Mommy arrived on Monday and it was wonderful! I met her at the bus and then we spent some time in her lovely hotel room before I had to head to class. That night we had dinner at the Keller which is the restaurant on campus and just had time to talk which was wonderful! We then headed up to her room to say a Rosary which of course ended up being Rosary, several hours of talking, and a Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Mommy had a day trip to Mariazell on Tuesday morning but was back in time to visit my Philosophy of the Human Person class! After classes we went to a lovely Welcome Dinner hosted by the university. We had a wonderfully blessed conversation at dinner and at the end all the students introduced their parents which I thought was really nice.
On Wednesday Mommy had another day trip so I don't think I saw her until dinner time when we ate at the Keller again. After dinner we went to the St. Patrick's Day Talent Show which was lots of fun! We then planned to watch The Quiet Man as is our St. Patrick's Day tradition but we didn't have the dvd and we couldn't find it on youtube! So we ended up just going to bed.
On Thursday we headed out for Salzburg! We had a walking tour that evening and then went out to a lovely little restaurant for dinner. We then went back to our hotel and watched the movie Amazing Grace.
Friday was rather more eventful. In the morning we went to the Mozart museum which was pretty interesting though we were both pretty tired and started falling asleep during the movie at the end. We then headed to the beautiful Mirabell gardens! Different parts of this were used in the filming of The Sound of Music. But even if it hadn't been used for the movie it was definitely worth visiting! We then headed across the river and stopped in the cemetery by Nonnberg Abbey which is where Rolf betrayed the Von Trapps. Only it isn't really where Rolf betrayed the Von Trapps cuz they just built a set of it in Hollywood. But it's still really cool and Mom really enjoyed that!
We then went up to the Fortress which I was super excited about! There's a big hill in the middle of Salzburg with this giant fortress castle on top. And there's the coolest story about this fortress which I'm sure I told you all from the last time I went to Salzburg but just in case - The Turks were attacking Salzburg and so all the Salzburgians fled up to the fortress. So the Turks were in the actual city of Salzburg and had pretty much already won. And the only provisions the Salzburgian people had up in the fortress was one cow. But some genius or madman said let's march the cow around the fortress so the Turks can see it and then paint it a different color and march it around again and then another color and so on and they'll think we have endless provisions. So they tried it and it worked! Hence, there are tons of cow souvenirs in Salzburg and since that's my favorite story about Salzburg I decided to invest in a stuffed cow. Her name is Bessie.
But the point is I love the fortress and I really wanted to visit it so I was super excited that we actually got to! And there's so much to see up there! I mean obviously the view is incredible but then the fortress itself is like a little town! There was a whole museum on the fortress and on the Austrian military and even a little museum on the Salzburg Marionette Theatre! Which, by the way, is really sweet! I mean, we never got to go to the actual theatre but if I ever get a chance to come back to Salzburg it will definitely be on my list of things to do. They legitimately perform Shakespeare and The Nutcracker with puppets! It's so cool!
There was even more stuff we could've done up at the fortress but we were tired and hungry so we decided to head back down. But not before getting a picture of Bessie with the Salzburg Stier sign!
Once we got back down we bought a chocolate covered pretzel from a street vendor for our late lunch. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the fancy dinner we were going to that night. But before dinner we had Praise and Worship!
That morning my beautiful household sister Chrissy was like I really wanna sing I Love You Lord! And I was like Oh my gosh me too! And she was like We should do praise and worship! And she's so cool that she actually went to Sister Monica and was like Sister can we have praise and worship? And so we decided that at 6:30 that evening we would head up to the Capuchin Monastery overlooking Salzburg and do praise and worship! Oh my gosh it was so beautiful! It was just Chrissy and her parents, me and my Mommy, Ari, and Sister Monica but it was so perfect! We were on top of this hill looking out over my favorite city and the sun was setting and we were just singing and praising God and it was soooooo beautiful! And Chrissy and I even got to sing our household song which was so wonderful - I love that song so much and I love household so much and I love my sisters so much and it was just perfect!
After praise and worship we headed to the Mozart dinner concert which was really fun! Mom and I sat with Chrissy and her parents who I just love and we ate incredibly delicious food and I thought the music was gonna be all instrumental but it wasn't there were singers too! I'm not really a fan of instrumental music - I need singing so this was just perfect even though they were singing in a different language. It was so much fun, I really enjoyed it!
The next day we headed out for Vienna. Our first day mostly just comprised the walking tour and a beautiful Mass! Mass was in the beautiful St. Stephen's Church but it was actually in a small chapel underneath the Church. Nevertheless, it was wonderful. The Priest gave a fantastic homily. One thing he said has really stuck with me: "We should be so grateful that on the last day God will be our judge and not our neighbor." He was reflecting on the Gospel which was of the woman caught in adultery who the people wanted to stone but who Jesus told to "Go and sin no more."
After Mass we walked out a side door of the Church and practically walked right into a procession! At the head of the procession was a man who was clearly either a Bishop or a Cardinal but I couldn't tell which. And they were carrying the cross and the papal flag and it was a candlelight procession and they were all singing and I was like OH MY GOSH! This was just so cool for me cuz processions were pretty much invented in Europe but Vienna's not exactly the bastion of Catholicism that it used to be and yet here was a legit Catholic procession in the middle of the totally citified Vienna! And then I turned to Sister Monica and asked what the procession was for and she said she didn't know but that it was being led by Cardinal Schonnborn who helped write the Catechism! CARDINAL SCHONBORN!!!!! He's like a catechetical celebrity!!!! So I decided we were going to join the procession. I was in tears as we walked along cuz God is just so good!
The procession ended in a courtyard and Mom was trying to get a good picture of the Cardinal and the next thing I know we're standing about five feet away from him! And then he stepped out to start talking and we were literally a foot away from him! A FOOT AWAY FROM CARDINAL SCHONNBORN!!!!!! This man helped write the Catechism of the Catholic Church - the second greatest book ever written (after the Bible of course)!!!!!!!!!!! I'm majoring in Catechetics - this man pretty much made my major possible! AND I'M STANDING A FOOT AWAY FROM HIM!!!!!!!!!! It was incredible!!!!!!!!!!
We eventually headed out and I just had to stop for a moment and take in everything that I'd just experienced. GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!
After that we stopped by a kebap stand for dinner and even got gelatti on the way back to the hotel!
The next day we had Mass at the Hoffburg Palace Chapel with alumni of the Vienna Boys Choir. Naturally, it was lovely. Mom and I then visited the Treasury which houses both royal jewels and suchwhat and a whole couple rooms of relics of the saints! Including St. Veronica's veil that wiped the face of Jesus! And - I was so excited - relics of St. John and St. Jude!!!! They are two of my favorite saints and when we were in Rome I had really hoped that there would be relics of them but we didn't see any and little did I know they were right in Vienna!
After the treasury we stopped for lunch at a lovely little cafe. We then went to the Hoffburg Palace to see the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments. We got there about 10 minutes before an English speaking tour started so that worked out beautifully! The Sisi Museum is dedicated to Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi, who was the last empress of Austria and who led a very fascinating but tragic life. I found the museum really fascinating. Then we got to see the Imperial Apartments which were really cool! They were the rooms in which the royal family lived. We also stopped by the silver museum which houses all the royal family's silver, china, and crystal. It was actually a little ridiculous how much stuff they had.
We then went to the burial crypt of the Hapsburgs - the ruling family of Austria. It was actually really fascinating.
We had some time before we had to meet up with our group again so we went to the Adoration Chapel at St. Stephen's and visited with Jesus for a little while.
At 5:45 we met up with our group and headed to the Twelve Apostles Restaurant for a farewell dinner. The food was great, the company was great and we even got treated to some dinner music! And it was so sweet at one point all the dads started dancing with their daughters! I was kind of sad my Daddy wasn't there! (Not like I wanted him instead of my Mom but like I wish they both could've been there). After dinner we took several group photos and then I had to run back to the hotel to pack and get on the bus back to Gaming! Mommy was staying in Vienna for the night and flying out in the morning.
Obviously the good-bye was hard but I actually feel much more confident now that my Mom's been here. Probably cuz I got to show her around and I realized how capable I am.
Friday, March 26, 2010
London!
So the weekend after 10 day Ari and I headed to London! Yes I finally got there!
It was only a two day weekend so we knew it would be a very brief visit but still totally worth it!
Friday night we took the train to Salzburg where we stayed the night so we could get the first flight out Saturday morning. Our first adventure occurred when the bus that's supposed to come every 10 minutes to take you to the airport didn't show up for 45 minutes and then the sign said that it still wouldn't be there for another hour! And we had to get to the airport or we were gonna miss our flight! But, luckily, right on the corner was a tour bus station and there was a very nice gentleman there who spoke English and called a cab for us! So we made it to the airport in plenty of time!
Once we got to London it was a 45 minute bus ride from the airport to the actual city. And then we spent a good 45 minutes to an hour just trying to figure out the metro system. But we finally got to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Unfortunately, because we were so short on time we didn't get to actually go in the Tower but we still got some great pictures of both the Tower and the Bridge. Now Tower Bridge is what everyone thinks of when they think of London Bridge but it's actually not. London Bridge is actually highly disappointing. It looks like a really boring average bridge. However, Ari was very excited that we got to walk across Milennium Bridge which is the bridge that gets destroyed by the death eaters (or dementors I don't remember which) in the sixth Harry Potter movie.
We did find British telephone booths to take our pictures in which Ari especially was very excited about.
We then made our way towards Big Ben and I got to ride on a double decker bus! Top deck of course. Yeah, it was exciting.
I hadn't thought we would get to see Westminster Abbey but it turns out it's right near Big Ben so we got to go into part of the Abbey though the actual Church was closed. But, once we got there, I had a spur of the moment idea so Ari and I knelt outside the church and prayed a nine minute novena (which is just nine Memorares) for the conversion of England. Being in London really helped me to appreciate the fact that all the other trips I've been on this semester have been pilgrimages. It was so sad seeing all these beautiful churches in England and knowing that they should be Catholic - they were Catholic - but they're not. I never fully appreciated the selfishness of Henry the Eighth before. He wanted his divorce and so he not only destroyed his wife, scarred his children, killed hundreds - probably thousands - of innocents, and forced that generation to abandon their faith but he imposed his false religion on all these future generations of English! It just broke my heart. So I was very glad that we were able to pray for England's conversion outside of Westminster Abbey and implore the prayers of St. Thomas More and St. Thomas a' Beckett for the conversion of their country. That prayer was definitely the highlight of the trip.
We then took some pictures of Big Ben which was actually smaller than I expected. But it's Big Ben so it was still pretty darn cool.
