their hearts out or as Fr. Damien sings one of my favorite songs-- "Thank You Lord." I remember Fr. Sy jumping up and down with his hands out-stretched at St. Cecilia's. I remember the students and teachers at John Carroll-- their unwavering eagerness to crack a joke and their instant instinct to help one another as a true community and a family. I remember the ruggers at Loyola College and their willingness to do whatever it takes to support one another and their joy in living simply. I remember the young people at Micah 6:8 and JAW who invested themselves to opening their minds and their hearts to consider what it is like to walk in another person's shoes and then to dedicate themselves, in all faith and out of their love for God, to be men and women of service for others. I remember St. James and their excitement in building community, in getting Fr. Steve and me to literally run with them, and in their eagerness to share themselves, their stories, and their faith. I remember St. Augustine-- their fun loving hospitality and strong faith and hope in one another and in God. I remember serving at the Cathedral and the Basilica-- that great feeling of not wanting to make a mistake but wanting to fully invest in the praise that is going on all around you just enter into the worship. I remember my brothers at St. Mary's-- the discourses, the excitement and joy of growing together and supporting one another, and the fun of being brothers in a great community. I remember my brother Baltimore seminarians and the many prayers, supports, and memories that we share. Not to mention my family and all of the friends who are so close that they are family.

As I think about the time that I am not able to share with these people-- maybe the missed opportunities-- I also cannot help but think of how they are with me. How the many lessons that I learned from them and the many memories that I share with them remain with me-- and I recall them often in joy and gratitude. To be perfectly honest-- when I recall these memories and these living icons-- I am more able to invest my entire self into what I am doing with joy. So this great transition which I am still adjusting to, though it has been difficult, has born much fruit.

Two nights ago, before our NAC Christmas party, I went with a couple of friends to a local house run by the Missionaries of Charity to prepare and serve dinner with them for some of the poor here in Rome. While there I was able to meet and talk with a Franciscan from Sicily, an Oblate from Africa, and Missionaries of Charity from India and Russia. Last night a friend and I went to join a Jesuit community for their celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was a blast. We spent hours there talking with people from Croatia, Madagascar, Poland, Germany, Bangladesh, France, and Mexico. And as we talked we shared our experiences of the Church and our great desires to return home to serve the local churches that have formed us.

I believe that a major factor of this transition that I am undergoing is to redefine the notion of home. Certainly home will always be with my family and friends. But another, and very deep, notion of home is emerging which knows no borders in which every person is a brother or a sister. That home is in the Church, it is the Church-- the entire Church which as we believe is present at every single Eucharist, literally the Body of Christ. And in this home all are present, all rejoice-- all from Baltimore, all from Croatia, from Poland, from Mexico, from every corner of the world-- everyone is there.

So I want to thank everyone from those communities for the very real impact that you continue to have on my life and the lives of the people that I meet. Transition is not easy. Sometimes we don't want transition and we even fear it. But make no mistake-- there is nothing to fear. Allow God to enter into your transition and see and actualize God at work in your community. Allow God to increase, even if you have to decrease. Allow God to meet you where you are and completely revolutionize your very way of life, as he does in his birth. Allow God to fill you with joy and with hope and with faith and with love, even if things are changing. Take this Advent. Take this Advent as an opportunity to transition to a more radical trust in God and a more joyful embrace with God who is present in your family and your friends and the people of your life.

Unwaivering Missionary Zeal

2010-12-03T02:43:00.000-08:00

Today is the feast of Saint Francis Xavier who spent himself for the majority of his life in the mission as he spread the Good News to a world that was virtually unknown in his time. Xavier brought Christ to the rich and to the poor of the East-- especially India and Japan. He is known for his charismatic and zealous joy. Last year during a silent retreat my spiritual director referred to Francis Xavier as an example of someone who saw his cause as so important that it was worth everything-- it was worth his entire life; and once Xavier determined to accept this cause everything in his life changed. He no longer lived for himself, but for others. He no longer chose his surroundings or his companions, but was sent to work tirelessly for his cause. And he did no waiver in zeal as he labored generously in embracing this cause and sharing it with others.

The cause that Francis Xavier devoted his entire life to was the salvation of souls-- the sheer joy of working tirelessly so that the eternal union with God which he hoped for so thoroughly could also include every single person. Francis Xavier taught that our knowledge as well as our talents exist for others. Every gift we receive ought to be utilized and shared with others and for the sake of others. We ought to live every moment of our lives for the sake of others-- and we ought to live those moments in joy.

As we are told in Scripture and as is reflected in the life of the Church-- our lives as Christians are fundamentally lives of service, lived for others. We are told that in the final days we will be judged based on how we lived love-- on how thoroughly we served others, how we adequately met their needs, spiritually, materially, etc. Therefore, whether or not we speak eloquently, whether or not we lead and influence others-- we must be people of service. And that, if we are Christians, is not an option. All-in-all, then, our lives exist for others. As Francis Xavier showed through the example of his life, our every gift, talent, and bit of information ought to be used for others.

