Through the Immaculate Heart!

Tuesday January 20, 2015

By: Deacon Luis Mejia

“O María Ci Conciacriamo Al Tuo Cuore Immaculato” (O Mary we consecrate ourselves to your inmaculate heart).

Good evening brothers and sisters, today it was truly a very full day for our deacon class. We started the day by heading off to Propaganda Fidei (The sacred congregation for the propagation of faith). On the way there we stopped by the Santuario – Basilica “Madonna Del Miraculo” Fr. Carl explained to us that in this Church the Blessed Mother Mary appeared and converted a Jew. After the wonderful miracle he became a priest, and he was sent as a missionary to Palestine. 

Following that, we had a class session with Fr. Ted Nowak, OMI. In his presentation, he told us “The sacred congregation for the propagation of faith, was founded by Pope Gregory XV on 1620. The goal of Pope Gregory XV was to promote, coordinate, and assist the mission and missionaries in different countries.’’Then, he asked us "What do you need to establish a mission in another country?" Then, he gave the answer, "to establish a mission we need bread, wine, and oil." Bread and wine to celebrate the Mass, and oil to anoint the sick.

After this wonderful presentation we headed off to the Pontificium Councilium Pro Laicis (Pontifical council for laity). The presenters were Msgr. Delgado and Dr. Philip Milligan. They said that this congregation was founded by Pope Paul VI on 1967. The main goal of this congregation is to promote the participation of the faithful in the Church. Also to support the role of the laity in the evangelization.

After lunch we had one more class presentation. The presenter was Fr. Steve Doktorczyk who is a priest from the diocese of Orange. Currently he is working for the congregation for the doctrine of faith. In his presentation he told us that the role of CDF is to safeguard and protect the Catholic faith.

Finally we close our day by feeding our souls with the Holy Eucharist and feeding our bodies with a delicious Italian supper.

Ciao

From Firenze (Florence!)

Monday January 19, 2015

By: Deacon TJ McKenzie

I first want to wish my younger brother, Riley, a Happy 23rd Birthday!! He will need to wait until I get back to receive his birthday present from me. 

Today actually wraps up the long free weekend that was scheduled for us. I know a group of guys went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Padre Pio. Some guys travelled to different parts of Italy. I decided to go to Florence for three nights. We stayed with a group of Franciscan missionary sisters in their convent that was only a ten minute walk from the heart of downtown Florence. 

After dropping our bags off and grabbing a bite to eat for lunch, we went to the Uffizi, one of the grandest art collections in the world. The wealthy and powerful Medici family built a palace during the Renaissance in Florence and was a patron of the arts. This palace is now the site of the museum and much of the collection was once owned by this family. 

We ended our day by going to mass and spending time in adoration at the famous Duomo, the cathedral of Florence.

Saturday was just as busy. We began by making some visits to different churches. We then went to an old Dominican friary. Each cell where a Dominican would live had a small fresco painted by Blessed Fra Angelico. This were absolutely stunning pieces, not only because of their technical brilliance, but you could also see he was painting from a disposition of prayer. He was able to portray the reality of a Gospel scene in a way totally different from all the other masterpieces in Florence.

A trip to Florence would not be complete without a visit to the Accademia, the museum which holds Michelangelo's David which was originally meant to be placed on top of the cathedral's facade. Sadly, it never made it there, but I found it interesting that it was originally meant to be a religious statue. I think most of the people viewing the piece forget that David was a biblical figure. He's even holding the sling with which he killed Goliath!  Mass at the Duomo was in English on Saturday night, and there were many American college students there. 

Sunday was our last full day in Florence. We went to the High Mass in Latin at the Duomo and then went for a long leisurely walk up to the Piazza Michelangelo on the outskirts of the city. The view was stunning, and I'm glad we walked all that way. We had a perfect view of Florence from there, and it was a perfect place to enjoy and rest on a Sunday afternoon! 

The New Evangelization

The New Evang—“what is it?” the pastor asks,

A program, a pamphlet, a pithy parish-package?

A speaker, a series, a street-wise Scripture-smarty?

The New Evang—no, this is it…

A new mentality, a new modality, a means of mediation,

A subtle sense of seismic shift, so says the sociologist, 

The New Evang—“listen to me!” says the theologian,

It’s a be-ing, not a banner, it’s a boldness not a billboard!

“I’m so confused, really I am,” cries the daily-Mass goer,

So many words, so many books—so little clarity!

