Habemus Papam! Pope Francis "I" and a lot of other firsts!

Just back from St. Peter's Square where the atmosphere was electric - sorry, I know that's usually for a rock concert, but there's really no other word! It must have been the Holy Spirit. Shortly after 7pm, I was sitting in my office here in Rome glued to the papal smoke stack watching live as... more black, no wait, gray, no... actually WHITE smoke started to pour out.

What time is it really? Understanding our lives as a pilgrimage.

This is the concluding reflection from my ordination pilgrimage, and it sums up what I feel after a couple months of priesthood - I've barely scratched the surface. Each day is an adventure that builds on his grace.

 
Wow! Time has really flown by, and you’re already on your way back to America. All of us are probably saying, “I wish it could be a couple of more days.” Couldn’t we just go back in time and even just repeat some of it. God has a time for everything. “There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven…” (Ecc 3:1ff).

Finding a Home in Rome: citizens of the Church and of the world

Being in Rome, we experience the universal Church and the pope in a real and almost palpable way unlike any on earth. St. Peter’s Basilica is a microcosm of the tremendous reality of the universal Catholic Church. I love to share the image of St. Peter’s truly being the parish Church of the world that all Christians can call home!

It’s kind of funny because I think I have met more people in Rome from the United States than when I was on the other side of the ocean. 

Planning a journey: through Rome and through life.

This is the first of eight reflections that I wrote for those accompanying at my ordination in Rome. I couldn't have done it alone. Comment and post replies on FaceBook.

We’re all on a pilgrimage, and not just to Rome. I started out 31 years ago when God created me and placed me on this earth for a specific purpose. We all are created for something special, something more. God calls us to himself, and our life is a pilgrimage through time. It includes sorrow, tears, and difficulties but great joys as well, which is meant to culminate with him in heaven.

This year means something special for our lives whether we realize it or not. Pope Benedict XVI declared a Year of Faith. One of his recommendations is pilgrimage. Pope Benedict points out that we are all at a specific point on our earthly pilgrimage. Maybe we’re going through one of those ruts, or we’ve been going uphill. Maybe we’ve reached a peak and are enjoying the view behind us or looking forward to paths to travel and mountains to conquer. In my life at least, it’s a mixture.

Church-a-thon

I'm busy studying and working, and therefore, not blogging. Hope to change that this week, but in the meantime...

We’re organizing a Church-a-thon.

890 Churches spread across an area of 5.4 square miles – that’s Rome! We plan to visit 30 by foot on one Saturday—no subway, no cars, no hitch-hiking… and no motorinos (Italian for moped).
 

Here is where you can help me.  I need your prayer intentions: people who need prayers - family situations, projects, or worries to put before Christ on the altar.
 

Find out more and please send this on.

Pilgrim - on your way to Rome, Jerusalem, Lourdes, or Heaven? 4 things you need to know!

It was bright and sunny as I walked into the Square. The columns were like a last grove of trees before walking into the beauty of a hidden meadow. Except this was no hidden meadow, but perhaps the most imposing Church in Christendom.

The water danced in the fountains like diamonds in the sunlight. Everything was almost surreal. As I walked to the door, people all over trying take it in, as much as they could with artistic, cultural, historical overload. Italy does that to people.