Day 2: First Full Day in Rome

From Brandon:

A lot happened today, so I have a lot to write. Toan, Thomas, Nick, Mr. Romano and I are in the Angel House (so named because we're right down the street from Castel Sant'Angelo). We woke up, got ready, then sat down and prayed the Liturgy of the Hours together. Then, we headed out the door to meet our fellow pilgrims at the Corso House.

We stopped at a small cafe on our way to St. Peter's and grabbed breakfast. We crossed the Tiber and entered Vatican City. Going towards St. Peter's it's easy to see the Basilica from the main road, but because of the buildings near it, you can't see Bernini's Columns until you're right there. We didn't enter St. Peter's interior, we have a tour coming later, but just standing in the square was amazing. The size of the Basilica facade is incredible. The statues look life size, because of the incredible way all the architecture is proportioned, but when focusing on them and thinking about it, you can see they're really at least 20 feet tall. It's incredible.

We spent a lot of time in the square. We looked at the obelisk, the dome, the facade, the columns, all of it. It was just the sheer realization that we were in the heart of our Church. We bought some rosaries and other items to bring back to friends and family while we were there. We actually spent a good amount of time looking in all the religious stores right next to St. Peter's Square.

After St. Peter's we walked to Campo di Fiori and got some food in open air market. While we were there, I realized how much my Italian had improved in 24 hours, after I started to follow the conversations people were having. After the Campo, we each went back to our own apartments to take a quick rest and reorganize. Toan also finally found the scarf he had been wanting on the way back to the apartment.

We met up with the other house after our quick rest and headed for the Metro to go to St. Paul Outside the Walls, a major Basilica to St. Paul located about 15 minutes south of our part of Rome. It was a hike getting to the closest Metro station, but it gave us some good views of the city. We took the Metro, transferred trains, and finally arrived at St. Paul's (our original plan was to go there this morning, but hey, plans can change).

Once arriving, we agreed on a time to meet up once we finished looking around the Basilica, because it's huge and you won't always be able to find everyone. Everyone else went into the Basilica, but Fr. Bravo and I took a short detour to find what we had wanted all day: more coffee. We ended up at a small coffee bar a stone's throw away from the Basilica. You'll never guess what we ordered: Cappuccino con Nutella. My family knows there are two things I really love: coffee and nutella. Needless to say, I immediately planned on making this myself after we got home.

After our caffeine boost, Fr. Bravo and I joined the other pilgrims. We entered through the front enterance (everyone else took a side enterance) and walked through the couryard with a giant statue of St. Paul surrounded by four palm trees, with an amazing mosaic covering the front facade. I took my time, amazed by the courtyard, not even inside the Basilica yet.

Once inside, my jaw actually dropped. No I'm not speaking in cliches, my mouth was hanging open. The word huge is highly inadequate in describing the opening hall (nave is the technical sacred architecture term for this hall). There are hundreds of massive columns, with mosaic medallions of each Pope from all of history lining the walls. Oh, and the walls are hundreds of feet high.

More than just the nave, St. Paul's is full of all different sacred art you could spend years looking at: the high altar, the mosaics, the side chapels, statues, and even more. I got to pray in front of St. Paul's tomb. I still can't believe I knelt down and asked St. Paul for intercession less than 10 feet from his actual body. After taking in the awesomeness of the Basilica, Fr. Bravo got someone working there to let us use the side chapel of St. Benedict for a private Mass. We celebrated Mass, and Fr. Bravo's homily really spoke to me. Sitting there in the chapel, I felt what Austin wrote about earlier: we were exactly where we were supposed to be at that moment. That is what God intended for us, I could just feel it. 

After mass, we left St. Paul's and took the trek back to the main city. It took us 3 tries to find a restaurant that could fit all of us, but we ended up having a great dinner and even stopped to get some gelatto on the way back. By the time we got back to the apartments, it was already after 11. It's 12:07 AM as I sit writing this. I'm exhausted. My iPhone tells me we walked about 15 miles today, and boy do I feel it. I know this is a lot of summarizing, but there's so much we did today. I can't put into words what it felt like. Amazing, awesome, more cliches. But I guess I can attempt to explain better in another post, and I'm guesing this one has gone on long enough. I look forward to tomorrow, a Papal Angelus, visiting the Gesu, the Church of St. Ignatius, and St. Ignatius' personal bedroom for mass. Thank you for the support and prayers, I feel so loved knowing so many people are excited for me to have this experience. Much more to come.

St. Peter's Square and Basilica

Io e Dom Bravo

Saint and future saint

Mr. Romano explaining some architecture

Courtyard, front facade, and statue of St. Paul at St. Paul Outside the Walls

St. Peter next to the front door of St. Paul Outside the Walls

High altar and baldacchino

To all my Eastern Catholic and Orthodox friends (especially Niko), this is an icon of St. Paul given by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople to Pope Benedict in 2006. Let's go ecumenism!

