Be surprised by what is a 'blessing' in your life

Please join me in praying for my brother Bob on his birthday today.  He was born on All Saint’s Day.  The Gospel for this Feast Day has always been, for as long as I can remember, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). I thought that a fitting tribute to him on his birthday would be a short reflection on the Beatitudes.

We have to let the beatitudes be the counter-cultural "good news" that they are.

I think Jesus is saying to each of us: Be surprised by what's a blessing in your life. It's not a blessing to be "spiritually rich" or to be full of success. It's not a blessing to "win" all the time. In fact, we have to almost turn upside down all our notions of blessedness, if we are to hear the "good news" Jesus brings us.

When we find ourselves "spiritually poor" we have nowhere else to turn but God. In our poverty we discover who our Savior is.  In our poverty we open our hands and our hearts and then we can really pray.

When we find ourselves small or mourning or starving for justice that has eluded us, we have nowhere else to turn but God. In this helplessness we long for a Savior to comfort and satisfy us.

When we find that our heart has known God's mercy for our sins and has been purified by all the pain and wounds we have received, and we can offer forgiveness and mercy to others, actually becoming a peace maker, then we are ready for a special blessedness.  Mercy will remain in our hearts and we will become children of God who can see our God face to face.

And when our trust in God earns us the ridicule of the world and our standing on the side of the poor and marginal leads to real rejection by the world, then we can really "rejoice and be glad" because we will have been wrapped in what the Kingdom, the Reign of God is all about.  Then we can look up at the Cross and give thanks and praise.  Then we know that ours is the reward of all the martyrs and saints who have gone before us, marked with the sign of our faith.

May all of the saints of God intercede for us this day, that we might see and believe in the Good News of the Cross and Resurrection in our daily lives.  Amen. 

The Communion of Saints...Powerful Allies

World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.

It caught doctors and scientists completely by surprise and when people contracted the disease, even in the US, they were ill prepared to treat it.  By today’s medical standards, it would probably not be as deadly, but back in the early 20^th Century……..

Sylveen Batty (my grandmother) contracted the disease in Autumn that year.  Doctors told her husband Clarence and her mother to “go home and make arrangements” because she was not expected to survive the night—and the child she was carrying (my mother) likely would not survive either.

They were devastated!  They started contacting family and friends to pray for Grandma, and had the priest come in to give her Viaticum.  Someone mentioned that there was a “new” saint she knew about who was the patron saint of new mothers and difficult pregnancies.  Somehow, Great-grandma got ahold of a relic that “just happened” to be in town.  She and Grandpa took the relic to the hospital and placed the relic on Grandma’s stomach.  They spent the evening in prayer asking for St. Gerard’s intercession to our Lord for a miracle survival. 

It worked!  The next morning, the doctor was amazed that Grandma was still alive, and in fact so much improved that the prognosis for her survival (and that of my mother) was good, and she could go home in a couple of days!    

That was the first time our family relied on St. Gerard.  There was a second time as well, and the reason my middle name is Gerard.

In early 1953, my mom found out she was pregnant again, but she was really worried.  She had had three miscarriages since her last child (Bill) and was afraid she might have another heartbreaking miscarriage this time.  Grandma reminded Mom of her own “worrisome” pregnancy and the prayers to St. Gerard.  Grandma and Mom turned to the saint once again for his intercession and promised that if this pregnancy went to term, she would name the child after him.

I can tell you from personal experience and gratitude that if you know anyone who is struggling with a pregnancy or motherhood, turning to St. Gerard is a pretty good bet!  You can read more about him here.

St. Gerard, Pray for us!

Labeling

 

Are you “gay”?  Are you “straight”?  Are you “Pro-life” or “Pro-choice?” Are you a “Democrat”?  Are you a “Republican”?   I am not any of those things. They define some of my beliefs, but my beliefs should not “label” me.  I refuse to be labeled anymore.  Labeling has led to hate.  We have allowed ourselves to be labeled.  Ideals and material objects can be labeled, but PEOPLE must not be labeled.  Labeling allows something to be reduced to irrelevancy or hatred in our lives.  If you want to know what I believe, click here.

 

In my opinion, what defines a human being is how we treat other human beings.  We must try to be tolerant, but not permissive; open-minded, but not gullible; to be nice, but not taken for granted;  to be patient without limit; to treat everyone else with respect, and expect respect in return;  to forgive others and extend mercy to those who would hurt us or our loved ones, but also expect justice (not ‘revenge’). Of course, being human, I fall way too short way too often in many of these areas myself.  I can only hope to overcome these deficiencies through the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.