It was dark out by the time we headed to Buckingham Palace and let me tell you that was disappointing! It was a wall! We walked right past it and then we were like wait, I think that was the palace. Yeah, it was kind of ridiculous.
Now, Ari had her heart set on visiting Platform 9 3/4. For those of you who have not read Harry Potter, Platform 9 3/4 is the platform at King's Cross Station where Harry gets the train to Hogwarts. However, it doesn't really exist. In the books you have to run through a brick wall to get to the platform. So when Ari first told me that she wanted to visit Platform 9 3/4 I was afraid that I was going to have to explain to her that Harry Potter is in fact, what we call, fiction. But, it turns out they built a Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station because of the popularity of the books. So our final stop that night was to Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Oh my gosh it was so much fun! The "platform" is actually just a brick wall with a sign that says Platform 9 3/4 but sticking out of the wall is half a luggage cart - like it's in the process of disappearing through the wall onto the actual platform. We took so many pictures - it was hilarious!!!! It sounds so silly but we just had a blast!
We then headed into town to get some dinner but stopped to do a little souvenire shopping on the way. I got one of those adorable teddy bears that's dressed up like a Royal Guard! We ended up eating dinner in a Chinese restaurant!
And then we headed for our hostel. On the website it had sounded like a really good hostel - cheap, breakfast and towels included, only ten minutes from London Bridge - well it turns out that ten minutes from London Bridge is the bad part of town. So we're walking down the street and we have to pass through this whole group of people doing drugs and fighting. So we just kind of looked down and walked by as quickly as we could and then we realize we've gone too far and our hostel is back the other way. So we turn around and look up at the building that all these scary people are standing in front of and . . . it's our hostel. Yeah. I've never actually read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but this was the kind of place I imagine it being set in.
Now, I've discovered that my brain tends to shut down when I'm in situations like this so I was ready to go into this hostel. Thankfully, Ari still had all her wits about her so she walked right on past and we got a bus and headed back to the safe part of town. I was a mess. Like I was just totally paranoid the rest of the night. And it probably didn't help that we were just wandering around London trying to find a safe looking hostel. So we finally hailed a cab and told the driver to take us to a safe hostel. Which he did. And there were two beds left in the entire place! Praise God! So we went up to our rooms and we stopped in the hall and Ari was like "Can we just pray before going to bed?" and I was like umm, YES! So we just thanked God that we were alive and then headed to bed. Oh yeah and it was about 2:30 in the morning at this point. I think I got about 4 hours sleep that night.
The next morning we took a bus to the train station, a train to the airport, a plane to Salzburg, a bus to the train station, ate kebaps for lunch!, and took a train - well a couple trains actually - back to Gaming, and then walked back to the Kartause! And that was the end of the London adventures!
It was only a two day weekend so we knew it would be a very brief visit but still totally worth it!
Friday night we took the train to Salzburg where we stayed the night so we could get the first flight out Saturday morning. Our first adventure occurred when the bus that's supposed to come every 10 minutes to take you to the airport didn't show up for 45 minutes and then the sign said that it still wouldn't be there for another hour! And we had to get to the airport or we were gonna miss our flight! But, luckily, right on the corner was a tour bus station and there was a very nice gentleman there who spoke English and called a cab for us! So we made it to the airport in plenty of time!
Once we got to London it was a 45 minute bus ride from the airport to the actual city. And then we spent a good 45 minutes to an hour just trying to figure out the metro system. But we finally got to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Unfortunately, because we were so short on time we didn't get to actually go in the Tower but we still got some great pictures of both the Tower and the Bridge. Now Tower Bridge is what everyone thinks of when they think of London Bridge but it's actually not. London Bridge is actually highly disappointing. It looks like a really boring average bridge. However, Ari was very excited that we got to walk across Milennium Bridge which is the bridge that gets destroyed by the death eaters (or dementors I don't remember which) in the sixth Harry Potter movie.
We did find British telephone booths to take our pictures in which Ari especially was very excited about.
We then made our way towards Big Ben and I got to ride on a double decker bus! Top deck of course. Yeah, it was exciting.
I hadn't thought we would get to see Westminster Abbey but it turns out it's right near Big Ben so we got to go into part of the Abbey though the actual Church was closed. But, once we got there, I had a spur of the moment idea so Ari and I knelt outside the church and prayed a nine minute novena (which is just nine Memorares) for the conversion of England. Being in London really helped me to appreciate the fact that all the other trips I've been on this semester have been pilgrimages. It was so sad seeing all these beautiful churches in England and knowing that they should be Catholic - they were Catholic - but they're not. I never fully appreciated the selfishness of Henry the Eighth before. He wanted his divorce and so he not only destroyed his wife, scarred his children, killed hundreds - probably thousands - of innocents, and forced that generation to abandon their faith but he imposed his false religion on all these future generations of English! It just broke my heart. So I was very glad that we were able to pray for England's conversion outside of Westminster Abbey and implore the prayers of St. Thomas More and St. Thomas a' Beckett for the conversion of their country. That prayer was definitely the highlight of the trip.
We then took some pictures of Big Ben which was actually smaller than I expected. But it's Big Ben so it was still pretty darn cool.
It was dark out by the time we headed to Buckingham Palace and let me tell you that was disappointing! It was a wall! We walked right past it and then we were like wait, I think that was the palace. Yeah, it was kind of ridiculous.
Now, Ari had her heart set on visiting Platform 9 3/4. For those of you who have not read Harry Potter, Platform 9 3/4 is the platform at King's Cross Station where Harry gets the train to Hogwarts. However, it doesn't really exist. In the books you have to run through a brick wall to get to the platform. So when Ari first told me that she wanted to visit Platform 9 3/4 I was afraid that I was going to have to explain to her that Harry Potter is in fact, what we call, fiction. But, it turns out they built a Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station because of the popularity of the books. So our final stop that night was to Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Oh my gosh it was so much fun! The "platform" is actually just a brick wall with a sign that says Platform 9 3/4 but sticking out of the wall is half a luggage cart - like it's in the process of disappearing through the wall onto the actual platform. We took so many pictures - it was hilarious!!!! It sounds so silly but we just had a blast!
We then headed into town to get some dinner but stopped to do a little souvenire shopping on the way. I got one of those adorable teddy bears that's dressed up like a Royal Guard! We ended up eating dinner in a Chinese restaurant!
And then we headed for our hostel. On the website it had sounded like a really good hostel - cheap, breakfast and towels included, only ten minutes from London Bridge - well it turns out that ten minutes from London Bridge is the bad part of town. So we're walking down the street and we have to pass through this whole group of people doing drugs and fighting. So we just kind of looked down and walked by as quickly as we could and then we realize we've gone too far and our hostel is back the other way. So we turn around and look up at the building that all these scary people are standing in front of and . . . it's our hostel. Yeah. I've never actually read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but this was the kind of place I imagine it being set in.
Now, I've discovered that my brain tends to shut down when I'm in situations like this so I was ready to go into this hostel. Thankfully, Ari still had all her wits about her so she walked right on past and we got a bus and headed back to the safe part of town. I was a mess. Like I was just totally paranoid the rest of the night. And it probably didn't help that we were just wandering around London trying to find a safe looking hostel. So we finally hailed a cab and told the driver to take us to a safe hostel. Which he did. And there were two beds left in the entire place! Praise God! So we went up to our rooms and we stopped in the hall and Ari was like "Can we just pray before going to bed?" and I was like umm, YES! So we just thanked God that we were alive and then headed to bed. Oh yeah and it was about 2:30 in the morning at this point. I think I got about 4 hours sleep that night.
The next morning we took a bus to the train station, a train to the airport, a plane to Salzburg, a bus to the train station, ate kebaps for lunch!, and took a train - well a couple trains actually - back to Gaming, and then walked back to the Kartause! And that was the end of the London adventures!
Assisi Day 3
Ari and I overslept this morning. On my part it was partially accidental and partially on purpose. See I thought Mass started at 8:30. So when I got out of bed at 8:15 I figured I was good. Only then I looked at the schedule and realized that Mass started at 8 with part 2 of our tour directly following. I had no idea where the Basilica was and I was exhausted so I went back to sleep.
Once we got up Ari and I decided to go on a little shopping expedition. I really wanted to get a statue of St. Clare with the monstrance cuz that's my favorite story about her. Some enemies, I believe it was the Turks, were attacking Assisi and the Sisters in San Damiano were very frightened. So they went to St. Clare who was very ill and bedridden at the time and she instructed them to help her up. She then went to the chapel and took the monstrance, with Jesus inside, and went out on the balcony and held up the monstrance and there was a blinding light and the attackers were overcome with fear and ran away! And so there are statues of St. Clare with the monstrance and I really wanted to get one and I finally found the perfect one! Another example of how Jesus has helped me with my souvenire shopping. I also got a beautiful holy card of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I felt a little weird getting an Our Lady of Guadalupe holy card in Europe but I love OLG and I kind of collect holy cards of her and this one was just so beautiful so I had to get it! Ari and I also stopped in a hat shop and I found the most adorable winter hat!
We then decided to take a short cut through a side street which of course took us who knows where but eventually got us to our destination. However, I am soooooo glad we took this not-so-short shortcut because it led us to the most beautiful place! We were walking up a flight of steps (many of the streets in Assisi are actually steps cuz the town is built into a mountain) and we turned around and we had the most gorgeous view! It was like we were looking out over all of Italy! And our view was totally unobstructed and just incredible gorgeous! We were in agreement that the lady who lived in the house up there has the greatest house in the world!
We eventually realized that we had about two minutes to get back to the hotel for lunch so booked it and made it just in time!
After lunch I headed back up to St. Clare's house next to San Rufino. I had been dying to get back up there and just spend some time with my patron saint! So I went in the little chapel and said my Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then I just leaned my head against the wall and talked to St. Clare. I can't really explain it but I totally built up a relationship with her while I was at her home. I relate to her now like she's my older sister. I'm also asking her to be my spiritual director. Cuz I feel like she knows me pretty darn well and she's totally looking out for me cuz she's my patroness and now my big sister and, I mean, come on, who wouldn't want a saint as their spiritual director? I also asked her to teach me how to love. Like I said, I really admire the love between her and Saint Francis and I really just want to learn how to love others the way I'm supposed to love them and just to learn how to truly love the way Christ loved and the way He wants me to love.
Before I left I kissed the wall and took some pictures and then I turned to leave and I just couldn't. It was the same kind of feeling I had when I was getting on the plane to come to Austria only not to the same degree. But I just so desperately didn't want to say good-bye! So I took a few more minutes and then I just had to walk away without looking back or I never would've been able to leave!