Mosaic in the apse of St. Paul's

Nave of St. Paul's, again, it's huge

Mosaics in the nave and apse

Patricio e Dom Bravo parlante

Long Metro ride back from St. Paul's

View of the dome as we approached it from the east

Day 2 Reflections: Austin

This is a really blurry picture of the tomb of St. Paul. How cool is that? St. Paul is a great Saint and Martyr. He was amazingly converted from being a man who hunted down Christians to being one of their most ardent and heroic members.

So why couldn't I take a better picture? Because a guard was looking at me with that "Hey you stupid tourist no photography in here" kind of look and I panicked. In a way, that's exactly what I want to reflect on. 

I did not come here to be a tourist. I came here to be a pilgrim, and I have a strong desire to act like one. It was a fantastic day. I saw St. Peter's Basilica up close for the first time and St. Paul's Outside the Walls along with many other great little stops. But for the most part, I did it as a tourist. I spent way too much time shopping for rosaries. My prayers were shallow and short. I was mostly in that "ooooh so pretty" kind of mindset of the average American in Rome with a selfie stick (only I will never use a selfie stick). Dont get me wrong, I had a great day. But tomorrow, I'm gonna do it better. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to be a pilgrim. 

God Bless, Austin

Day 1: Part 2, Arriving in Rome by Nick Tanner

From Nick:

Wow, what a day!  After nearly 24 hours of airplane travel and layovers, I was absolutely spent, expecting to arrive in Rome and immediately pass out on my bed.  But being in the city was so exciting that we stayed out well past midnight and crammed a ton of excitement in during a very short amount of time.

To start with, we checked into our apartments.  They are right in the heart of Rome, with the giant dome of St. Peter's fully visible from my apartment's front door.  The apartment I share with Brandon, Thomas, Toan, and Mr. Romano is also right across the street from Castel Sant'Angelo.  The apartments are awesome (I have a whole room all to myself).

Once we got settled in we all walked to a pizza place right down the street from our apartment called "Pazzariello."  I don't know if I was just hungry, but the pizza was excellent.  We'll definitely be revisiting that place.

Next we took a walk through some of the city.  Our path took us east to Piazza Navona where we visited Saint Agnes in Agony, then to view the Pantheon, then to the Jesuit residence where Fr. Johnson is staying for the week.  We celebrated Mass in a small chapel at the Jesuit residence and said an evening prayer.  Then we dispersed for the night.  Most of the group went for some gelato (also excellent) and then Austin, Brandon, Michael, Toan, and I went back to St. Agnes for a holy hour.  A local youth group was hosting a night for adoration and reconciliation.  The church is absolutely breathtaking and they had beautiful music.  Priests were sitting around the Church available for confessions in all kinds of languages.  It was a beautiful night -- we sat for awhile in adoration, made confessions, and then prayed a rosary.

Austin, Brandon, Fr. Bravo and I enjoying real Italian pizza!

We left the church when the event ended, which was 12:15, and walked back to the apartment.  The streets were still crowded, and people were still eating dinner and carrying on.  I got back to my room and fell asleep to the sounds of the busy Roman streets outside my bedroom window.  This is a great place to be.

Our view of St. Peter's from our apartment the Angel House

Outside the Pantheon

The ceiling of St. Agnes in Agony. Amazing!

Mass in the Jesuit chapel

My bedroom in the Angel House

St. Agnes in Agony, where we had our late night adoration and confession.

Our favorite pizza place

First Night: Austin

I've had something really great taught to me pretty powerfully in the last 36 hours. It's great that God can make us feel so good. Prayer becomes easy, emotional and powerful. It's a great feeling. These are times of consolation.

But there's also the flip side, those times of desolation, where God is absent, seemingly uncaring, maybe I wonder if He even exists. But I've been reading, and C.S. Lewis was always convinced that it was in these times that our genuine prayer is most impressive and pleasing to God. If I can pray when I dont feel God at all. If I can genuinely try to talk to him in my worst moments when its the last thing I want to do, I am no longer living out my religion selfishly. I found today that when I do this, even in those little moments of desolation, it can turn my whole day around. 

Also, we got the chance to go to confession tonight. Talking to the priest before I had told him hardly a thing, his recommendation for me was to read a certain book. It happened to be that same CS Lewis book. Well that blew my mind. I can only blow off so many things as coincidence, eventually, I have to accept that there is a very carefully made plan for all of us, even down to details as small as what books we read. 

Also thanks to Toan, whose dedication to the Blessed Sacrament was the reason I went to this awesome church below and met that priest in the first place.