So let’s pause and consider where the reality lies…

It’s a Person it’s the Christ, it’s the only saving Truth

Applied, witnessed, and communicated, in new ways and in old,

To the times, to the traits, to the hunger for Him in all

Today was definitely one of my favorite days thus far (Thursday, Jan. 15^th). After partaking in the two necessities of being a Christian (prayer and coffee) we headed out to the office of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, or, the PCPNE (said no one ever).  The office, as it turns out, was in the view of St. Peter’s and right on the main drag.  Upon entering the not-so-majestic building; we were warmly greeted by a smiling and rather caffeinated priest named Fr. Geno Sylva.

After some semi-formal introductions (which pleased Deacon Kujawa immensely) we got right down to the business of finding out just what in the world the PCPNE does. Padre Geno has, in the words of my classmate Deacon Louis Mejia, el gifto de gabbo (the gift of gab). Here are a few take-a-way points from our conversation…

Arguably, the biggest challenge we face in the New Evangelization is, according to Fr. Geno is…indifference. “Trying to combat indifference,” said he said, “is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.” We no longer have people like Friedrich Nietzsche in the world, i.e. those who challenge Christianity with intellectual argumentation. What we are facing now is a sort of boredom with the faith…we have 14-year olds suffering from depression and anxiety and wondering: what difference does Catholicism make?” Here is the kicker: what makes the New Evangelization “new” (at least in part) is that the Gospel must speak to the attitudes and their environments of people, which are changing at unprecedented levels. Loneliness is rampant, a sense of identity is often lacking and people are losing sight of the fact that their lives actually have meaning in the eyes of God.  In light of this, the response of the New Evangelization is not to be found in a “box” or program, but in communicating the love of Christ’s own heart. This necessitates joyful Christian witness, a listening ear and compassion. This all takes time—the mustard seed is an apt image, which captures the dynamic of growth.

Later that day we made our way over to the Emmanuel Community School of Mission. The Emmanuel Community itself is a global community based on three pillars: Eucharist (adoration), Evangelization and Compassion. Their School of Mission consists of 16 students who devote 9 months of their lives to community life, study of the Faith and the various apostolates of evangelization and compassion. We also found out that they were a charismatic group (much to the joy of Very Mr. Deacon Chris Gernetzke who kept raising his hands and shouting ‘Amen!’ at random times). We shared a lively meal that included testimonies from some of the students in the Emmanuel School of Mission and some SPS deacons. We ended, in typical Saint Paul Seminary fashion, by singing God Bless America and Lady of Knock.

All in all, it was a very anointed, Spirit-filled day!

Deacon Jake Anderson (Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul)

A community within the Community

14 January, 2015

Boungirono carissimi fratelli e sorelle!

(Good day dear brothers and sisters!) I am writing to you now from the refectory of a seminary in Montefiascone, about a 90 minute train ride from the Eternal City (Rome). I apologize, but I will be covering yesterday's events, as I only today found internet access.

We are here to visit a missionary community – the Institute of the Incarnate Word. They have a seminary here with roughly 50 men, all of whom are studying for the priesthood or have been ordained priests. Their community is one of many religious communities that exist to spread the Gospel in every part of the globe.

Yesterday we started by getting to Termini, the main train station in Rome. From there we took two trains to Montefiascone and then the brothers from the Institute took us up the mountainous city to the seminary. We had a tour of the grounds and then saw some of the old city which included a now defunct papal castle called the Rocca dei Papi (Rock of the Pope). This castle was a papal summer home in the Bolsegna region during the Avignon Papacy, and St. Ignatius came here to ask the Pope's blessing and approval for the nascent Jesuits. After this we went to the Cathedral, which was just down the hill, and saw a few of the boarded up escape tunnels from the castle. After returning to the seminary, we got an introduction to the work and mission of the Institute of the Word Incarnate, and heard from a few of the seminarians about their conversions and the Lord's call to join the seminary.

After lunch we had a few more presentations and enjoys some espresso, tea, jam and bread with the seminarians for the afternoon snack. Following this we resumed presentations and Q+A sessions, then went to the chapel for evening prayer and Mass. Dinner was at 9pm, so we all naturally went straight to our rooms at the end of the day.

While all of the presentations have been quite impressive, the witness of the community here, their joy, prayer, and spartan mode of living is inspiring, as well as absolutely necessary for all those who proclaim the gospel.

God bless, and let us keep each other in prayer!

- Deacon Chris Gernetzke
Diocese of Madison, WI

Tombs and Cardinals

12 January 2015

Today was a very full day for the deacon class.  We started the day with mass at the altar of St. Sebastian, which has the body of Pope St. John Paul II.  Following that, we had a classroom session, followed by a scavi tour.