And most likely Francis Xavier would have never been exposed to this great cause had it not been for his old buddy from college. If it had not been for his friendship with a classmate named Ignatius-- Francis would most likely have continued along his path of being a wealthy fun loving man of the world. But thanks to the patience, persistence, and teachings of Ignatius, Francis Xavier was brought not only to conversion but to a complete revolution which led him to devote himself totally to the God that he met and communed with in the Spiritual Exercises.

As I was praying by the remains of Francis Xavier I thought about how completely and totally, how zealously he resolved to follow and share the God that he met through the Exercises. And I also thought about how tremendously great of a friend Ignatius was. I remembered the great many friends that I have been blessed to learn from over the years-- especially those friends and mentors who have led me to conversion and have sparked within me the desire to share the God that I have met through prayer and interactions with others. I cannot help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for these people-- for these saints who have touched my life in a such a real way.

It's interesting to think about who we let into our lives and who we listen to-- who we allow to teach us. Sometimes we have criteria or deal breakers when it comes to meeting people or to listening to them with the intention of learning from them. On my way out of school this afternoon I stopped to talk with a man that is out in the couryard almost every day asking for money. Giusepe is a native Roman who likes to sit outside the Gregorian, ask for money, and sing a wide variety of different songs to the passers-by, often-times complaining about the other people who congregate around the Gregorian asking for money. Today, as he asked me for some money so that he could get something to eat, I responded that I was really sorry, but I didn't have any money-- and before I knew it he had put a Euro in my hand and said, "Well, then you need this more than I do today."

I gave the Euro back to him, but not without much arguing-- and I realized that this man was certainly more than worthy of being considered a teacher, of being considered an expert in what really matters. And I wonder how many people we dismiss throught the course of a single day-- how many great teachers we tune out or ignore simply because of a disagreement, difference in opinion-- or worse yet, status or title. It is scary to think about what is at stake here, to think about what is at stake if we ignore the true teachers of our daily experiences, the true saints.

Our world today would be completely different if it had not been for the unwaivering missionary zeal of St. Francis Xavier... and that man, Francis Xavier's, life would certainly not have been the same if he had not listened to his naggingly persistent classmate from Spain. In our lives I believe that we are both the teacher and the student... at different times... Don't miss your opportunities to spend yourself tirelessly for the cause of living the Gospel, for the cause of living for others.

Vive Christo Rey

2010-11-21T13:07:00.001-08:00

Today is the feast day of Christ the King. It comes at the end of the Liturgical year as one last rally, one last celebration to totally dedicate our every action. And since it falls at the end of the year it invites us to review our year-- to reflect on the past year and ask ourselves where God was present in the past year; where God was calling us to give of ourselves in the past year; and how we can continue to respond to those calls.

Fittingly this past weekend also featured the installation of 24 new cardinals-- 24 men from around the world, now called princes of the Church, who may vote on and may become the next pope. The idea behind calling them princes, I think, is that they stand as leaders who are called now more than ever to be ready to embody the utterly sacrificial life of Christ. Let us not ever forget the king whom they are now invited to follow, as are we all.

This king, who we celebrate today, was one who chose as his chariot, his luxury car, a borrowed donkey. This king chose as his crown thorns which were given to him in mockery and rejection. This king chose for his support staff the rejects of society-- the fishermen and tax collectors. This king gained popularity and followership through preaching generosity, love, justice, service, peace, and above all forgiveness. And this king chose as his throne the cross.

Last night I had the opportunity to go into the Apostolic Palace, the pope's house, to greet the new cardinals, since the doors were open to the general public. And from talking to many of them, my classmates and I concluded that the most common thing that we heard from the new cardinals was an earnest request for prayers. They asked us to pray for them-- that they may be able to say yes to that which God is calling them. They asked us to pray for their home dioceses and Archdioceses. They asked us to pray for the people entrusted to their care. They asked us to pray for the Church.

The calling that they receive, I believe, is to be like Blessed Miguel Pro, SJ who pointed his every action towards the praise, reverence, and service of Christ the King. Pro was a free spirit who lived his priesthood and his Christianity to the fullest in a Mexico that outlawed any public display of Christianity. Pro disguised himself as a police officer, street cleaner, clown-- and did whatever he possibly could to bring Christ to everyone that he encountered. He put on different hats and different clothes to meet the people where they were. And although he knew that he was breaking the law and putting his life in jeopardy, Miguel Pro did all of this with a smile and is known for how joyfully he lived the Gospel.

