Merry Christmas!

"Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no plae on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness!"

Merry Christmas! (A bit early, I know) I hope that this holy season of Advent and the

coming season of Christmas finds you filled with the joy and happiness that Saint Leo the Great speaks of in the quote at the beginning!

All is most well here in Rome. Sorry I have not posted in a LONG time, but you have all been often in my prayers and on my mind in these busy months of school and seminary formation. God has been so good over the last months with the high light being a visit from my Mom and Aunt Kay back in Novemeber right before Thanksgiving! It was so good to see her again! Not only that but the same weekend, the old Archibishop of Saint Louis and a real spiritual father and inspiration to me, Raymond Burke, was made a Cardinal of the Roman Church by Pope Benedict! It was so good to be able to share in the celebrations of that weekend- and with my mom at my side! Praise God.

Tomorrow, December 19th, I, along with about 30 other seminarians and a few priest leave from Rome for Israel. We are spending Christmas in the Holy Land. As one of my friends said: "Jesus knows you haven't been home in 18 months, and you can't go to your home for Christmas, so he has invited you to his house, his home town, his neighborhood- he wants to share his life with you." It will be and amazing journey of faith to visit the places (see below for a complete list) where Our Savior, the Word made Flesh, took flesh, was born, grew up, preached the Kingdom, called his disciples, founded the Church, suffered, died, and rose again on the Third day! I am not sure what the Lord has in store for these next 12 days but I am sure they will be ones that I will not ever forget. Know that as I go you will be remembered in my prayers all the way through, along with all of your intentions.

May the Good Lord pour out an ocean of graces on all of us this Christmas season as we welcome, our God into the world, our God who is so powerful and so full of love that he became small enough to fit into a manger. I hope that you and all your loved ones know the peace, joy, hope, and love that only Mary's Son can bring!

I leave you again with Saint Leo the Great, his words from a Christmas morning homily some 1500 years ago:

"In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God's wisdom, the
Son of God took for himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with
its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the orgin of death, in that very
nature by which he had overthrown mankind.
And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and they proclaim peace to his people on earth as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvelous work of God's goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?
Christian, remember your dignity! Now that you share in God's own
nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is
your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been
rescued from the power of darkness, and bright ino the light of God's kingdom.
Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do
not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the
devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ."

O Come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the king of Angels!

Merry Christmas!

Itenerary for Holy Land Pilgrimage and place where YOU will be prayed for:

Sunday, December 19th 2010: Arrive in Irsael and go Sea of Galilee where we will stay for the first week.

Monday, December 20th 2010: Sea of Galilee, St. Peter’s Primacy, Capernaum (House of St. Peter, Synagogue of Jesus where he preached the Bread of Life sermon (John 6), House of Centurion), Eremos Hill, Cave of Jesus (the "Desert place" where he would go to pray cf. Mk 1:35, Lk 5:16), Mt. of Beatitudes (where Jesus preache the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Mt 5-7) known as the Magna Carta of the Gospel)

Tuesday, December 21nd 2010: Still in Galilee around the same places as before

Wednesday, December 22rd 2010: Nazareth, Cave of Annunciation, St. Joseph’s workshop, Synagogue of Jesus (where he would have gone as a child with his parents every sabbath to learn the scriptures), Mary’s Well, Cana in Galilee – Site of Wedding Feast or Mt Tabor

Thursday, December 23th 2010: Back at the Sea of Galilee

Friday, December 24th 2010: Again at the Sea of Galilee

Saturday, December 25th 2010, the Navitivity of Jesus Christ, Savior of the World: Move from Galilee to Jerusalem, stop at Jordan River Baptism Site, Qumran, the Dead Sea

Sunday, December 26th 2010: The Garden of Gethsemane, the Site of the Ascension, Palm Sunday Path of Jesus on Mt of Olives, Visit Dominus Flavit – Where Christ wept over Jerusalem, Grotto of Gethsemane, Tomb of Mary- from which she was Assumed in to Heaven, Church of St Stephen’s Martyrdom, Last Supper Route of Jesus through Kidron Valley, Pool of Siloam, Holy Sepulcher

Monday, December 27th 2010: 6:30am Mass at Calvary – Altar of the Crucifixion, Way of the Cross – Via Dolorosa to Church of the Holy, Sepulcher at Calvary, Mt Zion – Dormition Abbey, Last Supper Room, St Peter in Gallicantu Church – Holy Steps, Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Tuesday, December 28th 2010: Cenacle Church of Last Supper and Pentecost, prison cell of Jesus on Via Dolorosa

Wednesday, December 29th 2010: Tomb of Christ, the Western Wall of the Temple, St Anne’s Church (The house Mary grew up in), Pool of Bethesda

Thursday, December 30th 2010: Ein Karem (the place of the Visitation and of the birth of John the Baptist, Bethlehem

Friday December 31: Return to Rome

First Homily

Here is the text of my first homily ever! Just thought it would be cool to share...