I wasn’t sure exactly how to write this post today without offending anyone.  It seems everybody has chosen a side on every issue these days and they have closed their minds to opposition to such a degree that intolerance and hate are no longer just “buzzwords” but a way of life in this country.  Believe it or not, God created us with one trait that is common to all, but unique to each—our souls; and he gifted every soul with an unlimited capacity to love one another as He loves us.  Whether we accept His gift is up to us.  Have you ever refused a gift given in love?  How did you feel?  Like you lost a friend?  Grieved, perhaps?

 

At Mass this morning, St. Paul’s letter to the Epheisans (Chapter 4, Verse 30 through Chapter 5, Verse 2) summed it up better than I will ever be able to:

Brothers and sisters:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice.

And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

Amen, Paul, Amen.

The AWESOMENESS of it all!

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.  In years past, I only took passing interest in these seemingly offbeat feast days of the Church.  But since our recent trip to Rome, this stuff fascinates me!

Lily in prayer before the relics 

This Feast in particular got my attention today because I have a photograph of Lily praying at the high altar upon which the reliquary containing relics of the crib of Jesus’ Nativity is displayed in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.  But also because at the urging and insistence of my family (Dad, you may never get the chance again!) I was able to attend a Mass in the basilica. 

 

The reliquary holding pieces of the Holy Crib

The relics of the crib in the reliquary consist of five pieces of board which, as a result of an investigation conducted by Father Lais, sub-director of the Vatican Observatory, during the restorations of the Basilica in 1893 were found to be taken from a sycamore tree of which there are several varieties in the Holy Land.  Two of the pieces, which like the other three, must have been originally much longer than they are at present, stood upright in the form of an X, upon which three other pieces rested, supported by a sixth piece, which, however, is missing, placed across the base of the upper angle of the X. We may conclude from this that these pieces of wood were, properly speaking, merely supports for the manger itself, which was probably made from the soft limestone of which the cave was formed.

The relics were probably brought to Rome from the Holy Land during the pontificate of Pope Theodore (640-649), who was himself a native of Palestine, and who was well aware of the dangers of plunder and pillage to which they were exposed at the hands of several bands of marauders.

The chapel where I attended Mass

We had spent about 45 minutes or so roaming around the Basilica and were making our way out, when we heard men singing what I first took to be a Gregorian chant.  It wasn't though.  It was several priests and a deacon and a couple of acolytes processing towards one of the side chapels where Mass was about to begin.  This is when my family urged me strongly to stay and attend the Mass.  I just couldn't pass it up!  It was obviously in Italian, but there were plenty of hymns with familiar tunes that I knew the English words to also.  I was able to pick up a word or two here and there during the homily that made it clear to me that this Mass was being celebrated to wish a bon voyage to the celebrating priest who was being assigned elsewhere.  My impression was that he was being reassigned to an entirely different country, but I couldn't catch exactly where.  He also spent time thanking each of the other priests and the deacon present for helping him with his studies. I was also left with an almost certain feeling that this was this particular priest's first Mass since being ordained, since he started out a little hesitant, but got stronger as the Mass progressed.  I felt so privileged to have helped him celebrate such an important milestone in his life.  After the Mass, many of the other attendees (his family?) were invited up to wish him well.  It was quite moving.  I cried for about 1/2 an hour after the Mass ended.  

And yet, even thought Lily and I both prayed in this magnificent church, the awesomeness of it escaped me until writing this blog today---there is just so much “THERE” there in Rome, that it is hard to process all at once!

You can expect more entries like this as I continue to get “reminders” from the rich traditions and Traditions of the Church and as I continue to unfold all the wonders we saw!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners; now and at the hour of our death, AMEN. 

My dad, theologian? You bet!

Every July 27^th, I get in a kind of “funk” until I remember that it is the day my dad died in 1970 when I was still a teenager.  As I look at a picture of him today, I can’t help but remember what a brilliantly simple man he was!  He didn’t practice any particular religion (although he was a Mormon) but as I look back at some of our experiences together, I can see when he taught me a lot of theology without either of us knowing it!