Ultimately, though, Pro was martyred for his heroic efforts. He was placed before a firing squad and given one last chance to reject the faith. The news and propaganda cameras were rolling in sure hopes that Pro would meet their expectations-- but in his last words, the words that could have saved his life-- Pro cried at the top of his lungs-- "Viva Christo Rey-- Long Live Christ the King!"

I told these new cardinals that I would pray for them; and so I will. I will pray that they will embody the simplicity of purpose that Blessed Miguel Pro lived. I will pray that they embody the characteristics and humility fitting of a prince of Christ the King.

Rendiamo Grazie

2010-11-17T06:51:00.001-08:00

This past weekend my Christology professor, Fr. Donath Herscik, SJ passed away. He had been in a great deal of pain for some time due to his battle with cancer; and left this world for the next on Saturday after praying the Rosary and singing the Salve Regina with a brother Jesuit. The more I think about Fr. Herscik, the more grateful that I am for his immense gift of self to my classmates and me. I truly believe that Fr. Herscik taught Christology by embodying Christ on the cross. Although, undoubtedly, another professor could have been found, this priest who had been suffering a great deal for over a year chose to begin another semester-- to begin another opportunity to speak of the Lord whom he loved so thoroughly.

During class lectures it was clear that Fr. Herscik was in pain as he spoke, though he would never say it; but it was also clear, from the spark in his eye and the almost meticulous detail of his excitement in the person and nature of Jesus the Christ that this man truly knew Jesus of Nazareth and had devoted his life to gaining even greater knowledge of him and the opportunities to spread this knowledge to the next generation of theology. And in addition to the factual, methodological, and spiritual testimony that he gave to us as his students, Fr. Herscik also gave us the witness of one who generously gives of self beyond all resemblance of comfort.

I think also of John Paul II, who in the later years of his life shared himself with all of us through and with his debilitated and suffering state. For me, such witness screams of hope. Hope that what we are doing is absolutely worth it. Hope that one more talk, one more homily, one more Sacrifice of the Mass, one more confession heard, one more class will make a difference. Hope that no matter what we go through in this life we have the assurance of eternal union with God who is beyond our wildest dreams. This is a hope, the hope, that sustains us in everything that we do-- and this hope comes first and foremost, I believe, from our personal knowledge of God. It comes from the ways and times in which we have encountered God who breaks into our ordinary lives to fill us with his life and his love.

Having known Fr. Herscik and many others like him, I want to be a priest all the more. I want to, like them, step out of the way and let God work through me; to let God work through the love of my actions. And I am absolutely excited to know that if it is God's will for me to be a priest I will have the opportunity to be in community with, worship with, work with, and learn from thousands of people who testify and witness to this same hope in their daily lives. There are so many people that I have met, young and old, since even before becoming a seminarian who live this hope so thoroughly and so generously. And I am grateful to them.

Talking with my classmates and brother seminarians, we can only imagine the great joy that was on Fr. Herscik's face as he gazed into the eyes of this Jesus the Christ and heard him say, "Donath, thank you. You spoke well of me."

What great opportunities all of us have, no matter who or where we are, to spend of ourselves generously in love along with our Lord and the entire communion of saints-- which, by the way, includes you too.

Rejoice! From the East to the West! Rejoice!

2010-11-01T08:00:00.001-07:00

This past weekend at the NAC was a travel weekend; and since all of our universities celebrated the feast of All Saints today- it was a rare three day travel weekend. So five friends and I made a trip over to Medjegorje in Bosnia. Medjegorje is a small and very simple town which has become a major place of prayer visited by thousands of people from around the world.

During our short stay there I was absolutely blown away by the universality and the immense generosity of our Church. On the boat ride across the Adriatic Sea we ran into a group of American pilgrims in a group called Totally Yours. We had the chance to talk with them for a while on the boat; and were blown away when they invited us to join them in their bus ride up into town (about 3 hours by bus) and then generously offered to pay for our transportation back to Split just so that we could join them for a conference Sunday afternoon. And while in town we were really overwhelmed with their generosity and the generosity of the people of Medjegorje.

There were thousands of people of all ages in Medjegorje from all over the world who had come to pray and to seek God. The parish church in the center of the town is always full. Whether it be for the Rosary, Adoration, Mass, or any other prayer service; the church building is shoulder-to-shoulder standing room only. It is busting at the seams with people surrounding the building on all sides. To the left of the church building is a row of confessional booths and pairs of chairs set up along the side of the church for confessions. And the crowd lining up for confessions is seemingly endless.

