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Legion of Mary, in St. Peter's Square!

In your second semester at the NAC you get assigned an apostolate, which usually involves some kind of work in the fields of evangelization or charitable work.  Options are as varied as working with the Missionaries of Charity to feed the poor, to teaching students catechism, to giving tours of St. Peters, to - and this is the one I am blessed to be a part of - evangelizing pilgrims in St. Peter's square as part of the Legion of Mary.  Lets just say, it's an amazing apostolate!

Like any other Legion group (it is a worldwide organization, with "Legions" of Mary at Parishes all over the place), the 10 or so of us meet once a week and pray the rosary, read out of the hand-book (both devotional, speaking about the beauty of emulating and following Our Lady, and practical, as in, how to do that out in the world when trying to evangelize), and go through the reports of what all the members did over the past week.  In our case, the work we do doing during the week is always evangelizing down in St. Peter's Square.  We go out in pairs, for about 2 hours, and just make ourselves available to whoever wants to talk with us during the time.  So, I've been out a handful of times now (I started at the beginning of this semester), with a couple of different guys, and it has had a profound effect on my approach to evangelization, my confidence in approaching and conversing with strangers, and my excitement for the priesthood.  

Regarding evangelization, two factors have made this apostolate a fantastic chance to learn how to take the Gospel out to the world.  Firstly, the other guys that I've been going down there with are great examples - they're zealous, loving, excited, patient, knowledgable, and approachable - and they've taught me a lot about how to jump into a conversation with a random pilgrim in the Square.  I found myself prone to sort of dismiss those who just wanted directions to the Vatican Museum or the times for Masses in St. Peter's; it was easy just to give them the info and send them on their way.  But, as the other guys showed me, evangelization often begins with the most humble of openings - just ask them how they liked St. Peters, or how long they've been in Rome, or where they are from, and boom, things happen.  Like the lady we encountered asking where to buy rosaries - simple, I thought, head down the Borgo Pio and you're set - but instead we started to talk with her, and she started talking about her kids, the trip she was currently taking with her husband, and asking about our vocations and what we were doing in Rome.  We ended up inviting her to the NAC for Evening Prayer, went out for dinner afterwards, and it turned into a profound conversion experience for her and her husband who hadn't been to church in years!  Factor number two: a lot more people have questions about the Church and the faith, than I would have thought.  I guess I figured that most people wandering in and around St. Peters would be Catholics, or at least Christians, coming to the center of Christ's church here on earth.  But, that is not the case at all.  Sure, there are many, many pilgrims who don't have questions about the faith, but an awful lot do!  Is Pope Francis changing the Church's teaching on marriage, abortion, etc? (answer: nope - Jesus taught otherwise.)  Will we have female priests? (answer: nope - Jesus chose otherwise.)  Why are the churches so lavish, yet there are poor people all around? (answer: love of the poor has to be integrated with love of God, beautiful churches aren't antithetical to caring for the poor), Why is Peter this important? (answer: Christ chose him to lead His church, as He chooses every Pope to continue being his vicar until His return).  

