Following the Throne of St. Peter

Let me share with you a small, little story. I have only been in Rome since the beginning of the month but I have had some experiences that take people years to see. Thus far, everything revolves around one thing here in Rome: the Throne of St. Peter.

The history of this city is so closely tied to the papacy and many do not even realize this. Sure, everyone realizes that the churches here are a product of the papacy but there is so much more things besides these magnificent places of worship. First bridge to cross the Tiber since ancient Rome? Commissioned by a pope. Restoration of the aqueduct system? Done by a pope. The Trevi Fountain? Commissioned by a pope. The iconic symbol of Rome, the Mother Wolf with Romulus and Remus? Commissioned by a pope. First public museum? You guessed it!! Done by a pope.

Now starts my story. Students who study abroad in Rome find themselves in St. Peter's Square for a blessing from the Pope. This is always an exciting moment for students and they have their group usually called out during the Pope's Angelus on any given Sunday. They cheer and life is great!! I was expecting this same experience and assuming it was the typically distance from the window like in the picture below:

This was all I expected. The Holy Father speaks to us from the window of his apartment. Many of my friends who came for a J-Term program or for the John Cabot program had this type of papal blessing so this is what I assumed. MAN!! It's amazing how wrong I was about our Wednesday audience. It was pouring rain and as my group went to St. Peter's for the papal audience, it was not to the Square that we were going but to the Paul VI Auditorium. And the Pope was not ant-sized for me. Rather, I was quite close to the Holy Father as you can see below:

Needless to say, I was "a little kid in a candy shop" excited about this opportunity!! I would probably say it was the best Wednesday EVER!!! (Well, soon to be second best Wednesday...) To be in the same room as the Holy Father was a truly blessed experience and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It really brought me to see how Benedict XVI is a man just like us and has this gentleness to his  aura. Yet, this man is the leader of the universal Church. This man wields the power of the largest congregation of faithful followers in the WORLD. And he is right in front of me. A true blessing!! 

That following Friday, we had the opportunity to take the Scavi tour under St. Peter's Basilica. While everything we saw down there was amazingly historical, I had a clear favorite five minutes or so. Our tour guide said, "See that red light in that crevice WAAAY over there? That's the tomb of St. Peter. That's the closest you'll see the tomb." It was a clear twenty or thirty feet away but I was happy to see the tomb of The Rock. Then, a twist in the story!! 

The Prince of the Apostles, The Rock upon which Jesus built his Church, the Gatekeeper of Heaven and first Pope of the Holy Catholic Church was moved from his original grave!! Since I could not take pictures in the Scavi itself, I cannot show up all what I saw but you'll have to have faith. The bones of St. Peter were no more than ten feet away from me and completely visible. The man God himself entrusted the Church to was right in front of me. Absolutely incredible!! Why am I so blest with these opportunities? 

That following Sunday, after attending a ROCKIN' Mass at Chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia just a block away from the Vatican (recommend it for any English speaker for a Sunday Mass in Rome), we went to St. Peter's Square to attend the Pope's public Angelus. Then I had that awkward moment when I realized Franz Biebl's Ave Maria is actually the Angelus put to music... here is the song for those unfamiliar with it:

So I stood there and shared this midday prayer with the Holy Father and about a thousand people or so (in Latin may I add!!). It was the second time I saw the Holy Father in a week, which I thought was pretty awesome!! To give everyone a frame of reference, this was Sunday, February 11th.

Well, the next day I was checking my Yahoo! email when I saw something I could not believe. Then I saw that CNN, Fox News, NY Times, MSNBC, BBC, and every news outlet in the world picked up the same story:

So as the world already knows, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will be abdicating the Throne of St. Peter at the end of this month. When I first heard the news, I was sad because he has been an excellent Pontiff for this Church. His intellectual teachings have sparked the hearts of so many and have brought many people back to the faith and to discover their vocations. I will miss him a lot but then I realized something... I'm going to be in Rome for the Conclave!!!! I am going to be IN the Square when the new pope is revealed to the WORLD. 