Two days ago in England Pope Benedict XVI raised to the honor of blessed John Henry Newman, a 19th century English convert to the Catholic faith whose personal motto was a beautiful latin phrase: Cor ad Cor Loquitur which in English translates into “Heart speaking to Heart”. This motto of the Church’s newest blessed gets to the core of this passage from the 10th chapter of Luke Gospel- the better part which Mary chose- the life of prayer, the interior life, the life of friendship with Jesus Christ.

“Heart Speaking to Heart”, Cor ad Cor Loquitur- is really one of the best definitions of prayer I have ever come across. First of all we have the heart. The heart is the core of a person’s being. When we put our hearts into something- our work, a sports team, a friendship, a project around the house, whatever it may be- it means we put our entire personal being- body, soul, intellect, emotions, and will- at the service of this task. And it is the same with prayer. We are called to make a total gift of ourselves, we are invited to have our prayer effect ever corner and aspect of our persons. It is not just something we do on Sundays, but it really becomes habit, a virtue, that pervades our whole lives. So that is first part of this definition of prayer- it is our hearts, our whole selves that are involved.

Next we have that word “speaking.” More often than not our first prayers were the spoken words of the Our Father, Hail Mary, or Glory Be, which our parents or families taught us. And they are the foundation, we never grow out of them! But the invitation to prayer, the better part of Mary, is not just about the recitation of empty formulas. It is about a relationship. It is about speaking to a friend, indeed, Jesus told us explicitly at the Last Supper- “I have called you friends!” (Jn 15:15) He wants to speak with us- not like a defendant before a judge, or a servant before a queen, but one friend to another- all our joys, sorrows, successes and failures. This is the heart of prayer! It is entering into that dialogue with God who loves us and wants to be a part of our lives- not to condemn, but again as Jesus said, “That you may have life, and have it more abundantly!” (Jn 10:10)

And that brings us to the final part of our phrase- again, Cor ad Cor Loquitur, “Heart Speaking to Heart.” It is about giving our whole hearts to this relationship with the God who is love. It is our hearts speaking to his Heart. The love of God which, in Jesus Christ, took on a human form and it is his Sacred Heart, that meek and humble heart, that heart which was pierced with a spear on Calvary for our redemption, it is this heart which passionately yearns to enter into friendship with us! Heart speaking to Heart. God’s heart calling to ours, asking us, inviting us, to be his friends, to enter into relationship with him. In our lives we are so often like Martha, anxious of many things- work, school, a sick relative, bills to pay, so many things- but today the Word of God is reminding us, that it is our life of prayer, our relationship of speaking heart to heart each and every day with God, which, in the end, is the one thing necessary.

La France et Andorre

In late July and early August I spent 3 weeks in Toulouse, France. I studied at a language school there and was able to pick up a good amount of french- the main reason for it was school but it was also just something I had always wanted to do! I lived with the Dominican Friars in town at their priory which was a great blessing. They were supremely hospitable and it was great to be living with them in city where Saint Dominique started his order of poor preachers, and also where the great theologian and Dominican, my hero, Saint Thomas Aquinas is buried! God is so good.

I made, with my friend Peter from New York, a few day trips while there. One day to Lourdes to visit Our Lady's shrine. We rented a car and drove (It was quite an adventure) to Andorra, a tiny country between France and Spain nestled in the Pyrennes. And finally to Albi- the town from which the name Albigensian came- to denote the 13th century heretics who believed in the absolute evil nature of the body along with a good ol' fashioned dualism. But maybe best of all I was able to find a golf course where I rented clubs and played 9 holes! Below are a variety of pictures from the weeks. Enjoy! Que Dieu vous Benisse! May God Bless you!

Polska and Tertio

So as we find ourselves already in mid-August the summer has certainly flown by- I hope it has been a grace filled couple of months!

This the update on what I have been up to this summer. I spent 3 weeks in Krakow, Poland taking part in the Tertio Milennio Seminar on the Free Society (quite a mouthful!). It is a seminar dedicated to the study of the Social Doctrine of the Church, especially as embodied in the writings of Leo XIII and John Paul II. I will add more info a bit later but for now enjoy the photos from Krakow and from the various excusions we made: hiking in the Tetras Mountains, the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, the heart of Polish Catholicism- the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, and the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was a powerful couple of weeks!