I didn't have any set plans at this point so I decided to just do a little more exploring. I took some more pictures and then, as I was passing a cafe, I saw Maude and Sarah! So I hopped on in and they were like Oh my gosh we were just saying we wished you were here and then you showed up! So the three of us chilled in the cafe for a little while and then went scarf shopping. Maude and I both got beautiful scarves! We also stopped at a bakery where I got several mini canolies (not sure if I spelled that right) and a lovely Italian pastry.
Maude then wanted to go back to San Francesco, the Basilica where they had had Mass that morning, and I really wanted to go cuz I hadn't even seen it yet! Isn't it beautiful how God provides? I had overslept and missed Mass but He knew I should visit the Basilica so He put the desire in Maude's heart to go back, directed me to the cafe where Maude and Sarah were chilling and so I got to visit San Francesco!
There are actually three Churches contained in San Francesco (St. Francis). The bottom one is the crypt Church on top of which is the original Basilica on top of which is the new Basilica. And Sarah related to me a very funny story which Fr. Brad had told everyone that morning. When St. Francis died his body was originally entombed in a Benedictine Church. And the Franciscans were like that's ridiculous, he founded our order, we should have his body! But the Benedictines were like No way, he's ours! So the Franciscans grabbed some fireworks and snuck over to the Benedictine Church in the middle of the night and set them off. All the Benedictines came running out cuz they thought they were under attack. Meanwhile the Franciscans scurried in, grabbed Francis' body and scurried back out. When they got back to their own monastery they buried Francis' body under layers of concrete so when the Benedictines came calling the Franciscans were like What body? We don't have any body? Did you lose St. Francis?! So for years there was this legend that St. Francis' body was underneath the Basilica and so they began excavating and lo and behold there he was! So the excavation site is now the Crypt Church and St. Francis body is right there!
On our walk back from the Basilica we kept stopping in food stores to see if we could find real Italian pasta sauce. Sarah and I had been planning to have a real Italian dinner for our next movie night once we got back to the Kartause. We had already obtained an amazing form of pasta called gnocchi (pronounced no-key) and wine but couldn't find pasta sauce anywhere. It then occured to us that this was probably because Italians make their own pasta sauce. However we finally found a jar of almost pasta sauce - it was kinda like a starter kit - to which we later added onion, ham, and cheese. I can not even explain to you how incredible that pasta was! It may have been the best meal of my life.
But back to Assisi. We then had Mass at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Our Lady Over Minerva, there was another Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome because both were built over temples to the pagan goddess Minerva). This Church was so beautiful! It was relatively small and actually kind of reminded me of my Grandma Millie's house though I'm not entirely sure why. But right in front was a gorgeous little grotto type thing with a beautiful statue of Our Lady in the middle. And I really loved that the Crown of Twelve Stars on Mary's head actually lit up. I just think that's so cool. Communion was particularly beautiful at this Mass, obviously I know the Eucharist is Jesus but it was like for a moment my heart really knew that this was the Lord like my heart knew Who it was receiving and it was just incredible! There was such peace!
When we returned to the hotel I had to quickly pack and drop off my bag to be loaded on the bus so I wouldn't have to carry it down with me in the morning. We then had a lovely dinner with lovely people and the dessert was incredible! It was this chocolate puddingy stuff but it was like eating chocolate cake mix! Like you know when you're little and you really wanna lick the spoon with the chocolate cake mix on it but Mommy's like "No there's raw eggs in there you'll get sick and die!" but sometimes you sneak it anyway? Yeah well this was like finally being able to lick the spoon and not get in trouble!
After dinner I had a lovely conversation with my household sister and some others and then went back to my room where Amy was practicing her poetry recitation. I still wanted to find a pastry shop and get some sort of dessert for our Italian dinner but it was almost 10:00 by now so we figured the pastry shops would all be closed. But Amy, Ari, and I decided to give it a try and - Praise God! - the best pastry shop in Assisi was still open! So I got a dozen lovely cookies and then told the others that I was gonna stop by St. Clare's house for one last good-bye since we were leaving in the morning. And my lovely friends decided to accompany me!
So the three of us headed on up to St. Clare's house and the chapel was actually closed for the night but I just stood outside for a moment and said a prayer while Amy and Ari sat down outside San Rufino. So once I was done I just sat down and joined them and we spent a little time there just talking and looking up at the castle on top of the mountain. On the other side of the courtyard from us there was an adorable cat walking around and I was like "I wish that cat would come over here." And as soon as I said it the cat started trotting towards us! It was so cool cuz I was in St. Francis' hometown and St. Francis loved the animals and I was like "I wish that cat would come over here" and Jesus was like ok - cat get over there! So this cat came over and was just kind of pacing around in front of us and then he started to walk away and I was like NO! So I started doing the whole "here kitty kitty" thing and Amy was like You should try it in Italian and I was like "here gato gato!" and the cat turned around! And at one point I went over to pet him and then Ari freaked out and was like HE COULD HAVE RABIES! Which I don't think he did but I was afraid if I touched him Ari would freak out at me so I didn't.
So then we finally headed out after saying one last good-bye to St. Clare and one last good-bye to the gato.
And - God is so good - I had felt a cold coming on ever since we got to Rome and I should've gotten sick so long ago but it wasn't until we were done with everything in Assisi on our last day there that I lay down in bed and the cold finally hit me. And all I could do was praise God that He held off this cold until I had nothing else important that I wanted to do and was headed on my way back to the Kartause!
Once we got up Ari and I decided to go on a little shopping expedition. I really wanted to get a statue of St. Clare with the monstrance cuz that's my favorite story about her. Some enemies, I believe it was the Turks, were attacking Assisi and the Sisters in San Damiano were very frightened. So they went to St. Clare who was very ill and bedridden at the time and she instructed them to help her up. She then went to the chapel and took the monstrance, with Jesus inside, and went out on the balcony and held up the monstrance and there was a blinding light and the attackers were overcome with fear and ran away! And so there are statues of St. Clare with the monstrance and I really wanted to get one and I finally found the perfect one! Another example of how Jesus has helped me with my souvenire shopping. I also got a beautiful holy card of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I felt a little weird getting an Our Lady of Guadalupe holy card in Europe but I love OLG and I kind of collect holy cards of her and this one was just so beautiful so I had to get it! Ari and I also stopped in a hat shop and I found the most adorable winter hat!
We then decided to take a short cut through a side street which of course took us who knows where but eventually got us to our destination. However, I am soooooo glad we took this not-so-short shortcut because it led us to the most beautiful place! We were walking up a flight of steps (many of the streets in Assisi are actually steps cuz the town is built into a mountain) and we turned around and we had the most gorgeous view! It was like we were looking out over all of Italy! And our view was totally unobstructed and just incredible gorgeous! We were in agreement that the lady who lived in the house up there has the greatest house in the world!
We eventually realized that we had about two minutes to get back to the hotel for lunch so booked it and made it just in time!
After lunch I headed back up to St. Clare's house next to San Rufino. I had been dying to get back up there and just spend some time with my patron saint! So I went in the little chapel and said my Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then I just leaned my head against the wall and talked to St. Clare. I can't really explain it but I totally built up a relationship with her while I was at her home. I relate to her now like she's my older sister. I'm also asking her to be my spiritual director. Cuz I feel like she knows me pretty darn well and she's totally looking out for me cuz she's my patroness and now my big sister and, I mean, come on, who wouldn't want a saint as their spiritual director? I also asked her to teach me how to love. Like I said, I really admire the love between her and Saint Francis and I really just want to learn how to love others the way I'm supposed to love them and just to learn how to truly love the way Christ loved and the way He wants me to love.
Before I left I kissed the wall and took some pictures and then I turned to leave and I just couldn't. It was the same kind of feeling I had when I was getting on the plane to come to Austria only not to the same degree. But I just so desperately didn't want to say good-bye! So I took a few more minutes and then I just had to walk away without looking back or I never would've been able to leave!
I didn't have any set plans at this point so I decided to just do a little more exploring. I took some more pictures and then, as I was passing a cafe, I saw Maude and Sarah! So I hopped on in and they were like Oh my gosh we were just saying we wished you were here and then you showed up! So the three of us chilled in the cafe for a little while and then went scarf shopping. Maude and I both got beautiful scarves! We also stopped at a bakery where I got several mini canolies (not sure if I spelled that right) and a lovely Italian pastry.
Maude then wanted to go back to San Francesco, the Basilica where they had had Mass that morning, and I really wanted to go cuz I hadn't even seen it yet! Isn't it beautiful how God provides? I had overslept and missed Mass but He knew I should visit the Basilica so He put the desire in Maude's heart to go back, directed me to the cafe where Maude and Sarah were chilling and so I got to visit San Francesco!
There are actually three Churches contained in San Francesco (St. Francis). The bottom one is the crypt Church on top of which is the original Basilica on top of which is the new Basilica. And Sarah related to me a very funny story which Fr. Brad had told everyone that morning. When St. Francis died his body was originally entombed in a Benedictine Church. And the Franciscans were like that's ridiculous, he founded our order, we should have his body! But the Benedictines were like No way, he's ours! So the Franciscans grabbed some fireworks and snuck over to the Benedictine Church in the middle of the night and set them off. All the Benedictines came running out cuz they thought they were under attack. Meanwhile the Franciscans scurried in, grabbed Francis' body and scurried back out. When they got back to their own monastery they buried Francis' body under layers of concrete so when the Benedictines came calling the Franciscans were like What body? We don't have any body? Did you lose St. Francis?! So for years there was this legend that St. Francis' body was underneath the Basilica and so they began excavating and lo and behold there he was! So the excavation site is now the Crypt Church and St. Francis body is right there!
On our walk back from the Basilica we kept stopping in food stores to see if we could find real Italian pasta sauce. Sarah and I had been planning to have a real Italian dinner for our next movie night once we got back to the Kartause. We had already obtained an amazing form of pasta called gnocchi (pronounced no-key) and wine but couldn't find pasta sauce anywhere. It then occured to us that this was probably because Italians make their own pasta sauce. However we finally found a jar of almost pasta sauce - it was kinda like a starter kit - to which we later added onion, ham, and cheese. I can not even explain to you how incredible that pasta was! It may have been the best meal of my life.
But back to Assisi. We then had Mass at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Our Lady Over Minerva, there was another Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome because both were built over temples to the pagan goddess Minerva). This Church was so beautiful! It was relatively small and actually kind of reminded me of my Grandma Millie's house though I'm not entirely sure why. But right in front was a gorgeous little grotto type thing with a beautiful statue of Our Lady in the middle. And I really loved that the Crown of Twelve Stars on Mary's head actually lit up. I just think that's so cool. Communion was particularly beautiful at this Mass, obviously I know the Eucharist is Jesus but it was like for a moment my heart really knew that this was the Lord like my heart knew Who it was receiving and it was just incredible! There was such peace!