In the next two days, we organized to attend the Holy Father's last public Mass for Ash Wednesday (best Wednesday of my life!!). Seeing the Pope on two separate occasions was nothing compared to attending the Most Holy Mass where he is the celebrant. We stood in line for three hours and had amazing seats. Many of my fellow classmates were in the seats right next to the aisle but I was off to the side, though I am 100,000% not complaining!! As countless priests, bishops and cardinals filed in, I was overcome with awe. The Holy Father is such an amazing man and I am so honored to have attended a Mass with him. 

As the Mass ended, Cardinal Bertone gave a heart-warming farewell to Benedict before you processed down the center aisle of St. Peter's for the last time as Pope. It was such a bitter-sweet moment to witness and made many cry around me. As the Holy Father exited, he had nothing but a smile on his face. He was so peacefully proceeding out of this Mass and out of Holy Office. He reminded the world in this exact moment what we must do everyday: listen to and accept the will of God.

I leave you with a quote from Mother Theresa of Calcutta that was not written. I learned of it from a sister from the Missionaries of Charity who knew her personally.

"Give to God all that is takes and take from God all that he gives, with a BIG smile."

Thank you Pope Benedict for showing us how to discern the will of God to know what is good, acceptable and perfect.

The Day Finally Came

After a year of knowing I was going to Rome for the Catholic Studies Semester, I am finally here!! This is unbelievable.

We flew in yesterday morning at around 7:45 AM and because of our great lack of sleep, we were walking zombies. The only thing that kept me up was the fact that I was in Rome, Italy not only for a week but for four months. It still hadn't sunk in that this is where I will live for the next four months!!

Nervous? Too awestruck and tired to tell. Excited? Too awestruck and tired to tell.

All I did know at that moment was that I will be getting on this bus and going back to Bernardi, the building owned by St. Thomas specifically to serve as my home for the next few months. This is all real. Someone pinch me!!! Even once I finally set down my bags in my new room, it still hadn't hit me. Was this really happening? Am I really this blessed? God is WAAAY too kind to me. I do not deserve to have this great blessing but I accept it with a beyond opened heart! God had a reason to give me this opportunity and so far, I'm not complaining one bit!!

Anyway, a group of us decided we were going to walk to St. Peter's Basilica and go to Mass down there. It was 14 seminarians in cassocks and two of us non-seminarians dressed nicely. If you want to draw the attention of every Italian walking down the street, travel with 14 men wearing black cassocks!! The walk was hardly anything and I was in awe of how beautiful my surroundings were. Then I saw it:

Seeing St. Peter's Basilica for the first time was beyond words. This is easily one of the most famous buildings in the world and I, a mere college student from Minnesota, am here admiring this stunning architecture from hundreds of years ago. Excitement was inexplicable!!!

Then we entered the basilica to attend Mass and it was there that I finally felt it. As I watched a priest giving a homily and celebrating the Most Holy Mass in Italian, I realized that this is my life. This is all real and this is where I will live for the next few months. This is my new home!! I am in the capital of the Catholic Church and I am here receiving Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. Absolutely incredible!!

I look forward to the months to come. ARRIVEDERCI!!!

A Letter to Fall of 2012

Dear Fall of 2012,

I'm not a huge fan of being cheesy and sappy but with the semester that awaits me this Spring, I feel the need to express how much I will miss and cherish the four months I just spent this past semester. This has been one of the best years of my life thus far. There are so many people I want to thank so that's exactly what I'll do!!

First, I had like to thank my roommates: Tom Asp, Ben Henrickson and Robin Nault-Maurer. These three men were the best roommates I could ever ask for. They reminded me of how much I love St. Thomas. I met them all my Freshman year and wanted to live with them for my Sophomore year, but fate had other things in store for me. With finally having the opportunity to live with them, I enjoyed every moment. The late nights of League, the few nights of Ab Ripper X, the constant messiness of the apartment. Every detail was great. I will miss living with them and I look forward to being friends with them for the rest of my life. Thank you.