I was about 11 or 12 years old and we were out in the back yard working in the garden. He wanted me to help pull the weeds. There were some pretty flowers that he took really good care of in the flowerbeds around the house, but in the vegetable garden, he was pulling them out! So I asked him, “How do I know which is a weed, and which plant isn’t?” He replied, “If it isn’t what we planted, no matter how beautiful it is, it’s a weed, because it can take over the whole garden and the vegetables won’t grow or get as big as we want them to, so it doesn’t belong here.” Sin is like that. It can be quite beautiful and seductive, but it is never what God intended to be in His garden.

In the Gospels, Jesus tells us of many ways that we have to choose between living joyfully with God forever and being forever separated from Him, in great pain over our loss.

The special spin that Jesus puts on this question of our choice is that we have a whole lifetime to make it in. God provides us with all that we need to choose Him and to make that choice concrete in our life rather than just a vague wish or orientation, and we must make that one central choice of our life in terms of the small daily choices that inch us closer to God or away from Him.

While the "harvesters" are able to tell the difference between the weeds and the wheat, we must ordinarily remain in some uncertainly about whether we truly have chosen God enough, whether we have loved Him enough. Any certainty about whether we are "saved" or not can be a form of self-delusion and lead to pride, laziness, and a fatal assumption that we are "good enough." That sort of thing can be deadly in our human relationships, and it is no different in our relationship with God.

 

I simply do not know whether I am weed or wheat while I am alive, and the fact is that I am both --- but which is the dominant side of who I am? While I myself am responsible for the choice, it is up to God to decide what I have actually chosen. And that is where the virtue of hope comes in.

The Kingdom of Heaven starts small, as small as the smallest seed you can see. A still, quiet voice in the human heart, speaking and reminding us that God is always present. Sometimes there will be no sign of it on the outside. But within, there is the yearning, the striving for heaven here and now.


But no matter how small it starts, with gardening and attendance, paying attention to God and what is important, with the slightest care, the smallest amount of devotion, it can grow by leaps and bounds -- a seedling, a shrub, a bush, a tree. And when it has grown, when we've allowed it to take root, it has another supernatural property -- it summons, from every corner of the earth and sky, those who would join. People can see the blessing of it; people can feel its comforting presence. And they are drawn to it. They are drawn to the cool shade of it on a hot summer day.


When we allow grace to work, we allow the Kingdom of Heaven to take root. And this kingdom is not for us to hoard and enjoy alone. It has as its chief characteristic the need to be shared, the desire to grow to include everyone.


When you open yourself up to God, do not be surprised that others see it in you and start to want to be near you. Do not underestimate the ability God has given you to change your part of the world into a corner of heaven.

#God'sLoveWins

What really drives me up a wall is the lack of civility rampant since the invention of the internet about EVERY issue under the sun!  It’s really hard to be one of the few people in the world who is pro-gun control but also an advocate for 2nd Amendment rights; an anti-abortion pro-lifer and anti-death penalty advocate; a firm believer in traditional marriage but at the same time a firm believer that I am not to judge anyone’s heart—that is for God alone. By the way, for those who say they are not judging someone's heart but rather their actions, I must say I envy you for your clairvoyance skills.  I simply don't have the power to know what is going on in someone else's heart--the only ONE who does is also empowered with endless mercy, so there is always that.

 

When I heard today’s Gospel (Mark 5:21-43) at Mass this morning, it made me think about how the people who followed Jesus at that time were lucky to see Him in the flesh. I wonder at their faith in this man. I fear I might have been more like Thomas and doubted. Yet today we heard of the woman who knew she only had to touch His clothes and she might be made whole.  We hear Jesus say to the family of the young girl who they believed had died: “Do not be afraid. Just have faith.”

Have faith; that letting go and believing. Have faith; that letting go and letting God in. That letting go can be both scary and freeing. While I might not have witnessed Jesus performing a miracle, I can still have faith that God can make me whole. I can have faith that though there is evil in the world, that “justice is undying.” (Wisdom 1:13-15)  I can have faith when I see the good in others, when I see people working to improve the lives of others who may feel forgotten. In those times and places, I can have faith that God is with all of us, no matter what our political leanings are.

In a world arguing about everything from climate changes to Supreme Court decisions and everything in between, it can be hard to have faith. We have to remember that miracles may be small, but I believe they happen all around us, if we could only see. Our faith should propel us to not only believe but to also act. Let your faith shine. Let God in. Believe that justice is undying, that by doing what you can, where you are, you can make a difference in the world.  Remember that God is in control.  As our Lord and Savior says “Do not be afraid.  Just have faith."

In the last week or so I’ve also been relying heavily on (MT 22:34-40).  In today’s political and theological hotbed, I am reminded of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were religious parties in Jesus' day. Both were critical of and were criticized by Jesus.