When we returned to the hotel I had to quickly pack and drop off my bag to be loaded on the bus so I wouldn't have to carry it down with me in the morning. We then had a lovely dinner with lovely people and the dessert was incredible! It was this chocolate puddingy stuff but it was like eating chocolate cake mix! Like you know when you're little and you really wanna lick the spoon with the chocolate cake mix on it but Mommy's like "No there's raw eggs in there you'll get sick and die!" but sometimes you sneak it anyway? Yeah well this was like finally being able to lick the spoon and not get in trouble!
After dinner I had a lovely conversation with my household sister and some others and then went back to my room where Amy was practicing her poetry recitation. I still wanted to find a pastry shop and get some sort of dessert for our Italian dinner but it was almost 10:00 by now so we figured the pastry shops would all be closed. But Amy, Ari, and I decided to give it a try and - Praise God! - the best pastry shop in Assisi was still open! So I got a dozen lovely cookies and then told the others that I was gonna stop by St. Clare's house for one last good-bye since we were leaving in the morning. And my lovely friends decided to accompany me!
So the three of us headed on up to St. Clare's house and the chapel was actually closed for the night but I just stood outside for a moment and said a prayer while Amy and Ari sat down outside San Rufino. So once I was done I just sat down and joined them and we spent a little time there just talking and looking up at the castle on top of the mountain. On the other side of the courtyard from us there was an adorable cat walking around and I was like "I wish that cat would come over here." And as soon as I said it the cat started trotting towards us! It was so cool cuz I was in St. Francis' hometown and St. Francis loved the animals and I was like "I wish that cat would come over here" and Jesus was like ok - cat get over there! So this cat came over and was just kind of pacing around in front of us and then he started to walk away and I was like NO! So I started doing the whole "here kitty kitty" thing and Amy was like You should try it in Italian and I was like "here gato gato!" and the cat turned around! And at one point I went over to pet him and then Ari freaked out and was like HE COULD HAVE RABIES! Which I don't think he did but I was afraid if I touched him Ari would freak out at me so I didn't.
So then we finally headed out after saying one last good-bye to St. Clare and one last good-bye to the gato.
And - God is so good - I had felt a cold coming on ever since we got to Rome and I should've gotten sick so long ago but it wasn't until we were done with everything in Assisi on our last day there that I lay down in bed and the cold finally hit me. And all I could do was praise God that He held off this cold until I had nothing else important that I wanted to do and was headed on my way back to the Kartause!
Assisi Day 2
I slept through breakfast but that was ok cuz I made it to Mass on time - at the Basilica of Santa Chiara a.k.a. St Clare! And after Mass we got to go down to the crypt where they have the remains of St. Clare's body! She was incorrupt when they first dug her up but once the body was exposed it started to decay and so they now have a wax model of St. Clare inside of which is her body.
And on the other side of the crypt are items made by St. Clare mostly for St. Francis. Things such as garments and even the special bandages that Clare made for St. Francis' stigmata. That particularly touched me because I'm amazed by the beautiful love that St. Francis and St. Clare had for each other. It was like they were brother and sister but even closer. And looking at those bandages I could just see the love with which St. Clare must have made them.
We then began part 1 of our tour of Assisi. We actually saw the little chapel that Amy and I had found the night before and learned that it is one of 3 places in Assisi that claims to be the birthplace of St. Francis. It's very unlikely that this one actually was his birthplace because at the time it was a barn owned by Francis' family. However, Francis family was upper middle class so it's highly unlikely that their son would have been born in a barn. But, the legend around this place sprung up because Francis so mirrored the life of Christ that people said well Christ was born in a stable so Francis must have been too!
We then went to another Church which I didn't catch the name of but which houses the cell in which St. Francis was kept when his father thought he had lost his mind. Looking at this cell was so heartbreaking because it was so tiny, barely room to stand up and none to move around, I just can't comprehend a parent putting their child through such torture!
The last stop on our tour was San Damiano, another Church which Francis rebuilt and the convent where St. Clare and her Sisters lived. We had to hike relatively far down the mountain to get there but the view throughout the whole walk was incredible! We were looking down on what seemed like all of Italy! It was so beautiful!
San Damiano was absolutely incredible! We went inside and I got to kiss the place where St. Clare died. Only 3 days before she died the Pope had granted her her lifelong petition - to be able to live a life of total poverty, owning absolutely nothing! When St. Clare's cell is referred to it's not actually a cell in the sense we think of. It was simply a piece of the floor big enough to put her cot on. If she even had a cot, I wouldn't be surprised if she slept on the stone floor. So we entered this large stone room and a little piece of it, just big enough for a person to sleep in, was roped off and marked with a simple bouquet and candle as the place where Clare died. So I knelt and prayed there and leaned over and kissed the ground where she died. It was a really powerful experience for me.
Every year, back home, I look forward to the crocuses blooming in our backyard because it's a sign that spring is coming. So one of the things that I was sad about in coming to Austria was that I wouldn't get to see the crocuses this year. But I stepped out into the courtyard of San Damiano and there were two purple crocuses, one on either side of the courtyard! It's like since I couldn't see them at my own house God put them at St. Clare's house just for me!
San Damiano was absolutely incredible! It is so beautiful and so peaceful! The view is spectacular and holiness and peace just permeate the whole place! I can't even explain how wonderful it is!
But, eventually, we had to hike back up the mountain to be in time for lunch at the hotel. However, the walk did provide for some wonderful photo opportunities.
After lunch we began our pilgrimage to the hermitage of St. Francis. We had to walk the first ten minutes of the hike and then we had the option to either take a shuttle the rest of the way up the mountain or walk. I really did consider walking because I felt like it was appropriate and part of the experience but then it was all rainy and yucky and cold out and I was wearing a skirt so I opted to take the shuttle. I'm really glad I did, I don't think I could've survived that hike.
While it had only been raining down in Assisi it was snowing by the time we got up the mountain. We first entered the hermitage, which I suspect was originally built for midgets. Even I had trouble getting through those doorways! Then we exited the hermitage and there was a pathway. I was cold. I did not want to be outside. But I thought maybe there was something important along this pathway that I should see. So I followed my friend Sarah who was forging ahead. It was a long, muddy walk. It was snowing. It was not enjoyable. We got to the end and there was a tiny little chapel. It was nice of course but if I had known that was all there was I would have stayed in the hermitage. And then we had to trek all the way back to the hermitage. We got back to the chapel in the hermitage and I sat down and looked up at the altar . . . and I was SO HAPPY! It was the most ridiculous thing because I was cold and wet and miserable but I was just so joyful! Because I had been offering that whole ridiculous walk for a special intention that I've been praying for throughout the semester and I just looked up at the altar and I knew that that walk was worth it. Even though there was nothing really to see that walk had a purpose and it brought a soul one step closer to God. So I was so happy!
I stayed in the chapel and prayed for a while. Then I discovered that there was another (warmer) chapel where they were having Eucharistic Adoration! So naturally I had to go say hi to Jesus. I spent some time with Him and then met up with my friend Maude on my way back to the shuttle.
I got back to the hotel, soaked my poor frozen feet in the wonderfully warm bath water and then attempted to take a nap.
The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful and that's about it for day 2!
And on the other side of the crypt are items made by St. Clare mostly for St. Francis. Things such as garments and even the special bandages that Clare made for St. Francis' stigmata. That particularly touched me because I'm amazed by the beautiful love that St. Francis and St. Clare had for each other. It was like they were brother and sister but even closer. And looking at those bandages I could just see the love with which St. Clare must have made them.
We then began part 1 of our tour of Assisi. We actually saw the little chapel that Amy and I had found the night before and learned that it is one of 3 places in Assisi that claims to be the birthplace of St. Francis. It's very unlikely that this one actually was his birthplace because at the time it was a barn owned by Francis' family. However, Francis family was upper middle class so it's highly unlikely that their son would have been born in a barn. But, the legend around this place sprung up because Francis so mirrored the life of Christ that people said well Christ was born in a stable so Francis must have been too!
We then went to another Church which I didn't catch the name of but which houses the cell in which St. Francis was kept when his father thought he had lost his mind. Looking at this cell was so heartbreaking because it was so tiny, barely room to stand up and none to move around, I just can't comprehend a parent putting their child through such torture!
The last stop on our tour was San Damiano, another Church which Francis rebuilt and the convent where St. Clare and her Sisters lived. We had to hike relatively far down the mountain to get there but the view throughout the whole walk was incredible! We were looking down on what seemed like all of Italy! It was so beautiful!
San Damiano was absolutely incredible! We went inside and I got to kiss the place where St. Clare died. Only 3 days before she died the Pope had granted her her lifelong petition - to be able to live a life of total poverty, owning absolutely nothing! When St. Clare's cell is referred to it's not actually a cell in the sense we think of. It was simply a piece of the floor big enough to put her cot on. If she even had a cot, I wouldn't be surprised if she slept on the stone floor. So we entered this large stone room and a little piece of it, just big enough for a person to sleep in, was roped off and marked with a simple bouquet and candle as the place where Clare died. So I knelt and prayed there and leaned over and kissed the ground where she died. It was a really powerful experience for me.
Every year, back home, I look forward to the crocuses blooming in our backyard because it's a sign that spring is coming. So one of the things that I was sad about in coming to Austria was that I wouldn't get to see the crocuses this year. But I stepped out into the courtyard of San Damiano and there were two purple crocuses, one on either side of the courtyard! It's like since I couldn't see them at my own house God put them at St. Clare's house just for me!
San Damiano was absolutely incredible! It is so beautiful and so peaceful! The view is spectacular and holiness and peace just permeate the whole place! I can't even explain how wonderful it is!
But, eventually, we had to hike back up the mountain to be in time for lunch at the hotel. However, the walk did provide for some wonderful photo opportunities.
After lunch we began our pilgrimage to the hermitage of St. Francis. We had to walk the first ten minutes of the hike and then we had the option to either take a shuttle the rest of the way up the mountain or walk. I really did consider walking because I felt like it was appropriate and part of the experience but then it was all rainy and yucky and cold out and I was wearing a skirt so I opted to take the shuttle. I'm really glad I did, I don't think I could've survived that hike.