The next group of people I want to thank are the choir people. I joined choir back in January and now I feel like I found a family that could break out into song spontaneously. Choir was my retreat from my stressful schedule and the source of countless friends. Though Rome is going to be an experience I'll never forget, I will miss the choir a lot. Singing with them all has been the highlight of my year. I cannot wait for Fall 2013 when I return to this great group of musicians!!

The Men of Sigma Tau Omega will always have a special place in my heart. These men have formed my college experience from the very beginning. We have had our shares of success and troubles but we are stronger than ever. I am excited to see the future of the Order and I'm even more excited to be a part of this organization for another year. Thank you for reminding me what it means to be a citizen of this country and being a Man of Tradition.

The Summit Singers was the group I never intended on joining but the group I've never regretted joining. It has been amazing to see how much we've grown since our founding in late January. We've sang in some amazing events and we got club recognition. People love us and rightly so!! Thank you for making this one of the more fun years I could remember. I will miss singing with these men but I have confidence we will be even better by the time I get back.

And last but definitely not least, I will miss Emily a lot this next semester. She has become one of my best friends!! Spending two hours every week in a small radio studio has given me the opportunity to get to know her so much more than I ever expected. She is a great person and a SUPERB friend. She will also be abroad this next semester but in Argentina--literally, clear across the world. I look forward to Skyping her and sharing our experiences abroad. I'll miss you Emily!!!

So that is my letter to this semester. I look forward to my semester in Rome and I am glad to have this opportunity. Just know, I will miss all my friends at St. Thomas. You all are enough reason for me to get out of bed every morning. You all have changed my life!!

Happy New Year!!!

HALLELUJAH

Today was Rome decision day and….I’M GOING!!!!! 

As I have been waiting for several months now, I have worried a lot. I went through the typical process everyone does. I had my doubts as the decision approached but ultimately, I am extremely happy!

My application was turned in early January so I’ve waited a while. In that time, I faced many problems I didn’t foresee.

First of these was the cold feet after the fact. I had a solid week or two where I seriously questioned whether or not I’d actually go if accepted. I was afraid of many things and Rome seemed to be a dream. In a way, I thought that I couldn’t possibly be chosen but I got over that fear quickly.

Second was my 4-year plan. Being a double major, I had to think about how my Political Science major will be affected by studying abroad. Luckily, and slightly unfortunately, I realized I had to take a class in the Fall of 2012 here in St. Thomas. Because of that, I couldn’t go to Rome if I wanted to graduate in 4 years. I thought long and hard about what to do and I decided that I would switch my application to the Spring 2013 instead. As sad as I was knowing that I was giving away my chance of seeing friends graduate in May and studying in Rome with two of my very good friends, I knew that it was necessary if I wanted to go to Rome.

The last of the problems was again another wave of doubt. Is it really plausible for me to go to Rome? I didn’t know that answer until today when I opened the email with my acceptance. I was filled with joy an I knew this was what I was meant to do 

Hello World!!

So I am a student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and I am planning on studying abroad in Rome for the Fall of 2012.

I attended an informational meeting on the program and I am quite excited about that! Everyone says the community is rivaled to none but I’m skeptical. I have been a part of many communities that have changed my life. St. Peter’s Youth Group, Sigma Tau Omega, Orientation Team 2011, and I love my roommates. I understand that Rome could add another to the list but I have to stop and think sometimes.

Why am I going? Saying because it’s Rome is a good enough answer for me! I’ve never travelled to Europe before and if I don’t go to Spain in the Spring, that fact will remain the same. Rome is the birth place of the structural Catholic Church. This is the capital of my Faith. So why not?