The End and the Beginning

Pax Christi vobiscum! Come Holy Spirit!

Well, it is hard to believe that we New Men have been here in Italia now for over 2 months. Time flies when you're having food, I suppose. Actually, at this pointI would just like to take a moment to stop and reflect on some things, some more serious than others. And this is a perfect time to do so, since we are finishing one phase of preparation, and moving into a more spiritual time before classes start.

First: I really enjoy Italian food, but more importantly, I enjoy the fact that eating is truly a social activity. People sit around the table and actually talk; in fact, there are no TVs looming overhead to distract one out of conversation, no matter how great of game may or may not be on. It was tough at first, but I've come to love it more now. I am simply able to focus on the people in front of me and come to know them better. Now, whether the people with me are enjoying coming to know me better is a different story....

Second: I have come to have a greater appreciation for the gift of life, just by simply stepping out into a cross-walk. Yes, the road is a great place of sanctification, because it quite literally scares the hell out of you. Whenever you step out into traffic, which you have to do or they just plain won't stop, you recognize the gift of life and the power of Divine Providence. It's also quite exhilarating.

Third: Having just finished our formal Italian studies, we have discovered some fun phrases:

- "basta pasta" = "enough pasta"

- "tutti i frutti" = "all the fruit"

- "molti tipi di cibi tipici" (NOTE: i's are pronounced "ee" and c's are pronounced "ch") = "many types of typical food"...and you have to admit, that's just plain fun to say; go ahead try it...seriously.

Fourth: The Three Most Important Italian words/phrases are, from least to most:

- "piano piano" = "slowly slowly" - One must have patience when learning Italian, and really with anything in life.

- "mangia" = "eat" - This one...should be quite obvious.

- "vino" = "drink of little memory that goes well with mangia-ing" - I am not endorsing anything here....

Fifth: The collar just seems to fit. Check it out for yourself (cue the MIB theme):

This is James, my DB, and myself, and, if we do say so, we make this look good. Heh. But honestly, it is both humbling and exciting to don the collar. And it's fun to see the looks I get walking around in one on the street. One story: when Fr. Rudy, our Vocations Director, was here, someone approached me asking if I could bless a crucifix for them.... Yeah, so I referred them to Fr. Rudy, because I can wave my hands over it, but I'd only be shooting blanks right now (not to mention the impediments I'd incur for pretending to be a Priest). Wearing the clerics, however, is like a discernment highway: people approach me like they can trust me, and that is a humbling experience. It helps me to realize very quickly that I need to get ready to be constantly at the service of others--it's not an easy call. But I thank God that I get a chance to both literally and figuratively try it all on right now, before I'm a Priest.

Well, please keep the New Men and the 4th year Men (soon to be Deacons) in your prayers for this next week. We are both going on retreats, and I guess they thought the New Men were too talkative; they're sending us on something called a, um...silent retreat? Yeah, that's right. Something like that. I guess the staff doesn't know me well enough...or maybe they do and think I need it. Heh. "But for God all things are possible" (Mt 19:26). I am really looking forward to it. I've never been on an 8 day silent retreat before, and how often do we really get a chance to spend that much time only with the Lord? So please keep us in prayer. We want to encounter the Lord and receive all that He has for us.

God bless you all! And I have prayed for all of you reading this at St. Peter's Basilica while in Adoration. (And I'm not just saying that to get more readers....) Pax Christi!