While it had only been raining down in Assisi it was snowing by the time we got up the mountain. We first entered the hermitage, which I suspect was originally built for midgets. Even I had trouble getting through those doorways! Then we exited the hermitage and there was a pathway. I was cold. I did not want to be outside. But I thought maybe there was something important along this pathway that I should see. So I followed my friend Sarah who was forging ahead. It was a long, muddy walk. It was snowing. It was not enjoyable. We got to the end and there was a tiny little chapel. It was nice of course but if I had known that was all there was I would have stayed in the hermitage. And then we had to trek all the way back to the hermitage. We got back to the chapel in the hermitage and I sat down and looked up at the altar . . . and I was SO HAPPY! It was the most ridiculous thing because I was cold and wet and miserable but I was just so joyful! Because I had been offering that whole ridiculous walk for a special intention that I've been praying for throughout the semester and I just looked up at the altar and I knew that that walk was worth it. Even though there was nothing really to see that walk had a purpose and it brought a soul one step closer to God. So I was so happy!
I stayed in the chapel and prayed for a while. Then I discovered that there was another (warmer) chapel where they were having Eucharistic Adoration! So naturally I had to go say hi to Jesus. I spent some time with Him and then met up with my friend Maude on my way back to the shuttle.
I got back to the hotel, soaked my poor frozen feet in the wonderfully warm bath water and then attempted to take a nap.
The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful and that's about it for day 2!
Welcome to Assisi!
So I woke up Wednesday morning and had breakfast with Sarah, Christa, and Maude. We then boarded the busses for our trip to Assisi! During our 2 hour drive I, naturally, went to sleep.
The next thing I knew we were at Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels)! This Church is not actually in the town of Assisi but is at the foot of the mountain on which Assisi is located and it was a place of great importance for St. Francis. Before entering the Church Fr. Brad gave a brief talk on some different points about the Church and about St. Francis.
One really cool story related to a statue we had seen the night before across the street from St. John Latteran. When St. Francis first went to the Pope to request permission to found a new religious order the Pope, I believe mainly on the advice of his advisors, said no. So Francis and his brothers began the journey back to Assisi but that night the Pope had a dream in which he saw Francis singlehandedly holding up the Church of St. John Latteran (the Pope's actual parish) which was falling down. So the Pope woke up and immediately sent for Francis and gave him permission to found this new religious order which came to be known as the Franciscans. Later on, this statue of Francis was built across the street from St. John Latteran so that when you look back at it you see Francis holding up the Church!
Inside Santa Maria degli Angeli is the original Portiuncula Chapel which is one of three Churches that Francis literally rebuilt after having a dream of the Lord telling him "Francis, rebuild my Church," not realizing that Christ meant the Church Church not the physical Church buildings. The portiuncula is also the place where St. Clare took her vows so it's a very special place for me.
There were absolutely beautiful stained glass windows behind the main altar!
And, while we were there, I lit candles for Aunt Brenda, cousin Theresa, and Grandpa Duggan. But I think I did it on the wrong day. I was supposed to light them on their birthday but I couldn't remember if their birthdays were Wednesday or Thursday so I lit them on Wednesday but I think their birthdays were actually on Thursday. Oops!
We then headed back to the busses and began to ascend the mountain. Those windy mountain roads are kinda scary! And yet so beautiful!
But, of course, the bus couldn't take us all the way up to Assisi so it dropped us off and we had to take an escalator up the side of the mountain! I thought that was pretty darn cool.
Once we got to our hotel we had a legit Italian lunch. First they serve us a delicious pasta! And then they come around with seconds. I was pretty hungry and the pasta was ridiculously good so I accepted. Then they come around with thirds! And when you decline the waitress looks at you like you have two heads! And then they come around with the main course - chicken and potatoes! And once you finish those they bring you a bowl of fruit for dessert! It was insane but it was so legitimately Italian! I loved it!
After lunch we had to check in to our room. So Amy and I climb up the first flight of stairs and see Ari getting into the elevator and we're like wait for us (cuz we all have our 500 pound luggage with us and we're on the third floor)! But the doors were closing and she was like tough luck! So Amy and I stand there, aggravated, waiting for the next elevator. And about 5 minutes later I turn around and see Ari climbing back up the stairs from 1st floor with all her luggage and everything and all I could do was burst out laughing! Apparently that elevator isn't particularly reliable and so it took her downstairs instead of up! Hahaha! So at that point the three of us gave up on the elevator and just walked up to our room.
There were two beds in our room and a cot in the corner. However, the cot had a gold bedspread and so I immediately claimed the gold bed despite the fact that it was just a cot in the corner. Overall our hotel in Assisi was very charming. For that matter, Assisi was very charming!
We had some time before Mass so Amy and I stopped in some of the shops along the road. We then headed up to San Rufino where we were having Mass. Mass itself was beautiful, of course, and the first reading made me really happy - seriously, if you want to laugh, read the Bible, there are some things in there that are so true yet so funny! almost like they're funny because they're true and you can't believe it actually says that in the Bible! In the first reading it said "More torturous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?" And that just made me laugh cuz it's so true and it's something I've been dealing with since forever!
At the end of Mass Fr. Brad informed us that it is tradition when you begin a pilgrimage to Assisi that you be blessed. So all us students processed up and received a blessing from one of the four Priests.
Once Mass ended we had some time to tour the Cathedral. I immediately booked it to the Baptismal Font cuz I knew it would get really crowded and I wanted to have a little time to pray there since . . . it's the Baptismal Font where St. Clare was baptized! St. Francis was also baptized there and some other important people. It was really special to be able to pray there. I even got to touch my Rosary to the Font although that proved more difficult than I thought. You see, there's a kind of fence around the Font but I saw one of the big tall rugby players lean over and touch his Rosary to the Font so I was like ok no problem. Only I didn't factor in the height difference. My feet were barely touching the floor and my Rosary was barely touching the Font. I would not have been surprised if I had fallen over the fence.
Also in the Cathedral was a side room with an exhibition of paintings of Pope John Paul II. It was really beautiful!
We then went outside and right next door to the Cathedral is the house where St. Clare grew up! There's just a little chapel that you can visit, it's only about the size of a walk-in closet, with a little altar and a sculpture of St. Clare, but it was so beautiful! So I took a few minutes to pray there and then Amy and I went exploring. Assisi is one of those places where you can do that - you can just start walking and end up in places you haven't been and you don't really know where you are but you know you'll eventually get back to where you want to be! We discovered a random little chapel, not much bigger than the chapel in St. Clare's house, but it was so cute! So we stopped to say a prayer.
Not much else happened on our excursion and we eventually made it back to the hotel in time for dinner. Dinner is a similar affair to lunch - you have your 1 to 3 helpings of pasta or rice, then your main course, usually meat and vegetables, and then a legit dessert.
That was day one in Assisi!
The next thing I knew we were at Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels)! This Church is not actually in the town of Assisi but is at the foot of the mountain on which Assisi is located and it was a place of great importance for St. Francis. Before entering the Church Fr. Brad gave a brief talk on some different points about the Church and about St. Francis.
One really cool story related to a statue we had seen the night before across the street from St. John Latteran. When St. Francis first went to the Pope to request permission to found a new religious order the Pope, I believe mainly on the advice of his advisors, said no. So Francis and his brothers began the journey back to Assisi but that night the Pope had a dream in which he saw Francis singlehandedly holding up the Church of St. John Latteran (the Pope's actual parish) which was falling down. So the Pope woke up and immediately sent for Francis and gave him permission to found this new religious order which came to be known as the Franciscans. Later on, this statue of Francis was built across the street from St. John Latteran so that when you look back at it you see Francis holding up the Church!
Inside Santa Maria degli Angeli is the original Portiuncula Chapel which is one of three Churches that Francis literally rebuilt after having a dream of the Lord telling him "Francis, rebuild my Church," not realizing that Christ meant the Church Church not the physical Church buildings. The portiuncula is also the place where St. Clare took her vows so it's a very special place for me.
There were absolutely beautiful stained glass windows behind the main altar!
And, while we were there, I lit candles for Aunt Brenda, cousin Theresa, and Grandpa Duggan. But I think I did it on the wrong day. I was supposed to light them on their birthday but I couldn't remember if their birthdays were Wednesday or Thursday so I lit them on Wednesday but I think their birthdays were actually on Thursday. Oops!
We then headed back to the busses and began to ascend the mountain. Those windy mountain roads are kinda scary! And yet so beautiful!
But, of course, the bus couldn't take us all the way up to Assisi so it dropped us off and we had to take an escalator up the side of the mountain! I thought that was pretty darn cool.
Once we got to our hotel we had a legit Italian lunch. First they serve us a delicious pasta! And then they come around with seconds. I was pretty hungry and the pasta was ridiculously good so I accepted. Then they come around with thirds! And when you decline the waitress looks at you like you have two heads! And then they come around with the main course - chicken and potatoes! And once you finish those they bring you a bowl of fruit for dessert! It was insane but it was so legitimately Italian! I loved it!
After lunch we had to check in to our room. So Amy and I climb up the first flight of stairs and see Ari getting into the elevator and we're like wait for us (cuz we all have our 500 pound luggage with us and we're on the third floor)! But the doors were closing and she was like tough luck! So Amy and I stand there, aggravated, waiting for the next elevator. And about 5 minutes later I turn around and see Ari climbing back up the stairs from 1st floor with all her luggage and everything and all I could do was burst out laughing! Apparently that elevator isn't particularly reliable and so it took her downstairs instead of up! Hahaha! So at that point the three of us gave up on the elevator and just walked up to our room.
There were two beds in our room and a cot in the corner. However, the cot had a gold bedspread and so I immediately claimed the gold bed despite the fact that it was just a cot in the corner. Overall our hotel in Assisi was very charming. For that matter, Assisi was very charming!
We had some time before Mass so Amy and I stopped in some of the shops along the road. We then headed up to San Rufino where we were having Mass. Mass itself was beautiful, of course, and the first reading made me really happy - seriously, if you want to laugh, read the Bible, there are some things in there that are so true yet so funny! almost like they're funny because they're true and you can't believe it actually says that in the Bible! In the first reading it said "More torturous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?" And that just made me laugh cuz it's so true and it's something I've been dealing with since forever!
At the end of Mass Fr. Brad informed us that it is tradition when you begin a pilgrimage to Assisi that you be blessed. So all us students processed up and received a blessing from one of the four Priests.
Once Mass ended we had some time to tour the Cathedral. I immediately booked it to the Baptismal Font cuz I knew it would get really crowded and I wanted to have a little time to pray there since . . . it's the Baptismal Font where St. Clare was baptized! St. Francis was also baptized there and some other important people. It was really special to be able to pray there. I even got to touch my Rosary to the Font although that proved more difficult than I thought. You see, there's a kind of fence around the Font but I saw one of the big tall rugby players lean over and touch his Rosary to the Font so I was like ok no problem. Only I didn't factor in the height difference. My feet were barely touching the floor and my Rosary was barely touching the Font. I would not have been surprised if I had fallen over the fence.
