Torno subito!

The Love of the Father be with you! Pax Christi vobiscum! Come Holy Spirit!

Twenty-three months ago today I arrived in Italy to begin an adventure the extent of which I could never have imagined. Twenty-three months ago, to the day. Wow. And tomorrow, God-willing everything goes alright (pray for safe travel!), I will set foot again on American soil for the first time in almost 2 full years. I will be literally kissing that American soil. I will then proceed to wash it down with real, good ole, unbeatable Tex-Mex. Thanks be to God!

The odd thing: it both has and has not felt like 2 years away from home. I mean, in one sense, so much has happened that it seems to have just flown by. In another more real sense, I realize that it has been a long time since I've been home.

It is beautiful, though, to look back and see how God has been working in and through every moment. There have been some amazingly beautiful moments, real gifts of grace. There have also been some difficult moments, those times when I really felt the weight of the cross. The beautiful thing is that the Lord was present in both. I mean, sometimes He invites us up the mountain of Tabor, to see Him transfigured in all His glory, and other times He invites us up the mountain of Calvary, asking us, like Simon of Cyrene, to help Him carry His cross. Either way, we are with Him, with Love Himself, and that is what makes it all possible.

I am eager now to see how He uses this summer to guide me on the road to priesthood. I have a parish assignment, and I will also get to be a part of a mission trip. All told, it should be a phenomenal summer.

And now for my Top Ten List of Things Most-Missed from Texas:
10. Driving places
9. Elevators built for more than 8 Italians (= 2 Americans)
8. Ice
7. 'merican Efficiency
6. Personal space (measured in acres)
5. Waiting in lines that do not become wider at the front as more people show up
4. Not almost-dying every time I cross a street
3. Steak, burgers, barbecue, brisket, real bacon, chicken enchiladas, beef tacos, ballpark hotdogs...catch my drift?
2. Texans
1. My family and friends...(collective "awwww")

Needless to say, I'm ready to be home. I look forward to all that God has in store for me there, and I hope to be blessed enough to catch up with y'all (yes, the "y'all" was intentional). I do plan to keep posting on the blog this summer, so keep an eye out for that. And thank you for reading thus far, and also for your prayerful support of the journey that God has me on. I pray for you all, and I pray He blesses you one-hundred-fold for all the prayers you have said for me.

Catch you back in Texas! God bless!