Anyway, God bless you!

Corpus Christi!

Well I apologize every time I post on this because it has been so long. So again, I'm Sorry! But enough of the excuses. Here goes.

Back in June, the 6th to be exact, about 30 of the seminarians at the NAC woke at 6AM to get on the bus for Orvieto- the birth place of the Feast of Corpus Christi. I was among the sleep deprived pilgrims that day and with my coffee in hand I got on the bus and we were off.

A bit of history to set the stage: In 1263 a priest in Bolsena Italy (about 15 km from Orvieto and about ~2 hours north of Rome) had lost his faith. He no longer believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Yet, one day he was celebrating mass and as he elevated the host- out of habit rather than devotion- an incredible thing occured. The host- the simple wafer of bread- was bleeding! And a few of the drops of blood fell onto the corporal (the square white cloth the priest puts out on the alter and upon which rest the chalice and host during mass). It was a miracle! With his doubt destroyed by this supernal occurence- the priest informed the congregation of the favor God had shown him. The faithful- full of devotion- decided that this news must be spread. But to whom? Well of course to the Pope! Fortunately the Pope Urban IV was living at the time in Orvieto. So they processed with the priest and corporal through the Umbrian hills from Bolsena to Orvieto to present the Holy Father with this new relic. When the Pope heard the story and saw the evidence he was just as convicted as well of the truly miraculous nature of the event and decided that it was a sign that the Lord Jesus was trying to tell the Church something. He was trying to enflame our love and devotion for Him, truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine! So the Pope decided to make a new feast for the universal church- the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ- Corpus Christi in latin! And so it was. And so it is. On the 2 sunday after Pentacost we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi everywhere in the world! All because of the great events of Orvieto and Bolsena in 1263. But enough with the history.

We arrived in the town and got ready for the 9 AM mass at the Cathedral of Orvieto in which the famed Corporal of the Mircale has been housed since the 13th century. It was indeed a beautiful mass with a full choir and even more beautifully a full congregation singing the praises of and adoring Jesus in the Eucharist. After the mass we got ready for the procession. As we were getting ready I was able to go up- not more than 2 feet away from the corporal and look closely to see- are there really blood spots? Yes. Indeed, even after nearly 750 years there are. But anyway we were now all ready and the procession began. A two hour march through the hilltopped city of of Orvieto taking the King of All Creation out of the Church into his kingdom with his beloved Children there to greet him. It was spectacular. It was beautiful. It was so Catholic. The entire city was wired with speakers so that the choir in the Church could lead us in song, and many of the Words of Life- the Gospels, especially John 6- were proclaimed. I was able to be the thurifer or the"incense guy" if you would, in the procession and so was fortunate to be close to both the Coporal and the Blessed Sacrament all the way through. Truly amazing- to see old italian women, young tourists, and everyone in between lining the streets to greet the Lord or just to see the beauty of Catholic liturgy was so cool. I felt so blest to be able to be a part of it. I look forward to bringing some part of this devotion back to Saint Louis and having our very own parochial processions for the feast!

However, one mass and one procession are not enough. For after a nice pranzo in orvieto we boarded the bus to head to Bolsena to do it all again! And it was again- amazing. The really cool thing about Bolsena is that the towns people cover (as you can see in the photos) the streets with flowers so that Our King and Savior has a proper "red carpet" to walk on!

After the second procession and a quick dinner we boarded the bus one final time to make the trek back to Rome. As I got into bed that night around midnight I was exhausted, but grateful. For the gift of the chance to be a part of it all. But more than even that for the gift of the Eucharist which gives meaning to it all. And not just to the procession in Orvieto, but to the whole life of the Church, in Rome, in Africa, and indeed in Saint Louis, at Holy Spirit Parish.

Okay one more awesome story. So Divine Providence just so happened to arrange things that at the time the miracle happened in 1263 there was also living in Orvieto a humble Domincan friar by the name of Thomas Aquinas. And fortunate for us the pope asked him to write the hymns for this new feast day- and oh did he write them. They are now some of the most famous and beloved lyrics in all of the world- words that almost all catholics know- even in latin! "Tantum ergo sacramentum!" Indeed those words which are the final verses of the longer hymn "Pange Lingua" are sung everyday across the world as adores kneel before the blessed sacrament. may Each time you sing them now have a little deeper meaning as you have heard the whole story behind them! May you know ever more the Lord Jesus, who hides his glory under the form of Bread and Wine, and may you be drawn always nearer to him until that day when every veil is stripped away and we, please God, will see him face to face. Amen.