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Friday, March 20, 2009

The Mystery of Moses' Beard


So the title of this post does have some relevance to the semester!

During our school trip to Rome, one of the stops on our walking tour is St. Peter in Chains which contains the chains which held St. Peter both in Jerusalem and also in Rome. But, there is also another gem in this church: Michaelangelo's famous Moses statue.

I had read about and told the students that supposedly in the beard of Michaelangelo there are two faces: one of Pope Julius II [he commissioned the Moses to be part of his funeral monument]and one of Michaelangelo. I never could see what they were saying until a student took a closeup and showed me...see if you can see the faces for yourself....




Tuesday, March 17, 2009

When in Rome...Do What the Franciscans Do!

So, a very late update on the Rome portion of our trip. It was completely filled with incredible experiences, especially because it was here that we were able to see so many relics of the Roman Catholic Church, right there. Standing in St. Peter's Square for the same time, the very idea that we were at the Vatican itself slowly began to sink in.

Sunday, March 1
The day began with Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, which was an ordinary Mass said in Latin, with choral accompaniment. St. Peter's Basilica is a gorgeous church, filled with sculpture and gold and all sorts of art, with magnificent architecture, and just a breathtaking sense of massiveness. It was there that it became really evident just how incredibly huge our Faith itself is.

Afterwards, Pope Benedict said the Angelus from his apartment window, as we gathered outside and prayed with him. Then, at 3:00 PM (15:00 in European time), the students split up into tour groups, going to many churches, including the church of St. Peter in Chains, which houses two sets of chains, that had held Peter on different occasions, which had fused together.

Monday, March 2
Some of the students went on the Scavi tour, which is a tour of the scavi, or excavation, done beneath St. Peter's Basicila, which eventually found the Tomb of St. Peter. The tomb itself is deep within the excavation, having been sealed inside of a cube of marble by Emperor Constantine, for safekeeping. It is, however, visible from one point in the excavations. The rest of the scavi is filled mostly with burial places, because it used to serve as a necropolis, a city of tombs.

At 1:00 PM (13:00), the students split up for another tour, this time of the outside of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum (a gathering-place in Rome), and Mamertine Prison (the prison where Paul and Peter were kept, and where they still have the spring which Peter used to baptize his guards). Afterwards, we had Mass at the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, which is the Mother House of the Franciscan Friars TOR who serve at the University.

Tuesday, March 3
The rest of the students who had tickets went on the Scavi tour, and then at 1:30 (13:30) came a tour of St. Peter's Basilica itself, where we learned all about it, including about the relics which have resided in it (part of Veronica's Veil, the Spear of Longionus, and more). Finally, Mass at the church called St. Paul's Outside the Walls, which is built at the execution spot of St. Paul himself.

Wednesday, March 4
On this final day, the tour guides took groups on one last tour of many places in Rome, including the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Capuchin Bone Yard Church. Then, Mass at the famous St. John Lateran Basilica, which was gorgeous, and infused with so much tradition.


The trip to Rome was powerful, and beautiful, and awe-inspiring; it was a lifetime experience. Check back for pictures!

Monday, March 16, 2009

A Big Church with a "little girl"

With it only being one week after the Student's 10 day pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, the memory remains vivid of an out-of-the-way church which just so happens to contain some of the church's most important relics .

I am referring to the church of Santa Croce across from the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Here in this little gem of a church are housed several relics brought back from the Holy Land by Constantine's mother, St. Helena and include the following:

1. Part of the crown of thorns
2. An incomplete nail that crucified Christ
3. Part of the bone of the finger of doubting Thomas
4. The crossbeam of the good thief
5. The first part of the INRI sign that Pilate had nailed to the cross
6. A piece of the true cross
7. Fragments of the grotto of Bethlehem

In this church there is also an authentic replica of the shroud of Turin. Fortunately, the University students were able to come to the church and venerate the relics.


However, there is one other jewel in this church which is often overlooked: the tomb of Venerable Antonietta Meo (1930 -1937) who is nicknamed "Nennolina." She is an Italian girl who has been placed on the path to become the youngest saint not a martyr ever to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Nennolina was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of five after she fell and injured her knee and the injury didn't heal. When her leg had to be amputated, she bore the ordeal "cheerfully." She was fitted with a heavy, artificial leg so she could keep playing with other youngsters. Catholic theologians have called her a "mystic" because the six-year-old wrote extraordinary letters to Jesus Christ in the last months of her life that displayed understanding and actions beyond what is normal for a child of her age.