The Fountains are Flowing Again!
(they are especially beautiful at night, lit up from below)
Obviously, conversations have gotten a lot deeper than that, and I don't want to leave you with the wrong emphasis by my summary of conversations that we've had.  I've learned that above all it's important to not go into a situation with the idea to argue the person out from their error to the truth.  Yes, apologetics plays a role in the conversations - that's part of proclaiming the truth - but, possibly just as important, is exuding the joy and excitement that comes from following Christ.  People don't like an argument, even if it's convincing, they do like happiness.  Christ offers both: truth and joy, and they do go together, but a glum, argumentative, seminarian doesn't change anybody's life, whereas a person who is excited about the truth does!  (Obviously, with God's help.  That example I gave above truly made me realize this.  I said very little during the multi-hour conversation, yet, somehow, God was able to work through our presence to bring Himself to this couple.)  Being "confident" doesn't mean being macho, and off-putting, it means being willing to share the faith, the relationship with Christ, that I have been blessed to have.  It means showing just how amazing life is when you give it over to Him.  Yep, there are crosses - classes are hard, I don't have enough time to do everything I want (hmmm. maybe it's not all about me...), I'm not perfect, I'm far from home - the cross is part of following Our Lord, but there are so many more blessings!  The chance to be 5 minutes from the Vatican, to play soccer in sight of the dome of St. Peters, to travel around Europe, to delve into the mysteries of the faith, to walk past a dozen beautiful, ancient, saint-filled, churches on the way to class every morning, to start every day with Mass, and spend a couple hours talking with God every day - it's awesome!  Does following Christ automatically mean fun travels and great classes? No. But it does mean fulfillment, the peace of knowing that every moment - good, bad, easy, hard, boring, or busy - is a gift from Him, a gentle reminder to turn to Him and be thankful for His love.  It is challenging, but it is rewarding, and the world doesn't know that those things can go together (they can!)  Evangelization isn't faux-confident, overbearing, pounding-in-the-truths-of-the-faith, arguments; no, it's about living ones life according to Christ and thereby showing just how amazing that is.  This is what the early Christians did (above all in their willingness to die for their faith, confident in Christ and peaceful in knowing that eternal life awaited those who turned their lives over to Him), and they transformed the world!

Last point: Being down there, in the collar, bringing the faith to those traveling through Rome, has made me ever more excited to one day, God willing, be a priest.  Gosh, ordination could be only 3 years away at this point - that's crazy (as in, time is flying by), but it's also exciting!  I can't wait to get back to my diocese and minister to the people there, bringing them the faith that I've experienced here in Rome, the sacraments, an amazing opportunity to encounter our all-loving God, and the inspiration of so many faithful that I've encountered here (that's something that I didn't even talk about in this post, as well as devotion to Mary...  Ah well, it can't be a dissertation.)

So yeah, it's an amazing apostolate and I am so glad that it was the one chosen for me!  So much to learn, so much to see, so much to do - all from, and for, Christ!
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Pope Francis Visits the NAC!

Today Pope Francis, in his first visit to a seminary to Rome, came and celebrated Mass here at the NAC!  [now Saint] John Paul II would sometimes visit a country's seminarians here in Rome before going on an Apostolic visit to that country, and Francis is doing the same thing before his trip to the United States in September.  The entire morning focussed on Bl. Junipero Serra, who Pope Francis will canonize during his trip to the U.S., and who is a tremendous example to all of us priests-in-training.  I was in the choir, so the only time I saw Pope Francis up close was as he drove away after the Mass, but it still was an amazing gift, and certainly inspired me to recommit myself to all those things that made Bl. Junipero Serra such an amazing priest.  
Quote from Fr. Harmon: "the Pope has left the premises"!
(What a day!)
Our Stained-Glass Window of Bl. Junipero Serra
Junipero Serra was born in the early 1700s, became a Franciscan (taking the name Junipero), came to the Americas (at first he was in Mexico city), became famous for his preaching and missions, and then traveled up the Pacific coast of North America, founding missions and evangelizing the Native Americans living in those areas.  Key point: He truly loved the Indians, protecting them from the abuses rampant in the Spanish army (this was all territory of Spain at this point), and calling for forgiveness, not vengeance, even after a group of the natives burned the mission and killed at least one of the friars.  His missionary zeal and fatherly love for the people was unabated by lack of food, hundreds of miles of walking between the missions (on an injured leg), dangerous circumstances, and everything else, and he confirmed thousands who converted throughout the many missions he founded.  