There is also a very strong Marian devotion in Medjegorje; I think that this devotion to Mary is one that leads people towards Jesus and towards a more selfless life of love. On Saturday night we went to Adoration and were lucky to get there when we did (almost 30 minutes before the service started) because we were just able to get a spot standing in the back of the church. During the service we, people from all around the world, joined together in song- singing in different languages as one voice of praise. It was amazing because they showed the words of the songs (each verse in a different language) that just about everyone joined in, trying their best to sing Spanish, Italian, Greek, etc. But what was most amazing was how the entire church, both inside and outside of the building, raised their voices just about as loud as possible whenever the chorus came: "Alleluia!" And as I stood there, in between an Italian man and a woman from Bosnia, it struck me that our international word- the word that we all know and need absolutely no translation for- is Alleluia. We are, as a community and as a Church, people who rejoice.

While reading for a class on the train ride from Ancora back to Rome I came across an interesting fact: The very first word which ushered into existence Christianity in a formal way was "Rejoice." The first thing that the Angel Gabriel said to Mary- "Rejoice!" And we too are met with that same challenge. And for me this past weekend was a great opportunity to do just that. In seeing the massive amounts of people coming together to pray and in seeing their generosity, willingness to work on their relationships with God, and their joy, and in growing closer to my brother seminarians, I was all the more renewed in my desire to be a priest- someone who

lives no longer for myself but for reconciliation, for peace, for love, for others.

When we got back to Rome and I had a chance to look at the news I was devastated to see what happened in Baghdad yesterday. It was jarring to come from the peace and joy of Medjegorje to this very bitter reality of division in the world. And in prayer down in the chapel I realized that this effects all of us. All of us were in that chapel in Baghdad, united in praise of God. All of us were in that chapel in Baghdad participating in the sacrifice and rejoicing of the Mass. And so how do we respond? How do we support one another? How do we reach out to those for whom coming together to pray is an action of immanent danger? Based on the experiences of this past weeked for me, I'd say that our only response is love. The only response that we can offer is love-- love through prayer for all of those involved. And also, part of our response I believe, ought to be love for one another. A very real love lived out within our families- as we come together as families in prayer and supporting one another, and in our neighborhoods, our work-places, our parishes, etc. We respond and transcend hatred and division through love. It is the only just response.

Called to Communion

2010-10-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest graces that I have received since saying "Yes" to the call to enter formation to become a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore has undoubtedly been the people that I have been with-- the people who I have encountered, the people who I have learned from, the people who I have prayed with. There have been few joys that can compare to the joy of looking out into a congregation while serving at Mass, knowing them and knowing that we are all there at that moment and at that time together for one single purpose- to worship God. And the God that we worship is a God that we know. In Christology and Spirituality courses I have learned that our knowledge of God (gained through direct encounters with God and through the witness of others) feeds and gives deeper meaning to our love for God. And I can say that the people that I have met in formation have definitely helped me to know God more personally and as a result to want to give myself to God more totally and more lovingly.

I am incredibly grateful for the people that I have had the privilege to know and learn from- whether they be in the heart of Baltimore City, in Kingsville, or out in central Maryland. I am also incredibly grateful for the seminarians that I have had the privilege to accompany in worship, learn from, and be formed with. Above is a picture of my classmates and I—just under 60. And the community here at the seminary, including priests and, is around 300. That is a lot of people; a lot of people with strong faith and a tireless willingness to serve. We spend a lot of time together- whether it be eating, playing sports (by the way—any given day here there is something going on out on the sports field: soccer, football, rugby, frisbee, basketball…) studying, socializing, traveling, etc. But the vast majority of our time together is in prayer; and it is in this prayer together that we build the foundations of our community-- a community that exists for the sole reason of preparing us to serve, to exist entirely for others. And so our concept of community far transcends 300. It consists of every single person- who we believe is with us at every single communal prayer; every Eucharist.

In 1997 a seminary in Rwanda was attacked. The attackers broke into the seminary in the darkness of night and gathered the seminarians together in the courtyard. They then demanded that the seminarians divide into their ethnic group- Hutu or Tutsi. The seminarians knew that the attackers would surely kill one of the groups; and therefore refused to divide. They refused to be separated from their brothers and all 40 of them laid down their lives for one another and for the communion that their faith calls them to embody.

Today thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square here in Rome for the canonization of 6 saints. Due to our Aussie brothers here, most of our eyes were turned to the massive influx of Australians who have come to Rome to celebrate together the canonization of the first native born Australian saint. This canonization is the culminating moment for all of the Aussies who have come together as a nation and a church in gratitude for Mary of the Cross.

Seeing the massive amounts of pilgrims who had come to Rome for this occasion reminded me of my first trip to Rome in 2000 for World Youth Day, when a group of about 150 from Baltimore joined over 2 million other pilgrims from around the world in celebration of our faith and the communion that we share. It reminded me about how vast our Church is; and about how deep the communion of all Christians and all people of faith is.

One thing that I am coming to realize is that being a Christian requires that we daily lay down our lives for one another in our faith. Being Christian requires that we spend ourselves. Last week we, as a seminary and as a church, celebrated the ordination of our 3rd year men to the deaconate. As a gesture of their surrender of self in service to God and to others they lay prostrate on the ground as the church prays that the saints join in the communal prayer over these men.