The Sadducees thought of themselves as "conservatives," as the Old Believers. This is because they accepted only the written Law of Moses as authoritative and rejected subsequent revelation. As a result, the Sadducees denied many of the doctrines held by the Pharisees and by Jesus, including the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels and spirits, and the meting out of rewards and punishment after death. These beliefs were thought by the Sadducees to be Zoroastrian corruptions of the authentic faith of Israel.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were a lay group more representative of the common man. In addition to the written Law of Moses, the Pharisees accepted as authoritative the rest of what is for us the Old Testament, as well as the "tradition of the elders."

Whereas the Sadducees saw worship at the Temple as the main focus of the Law, the Pharisees believed this to be but one component among many of proper Mosaic observance. It was over the interpretation of the Law and which understanding of it represented the authentic tradition of Israel that Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed.

I guess my point is that Jesus essentially told both factions the same thing:  “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

I’ve decided that I’m just going to not worry, but have faith, pray,love my neighbor and above all love my Merciful God.  And if you don’t like it, tough.  LOL

The wonder of it all.......

There was so much to see and so much to do in Rome! As I wrote yesterday, we spent the first day riding buses and walking to get a good overview of the city. 

When we were still in the planning stages, Tony had set up a guided tour of the Vatican Museum for Monday morning. Then we had planned on seeing the other basilicas afterwards. 

Tony was aware that June 2 (Tuesday) was going to be the day that Italy celebrates Republic Day (the day when Italians voted to abolish the monarchy in 1946 so their country could become a republic), and learned that many of the things we would want to visit might not be accessible. So we decided that we would take our Vatican tour as planned, but also try to squeeze in the Colosseum, Forum, and the Pantheon as time permitted as well. 

We did manage to get to the Colosseum and glance at the Forum, but the Pantheon was closed, as it has restricted hours. We were fortunate to be able to see the Pantheon after the Wednesday Audience, though. 

It was a very long day, but one I would not have given up for anything! We started at 7:30 in the morning and we finished our dinner at 9:00 that evening. We were finally in bed at around 11:00 that night.

The Vatican Tour was fabulous and breathtaking! The beauty of the halls, the ceilings, the statues—EVERYTHING—is beyond description. The best way to describe them is through some of the pictures we took.

Entrance to the Vatican Museum

Vatican Gardens

Lily wanted to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING!

One of the highlights of the tour was the famous Sistine Chapel. I have heard stories of how it is so crowded that one can't truly enjoy the experience. I didn't find that to be true. We had plenty of room to move around and marvel at the masterpiece. There was a lot of chatter however, despite efforts by Museum docents to maintain silence in the sacred chamber. But really, can you blame people for being awed beyond belief?

After the Sistine Chapel, it was on to St. Peter's Basilica. The moment I entered through the doors, I felt my eyes welling up with such emotion! I was actually in the midst of hundreds of popes, many of them saints; and shrines and altars and mosaics and blessed artifacts dating anywhere from 200-1900 years ago! I silently said a prayer of thankgiving to God for his blessings on me and my family. I would describe the “highlights” of the basilica, but there were too many! The most memorable were the Pieta, the tombs of the hundreds of former popes (most notably St. John-Paul II and St. John XXIII). I had never seen a cathedral or basilica or church as huge as St. Peter's. Just when I thought my brain was on overload, along came something else to increase my amazement!

We were blessed to be able to see the Pope’s Secretary of State (Archbishop Pietro Parolin) up close as he recessed out of a Mass at the main altar he had said that morning. Our tour guide said it was a really rare sight to see.

Yes, I'm crying at the wonder of it all!  

We were told that there was a stairway that led to the top of the dome of St. Peter's and the the rest of the family wanted to try and see it. I don't do well with stairs, so I spent a good ½ hour—at Marilyn’s suggestion (God bless her!)—in Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at one of the side chapels inside St. Peter’s. I prayed for every one of my family and relatives and friends and their intentions. There are no words capable of explaining how overwhelming that experience was but I’ve never been more confident or hopeful in my prayers as I was during that ½ hour. I think I got the better end of the deal actually, because the family decided the wait was too long and the weather too hot to climb those stairs after all. I like to think that although it was Marilyn's suggestion that I spend time in Adoration, it was arranged by the Holy Spirit so that I could pray for all of you! He knew how much it would mean to me to be alone with Jesus amid all the crowds and noise happening outside that chapel.