Also in the Cathedral was a side room with an exhibition of paintings of Pope John Paul II. It was really beautiful!
We then went outside and right next door to the Cathedral is the house where St. Clare grew up! There's just a little chapel that you can visit, it's only about the size of a walk-in closet, with a little altar and a sculpture of St. Clare, but it was so beautiful! So I took a few minutes to pray there and then Amy and I went exploring. Assisi is one of those places where you can do that - you can just start walking and end up in places you haven't been and you don't really know where you are but you know you'll eventually get back to where you want to be! We discovered a random little chapel, not much bigger than the chapel in St. Clare's house, but it was so cute! So we stopped to say a prayer.
Not much else happened on our excursion and we eventually made it back to the hotel in time for dinner. Dinner is a similar affair to lunch - you have your 1 to 3 helpings of pasta or rice, then your main course, usually meat and vegetables, and then a legit dessert.
That was day one in Assisi!
Technical Difficulties
So I went to turn on my computer this afternoon and it wouldn't turn on. And my computer science major roommate was running out the door to catch her train for 10 day. And I have no idea how to fix my computer.
Sooooo - I'm using a school computer to finish catching up on the blog but unfortunately all the posts will be picture-less until I get back from 10 day cuz all my photos are on my laptop. But once I get back I will add pictures to all the blogs that I post tonight. Just wanted to let you guys know.
Sooooo - I'm using a school computer to finish catching up on the blog but unfortunately all the posts will be picture-less until I get back from 10 day cuz all my photos are on my laptop. But once I get back I will add pictures to all the blogs that I post tonight. Just wanted to let you guys know.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Our Last Day in Roma!
Tuesday night we had learned that our general audience with Pope Benedict on Wednesday would be held inside rather than outside as is usually the case. Now, when the audience is held outside getting there at 5 in the morning to get as close to the Pope as possible is not a bad idea. However, when the audience is held inside everyone is just put in a particular section of seating and the Pope is on stage the whole time so the point is kind of moot. But, there was a group from Franciscan that had been planning to get to the Vatican around 5:30 in the morning and when we learned that the audience was going to be inside they decided to just proceed with their plans anyway cuz it’s all part of the experience! So I was going to join them for this, however, my alarm went off at 4:45 that morning and it was just not gonna happen. So, eventually, Ari woke me up and the two of us had breakfast together and then headed on over to St. Peter’s. We still got there about an hour and a half before the audience was going to start. There were several different sections of seating and we were in the front row of the second section which was still pretty darn close. And right across the aisle from us were the people who had left at 5:00 in the morning. So sleeping in was definitely the right choice in this particular situation. So in the hour and a half that we had I put on my makeup, prayed a Rosary, prayed a Divine Mercy Chaplet, and talked to the Irish guy sitting next to us.
And then . . . HE ENTERED!!!! The Pope!!!!! And naturally we all freaked out! Everyone was screaming and yelling, I was one of several people standing on our chairs to get pictures. And we were all like whoooo we love the Pope!!!!!
Sooo once we all quieted down there were Cardinals from all different countries and each one would get up and read the day's reading in a different language. I believe there was Latin, Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish. The Pope then gave his address in Latin after which each Cardinal got up to introduce different pilgrims. Like the Italian Cardinal would introduce the Italian speaking pilgrims, the French Cardinal the French speaking pilgrims, etc. And after each Cardinal finished the Pope would give his address again in that particular language. So the English Cardinal got up to introduce different groups of English speaking pilgrims and he introduced "students and faculty from the Franciscan University of Steubenville" and naturally we freaked out! Which is what you're supposed to do when you get introduced. And we were all like AAAAAHHHHHH WE LOVE THE POPE!!!!!! And it was really cool cuz we were spread out all over the auditorium so we were introduced and there were students jumping up from all over the room. And the Pope gave us all his little Pope wave and it was so cool!!!!! Oh and I'm pretty sure we had the loudest cheer of all the groups that were introduced. I take great pride in that fact. So then the Pope gave his address in English and it was all about St. Francis and Assissi and we were leaving for Assissi the next morning! It was like he knew we were coming! Which he probably did but I doubt he wrote his entire talk just for us.
Some other cool groups were a boys choir who sang a song for the Pope and it was so beautiful! Also there was a violin group who played the William Tell Overture. And there were several newlyweds who came to get there marriages blessed by the Pope! And the brides were still wearing their gowns! It was so cool!
And of course, at the end of the audience everyone holds up any religious objects they want to have blessed and the Pope blesses them! I got a Rosary, my Miraculous Medal, and a JPII necklace blessed.
A group of us then went to lunch at a little Italian restaurant. I had real Italian pizza again which made me very happy! And some street players came up which just totally made the experience.
After that I joined my friend Devon who was going back to pray at St. Peter's for a little while. Unfortunately, the line to get into the Vatican was ridiculously long so that cut our time in St. Peter's short but it gave us a good opportunity for some bonding.
Once inside St. Peter's I did a sort of walking prayer just going around St. Peter's stopping at the different side altars. And then I ended in the Adoration Chapel saying hello to Jesus.
We then headed to the Sacred Stairs which are the stairs that Christ climbed to meet Pilate. They were brought to Rome from the Holy Land by St. Helen, the mother of Constantine. We had to ascend on our knees. The actual stairs are encased in wood but there are slits through which you can touch the actual marble stairs. And there are little windows through which you can see blood which is believed to be the Precious Blood of Christ. Yeah, it was pretty incredible.
Unfortunately we had to miss Mass in order to do this devotion. I was pretty bummed about that. But I still got a chance to see St. John Latteran which is where Mass was held. It's also the Pope's official parish. I had a few minutes to pray by the Adoration Chapel in St. John Latteran and there was the most wonderful statue of St. John! I'm very picky about pictures and statues of my favorite saints so it makes me very excited when I find one that I really like and I really liked this one!
After seeing St. John Latteran we got to go to the Basilica of Santa Croce which holds relics of the true Cross, a nail from the true Cross, and the cross of the good thief.
After dinner was the long anticipated MOS/Disciples Rosary in St. Peter's Square! A lot of people came with us and at first I was kinda bummed cuz I thought it should just be MOS and Disciples but they were all such wonderful people and it was just such a wonderful night! Before we started Rosary we had an MOS/Disciples photo shoot. We then begun Rosary facing the Image of Our Lady on the side of St. Peter's. One of the Disciples told me that this image wasn't originally there but when Pope John Paul II was shot he was slipping in and out of consciousness and he was looking up at all these saints and he was like Where's our Mother? So he had this image added to the side of St. Peter's. As we were praying it started to rain. And it was so beautiful I didn't even care that I was getting drenched! And we were so happy cuz the lights were on in the Pope's apartments! So when we sang our household song we faced Papa's window and sang to him! And then we sang the Disciples household song which was a blast! There were so many of us and we were in the middle of St. Peter's Square just being completely ridiculous and singing and laughing and having the best time ever! It was so great that we just couldn't stop - after the Disciples song we sang the Salve Regina and Dona Nobis Pacem. And then the Polizia came over and told us to be quiet but it was fine cuz we were ready to leave anyway.
So we stopped at a gelatto place on the way back to our hotel. It was lovely! Once we got back to the hotel I visited with my household sisters for a little while before heading to bed.
Prayer Intentions
Hello everyone!
So, my second ten day break starts this Saturday! I'm going with my friend Sarah to France - Paris, Lisieux, Domremy, and Lourdes - and Ireland - Dublin and Cork.
We're leaving Saturday morning and taking the train to Paris where we'll be spending the next 3 nights. On Sunday we're taking a day trip up to Lisieux and going to Mass at the parish where St. Therese went to Mass! On Monday we're taking a day trip to Domremy which is the town where St. Joan of Arc grew up. We're spending Tuesday in Paris and Versailles which is the royal palace located 10 minutes from Paris. Tuesday night we take the train to Lourdes and spend Wednesday there. On Thursday we take the train from Lourdes to Nice where we get our plane to Dublin. After that I don't really know specifics cuz Sarah was in charge of planning the Ireland half of our trip - I took care of France. But I know we're spending some time in Dublin and some time in Cork where we'll visit the castle with the Blarney Stone. And I'm sure we're visiting other stuff too but I'm not sure what specifically.
Soooo since I'm visiting all these really holy places in France if anybody has any special prayer intentions that you want me to bring to Our Lady and the saints please let me know! You can e-mail me (anitabook13@aol.com) or facebook.
And if you could please keep me in your prayers over this next week that Sarah and I have a safe and blessed trip I would really appreciate it!
I love you guys! God Bless!
So, my second ten day break starts this Saturday! I'm going with my friend Sarah to France - Paris, Lisieux, Domremy, and Lourdes - and Ireland - Dublin and Cork.
We're leaving Saturday morning and taking the train to Paris where we'll be spending the next 3 nights. On Sunday we're taking a day trip up to Lisieux and going to Mass at the parish where St. Therese went to Mass! On Monday we're taking a day trip to Domremy which is the town where St. Joan of Arc grew up. We're spending Tuesday in Paris and Versailles which is the royal palace located 10 minutes from Paris. Tuesday night we take the train to Lourdes and spend Wednesday there. On Thursday we take the train from Lourdes to Nice where we get our plane to Dublin. After that I don't really know specifics cuz Sarah was in charge of planning the Ireland half of our trip - I took care of France. But I know we're spending some time in Dublin and some time in Cork where we'll visit the castle with the Blarney Stone. And I'm sure we're visiting other stuff too but I'm not sure what specifically.
Soooo since I'm visiting all these really holy places in France if anybody has any special prayer intentions that you want me to bring to Our Lady and the saints please let me know! You can e-mail me (anitabook13@aol.com) or facebook.
And if you could please keep me in your prayers over this next week that Sarah and I have a safe and blessed trip I would really appreciate it!
I love you guys! God Bless!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Roma Day 4
We began day 4 with Mass at Sts. Cosmas and Damian in the Forum which is the motherhouse of the TOR Friars who run Franciscan University. Following Mass we went down to the crypt to see the tomb of Sts. Cosmas and Damian. We also got to see the largest nativity scene in Rome which is housed in the Church.
We then began on a tour of the Roman Forum which is a collection of many different ruins including triumphal arches, the entrance to the Roman sewers, one of the earliest Christian churches, the Arch of Augustine, the Church of St. Lawrence, and the Tomb of Julius Caesar. We then headed up Palatine Hill which houses the beautiful Uzzia Gardens along with ruins of the house of Caesar Augustus, the seat of the Roman government, and the emperor's private stadium. We then got to see the Circus Maximus which is where the chariot races were held. It's where Ben Hur would've raced if he existed.