May we join with them in spending ourselves daily for others as we live out the Gospel. And may we join the Rwandan Martyrs in their refusal to be divided. May we as Christians stand together. May we work tirelessly for communion- in our families, our schools, our parishes, our neighborhoods, at work; and in every moment may we answer the call to communion.

Living Icons

2010-10-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

I spent the past week in a town called Greccio with my classmates on a silent retreat. The week was awesome and was certainly filled with several meaningful insights and a continuous current of peace that did a lot for me personally to confirm who I am, for whom I am, where I am, and why I am here. A major aspect of the conferences was recalling the many heroes of our faith who have served as icons- becoming themselves, through their actions, an image that points to God. One of these icons that I have been learning more of and consequently feeling myself closer and closer to has been Vincent DePaul. Part of my growing interest in and admiration of St. Vincent DePaul has been due to the opportunity to reconnect with an old friend of the family and fellow parishioner at St. Stephen- Fr. Greg Gay, CM. Fr. Greg is a Vincentian who works in Rome, continuing the work and following in the footsteps of Vincent in more ways than one; and it has been an incredible blessing to be here in Rome while he is here and spend time with him.

I took this picture during the 350th anniversary celebration of St. Vincent DePaul's life in St. Peter's Basilica- just before leaving for retreat. This celebration was incredible- so many people from around the world gathering together to thank God for sending his servant, their servant, Vincent. And in a very real way, they gathered also to thank the living icons of Vincent who have impacted their lives. There were people there from all over Europe and beyond and they were from all different walks of life- some old, some young; some rich, some poor; some ordained, some lay; some in religious life as sisters, brothers, and priests; and some interested in learning more about the faith. But there was a common thread to all of them, I believe, and that was that all of them truly believed in their heart of hearts in the indispensible and unconquerable dignity of charity; and in the unfailing triumph of the truth which is love over evil.

During my first year of teaching at John Carroll, Fr. Greg came to visit with and talk with some of the students. One of the students asked him the question, "From all of your travels and the work that you have done, what do you think is the greatest issue or problem facing the world?" Fr. Greg, without hesitation responded, "The true respect for life." He went on to share stories of individuals, families, and communities who he had met who had been the victim of racism, political and religious persecution, etc. Fr. Greg, who has devoted his life to living the Gospel by joining and serving the poor, then went on to address the students directly and tell them that their role in working for justice and recognizing human dignity and a respect for life was absolutely indispensible.

On St. Vincent DePaul's feast day he is quoted in the Office of Readings as saying, "With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons." This was the effect of Fr. Greg's words to the students at John Carroll and it seems to have been the effect of the many 350th anniversary celebrations of St. Vincent DePaul that took place around the world.

This is such an important part of who we are as Christians. We who worship and can identify with Christ who was born as an entirely dependent child; Christ who worked for a living; and Christ who was crucified are called from the depths of our being to stand in solidarity and community with the poor and the outcast- those who are on their crosses today, in our midst- to join with them in their work for justice and their worship of God. And in so doing we become for others, and sometimes for ourselves, living icons that point to God Himself. We must never forget this importance and the importance and intentionality that we are called to give to preaching the Gospel. Francis of Assisi, since this is his feast day, once said, "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking in itself is our preaching."

Here is a picture that I took from the front of the Gesu- the Jesuit church in Rome where Sts. Ignatius and Francis Xavier are buried. On the front of the church building there are two statues- of Ignatius and Francis, both inside of a domed space, much like this one. Both Ignatius and Xavier were living icons who built community and devoted themselves to building justice through faith. But above the two statues are two more spaces. Two spaces left empty. I like to think that those two spaces were left empty in expectation of being filled. Possibly filled by a statue of you.

Weakness is Strength

2010-09-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

French spiritual writer Henri Nouwen once wrote in a letter to a group of high school students in the Archdiocese of Baltimore that worldly success comes from strength, but spiritual success comes from weakness. In the picture to the left is a man from Assisi who probably experiences this truth. He has chosen poverty as a way of life in order to point to the joy of the Resurrection that comes from and transcends the cross. His picture was made into a gigantic billboard that stands on the wall of the central piazza of Assisi to be seen by every visitor.

And like him, I guess that I too have experienced a good bit of weakness lately. After almost two months of studying Italian- my language skills have shown to be very weak. I also am weak in the great distance between me and family; the distance between me and friends; the distance between me and very real supports in my life. Being in community with over 200 other men who are so gifted and talented in their daily habitual lives of faith has also made me aware of my weakness and many rooms for growth. I also carry the weaknesses of past experiences, as we all do.