After leaving the basilica, we caught a couple of cabs to take us over to the other side of town for lunch at a pizzaria Tony had read or heard about. It was really delicious, but no seating! And after all that walking on the tour, I could have used a seat. I survived however, and we made our way over to the Colosseum.

I think this is plenty for today. Tomorrow I'll finish up Day 2; the Colossem, some more churches, and Lily's favorite thing to do in Rome—“lighting candles for the poor”.

When in Rome.......

Because it’s MY blog, I’m going to change course for tonight and start my recounting of our recent trip to Italy in a somewhat chronological order.  It’s easier to remember that way.  And, most of my really profound spiritual moments occurred starting on the 2^nd full day anyway, so it will really get interesting then!

We started our vacation on Friday, May 29^th after Lily’s kindergarten graduation ceremony.  We left from the school for the airport.  Our flight to Italy was in two stages.  The first was from San Francisco to Istanbul.  There was a five hour (or so) layover.  The second flight was from Istanbul to Rome.  With the length of the flights and the time changes—a nine hour difference—we “lost” an entire day to travel and we arrived in Rome at around midnight on Sunday, May 31^st, Rome time.  We caught a shuttle to our hotel.  I hesitate to call it a “taxi”, because it wasn’t, really.  It was an independent contractor who was hustling for fares inside the terminal and we negotiated a reasonable fare.  Sarah and Tony were staying at a different hotel, so we made arrangements to hook up about 8am to “get familiar with Rome”.

When we awoke the next morning, our first order of business for Sunday was to go to Mass.  According to the internet, there was a 10am Mass in St. Peter’s.  We thought that would be a great experience, so when we met up with Sarah and Tony, we started to make our way to St. Peter’s.  When we got there, there was a huge line.  I couldn’t believe they were all there for Mass because the crowd didn’t look particularly dressed for it.  We stopped to ask one of the local policemen who was helping with crowd control where the Mass was in St. Peter’s.  He didn’t understand a word we were saying, and we didn’t understand him.  But we were given the impression that there WASN’T a Mass in the basilica that morning.  It sounded odd to me that there would not be a Mass every Sunday at the very seat of the Roman Catholic Church, but now we had to re-think our plan.  I said “It’s Rome!  When I checked on-line there is a Mass somewhere in this city every hour until 8pm.  We just have to find one!” 

As it turns out, about two or three blocks up the street from the Basilica there is another church, St. Mary in Transpontina.   They had a Mass scheduled for 10:00am.  It was now 9:30.  Perfect!  And so we attended our first Mass in Italy.  The beautiful thing about the Catholic Mass is that no matter where you are in the world, the liturgy is basically the same.  There are some cultural differences though, like language of course.  Also, there are differences in postures and gestures on the part of the celebrant and congregations.  As a side note, there are even differences in postures and gestures between some dioceses in the U.S.  As an example, when I attend Mass in Stockton, we are asked by the Bishop to remain standing after receiving Communion until all have received as a sign of “unity and community” (Bishop Blaire’s words), but in Fresno everyone goes back to the pews and kneels until the leftover Hosts are reposed in the tabernacle.

 

Anyway, there we were at Mass and I’m responding when appropriate in English (softly, so as not to draw attention to the “tourist”) and Sarah and Marilyn are in the pew behind me attempting to say the same prayers and responses in Italian!  I thought “How are they doing that?”  Turns out I should have picked up one of the bulletins at the front door because they were also tiny missalettes with the prayers said by the laity.

 

Another difference in the Mass I had never seen before was that after the “Mystery of Faith” (a declaration of Christ’s sacrifice for us said right after the priest consecrates the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus) the congregation stands and remains standing for the rest of the Eucharistic Prayer.  With all of the different Masses I’ve attended in different countries and different dioceses, this was a first and it felt really uncomfortable, until I reminded myself, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”!

I thought I was being “original” in using the phrase in this situation.  I was wrong.  In fact it was differences in liturgical and religious practices in the early Church that brought about the saying!

From what I can glean from the internet, the phrase is attributed to St. Ambrose, way back in 387 A.D. (I wonder what people did before we had the internet?—Oh, that’s right!  We went to the library!  But I digress).

As the story goes, when St. Augustine arrived in Milan to assume his role as Professor of Rhetoric for the Imperial Court, he observed that the Church did not fast on Saturdays as it did in Rome.

