Well, not quite front row, but just about as close as it can be! It was fourth row seating for eight of us who were chosen to help prepare the altar and bring communion to concelebrating priests and bishops at the Papal Mass for the Epiphany of Our Lord today. The other five of our […]
Continue ReadingToday we prayed at the Church of the Transfiguration atop Mount Tabor. The three peaks in the roof are meant to evoke the three tents that Peter, James, and John offered to erect for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Andrew Rauenbuehler lectoring at Mass in the Moses Chapel. A group photo after a pilgrim lunch! […]
Continue ReadingHello from the top of Mount Tabor! The last few days have been such a gift. They’ve been filled with lots of walking, shawarma, prayer, and fraternity. We spent a day in prayer at the Basilica of the Annunciation, which was great. The walls of the cloister outside the basilica have beautiful mosaics of Our Lady, […]
Continue ReadingJohn McFadden praying at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. This church was built over the home of Mary, a cave where the Angel Gabriel visited Mary, and where she said, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
Continue ReadingSome of the first words most seminarians learn in Latin are “Roma in Italia est,” the first sentence of Hans Ørberg’s “Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata.” For those several of us members of the class of Theology IV who have never been to Rome before, we can now confirm the truth of the sentence: Rome […]
Continue ReadingWe met up with our guide, Farah, and toured the ruins of Caesarea Maritima. Herod the Great built this city and port in the first century BC. The Muslims destroyed it in the thirteenth century to prevent crusaders from returning and using it again. Farah explains Roman toilets, which are those slits directly behind […]
Continue ReadingOn the first full day of our pilgrimage, Fr Carl celebrates the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God at St Peter’s church in Joffa, near where the mission to the gentiles began. Jacob Doty reads Acts chapter 10 aloud near the site of the house of Simon the tanner. Modern-day Joffa was known as Joppa […]
Continue ReadingThank you to the Church, our Mother, who has gathered us up into Her arms and has loved us.
Continue ReadingAfter a wonderful two-and-a-half weeks serving the poor, learning, and exploring in Mexico City, on Friday it was finally time to return to the US and get ready for the Spring Semester. Many of the men got up early for 6am Mass at the shrine, then climbed Tepeyac hill to watch the sun rise and […]
Continue ReadingWhat a wonderful week it was spending “quiet” time at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Of course nothing and nowhere is ever actually quiet in Mexico City, but the Carmelite sisters gave us good advice last week when they reminded us that the quiet we really need is interior, and that that kind […]
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