Another area of weakness has come to the surface as well. Every year here at the NAC there is a flag football game on the weekend of Thanksgiving called the Spaghetti Bowl. In this game the new men (60 of us) challenge the old men (almost 200) to the Roman version of the Turkey Bowl. And for some reason these guys, my classmates, asked me to be their coach. Sure, I coached rugby for a while and coached a little bit of volleyball, but I have not played football on a team since the 7th grade- and while I'm a huge Ravens fan, I haven't had the chance to sit in on any of the coaches' meetings or hear the rationale behind calling plays.

So I decided to do what any honest weak person would do- I went out and got some help. I put together a group of assistant coaches who know a ton more football than I do- and these guys are top notch! Not to mention the great athletes that are in our class! We had our first coaches' meeting today, and I am very excited to see how this team is going to unfold. And as we set out on this task our primary goal is 100% participation- that every single new man will in some way contribute and take part in this game, this team, this community.

And as I was praying earlier today I realized that this is how it happens. This is how weakness yields great success, how weakness transcends to strength and victory. The man that I mentioned earlier who begs on the streets of Assisi lives off of the generosity of others. And for all of us that same dependency is a reality. The more we invite others into our weakness, the more we are able to grow in real solidarity. This football team has a much better chance of shocking the NAC community by defeating the old men now because of these guys who have agreed to contribute their skills, experience, and ideas.

And if I am going to be honest, I have a much better chance of being a good man of faith thanks to the countless prayers and support of others. I cannot express how humbling and exhilarating it is to hear, see, and experience the reality that people are praying for me. Hearing or reading that I am the recipient of a Mass intention or knowing that someone is praying for me has literally been life changing. And although I am close to and very aware of those weaknesses that I had mentioned earlier, my experience of them has been one of peace and joy. I believe that is due to the prayers of family, friends, fellow parishioners at St. Stephen, the rugby team at Loyola College, the teachers and students at John Carroll, my brother seminarians and priests, parishioners at St. Gregory the Great, St. Augustine, and St. James who are praying for me.

A little while ago the Rugby Team at Loyola College went on their annual team retreat. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it. But from what I hear- it was a great success. There's another great example of a group of people coming together for and with one another; another example of community being formed. The more they support one another without hesitation in their weaknesses the more they will succeed both on and off of the field.

Saint Paul

2010-09-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite the day. It started with a regularly grueling four hours of Italian. And then, after lunch, all of us new men made a pilgrimage to the Basilica of St. Paul outside of the walls- the church that holds the remains of St. Paul. There were several things about this basilica that really struck me. At first it was the sheer magnitude-- this is a huge church, and was the largest church until St. Peter's Basilica was built. Another thing that struck me was the mixture of Eastern and Western Christianity. There were several moving sculptures, images, and representations of the Byzantine and Eastern traditions of Christianity. And yet another thing that really struck a cord with me was the close connection that was made between St. Peter and St. Paul. It was clear- both from an architectural and an artistic perspective- that St. Peter and St. Paul are two of the major pillars of the Church. And these two men, although both taking part in their fair share of public and extreme mistakes, have been instruments of great grace and hope and faith.

On the trip home I kept thinking about and trying to process the fact that I had just seen and prayed with the remains of St. Paul, and one of the most elegant churches in the West. And I found myself looking for reflections of that same beauty; but the trek back to the seminary took us on an interesting ride in the metro. One of my new brothers here at the NAC caught a woman trying to steal his wallet. Luckily she was unsuccessful, but it was a cold reminder of the reality of poverty and desperation here in Rome. And I found myself thinking- how would St. Paul react to this? How would St. Paul and the other apostles react to the current state of Rome?

These thoughts continued to circulate on the walk from the metro station to the seminary; until the moment when I was just about to enter St. Peter's Square when I heard a familiar voice call out, "Josh Laws!" As I looked around to see who in the world knew who I was all of the way over here in Italy, I saw an old friend- Pat Teranova, who I have worked with a couple of years on Justice Action Week- a week long service/emersion experience for high schoolers from around the Archdiocese of Baltimore that exposes them to central teachings on Social Justice and introduces them to some of the service agencies in the city, in hopes that they will establish relations with and give of themselves in service at these different agencies. And it was absolutely incredible to see Pat. It was great to meet his two friends who were with him and to be able to catch up, even though it was only for a couple of minutes. And as I said my goodbyes to them and made plans to meet them again; I couldn't help but think that this is exactly what St. Paul and St. Peter would expect of Rome-- the center and heart of the Church. They would expect that this is where people of faith, people of justice, people who work together in building something great would meet. This is the place where they will bump into each other and reconnect. This is the place where they will meet to scheme up new initiatives for working towards justice and building peace.