Confused, he consulted with the wiser and older Ambrose, then the Bishop of Milan (and who played a part in St. Augustine’s conversion). Ambrose replied: “When I am at Rome, I fast on Saturday; when I am at Milan I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are.”

In 1621, British author Robert Burton, in his classic writing Anatomy of Melancholy, edited St. Ambrose’s remark to read: “When they are at Rome, they do there as they see done.”  His advice has remained in the English language as the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Even with all of the differences, it was still the same Mass but for some reason it was a much more intense experience.  Probably because WE WERE IN ROME!

The rest of the day was spent riding around on the double-decker tour bus or walking around the city, getting a “feel” for what we wanted to do the next couple of days.  Except for a couple of hours when Alicia, Lily and I went back to the hotel to take a nap while Marilyn, Sarah and Tony walked around some more, taking some pictures and having fun.  It was a good plan.  They scouted out some sights to visit in more detail over the next couple of days, and I don’t feel that we three “sleepy-heads” missed out on anything. 

Next up:  The Vatican Tour, the Colosseum, great food and more!

Top 5 Spiritual Moments of Our Vacation (for me)

Today marked 12 days since we’ve been back from Italy and I’m still on a “high”.   There were so many great experiences that I’m afraid I may forget some if I don’t write them down!  I think I can classify my  experiences into three types; a spiritual pilgrimage, an ancestral pilgrimage to the hometown of Marilyn’s paternal grandparents and a family vacation to recharge our batteries and let us forget about our work for a couple of weeks.

Over the next few weeks, I want to give the “5 best moments” of each type of experience.  It’s going to be really difficult because I can only think of about 3 things I didn’t really enjoy on the trip.  For instance, the long flights (unavoidable, I’m afraid), the length of the vacation (entirely too short) and my inability to keep up physically with the rest of the family at times (which precluded me from experiencing a great hike along the Amalfi Coast and climbing to the top of some of the higher cathedrals, etc., that I know I would have loved to do if in better shape).

I want to start by giving thanks to God for blessing me with such a great family.  I give Marilyn and the kids all the credit for the greatest pilgrimage I could have asked for!

The best 5 moments for me spiritually in no particular order (except the first, of course!):

1.       Attending a General Audience with Pope Francis, getting to within 5’ of him as he drove past in his “popemobile”.   It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream!

2.   Taking a tour of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica, including the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s Pietá. 

3.   We visited all four of the Papal Basilicas—St Peter’s, St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major, attending a first mass for a new priest in one, and having my confession heard in another.

4.  Going into and praying in many, many of the “ancient Roman churches” (as the taxi drivers describe them, lol)

5.   Having some real faith-based conversations with Lily in many of those churches. 

I will write separate posts on each of these experiences over the next 5 days….I’m just so overwhelmed tonight by remembering each of them that I can’t focus on just one right now.  The good news is that I’ll have a written record of my trip through my blog that my kids and descendants  can pull up and read years from now.  The bad news is that it’s going to take about 3 weeks or more to recount all of the experiences.  I hope I can keep my mind fresh with the details.  It’s a good thing I have pictures to help me remember. 

Good night for now.   

It's not about laws......

I wanted to keep this short, but it’s tough.  I was reading some more articles on the detention centers in Texas where the US Government is detaining women and children who are seeking asylum from violence in their own countries, even after many of them have actually proven a personal danger exists! Contrary to popular myth, they are not after public assistance or health care.  They are all about saving their lives and the lives of their children.  Who among us wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth to protect our loved ones, no matter the consequences? 

Hardened criminals in Karnes, Texas

I am truly saddened by the comments after the articles where there appears to be a lack of empathy or compassion for these women and children who would in truth much rather be back in their own countries living peaceful lives, but simply can’t because of the dangers presented there.  A lot of the comments begin with the statement “What part of illegal don’t you understand?”

I’m pretty educated.  I think I know what the word means.  My response is and will continue to be “What part of love don’t YOU understand?”  Jesus said “This I command you: love one another.” (John 15:17)

You see, it's not about laws, it's all about love.

Our Lord tells us that the greatest commandments come down to two, which sum up all the rest: to love God with all of one's heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  If we truly do this, we will be keeping God's commandments by virtue of our love, which is itself a response to God's grace.  Unless we love God, as St. John tells us repeatedly, we cannot keep His commandments.

"It is not that we keep His commandments first, and that then He loves; but that He loves us, and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace which is revealed to the humble but hidden from the proud."

(St. Augustine, Lectures on the Gospel of John, Tractate 82,3)