The tour ended in front of the Colosseum so Ari and I took the opportunity to go inside. There's not much about the Colosseum that you can't see from pictures except the sense of actually being there, in this place where the first martyrs gave their lives. I had recently finished reading The Story of a Soul which is the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux. In this St. Therese recounts going on a pilgrimage to Rome with her father and sister. She tells how she and her sister had their hearts set on kissing the ground where the martyrs died but when they got to the Colosseum the tour guide wouldn't take them down to ground level because it's unsafe. But she and her sister just couldn't leave without paying tribute to the martyrs so after the tour they just took off and ran down to the ground and kissed it and they thought their father was going to be furious but he couldn't decide if he should be angry or proud so he didn't say anything! Having read that story before going to Rome really helped me to understand the Colosseum better and to really comprehend that the martyrs died here. It wasn't a particularly emotional experience but it was a deep one. I particularly appreciated the simple cross that was erected in honor of the martyrs. The best way I can describe the experience is as simply deep which is in fact an oxymoron and I can't really explain it but if you've ever experienced it you know what I mean.
After that we bought pizza from a street vendor and ate our lunch outside the Colosseum before heading back to my favorite place - Vatican City! We had decided to climb the cuppola which is the dome of St. Peter's basilica. You can climb up to the roof of St. Peter's and from there climb halfway up the dome and see the inside of St. Peter's from halfway up the dome and then continue the climb until you're almost at the top of the dome and then go out on a terrace and look out across Rome. So we began the climb. We got up to the roof and were like wow that wasn't so bad. Then we started climbing the dome. That was a bit more difficult. But we made it and got to walk around the inside of the dome. Ari was very excited cuz we got to touch the mosaics. Turns out those baby cherubs could beat you up. They look tiny from down below but then you get up next to them and find out they're huge! We then continued our climb which ended with a spiral staircase that was so narrow it didn't even have a railing, just a rope you have to cling to! 
And then . . . we were there!!!! On the dome of St. Peter's!!!!! It was absolutely incredible! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
As we had walked out onto the terrace it had occured to us that we should have said a Rosary on the way up. But it worked out for the best because we found two little seats up on the terrace and we said a Rosary looking out over Rome! And there was a beautiful little breeze and it was so marvelous! 
By the time we finished our Rosary we had to book it down to the Basilica so we wouldn't miss our tour. However, we did make a brief stop on the roof of St. Peter's to see the statues of the Apostles (which are huge by the way) and to marvel at the fact that there is a legit souvenire shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica. Cuz St. Peter's is just that cool.
We arrived just in time for our "detailed tour of St. Peter's Basilica" with Fr. Kirby from the seminary. You have no idea how insane St. Peter's is! We saw so much while we were still just in the vestibule! For example: the doors leading into the Church (which are ginormous) have a whole bunch of carvings in them of Biblical stories. And then there are the Jubilee Doors which only the Pope is allowed to open. At one end of the vestibule is a statue of Constantine and at the other a statue of Charlemagne, two defenders of the Church guarding the Church.
We then went inside the actual Basilica. The first thing Fr. Kirby pointed out to us were the statues. There's a row of statues along the bottom of the wall, near the floor, and another row along the top of the wall, closer to the ceiling. When St. Peter's was built they put a lot of thought into proportion and so the statues on top are actually several feet taller than the statues on the bottom so that when you look at them from the ground they appear to be the same size. The statues in the bottom row are 8 - 10 feet tall and the statues in the top row are 10 - 17 feet tall. Another example of the giant statues in St. Peter's are the cute little cherubs holding the Holy water. Yeah, they're not so cute and little. If they stood up straight they'd be six feet tall. They could beat you up man. Also, there's writing up around the ceiling of the Basilica. Well in order for this writing to look normal sized to us on the ground each letter has to be six feet tall! A full grown person could stand inside the O with their arms and legs stretched out and fit perfectly inside it! 
Right on the floor inside the entrance to the Basilica is a large purple circle. Fr. Kirby explained to us that this circle is made of porphyri (not sure if I spelled that right) and had been in the front of the Basilica with the Emperor's seat placed on it. Only the Emperor was allowed to enter the circle and anyone else who did could be put to death. Well once the emperors were long gone and they were building the new Basilica they had the circle moved to the entrance so that everyone would have to step through it in order to enter the Church. This symbolizes the fact that in Christ there is no differentiation between rich and poor. In a really cheesy way you could say that in the Church everyone's an emperor!
We then got to see the Pieta! I had never had any special devotion to the Pieta but after seeing the real thing I must say it's incredibly beautiful! Our Lady's face totally captivated me. None of the replicas capture it at all. And there's actually an interesting story behind Our Lady's face in the Pieta. Michealangelo's own mother had died when he was very young and he modeled Our Lady's face on a memory he had of his mother. Many people criticized Michaelangelo for making Our Lady's face too youthful looking being that she would have been older by the time of Christ's crucifixion. However, it turns out that Our Lady's youthful face matches up with theology which holds that physical deterioration is a result of sin and since Our Lady was conceived without sin she would not have been subject to this deterioration and so would not have physically aged past her prime. 
There's also another story about the Pieta which I particularly liked. The Pieta was commissioned by a foreign diplomat who wanted to give a gift to the Pope. Michaelangelo was not well known at the time and the diplomat was looking to save a little money so he hired Michaelangelo to do the job. Naturally, the Pieta soon became very famous and other artists started claiming authorship. Michaelangelo was so infuriated by this that he took the Pieta and carved across Our Lady's chest "I was made by Michaelangelo of Florence." Years later Michaelangelo was looking at the Pieta and he saw what his pride had caused him to do and he made a vow never to sign another work of his. And that's why it's really hard to identify pieces that Michealangelo did later in his life cuz he wouldn't sign them. That story totally increased my respect for Michealangelo.
Now, here's the really cool thing about the dome of St. Peter's. You remember the Pantheon? And how it was dedicated to all the gods? Well Michaelangelo was like let's make a dome for the Basilica that's the same size and dimensions as the Pantheon. And everyone was like yeah right you'll never be able to do that, no building could support a dome that big. And Michaelangelo was like watch me! So he built four ginormous columns to support the dome. They're so big you don't even realize they're columns! And he actually had to build two domes an outer one and an inner one which is chained to the outer one for support. When we climbed the cuppola we were actually walking in between the two domes. Which was kinda awkward cuz I was tilted diagonally as I was climbing. So Michaelangelo succeeded in creating a dome the size of the Pantheon. And it even has the hole in the ceiling like the Pantheon! But if you look up into the hole there's actually a spire on top of it and painted inside the spire is God the Father who is directly over the altar which represents Christ and on the front of the altar is a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit. So the altar is totally Trinitarian!
In front of the altar are the steps leading down to the crypt through which you can see St. Peter's tomb. Around the crypt are 99 candles which symbolize the 99 sheep which the Good Shepherd would leave to search for the one lost sheep.
In the back of the basilica is a beautiful window with a picture of a dove (representing the Holy Spirit of course). But Fr. Kirby then tells us that there is no stained glass in St. Peter's. That window is actually made of very thinly cut alabaster!
I was very excited when Fr. Kirby told us that the body of Pope John the 23rd is actually at one of the side altars in St. Peter's! I had been kinda bummed when he wasn't in the tombs of the Popes cuz he's really cool (he's the Pope who called Vatican II) and I really wanted to see him.
Right after the tour Ari and I took the opportunity to visit a statue of St. Peter in the Basilica which pilgrims traditionally rub the foot of. It's a sign of devotion. And his foot has been rubbed so much that it's actually worn down so it's really smooth.
Following our tour Ari and I got to kinda sorta get pictures with a Swiss Guard. We couldn't actually stand next to him but we could stand a couple feet away from him and take a picture with him in the background. It was kind of awkward but whatever.
We then made a brief stop at the Vatican bookstore where I found a book of novenas! That just totally made my life cuz I love novenas and I'm always looking for new ones and here was a whole book of them! I also got a postcard that has Pope Benedict's picture on it and a quote from him. I'm not using it as a postcard though, I'm using it as a decoration for my room. While I was in the bookstore they had a video on of clips from JPII's funeral and his life and I almost had an emotional meltdown right in the store. I just love our Papa so much and I can't believe he's gone! There were seriously tears in my eyes watching that video. On a happier note they also had children's books in the store called Joseph and Chico which is the story of Pope Benedict and his cat which I just thought was hilarious.
We then headed for Soprani's, a religious goods store which had been recommended to us. On our way there I stopped to buy the latest issue of L'Osservatore Romano - the official newspaper of the Vatican - I felt I couldn't leave Rome without it! We stopped again to pick up some gelatto. Once at Soprani's I pretty much decided to buy the whole store. Everything was SO cheap!!! So I got a lot of stuff for me and a lot of stuff for other people - it was quite exciting! We then headed back to the hotel for dinner and then went to our last Holy Hour in Rome!
Roma Day 3
The next morning Sarah and I booked it to the metro cuz we were paranoid that we would be late and miss the tour. However, we were not nearly as fast as Sister Joan Paul who pretty much lapped us. But we made it to our meeting point at the Piazza Republica in plenty of time and then began tour number 2. 
The tour began at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri which means Our Lady of the Angels and Martyrs. Inside there was a magnificent sculpture of the head of St. John the Baptist on the platter (see Matthew 14:1-12 if you don't know what I'm talking about). There was also a statue of St. Bruno which one of the Popes said is so lifelike that it would talk to you if it weren't for the rule of the order.
We then went to Santa Maria della Vittoria or Our Lady of Victory which I believe has something to do with Lepanto but I'm not sure - Uncle John if you know anything about that feel free to enlighten me! Oh and on the subject of Lepanto - one of the stops on the Metro was called Lepanto! So I found that rather exciting. If anyone doesn't know what Lepanto is please ask me about it and I will be happy to enlighten you! But, back to Our Lady of Victory! Inside the Church was Bernini's sculpture of Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy which was beautiful. Also housed in Our Lady of Victory is the incorrupt body of St. Victoria. I don't really know anything about her but she's the first incorruptible I've seen so that was kind of exciting.
On the way to our next stop I saw my first orange tree! Very cool!
Then we went to the Capuchin Franciscan Boneyard Church which was . . . an experience. I'm not very good at explaining what it is but I'll try. It sounds like it's just a graveyard but it's not. I mean I guess technically it is a graveyard but it's not what you would think of when you think of a graveyard. It's inside a building but the floor is just dirt and there are skeletons and bones everywhere. But it's not like the bones are just chilling there, no, they're arranged in works of art. Sort of. Like there's a giant picture of the Sacred Heart made out of bones. And then there's full skeletons clothed in monk's robes just standing there staring at you. And, no joke, chandeliers made out of bones. And these are all the bones of former Capuchin monks. And then at the end there's a little thing that says "What we were you are and what we are you will become." So, I know there's probably a really good theological explanation for this and any of you who know it please explain it to me cuz I can not understand it. It just seemed really morbid and depressing to me and that's not what the Catholic faith is the Catholic faith is joyful because of the Resurrection but I didn't see any sign of that in this boneyard. So I didn't enjoy that very much.