Pope Francis Meeting His (lucky!) Servers
Pope Francis made 3 further points about this intrepid, indefatigable, insatiable missionary to the Americas during his homily (which was given in Italian, and during which I was very grateful for my time at the Gregorian which has helped my command of that language immensely - translation here).  First, he was absolutely on-fire with missionary zeal for the saving of souls and the transmitting of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. This man left home, family, everything, and went to a far away, and little-known, new continent to bring Christ there!  
"Like Paul and Barnabas, like the disciples in Antioch and in all of Judea, he was filled with joy and the Holy Spirit in spreading the word of the Lord. Such zeal excites us, it challenges us! ... But I wonder if today we are able to respond with the same generosity and courage to the call of God, who invites us to leave everything in order to worship him, to follow him, to rediscover him in the face of the poor, to proclaim him to those who have not known Christ and, therefore, have not experienced the embrace of his mercy."
Us waiting for Pope Francis After Mass
Point #2: He entrusted his entire life and work to Our Blessed Lady! He put an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, now patroness of the Americas, in all of His missions.  Just as Mary opened her heart so completely to God's will, Junipero asked that she would open the hearts of those he was preaching to (and didn't she!)  Our job, do the same, entrusting our lives, and our efforts at evangelization to her:

"today's mission to the continent is entrusted to her, [who is] the first, holy missionary disciple, [and] a constant presence and companion, our source of comfort and hope.  For she always hears and protects her American children."

Pope Francis Waving/Laughing at the Crowd of Us!
Finally, the Pope emphasized just how saintly Junipero Serra was, just how totally he trusted and followed and preached and lived Our Lord Jesus' call and example.  But it gets better: there are tons of awesome saints from the Americas who we should emulate too.  Pope Francis's list: contemplatives like Rose of Lima, Mariana of Quito and Teresita de los Andes; pastors who bear the scent of Christ and of his sheep, such as Toribio de Mogrovejo, Francois de Laval, and Rafael Guizar Valencia; humble workers in the vineyard of the Lord, like Juan Diego and Kateri Tekakwitha; servants of the suffering and the marginalized, like Peter Claver, Martín de Porres, Damian of Molokai, Alberto Hurtado and Rose Philippine Duchesne; founders of communities consecrated to the service of God and of the poorest, like Frances Cabrini, Elizabeth Ann Seton and Katharine Drexel; tireless missionaries, such as Friar Francisco Solano, José de Anchieta, Alonso de Barzana, Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa and Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero; and martyrs like Roque Gonzalez, Miguel Pro and Oscar Arnulfo Romero.
 "May a powerful gust of holiness sweep through all the Americas during the coming Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy!  Confident in Jesus’ promise, which we heard today in the Gospel, we ask God for this special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  We ask the Risen Jesus, Lord of all ages, that the life of our American continent may be rooted ever more deeply in the Gospel it has received; that Christ may be ever more present in the lives of individuals, families, peoples and nations, for the greater glory of God.  We pray too that this glory may be manifested in the culture of life, brotherhood, solidarity, peace and justice, with a preferential and concrete love for the poor, through the witness of Christians of various confessions and communities, together with believers of other religious traditions, and people of upright conscience and good will. Lord Jesus, we are merely your missionary disciples, your humble co-workers so that your Kingdom may come!"
"This is my Body"
Something that struck me powerfully today was the holiness so present in Pope Francis.  He celebrated a beautiful, reverent, intimate Mass for all of us, completely absorbed by the prayers yet showing a love and excitement for us, waving and grinning as he drove off.  It's a side of the Pope that we never here in news articles, but it's the "side" of our Holy Father that truly showed me his holiness and fatherliness!  It was beautiful, awesome, fun, and another one of those amazing experiences that I've been blessed with over here!  

Let's go convert the world!


























 
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Behold, Your Mother!

