I hope this finds you well as this, the holiest week of the year, begins.
The past few months have been good. The second semester brought some good new classes which have been very fruitful. Also, I have been playing again for the soccer team here at the College. We started practicing back in February but our games did not begin until mid-March. We have been doing pretty well, coming away 1-1-1 with 2 of the games going to penalty kicks. Fortunately we made it to the playoffs and we will begin those after we return from Easter break in May. We are hoping to finally win the Clericus Cup tournament after losing in the finals the past two years. Go Martyrs!
For holy week I am staying here in the city and one of my friends from Kenrick, Zach Edgar from Springfield, Ill, is going to come over and we are going to go to the liturgies with the Holy Father. It should be an truly graced time to pray through the central mysteries of our Catholic faith here with so many people from around the world. Already going to Palm Sunday this past weekend was beautiful! I am sure the rest will be the same.
On May 1st there is going to be another huge celebration here in the city- the beatification of John Paul II. There have been reports that there will be from 500,000- 3 million pilgrims here for the festivities! I am so thankful to be able to be there as the Church thanks God for the life and virtues of our beloved father and inspiration- JPII!
Once classes are back in May we only have about 4 weeks left before exams begin- and those will be finished up by June 14th, and I will be on a flight back to Saint Louis on the morning of the 16th! I can't wait! But before that Jacob will be coming for for about 10 days, and we will certainly have a good time catching up and it will be great visit all the sites together.
Know that you all will be in my prayers in a special way during these next few days throughout the entire season of Easter! I can't wait to see you in June! God bless you. Here is a homily I wrote for a practice a few weeks ago. It is for Good Friday. May the love of the Crucified Lord Jesus overwhelm you! 
It is a Friday afternoon a little before three o’clock. We find ourselves on a small hill outside the walls, to the west, of the city of Jerusalem. There are three men all crucified. In the middle we behold a figure- a human being whose body is so beaten and bloodied that it is hard to imagine how he is still alive. We hear him gasping out his final words… consummatum est. It is finished. And with that he bows his head- and dies. Three hours this man- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary, the carpenter, the preacher, the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews, the Son of God- has hung upon this cross. Flanked on either side by common criminals. Victim to favored form of Roman execution- perhaps one of the most brutal means of public execution ever devised by fallen man- crucifixion. It is here- on Calvary- that the Church gathers on Good Friday. And here at the foot of the cross- my mind and my heart wonder, and can’t help but ask-- what was it that filled the mind of Jesus during those three long hours, what was he thinking about?- there raised up from the earth on the altar of the cross? Perhaps we can imagine what would our reaction would be… anger, regret, distain, a desire that the end would come soon. All likely answers if this were only a human person we were considering. But instead the man we behold is not just a man, but indeed the only begotten Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. And even now- despite the most profound pain, and suffering this world has ever known, he- in the depths of his soul, and in the highest part of his human spirit is completely united to his father- contemplating that beauty and sharing in that joy to which we are all called. Jesus on the cross- God and man, on the way and at the destination, suffering servant and King of glory. Indeed a mystery, and a paradox of suffering and joy which stretches the limits of our conceptions, and brings us to our knees in adoration of the mystery. The mystery which tells us that this man was not thinking the thoughts of a mere man during his last hours but rather he was thinking the thoughts of God. Jesus -as he hung upon the cross- was in conversation with his father. He was taking about Mary. Jesus’ mother who stood by his side until the last. He was thinking about Peter, his dear friend who in his most desperate hour had abandoned and denied him. He was thinking about Pilate, and the Sanhedrin who had condemned him to death, he was thinking about the people in crowds in Galilee- those whom he had healed and loved. He is thinking about Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets who went before him, and who foretold his coming. But he is not just thinking about the past. He is also thinking about the future. He was thinking about you and me. He was thinking about every human person who would ever exist- and not just in a vague general way, but in all the details- the good and the bad- of our lives. He was thinking of the gifts and talents he had given us and how we would glorify his name through them, and he was also thinking of our failures, our sins, all the ways in which we reject Him,- our infidelity, our lack of zeal, our lack of love towards him and our neighbors. He- as the Incarnate son of God- knew it all. As he suffered on the cross- he thought of us. And from his most sacred heart- he offered it all to the father. He took it- all our sins, all our joys, all of us- into himself, and in the most perfect act ever made on this earth he lovingly, obediently, offered his life for you and for me. Consummatum est. It is finished and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. For us, for our sins, and for our forgiveness. His act of love conquers our sins. His sacrifice purifies us, and makes us whole again. It brings us life- life in Him.
