Easter with the Cure of Ars

Resurexit Sicut Dixit! He is Risen as He Said!

I hope this finds you all well in these joyful days of Easter. All is most well here are the school year moves ever closer to an end and as the warmer days of spring take hold.

Easter here in Rome was wonderful. Every other year here at the College we have all of the Triduum in house and it just happened that it was the case this year. So while I was not able to attend the great liturgies of the Church's holiest week with the Holy Father, we had really beautiful and prayerful liturgies at the NAC.

On Easter Sunday morning a group of 40 of us left for Ars, France to spend a week in the town where the Holy Cure of Ars and Patron Saint of All priests, Saint John Marie Vianney, poured out his life for the sake of the salvation of the soul of his parishoners. I was able to spend a lot of time praying in the Church in which he said mass, heard confessions for 16 hours a day, and prayed at times all night long for the conversion of his parishoners. It was really cool to read his biography while sitting in one of the little side chapels and then looking and seeing the confessional just mentioned or the pulpit from which he daily preached the good news of Jesus the Crucified and Risen Lord.

Of all the sites around the little village of Ars- the church, his rectory with his bedroom preserved as it was in his day, and the beautiful country side- the place that in many ways was most captivating for me was the little garden around a statue of the Cure on the hill opposite the village. The statue depicts a scene from John Vianney's life when he had just been appointed the pastor of the parish in Ars. He was walking from Lyons (about 40 km away!) and was a bit lost trying to find his new parish. On the way he ran into some young shepherd boys one of whom was named Anthony. The Cure asked him to lead him to Ars and after having arrived to the crest of this hill- from which the town is first seen- the humble priest told the boy "Tu m'as montre le chemin d'Ars, Je te montrerai le chemin du Ciel!" You have shown me the way to Ars, I will show you the way to heaven!" The statue which is seen in two of the pictures where, is one of the most inspiring images I have ever seen because in the hand of the Cure raised pointing toward the heavens there is encapulsated the entire mission of every priest- to lead souls to Jesus and through him to his Father in Heaven!

It was a truely blest week of prayer, renewal, fraternity, enjoying the beauty of the countryside, and eating delicious french food!

In addition to spending time in Ars we made a day long pilgrimage to the nearby village of Paray-le-Monial where our Blessed Lord revealed His Sacred Heart to a young religious sister, now know as Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the late 1600s. We were able to have mass in the chapel there where the apparitions took place, and it was really awesome to meditate on the Sacred Heart of Jesus since, as John Vianney said, "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus." Throughout the time spent in prayer for my own vocation, and for all the priests and seminarians at home in Saint Louis, at the PNAC, and throughout the world, I really came to be reenergized and renewed in my desire to give my life in service to Jesus as a priest of his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church!

I thought this shop was cool since it had mom's name on the door! (Reine = Queen in French! Love you mom!)

As Easter Draws Near

Hello All! I hope that this finds you all most well as lent ends and we prepare to celebrate the three holiest days of the year- the Triduum.

Things have been going very well over here since the last time I posted something. School is going well and I mananged to survive my first go around with exams! After exams I was so blest to have mom and dad come and visit for about 10 days. It was so good to see them and be able to show them a little more what life is like over here. We had a blast and walked a ton! Seeing lots of Churches, visiting Florence and Siena, and eating well! It was really a wonderful few days- just not long enough. It was just as hard to say good bye the second time around! But we trust in God's providence that He has us where we are meant to be, and try to live in that trust.

Since then the second semester has been going well with a new round of classes to take in. There are some particularly good ones like Trinity and Patrology (the study of the fathers of the Church). It is going well and flying by! Also, I have been playing in the Clericus Cup for the North American Martyrs! The cup is an annual soccer tournament held between the various seminarians and religious houses in Rome. We have been playing really well- only losing one game in shootouts- and are looking forward to finishing out the regular season after easter break is over, with our eyes on the championship in May. It has been a lot of fun getting out there and competing against guys from around the world- especially when we win!

With lent and soccer time has been flying by and we are already in Holy Week. We have two weeks off and we will have all the liturgies of the Triduum here at the College. They should be really quite beautiful and prayerful. After Easter I will be going to Ars, France for a week long retreat with about 30 other guys from the NAC. It will be a real blessing to be in Ars during this year of the Priest and to have the chance to visit the tomb and the sites of Saint John Vianney- the patron saint of priests! Keep us in your prayers- you will be in mine.

Have a blessed Triduum and a joyous Easter! May the peace, joy, and love of the Crucified and Risen Christ penetrate into the very depths of your souls! God bless. Ciao!