This afternoon, after Evening prayer I had the privileged of giving a reflection to all the guys on one of the 7 last words (or sayings) of Jesus.  This is something that we started doing for the first time this Lent, but both of talks that were before mine (last week and the first week of Lent) were phenomenal, so I guess it will be something that Brute continues to do in future Lents.  Of course, their doing such a great job on the first two - "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" and "Today you will be with me in paradise" - set the bar pretty high for the reflection that I was signed up to give, "Woman, behold your son... Behold your mother".  So, over the last few weeks I had been thinking about what I was going to say for the 5 minutes that was my allotment, and I finally started making some notes yesterday.  I'm glad that I didn't have too much to do between now and then because it took me several hours to get everything I wanted to together (and run through it a few times).  Anyway, this is - more or less - what I said.  Here's hoping that it makes your Lent a bit more holy.

"When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"  Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!"  And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home." - John 19:26-27
Last week I went out with several you and we saw the movie, Mary of Nazareth, and one of the things that struck me about the film was the intense, beautiful, tender, loving relationship that was between Jesus and His mother, Mary.  Thinking about this fact, it struck me that their relationship was unprecedented.  Spiritually, it is between the Mary, called "full of grace" by Gabriel, and Jesus Christ, truly God and man.  Mary's relationship with God was the closest of any human before the incarnation, and after Our Lord became man within her, it certainly stayed that way.  However, humanly, the relationship between these two was also incredible, again, Mary is sinless - she must have been the best, most caring, most dedicated, most loving mother ever - and Jesus, was God-incarnate, there can't have ever been a better child.  Basically, their relationship was one of the most incredible love and devotion.

However, on the cross, Jesus simply calls her "woman".  To us this seems rude, disrespectful, demeaning, at the very least, unloving...  But, if we look back at the Old Testament, we find that this is exactly opposite of the truth.  After the fall God tells the serpent "I will put empty between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." - Genesis 3:15  Upon a cursory glance, the term "the woman" could be applied to Eve.  Actually, it is used throughout Genesis to refer to her and, as we know, eventually - after many generations - her seed will crush the head of Satan.  However, this interpretation is surpassed when we realize that Jesus' using the term "woman" on the cross indicates us that it is through her that God's plan of salvation is realized.  Through Mary's "yes" - her fiat, her obedience - she reverses Eve's "no", her disobedience, that had brought sin into the world so many millennia before. Thus, by using "woman" to refer to His mother, Jesus is doing anything but deprecate her, rather He is showing her to be the new Eve, through whom salvation enters the world.

The second half of Jesus' saying to Mary is "Behold, your son".  On first glance, this seems unnecessary.  If we put ourselves there at Calvary, wouldn't we find Mary gazing upon her son?  So, when Jesus says "woman, behold, your son", she could have answered that she already was, she already was beholding her son - in all his bloodiness, and agony.  Yet instead Jesus looks over at the "disciple whom He loved", and then Mary knows that she is being designated by Jesus to become this disciples mother, to take care of him as she ad taken care of Jesus.  But upon further reflection we find that that beloved disciple is us.   Throughout the gospel of John, the "disciple whom Jesus loved" is never named.  Of course, tradition tells us that he is John the Apostle/Evangelist, but the very fact that he has no name allows us to understand that he is taking our place, he is a stand-in for humanity.  This is further strengthened if we recall that Jesus says "whosoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother" - Matthew 12:50.  Thus, through obedience to the Father - the very definition of discipleship - Jesus says that we will become His brothers and sisters, and so, it is no surprise, when He gives His mother to us to be our mother too.  


This though, is no small gift.  Mary is the perfect mother - as mentioned before - and now she is in Heaven, body and soul, interceding for us, being that most-wonderful spiritual mother.  In the Old Testament it was the mother of the king who was the queen (Bathsheba is the queen of Solomon), not his wife.  This idea continues on with Jesus and Mary.  Jesus, of course, is the King - now glorious in heaven - but it is Mary who is the queen.  This is something that we remember every time we pray the rosary and meditate on the coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Is she somehow usurping Christ as our mediator, no, of course not, but it is He who chose her to be His mother and He who gives her to us as our mother.  The big deal: Mary, at this moment at the foot of the cross, is chosen to be the mediatrix of grace, through whom salvation continues to flow into the world.  Often writers talk about the grace acheived by Christ on the cross as flowing through Mary out into the world, and it is a beautiful image.  Mary, of course, was literally at the foot of the cross, and it becomes an even more beautiful image when we realize that it was at the foot of the cross that Jesus chose Mary to be out mother, the one who cares for us just like she cared for Our Lord, with the same tenderness, concern, and love as she had for Him.