Then we went to the Spanish Steps which there isn't much to say about but they were pretty cool. They're just these random steps in the middle of Rome, they probably have some historical significance but I don't know what it is, but you can get some cool pictures. And at the bottom of the Spanish Steps is the Keats Shelley Museum dedicated to the authors John Keats and Shelley, I don't remember his first name but he was married to Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein and he was a really important author too. It's the house where John Keats died. And I thought that was kind of cool cuz I remember studying them in Mr. Huggard's class and they made me think of Mary-Kate cuz she's an English major.
We then saw Sant Andrea delle Fratte where St. Maximilian Kolbe celebrated his first Mass and the Trevi Fountain. Then we went to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which means Our Lady Over Minerva because this Church was built over a temple to the goddess Minerva. Inside was a painting of the Battle of Lepanto and . . . the body of St. Catherine of Sienna! Which was very exciting for me cuz my middle name is Catherine after St. Catherine of Sienna so she's one of my patron saints! Outside of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is a statue called Bernini's Elephant because it was made by Bernini and it's an elephant.
We then went to the Pantheon which I discovered is really cool! It was originally built as a pagan temple to all the gods (pan=all, theon=gods) but, when Christianity became the official religion of the empire it was turned into a Catholic Church! Which is really cool cuz it was built to be a temple to all the gods but then it became a Church for the one, true God! And then when Rome was being attacked by the barbarians the Christians were worried about the saints' relics that were on the outskirts of the city so they moved them into the Pantheon which, for this reason, has since been named Santa Maria degli Marteri or Our Lady of the Martyrs.
We then went to St. Agostino and then, on our way to Piazza Navona we saw Via S. Giovanna D'Arco which means St. Joan of Arc street which made me happy! In the Piazza Navona we saw one of the many obelisks which are in Rome and also St. Agnes Church which, unfortunately, was closed for the day but it was still nice to see it since St. Agnes is the patron saint of my diocese.
Amy and I then headed towards St. Peter's so we would be sure to be there in time for our Scavi tour. As we were walking over we saw the beautiful and impenetrable Castle St. Angelo. Once we got to the square we bought some pizza from a street vendor for lunch and then did a little souvenire shopping.
We then took some pictures in the square before meeting up with our group for the Scavi tour at the statue of St. Peter. The Scavi Tour is a tour of the excavations underneath St. Peter's which were begun during World War II. Pope Pius had asked to be buried underneath St. Peter's and so, despite the difficulties this task presented, the Vatican began work on the project. However during the excavation they discovered a pagan necropolis or burial ground. So the tour is firstly a tour of this necropolis. However, prior to the building of the necropolis Vatican Hill had been used as a burial ground for the poor. Now, there was a legend that St. Peter's body was buried directly underneath the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. When the archaeologists were excavating they found the tomb of St. Peter but St. Peter's body wasn't there. However, they also found the so-called graffitti wall and inside the graffitti wall, which by the way is directly underneath the altar of St. Peter's basilica, were bones. And when these bones were examined they were found to belong to an older robust man, which St. Peter would have been, however, the feet bones were missing. Which makes perfect sense because St. Peter was going to be executed by Crucifixion but he felt he was not worthy to die in the same manner as Our Lord and so he requested to be crucified upside down. Because of this, and because he died on the eve of the Sabbath, the Christians had to retrieve his body quickly and so they cut of his feet. Hence, it makes perfect sense that the feet bones were not with St. Peter's body. And yes St. Peter was buried directly underneath the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. So Jesus wasn't kidding when He said "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church." Apparently St. Gregory the Great had had St. Peter entombed inside the graffitti wall. I don't remember why. So we got to see the bones of St. Peter! And then, at the end of the tour, God gave me another little miracle: the tour ended at the tombs of the Popes and so I had another, slightly longer, opportunity to pray at the tomb of Pope John Paul II! God is so good!
We then hopped on the Metro and headed to Mass at St. Paul's Outside the Walls. Mass was beautiful of course! And in St. Paul's they have the Tomb of St. Paul! Also in St. Paul's are mosaics of all the Popes and there are only a couple spaces left for mosaics. And legend has it that when all the spots are filled it will be the end of the world. And there aren't exactly a lot of spots left! Duhn duhn duh!
I was exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel so I ate dinner and headed to bed.
Roma Day 2
We began our second day in Rome at St. Peter's! It was like coming home! I felt such joy everytime I entered Vatican City over those next few days! Vatican City truly is a different country, it's not just a part of Rome. I walked in and I knew I was in a different place entirely, and not just any place, but the center of the Church! And that's why it was like coming home!
We had time before Mass so we went to the Tombs of the Popes which are in a crypt underneath the Basilica. Only some of the Popes are buried there along with a few Cardinals and even some holy lay people. The tomb of Pope John Paul II is here! It was incredible to stand there and be so close to him. Unfortunately it was very crowded and we didn't have time to really stand and pray but at least I got to see him! - or, well, his tomb.
After that we headed up to the basilica for the first time. It was incredible! And at 11:00 we got to have Latin Mass in St. Peter's Basilica! It was absolutely amazing! I can't even explain it was just so insane! 
After Mass we had to sprint to the middle of St. Peter's square so we wouldn't miss the angelus with Pope Benedict! We had about 30 seconds to get there so Amy and I just sprinted from the Basilica to the middle of the square and just as we were getting there the cheer went up that announced that the Pope had appeared at the window of the Papal apartments! We made it just in time! I couldn't believe it! We actually saw our Papa! It was almost like he hadn't really existed until I saw him! And then he was there and it was like Oh my gosh, he's real! And he led us in the Angelus and then gave a brief greeting in all different languages to welcome all the different pilgrims. It was so cool when he greeted the English speaking pilgrims cuz he actually spoke to us in our language! It just felt so personal! I also thought it was really cool when he greeted the German speaking pilgrims cuz he's german so that's his native language. There was also a group there from Iraq which I thought was really cool. And, oh my gosh, the crowd was huge! I mean, obviously, it's the Pope, it's not like I expected it to be small but there was just something about being there and seeing all these people and knowing that they're all my brothers and sisters and we're all united in Christ, it was just so cool! And at the end the Italian delegation let out a bunch of balloons for the Pope which was just cool.
A bunch of us then headed to a restaurant to get real Italian pizza for lunch! It was quite delicious!
We then headed to the Colosseum to meet up with the rest of our group for our walking tour. We got there a little early though so we headed to a gelato shop and I got the best gelato I had on the whole trip! Then we met up with everyone, took some pictures, and MOS and the Disciples finalized our plans to go to St. Peter's Square on Wednesday night for our Rosary and to sing our household songs! I was super excited!
We then had our first tour of Rome which began with the Basilica of St. Clement, the fourth Pope, who has a very interesting story. He was a slave but his master, who was a cousin of the emperor, converted to Christianity and when the master converts the whole household has to convert. So that's how Clement became Catholic, but, obviously, he wasn't Catholic-in-name-only, just because he was forced to be, he took his faith quite seriously and was even ordained a Bishop. Now when the emperor found out that his cousin had become a Christian, which was against the law, he had him executed. And so his widow, as was customary for Christian widows in those days, joined a convent. There's a beautiful painting in the Basilica of her being invested in the order by St. Clement. St. Clement was a great preacher and caused a lot of problems for the empire because he was converting so many people and so eventually he was captured and sentenced to death. The problem was, a lot of Christians were being sentenced to death but they just wouldn't die! Like they would be standing in the middle of a fire and they're bodies wouldn't burn and other such things. So, to insure that St. Clement really died, the Romans tied him to an anchor and threw him into the sea which is why he is usually pictured with an anchor.
So that's the story of St. Clement - now on to the story of his basilica! Before entering the Basilica you first step into a courtyard with a fountain in the middle. This was customary for early Christian churches because many people would have to travel a long way, or would come on pilgrimage, to get to the church and so before they entered they would stop at the fountain to clean themselves and make themselves presentable before appearing before the Lord. The inside of the Church is relatively small and above the altar is a beautiful mosaic filled with symbolism! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures.
Our guide then informed us that the building we were in was not actually the original basilica but had apparently been built on top of the first basilica which had been discovered during archaeological excavations. And so we went down a flight of stairs and back 800 years to the original basilica! The most interesting part of the original basilica were the frescoes depicting different miracles and stories associated with St. Clement.
However, the Basilica did not end here! In further archaeological excavations it was discovered that the original Basilica had actually been built on top of a pagan temple dedicated to Mithras. And so we went down some more stairs and back a couple hundred more years. The temple contained a banquet hall and a school room along with several other rooms one of which included running water from the ancient Roman sewer system.
There actually exists another level of ruins underneath the temple but it's not safe to go down there so, obviously, we didn't. However, the ruins are thought to be from the time of Emperor Nero and the great Roman fire.
We then headed to the Church of San Presede which also houses a beautiful and symbolic mosaic and we were allowed to take pictures this time!
After San Presede we headed to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. My favorite thing about this Church is that the ceiling is made of several tons of gold which was brought back from America by Christopher Columbus. He presented the gold to Queen Isabella who, being a good Catholic, donated much of it to the Church and the Pope used it for the ceiling of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Our last stop on this particular tour was the Church of St. Peter in Chains. As we were approaching the Church God gave us the gift of the most beautiful sunset! Inside the Church we saw Michaelangelo's statue of Moses and . . . the actual chains that were used on St. Peter when he was taken to be executed! I didn't know the Church still had those kinds of relics! It continues to blow my mind all the things I'm seeing in Europe - things I didn't even know were still in existence!
We then headed back to the hotel for dinner after which we went back to the convent down the street for a Holy Hour which was absolutely beautiful! I totally needed it cuz, despite how incredible everything was and how overjoyed I was, I was still kinda stressed out from all the travelling and having to deal with people and everything. So it was nice to have that time to just spend with Jesus and to get to confession which is definitely the way you want to start off a pilgrimage - with a clean soul! And God sent me a beautiful little miracle that night - during Benediction I was thinking of the version of the Divine Praises that we used to do at XLT and how I missed it and I wished we could do them that way but I never expected music ministry to actually do that particular version but they did! And it just totally made my night! God is so good!
And that was basically it for day 2.
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