Our whole team is finally here! Our last brother from Egypt just arrived today after much Visa trouble. Go figure...
So here's the final rundown: 4 Americans, 1 Aussie, 2 Brits, 3 French, 1 Scottish, 1 from the Netherlands, 2 German, 1 Columbian, 1 Nicaraguan, 1 Brazilian, 1 from Portugal, and 1 Lithuanian. 19 people. 12 nationalities. Total insanity. Completely awesome.
It's been awhile since I've updated anything, so I'll try to do a brief overview of the last few weeks.
We officially began on the school on Oct 1, the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, who is one of our patron saints. She died at the age of 24 as a cloistered nun, and she is one of the patronesses for missionaries.
We left Rome early for Assisi, and after the 2 hour train ride, the beautiful city-on-a-hill came into view. We hiked on up, and then made our way to the monastery in which we were staying. It was right near the basilica of St. Francis, and offered fantastic views. We had time to go around and tour the city, and we stayed out until late at night. The town is so beautiful.
The next day we were able to visit San Damiano, the convent where St. Clare lived with her sisters, and where she founded the Order of the Poor Clares. Afterward, we all gathered into one of the olive groves, and each of us shared how God had brought us to the ESM. At one point a realized something really amazing - this group is literally a microcosm of the Church. There are 20 people from all over the world. We are extremely different in more ways than I can count. And yet, we all come together for one goal: to grow closer to the love of God, and to spread that love to others. This common root is able to bind us closer together than if we had all grown up with the same experiences. It's so cool to witness and be a part of something so special.
Later on, a Franciscan brother spoke to us about the life of St. Clare. He was so wise and joyful. He made an excellent point - to the world, St. Clare's life was a complete waste. She lived in the same building, without leaving, for 40 years, in complete poverty. She was sick for 30 of those years, and paralyzed for a good number of them. And yet at death she was still able to die with an ecstatic joy. Something else was at work here!
October 4th was the feast of St. Francis! I've had a huge devotion to him for many years, especially since attending Franciscan University. To be able to celebrate mass at his tomb, on his feast day, was such a gift from God. You can feel the presence of Francis so powerfully there. It's truly remarkable. We also got to pray in front of the San Damiano cross, which spoke to Francis, causing his conversion, and subsequently, the founding of the Franciscans. We then played some intense 4-square. Epic. Earlier in the day we had broken up in to 4 groups, and each group had to make up a different "life of St. Francis." One group acted it out, one group made up a song, the other group did a dance, and my group mimed. We performed them at night, and it was absolutely hilarious. What a blessed group of crazy people! That night, we took a walk up to the castle at the top of the hill, while praying the rosary. The whole city lay before us, the illuminated churches towering above the twinkling lights of the rest of the town. Can I move here?
On Tuesday, we hiked up to a hermitage in the hills. There was some pretty intense fog, and the mountain was steep. Not for the faint of heart. We eventually made it to the top, and were able to tour through the hermitage, and have mass in one of the chapels. While we were up there, the sun finally broke through the clouds. On the way back down, the sunrays shot through the gaps in the clouds, which made for some extremely beautiful views of the valley below.
Our last day in Assisi, we got to go down to St. Mary of the Angels, a huge basilica in the valley below the city. Inside is housed the Portiuncula chapel, which was Francis's church, and the place of his holy death. We had an exact replica of this chapel at Franciscan University, so it was so amazing to be able to be back inside. After mass, we played ultimate frisbee in the massive piazza outside the basilica. We caught the train home, and I was able to speak to a women in Italian for over 2 hours! Living proof the Rosetta Stone works :)
We've been back in Rome now for a few days. Our first day back we got to eat dinner with a few of our professors. One, Msgr. Sarno, grew up in Brooklyn, NY, but has lived in Rome for 29 years. He works for the Congregation for the Cause of Saints. They review the lives of holy persons, as well as the miracles that are put forth for the canonization. He was able to tell us alot about some of the saints-in-the-making. It was beyond interesting. He said that there is a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa that is looking extremely promising! So expect to see St. Teresa of Calcutta in the near future. We have the opportunity to go to the canonization of Bl. Mary Mackillop (Australia's first saint!) and Bl. Andre Bessett of Canada on Oct 17, so he told us about them as well. It was amazing.
On Friday we had some free time. Nia and I really wanted gelato, so after shopping for some of our school books, we got some, even though we were running extremely late. We realized that there was no way we were going to get back on time, so we started sprinting through the streets of Rome, eating our now quickly melting gelatos. My shoes were tearing my feet up, so I whipped them off and ran barefoot. Everyone was staring at us. What can I say? We're Americans...
Saturday (Happy birthday Paul!) was pretty free. We began by playing soccer and volleyball. In the evening, I met up with Fr. Ed Lohse, a friend from back home whom I've known for 4 years, and was just transferred to Rome. We walked around the city and went out to eat. It was so good to see a familiar face, and I am really blessed to have him here.
Yesterday, Sunday Oct 11, I got up and went for a run to St. Peter's and back. I then met up with 2 friends from America who are in the seminary in Rome called the North American College. It is so incredible. We had a huge brunch, and then went out for coffee in a little cafe that overlooks the whole city. So so good to see them. This was followed by mass and vespers in St. Peter's.
That's pretty much what I've been up to! We officially started classes today, so things are going to get alot more intense. God has been so good already, and I definitely feel at home. I could not have asked for a better group of people to be living with for the next year. It's not going to be easy, but I know it will be fruitful.
One last thought - Everyone here is so generous! I can't even believe it. They literally think of others before themselves. It has really struck me just in the little things. For instance, even the first day, when we would be served food, people would grab my plate and serve me before themselves, or pour me water before they gave it to themselves. It really made me think about how I live my life. I'm not sure if it's just an American thing to focus more on ourselves, or if it's just me, but it definitely opened my eyes to the way we're supposed to live, in putting others first.
I probably won't be able to keep updating this blog as often as I would like, but I'll try my best. You'll be in my prayers!
Seeking the Heart of Christ, in the heart of the Church,
Eric