And all of that leads up to what Jesus now tells the beloved disciple, us.  "Behold, your mother".  This again, seems a bit repetitive, if Mary was told that she was now our mother why tell us that she is our mother?  - To remind us that we need to have a relationship with her as our mother.  We must, like John, take her into our homes and our hearts.  We must try, to the best of our ability, to love her as Jesus did - protecting, following, learning from, and caring for her.  Being brothers and sisters of Our Lord means doing His will, which, pretty obviously here is to "behold" our "mother".  We shouldn't be afraid to love her, Jesus did.  Is this ignoring Christ? - no, it's following His will, and regardless, Mary will always take us to Jesus, to the foot of the cross, to the stream of grace that will cleanse, heal, and transform us.

In conclusion, rather than just listing off my points, I'd like to reconnect these points to Scripture, this time the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana:

"On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.  When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."  And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me?  My hour as not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."" - John 2:1-5
First point: Mary is the New Eve, the whose obedience to God allowed His salvation to enter the world and reverse the sin that the original Eve's (and Adam, let's not leave him out) disobedience brought into it.  Mary is the new "mother of all the living", now in a super-naturalized position of motherhood in heaven.  It is through her that salvation entered the world - in Jesus - and it is through her that salvation continues to enter the world - through the graces achieved by Jesus.

Second point: Mary intercedes for us, just as she did for the couple at the wedding feast.  She continues to go up to Jesus and say "the have no wine".  When we are broken, sinful, empty, tired, etc. - she continues to beg her son to fill us, renew us, and transform us.  She doesn't replace Jesus - as she didn't at the wedding feast - but she brings us to Him and prays that He would transform us.


Third point: As we look at Jesus on the cross, His hour has come, this is the moment of salvation, the pinnacle of everything that the Incarnation was meant to accomplish.  And what does Jesus tell us: "Behold, your mother".  Obedience, again, is the mark of discipleship, and the action that makes us brothers and sisters of Christ, and what does Mary tell us "Do whatever He tells you".  In Mary we not only have an intercessor with Christ and a loving mother, but we also have the perfect example of what it means to be a disciple.  Her obedience literally made her the mother of Jesus, let us emulate her, and love her tenderly like Jesus did, and take her into our hearts this Lent!

Wow, that only took a bit over 5 minutes when I said it...  So much longer when you write it out. 
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Midterm Break


Over the past few days I have been on midterm break.  Unfortunately, while I thought that this would leave me a lot of free time to catch up on classwork, sleeping, and fun with the family – as always, breaks go by much, much faster than they should…  Thus, while I’ve gotten a little bit of reading done for class (about 10 pages for Senior Seminar), and a little bit of philosophical writing (1 page for Senior Seminar), a lot of hanging out with the family (Mario Kart, going to the movies, October fest, etc. - lots of fun!), and a quick meet-up with Corey (another one of the guys from Bruté who has some family in Quincy), the break has still gone by too fast.

On a totally different topic, I have replaced my computer with something quite a bit more powerful and much easier to carry around.  The timing was quite fortunate because my 4 year old laptop has started throwing out disconcerting error messages predicting an imminent failure of the hard-drive.  Of course, setting up the new computer (and playing with it) did eat up some time this weekend… 

I really did start a few good posts (and had ideas for another few) this weekend, but alas, no such luck.  Sorry folks, maybe I’ll get some thinking in during the 5 hour drive tomorrow!

 

 

 
  
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