Today was our second day in Rome and we visited St. Paul's outside the walls. I have to admit the first part of the day before St. Paul's I was very lackadaisical in what I did. Just shopping for rosaries and I felt like a tourist instead of a pilgrim. When we got to St. Paul's though it really hit me. I was on a pilgrimage in one of the greatest and most holiest cities. We went inside the Cathedral, and I was just in awe of the beauty and the peace that overtook the place. Walking around, I did take a lot of pictures, but I was totally immersed in the beauty and how much I could feel the presence of God. I especially felt that presence in the Chapel of St. Stephen, the first martyr. He believed so much in God and was so strong in his faith that he died for it. Many followed after him, but I was just in awe of St. Stephen's sacrifice and his resolve and fortitude. That time in the Chapel, I really had a lot of time to reflect on how far I had come from when I first started thinking about being a priest to now and how much I had to grow. The experience I had gave me time to really reflect on my life and how great of an experience I know I am going to have in these next couple days and how much I know I am going to grow in my faith.
On a lighter note, there was a really funny part from earlier in the day outside of St. Agnes that I would like to share. There were two asian girls taking a picture of the fountain outside of St. Agnes. Toan, our one asian pilgrim, and myself happened to walk right in front of them as they were taking a picture. Blaschke yelled at Toan to duck and he did. The two asian girls thought he bowed at them though and they bowed back which I thought was pretty great and that led to Toan's bet with a certain pilgrim (me). The challenge was that Toan had to bow to one of the vendors and say "konichiwa". When he did it to the vendor trying to sell us selfie-sticks at the Trevi Fountain, the vendor asked if he was Chinese or Japanese. Toan and that certain pilgrim (me) started laughing because the vendor was serious in his question and really wanted to know if Toan was actually from China or Japan (He's Vietnamese by the way).
Thank you to everyone that made this trip possible. I will be praying for you, your families, and for the people who asked for intentions. AMDG.
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Toan:
A.J.P.M.
Hey everybody, you finally get to hear from me. Sorry it took so long for me to post something, it's been crazy busy over here. You will hear more from me tomorrow since I will be summarizing day 2 later.
Well yesterday was fun, yet heartbreaking at the same time. I'll start with the heartbreak first lol just to get y'all started. Well we walk a lot as you can imagine in Rome and in doing so we see a few people begging for money. Usually I try to give them something, but when I don't for some reason...for example, if I'm losing view of the group or something else...I beat myself up interiorly. That aside, it really does tug my heart when I see God's children asking for money and people just ignore them like some disease as if they are a nuisance or they don't exist. I mean are we not supposed to see Christ in the poor? Many people complain: "God doesn't talk to me. He isn't real because I can't touch Him." I don't mean to judge anyone but just wanted to exhort each of us to listen to the cry of the poor...the cry of Christ. I'll tell you a secret about Jesus. It's that He always hides under a disguise. You might ask "Why does Jesus hide from us?" It's because if He was to come in His full glory, it would be us who hides from Him.
Just think about it, when Jesus was physically alive 2,000 years ago, He could walk past you and you wouldn't recognize the reality that He is God. The same is true in the Eucharist, we don't recognize Him (unless by a special grace) that that is Jesus Christ. This secret is also true in the poor. Let us all follow St. John Vianney's challenge to see the dignity of each child as God, especially the poor, by looking into the eyes of Christ and by touching the hands of Christ...in the poor. When we die and see the face of Christ, He won't ask us if we judged if that the person on the street was truly poor or was simply just too lazy to get a job. Let us pray for the grace to see Christ in His children...in each and every person, especially in our enemies and the poor. Servant of God, Bishop Fulton Sheen once said that at the end of our lives we will see two faces....either the loving face of Christ or the horrible face of Satan and one will say.........[whisper] "Mine." Let us labor, by the grace of God, so that we may see the face of Christ. Let us serve Christ in a way that when we meet Jesus that He will say to us "Well done my good and faithful servant...whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" instead of "Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me."
Just think about it, when Jesus was physically alive 2,000 years ago, He could walk past you and you wouldn't recognize the reality that He is God. The same is true in the Eucharist, we don't recognize Him (unless by a special grace) that that is Jesus Christ. This secret is also true in the poor. Let us all follow St. John Vianney's challenge to see the dignity of each child as God, especially the poor, by looking into the eyes of Christ and by touching the hands of Christ...in the poor. When we die and see the face of Christ, He won't ask us if we judged if that the person on the street was truly poor or was simply just too lazy to get a job. Let us pray for the grace to see Christ in His children...in each and every person, especially in our enemies and the poor. Servant of God, Bishop Fulton Sheen once said that at the end of our lives we will see two faces....either the loving face of Christ or the horrible face of Satan and one will say.........[whisper] "Mine." Let us labor, by the grace of God, so that we may see the face of Christ. Let us serve Christ in a way that when we meet Jesus that He will say to us "Well done my good and faithful servant...whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" instead of "Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me."
On a different note, we went to some religious shops today and we had an awesome time looking at all the gifts we will bring home. My absolute favorite thing in Rome is on random corners or alleys you will see an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each time I see her I am reminded...and so I remind some of my other pilgrims and now you as well "never forget...Mama Mary loves you and she's praying for you." My favorite thing today besides the Mass and my Holy Hour was going to St. Peter's Square. I remember when I was little and I saw the funeral of St. John Paul the Great in 2005 and now I was finally there! It was where we were standing that many Saints were canonized! Also I found two awesome scarves today for the winter season when I go to school at Franciscan University of Steubenville and be a part of the Priestly Discernment Program. It's 2am and I want to sleep so...I have to cut this short. Go to get gelato in Rome at Giolitti!
Side Note: Fr. Bravo is scared easily haha! Gotcha! Shoutout to Mr. Gattis, thank you for everything and we wish you were with us!
Thank you so much for your prayers everyone, please keep them coming! We need as much as we can get! The people that have supported us and that have a special place in my life are in our intentions everyday and at every Mass. Skoumpourdis, I will continue to pray for the repose of your grandmother's soul and for the consolation of your family. May God bless and love you all! May we all be set on fire with the flames of His most Sacred Heart and with the flames of the Holy Spirit so people can watch us burn with a zeal, a simplicity, and a love that will set the world ablaze!!!
Humbly yours,
Toan
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