The scavi are the ruins of the 1-3rd century graveyard that was filled in to make the Constantine basilica, which was then replaced by the current structure.  Unfortunately since there are still people buried there and very delicate frescos (in your best Italian accent) No Photo!

After the tour through the ruins, which includes the highlight of seeing the Tomb of St. Peter and a quick dash through the grottos where most of the people who have funeral monuments in the upper church are actually buried, we met with Cardinal Comastri, the archpriest of St. Peter's.  Following that we had a meeting with the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, and Cardinal Turkson stopped in to say hello and gave us about 20 minutes of his time.

Tomorrow we are off for our one and only class field trip to Montefiascone, where we will be staying overnight with the Institute of the Incarnate Word.  We are unsure if we will have wi-fi, so tomorrow there may not be a new post.

-Deacon John Powers.

P.S. I cannot resist the urge to self-promote.  If you are interested in following my own blog for the Rome trip, the link is here.

The Levels of Christianity

Posted by: Deacon Bruno Nwachukwu

8 January 2015

We began the day with our usual Italian breakfast. Then, we hopped on the city bus twice heading down town to meet with our tour guide for the morning session. In the course of our tour, we saw and received detailed information on the ancient architectural buildings of the Church of San Clemente (St. Clement), the Coliseum, and the Roman Forum. It was very impressive to see all these buildings, especially the various levels of the church of San Clemente from the 1^st Century to the present.  

The Romans of the ancient period had a high respect for god. This was reflected even in their culture and even in their architecture. 

During our evening Mass, we were inspired by the homily given to us by Deacon John Powers, who encouraged us to always be good witnesses of God’s love. 

A few minutes after the Mass, we all trekked down to the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere where we visited and learned about the life and charism of the Lay Community of Sant’ Egidio. This community is a lay movement of men and women whose charism is based on a life of prayer, service/ love for the poor, and to work for peace. One of the things that stood out for me and I guess for my fellow deacons was that a good life of prayer enables one to serve the poor better. We ended the day by joining them in their Italian evening prayer, and then, walked to a nearby Italian restaurant to eat dinner.

It was indeed a full day of good experiences. God bless our two speakers and all that made our day a fruitful one. Please continue to pray for us while we do the same for you here in Rome. Long Live Rome, the Eternal City! Ciao.

With Mary His Mother...

Posted by: Deacon James Stiles

7 January 2015 

We began the day with mass at one of the five major basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major). A most fascinating relic kept within the crypt of this Church, as tradition has it, is part of the very manger in which the Christ child would have laid on Christmas day! We were stirred by the beauty of the Church as well as by the homily given by one our classmates, Dcn. Adam Laski. He reminded us of the great importance of loving one another as brothers in the Lord. This love cannot remain superficial. Just as the person who is captivated by the beauty of a church like Santa Maria Maggiore is meant to be lead into the mystery of the Person whom it reflects, so too the love we have for one another as brothers must be profoundly sincere and get beyond the superficial: we must help one another encounter Christ. 

This set us up well to have our first class session which followed our visit to the basilica. Among other things, we spoke about the two great tasks which our Lord has entrusted to every Christian: loving God and neighbor and spreading the Gospel to all the nations. After a brief study of the history of the Church’s missionary efforts throughout Her history, I left class with a deeper conviction of the Holy Spirit’s power to inspire and direct efforts of evangelization and was again reminded that the Holy Spirit can use the simplest situations, even just a kind conversation with another, to spread His Gospel. 

We worked up an appetite from our intellectual work, so we headed on over to the North American College for lunch. Ever since Dec. 8th, 1859, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of the U.S.A, seminarians from the United States have been formed to be priests in this seminary in the Eternal City of Rome. The seminary has changed locations throughout the years. Its current location and structure is something to see with arguably the best view of Rome from its roof-top. The highlight, of course, of being at the North American College was catching up with men whom we know from our dioceses who are currently studying there as seminarians. 

We ended the day with a trek out to visit the Missionary of Charity Fathers. We prayed with these priests and religious brothers, shared a great meal with them, and then discussed their charism for bringing Jesus to the poorest of the poor. The most striking thing I heard one of their priests say was, “We can’t go out to the poor until you are first aware of your own poverty.” What he meant was that all of us are poor before God. We can do nothing without Him and we must rely totally on His grace if we are to freely choose to love the poor and be with God for all eternity.

It was, indeed, a blessed day!