As I continued walking, after making plans to see Pat and his friends again, I kept thinking about this; and being grateful for the opportunity to be here. And as I crossed the pillars of the arms of St. Peter's Square and made my way over to the ramp entrance to the short-cup back to the seminary I saw a man standing over in the corner. As I got closer I saw that he was holding a small white plastic cup. And so, after being reminded why I am here in Rome, I stopped and talked for a while with Giuliano.

Sure, I was wearing clerics and may have been a typical target for someone to get a buck from; and sure, I made small addition to the coins in his cup. But I noticed and was really struck by our conversation. He told me that he sleeps out in St. Peter's Square almost every night, and that he remains steadfast, amidst his struggles, in his faith. And each time that he referred to his faith or to his family he reached out and touched my chest- right over my heart. And he continually, throughout the conversation, referred to me as fratello (brother).

After we had parted and I made my way back to the seminary, I kept thinking about the day as a whole: the experience of going from praying at the tomb of St. Paul to meeting an old friend to meeting a new friend who is a native of Rome and does not have a home to call his own. And I thought- how incredibly integrated this day has been. First I met the remains of a man who taught peace and community; then I saw and got to reconnect with a man who works for peace and community; and then I met a man who is in dire need of peace and community.

This morning, to bring everything together, in the homily one of our priests here at the NAC quoted St. Paul in his homily. He told us that the role of the priest is to be a faithful minister of joy. And as I thought about these words I couldn't help but get excited- excited that I am in formation to be a priest, excited about the fact that our Church is so radical in being focused on others, excited in the reality that there is much work to be done, and excited in the Holy Spirit who is here to guide our every work.

Living Bones

2010-09-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went with a few of the guys from the seminary on the scavi tour at St. Peter's. The tour goes through fairly recent renovations and excavations below the basilica. It starts with ancient Roman burial crypts where middle class Roman pagans burried their dead. And as you walk along the street (still underneath the Basilica) you eventually arrive at an ancient Christian burial site where the ceiling holds the oldest known mosaic of Christ. But the highlight of the tour was the bones of St. Peter. After being discovered and thoroughly tested, the remains of St. Peter were put in a clear box (built by NASA) almost directly under the main altar of the Basilica. Our tour guide, a brother seminarian, told us that John Paul II used to come to this site upon arriving back in Rome after every major trip to pray at the remains of St. Peter. And structurally it is clear that these bones are the heart and central foundation of the Basilica.

I took the opportunity there to pray for my family, friends, and the many parishioners that I have had the opportunity to work and worship with. And as I prayed, I couldn't help but think of how imperfect Peter was. I kept remembering how he had doubted Jesus, sinking into the water, and how he intentionally and publicly denied Jesus three times. But somehow he was invited to be one of the twelve disciples. And somehow he became the first pope- the rock upon which the Church was built. And somehow countless people have come to Rome from all across the world to pray at his remains.

Right after returning to the seminary we all went to holy hour where we prayed, gazing into the Eucharist in a golden monstrance. And as I sat in silence I kept thinking about the juxtaposition- Peter who had publicly denied Jesus Christ and now the Eucharist- in which Christ is truly present.

As prayer continued I thought about how all of us are somehow present in the Eucharist as well- in some kind of harmonious union with God and with one another. And how all of us, like Peter, are incredibly unworthy. I sat for a while thinking about that- our unworthiness, our weakness-- and yet our invitation, our strength.

Directly after holy hour we prayed Evening Prayer as a community. And the response was: "I shall know the fullness of joy when I see your face, O Lord." What a great line! When I read it, the first thing that came to mind was this image of Mother Teresa- the sheer joy that she must have experienced as she encountered Christ in this child. The sheer joy that she experienced when she saw God, face to face.

I spent some time with that one- reflecting on the many times that I have seen the face of God in prayer, in the poor, in family, in the sacraments, in friends, in parishioners, in strangers. And being full of joy.

An attitude of gratitude is the theme for the day I guess. Grateful for these saints who have freely spent themselves in the service of others and for God who continually invites us to do the same in his Spirit.

Friends in Assisi

2010-08-24T07:03:00.001-07:00

Things have been going really well here in Assisi. Today is our last day of classes; and tomorrow morning we head back to Rome- which will apparently be very hot. Yesterday the temperature in Rome was over 100 degrees!

As I think back over my time here in Assisi I am incredibly grateful for the experience, the opportunity to be here, and the people that I have met. It has been great to be able to pray in the churches of St. Francis and St. Clare with their religious communities and the many pilgrims here. It has also been great to get to know and form friendships with some of the modern saints of Assisi. Last night a few of us got together to celebrate the birthday of a friend (Adonella). She owns a caffe in town; and we have been fortunate enough to get to know her and be able to practice our Italian as well as learn about Italian culture. In the picture above we are taking part in an Italian tradition as we hoist Adonella in the air- one hoist for every year.

It has also been really great to get to know my classmates here. They are a great group of guys and I am looking forward to getting to know them better over the years.