At first she dictated the letters to her mother; later she wrote poems and letters herself and left each at the foot of her crucifix. In one letter she wrote: "Dear Jesus, I love you very much. I want to abandon myself in your hands. I want to abandon myself in your arms. Do with me what you want. Help me with your grace. You help me, since without your grace, I am nothing." She wrote or dictated more than 100 letters to Jesus or to the Virgin Mary, describing "holy visions" in many of them. After Mass, people sometimes saw her approach the tabernacle and say, "Jesus, come and play with me!"

She insisted on writing a last letter to Jesus a few days before her death, even though it was interrupted when she had to vomit. In it, she asked Jesus to take care of everyone she loved and asked for strength to bear her pain. She finished the letter with the words "Your little girl sends you a lot of kisses." She told her mother when it was time for her to die. "In a few hours, I will die, but I will not suffer anymore, and you shouldn't cry. I should have lived a few days longer, but Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus said, "it's enough!"

Antonietta is buried in the Church of Santa Croce and the students were able to venerate and pray in front of her tomb as well.

One of the Cistercian brothers who works at the church believes she will certainly be canonized in our lifetime.

For now, let all of us, students, parents, faculty, and staff, use her as a powerful intercessor and heavenly friend.

Antonietta Meo, PRAY FOR US!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Unsuspecting Trio: Gaming, Toddlers, and St. John of the Cross

My wife Niki recently wrote this article for a local Minneapolis paper; it's a nice piece inspired by the ordinary events of daily life in Gaming. Hope you enjoy!
My eighteen-month-old son, Dominic, has recently decided to assert his independence by insisting on holding my hand and walking when we go places, instead of being carried. In the little alpine village of Gaming, Austria, which we call home, walking is the primary mode of transportation. Whether it be to go to Mass, to work, into town, to the chapel- we walk almost everywhere.

Obviously, toddlers walk differently than adults. First of all, the short legs make for many more steps and thus a slower pace. Then there is the absolute wonder of the world they possess. On a typical two-block length walk Dominic will find numerous things to regard with awe. He’ll take a few steps, stop, look up at me and smile. Then he’ll spot a lone airplane in the clear blue sky. Again stopping, he’ll point and make a sound that is somewhat similar to the word "airplane." We continue again. Then comes the bridge over the river. I should be used to pauses here to admire the water below because my older son is still fascinated by the moving currents. Off again and we’re at the street. Another point of the index finger and this time the word "car."
At times I find myself frustrated at how much longer a trip takes while Dominic is not on my hip, but in control. But then one day the sheer beauty of this whole experience literally stopped me in my tracks (like Dominic does!) What a wonderful thing to be a child. They know nothing of deadlines, rushing around, running late, or being last. Yes, while we walk many others pass us by, but this never troubles Dominic. He is enjoying the experience and marveling in the surroundings.

A connection was also made in my mind between Dominic’s attitude and the spirituality of St. John of the Cross. I’ m currently reading, "The Impact of God" by English Carmelite Ian Matthew, and many themes became clearer to me in light of my experiences with Dominic. A major theme expanded by Fr. Matthew in the book is that God is seeking us as His beloved. He states, "God is an approaching God, and our main job will be not to construct but to receive; the key word will not be so much ‘achievement’ as ‘space’. ‘Making space for God in order to receive.’" (p.35) He elaborates on, "images of a God who initiates and invades…Progress will be measured, less by ground covered, more by the amount of room God is given to manoeuvre." (p. 37) Thus the spiritual life is less about what we do or accomplish and more about being present and having our hearts and very lives open so God can enter and be with us.

Matthew continues with this theme, "Writing to the Beas community, [St. John of the Cross] speaks of people who ‘do not stay empty, so that God might fill them with his ineffable delight; so they leave God just as they came—their hands were already full, and they could not take what God was giving. God save us from such unhappy burdens which keep us from such fair and wholesome freedom!’" (p. 37) This attitude of being present before God is of utmost importance.
St. John of the Cross asserts that ‘denial’ is necessary, defined as, "setting oneself free by saying no" (p. 43). Furthermore one must work for a "level of the spirit: availability as a person for communion; the space for the gift of the Other. This is more than just a rearrangement of pieces." (p. 45) This denial is necessary when temptations arise. The remedy? "In order to remain supple for the moment of challenge that will one day come," St. John says, "get used to going beyond yourself. Make a point of not always doing just what comes most comfortably. Do not keep running, but do keep fit. This is ‘acquiring the facility’." (p. 47)

Obviously, there is much more to be learned from St. John of the Cross. But the fundamental theme of a searching God is one that gives much food for thought. Maybe walking more slowly, de-cluttering our racing minds and forgetting about the time isn’t something just for toddlers after all.