In an effort to enter more fully into the spirit of St. Francis, a few of us grew out our beards during our time here in Assisi. There were only two of us who had beards when we got to Assisi, but a lot of the guys joined in and sported their beards over the weeks. And just for kicks we decided that yesterday should be Mustache/Mutton-chops Monday; so we all crafted our facial hair in the most ridiculous ways that we could think of. All of us commented on how many looks we got around town.

Well, it has definitely been a blessing to be here in Assisi; and I look forward to being able to come back and visit.

Assisi 1 -- Perugia 0

2010-08-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

One of the nice things about being a student in Europe is the ability to travel and see so many different places. Yesterday a few friends and I made a quick train ride over to Perugia, the capital of Umbria. While there we were able to find what we think is the best food deal in Italy- pizza, french fries (fritas), and a drink for 7,50 Euro... not bad. We were also able to attend Mass at the Cathedral.

So I guess you've probably noticed the picture. While in Perugia we observed that just about every Italian ragazzo (person our age) was walking around with a popped collar and what in Italian is called the bursito (which is really a smaller and I guess more practical version of a satchel). So we decided to try and fit in by popping our collars and thought that it might give us a boost in practicing our Italian. No such luck though. Maybe it was because we "un-popped" our collars right after taking this picture. But we eventually found out that most people our age don't start hanging out in Perugia until after midnight, and we had to catch the train back to Assisi (a train that we had to run down a mountain to catch).

When we got back to Assisi, though, the main piazza was swarmed with an international group of high school students who were keeping the rest of the piazza entertained with their dances and songs. It has been amazing to see over the past month how many people come on pilgrimage to Assisi to visit, pray with, and hopefully be somehow changed by St. Clare, St. Francis, and the modern day saints who fill this town. It has also been amazing to see how much life they bring to Assisi. Every night, since I have been here, there have been young groups in all of the piazzas dancing, singing, and praying. A few nights ago there was a group from Germany in the Piazza outside of St. Clare's singing "Country Roads"- small world.

And so, after much consideration, the results are in... Assisi 1 -- Perugia 0.

Santa Chiara

2010-08-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Today is the Feast Day for St. Clare- a perfect excuse for much celebration in Assisi. It's amazing how the city has evolved to incorporate and revolve around the saints of Assisi. At the heart of the town is the church dedicated to St. Rufino- a bishop and martyr who is the patron saint of Assisi. And on either side of the town rest the two pillars that have helped rebuild both Assisi and the Church as a whole- Clare and Francis.

I had an opportunity this morning to pray morning prayer and attend Mass at St. Clare's which houses one of the cloistered communities founded by St. Clare. They are cloistered, so they pray and worship in a side chapel that is not visible to those who go to St. Clare's to pray and attend Mass. But their presence is definitely felt through their spirit of prayer and their absolutely beautiful singing. One of my favorite moments in the Mass was at the concluding rite when the celebrant paused from the rubrics to offer a sincere and heartfelt thanks on behalf of all Franciscans and all people of faith to the community of Poor Clares for their presence, prayers, and witness. It was really a special moment. And as he spoke the main bells of the church started to ring in celebration of the feast day. These bells must be massive because they echo throughout the whole town; and you could feel their power as it shook the chapel below.

A couple of weeks ago we were fortunate enough to meet an American Franciscan in Assisi who gave us a really great and behind the scenes tour of St. Francis' church. And one of the things that he emphasized was that the first and most important mission of the Franciscans is to build community wherever they are: community amongst themselves and Franciscan brothers and sisters, but also community in parishes, schools, communities, nations, etc. And it is clear that the initial charism of Francis and Clare is alive and well here in Assisi.

Tomorrow is the feast of St. Rufino- which should also be quite an experience.

Peace.

First Week in Rome

2010-08-10T06:57:00.001-07:00

To the Land of Pleasant Living,

My first week in Rome went really well. Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about how incredibly fortunate I am to have so many great friends who offer such meaningful support. And I have been grateful for the many send-offs, prayers, blessings, and well wishes that I have received. Being here in Europe has given me an opportunity to think about that and reflect on the reality of the Church as a community.

Rome is a very busy place, constantly flowing with pilgrims and tourists from around the world. And seeing all of these many different cultures, nationalities, religions, religious communities, points of view, etc. converging has made an impression on me about the breadth and the depth of the Church.

Another reality of the Church here in Rome is the history. During our first week in Rome, my classmates and I were able to visit many of the churches and historical sights in Rome. Above is a picture that I took of a pillar that stands outside one of Rome's biggest churches. It was transported to Rome from Egypt- and it is believed that this pillar dates back before the Exodus; which means, as our guide informed us, the Israelites may have walked by this exact pillar on their way out of Egypt. What a great sign of the breadth of the Church and its mission.