Thanks be to God. -Austin

Travel Reflections: Austin

I am tired. I am really, really, tired. And I am the guy that goes to sleep at 9:30 every night because if I don't, it's bad news. So six hour time changes for me are just not the greatest. But there's more to it than that. Despite that exaustion and that dreariness, there's a joy that I can't shake off (nor do I want to). Its not just me either. I see it in my friends. I see it in Blaschke and Nick when we laugh about something dumb for five minutes right before passing out on tables and waiting area chairs. I see it in Brandon's stupid selfie stick (dont you DARE edit this Brandon) and Toan's enthusiasm for reading every Catholic Spirituality book on the planet before we land. I can't pin it down with words but there is a happiness and an energy and an excitement that transcends the physical hardship of a 16 hour travel period. I think it's because there's a self awareness here. Something that tells us "you are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be." And no matter how tired or beat up we may feel, thats a satisfaction that won't be taken away. 

And it feels great.

Thank God. -Austin

(Toan Cao, action shot)

Munich Adventures of Patrick, Neiers, Martin, and Toan: Enter the Bat Cave

Munich adventures

From Martin: We had arrived in Munich, and things were looking great.
Munich has a great deal of better things in the airport that's for
sure. There is free coffee, sleeping chambers, and actual cars. All
pilgrims are feeling great, although some are tired. Toan already has
plans for Rome. First things first: he's getting a haircut. After
cutting it himself in the States, he is dissatisfied with his Asian
bowl-cut and wants to change his style. I hope he gets it soon because
I'm tired of hearing about how stupid he looks in the pictures.


From Thomas: I love the Munich Airport here. I had 3 cups of coffee
and I slept on the tiles. It was comfortable...not too cold, not to
hot...a little bit on the rocky side. Toan needs a haircut more than I
do #Asianbowlcut. I am gonna get a haircut with Toan in Rome. Hi
family.

Thomas took a nap in the airport

Picasa Web Album

From Brandon:

If you like our pictures on here, we will keep posting more. But to find an even greater multitude of pictures, including the ones that don't make the cut for this blog, check out our Picasa web album. Just click the link below:

SJ Rome 2015 Picasa Web Album

Share with your family, friends, random strangers, or anyone who wants to see 8 young men discern the priesthood in Rome

Day 1: Travel

From Brandon:

We're in Munich! Yesterday, Thursday, we left Jesuit around 12:30 and headed to IAH. We got checked in and went to the gate with no issues. Had some time to hang out before the flight. Fr. Bravo, Nick, and I even met some alumni parents while we were having lunch in the airport.

We had about 10 hours and 30 minutes in the air from Houston to Munich. Mr. Romano and I probably couldn't tell you much of what happened on that flight, we were asleep most of the time. Michael hardly ever slept, we're hoping he'll survive the jet-lag.

We landed in Munich about an hour ago. We had to follow the not-always-bilingual signs and ask some airport employees to figure out where we were supposed to go. We went through customs, then, while checking in to get our new boarding passes, we ran into a German priest. He told us his uncle was a Jesuit, and we asked him to pray for our journey as we pray for him.

Now, the rest of the gang is off getting food or entertainment, while Mr. Romano, Fr. Johnson, and myself are waiting at the gate with all the bags. We've got about 4 and a half hours of layover left until our 90 minute flight to Rome. That means plenty of time for bonding and getting the full German airport experience. There are lots of pictures below, and we'll be starting a Picasa web album to put the multitude of pictures that won't fit just on the blog (link to come soon). Thanks to all our friends, family, and supporters who are praying for us!

 Group photo in Houston

 "This camera won't even work!" -Fr. Bravo

Very priestly Thomas

Meet Our Guides: Mr. Tommy Romano

I’m a fourth-generation Houstonian who grew up in a very large extended, Catholic family.  I first started considering a religious vocation in a serious way when I was a freshman in high school.  I was very involved with retreat programs in the Church and many of my friends and family members would often tell me, “you should be a priest.”  With the comments coming frequently enough, I figured I should probably give it some thought which I did during high school.  When I first enrolled in college I got into the academic routine and got lazy in the practice of my faith and the “call” sort of got lost in the shuffle of a more “worldly” life.

When I transferred to the University of St. Thomas and was once again immersed in a Catholic environment, the call to the priesthood and religious life once again surfaced.  Fortunately I had so many wonderful examples of happy, holy, priests to serve as an example of a life well-lived in God’s service.  I entered religious life with the Basilian Fahthers in my senior year in college.  Upon graduation, I was sent to teach high school in Merrilville, Indiana.  After that initial year, I applied for the Basilian Novitiate and was accepted.  While I eventually discerned that God was not calling me to the priesthood, I relish the three years I spent in religious formation.  It was, by far, the period of greatest spiritual growth in my life.  I also learned how to better listen to the call of God and found that my vocation was to live life as a single man, fully dedicated to serving others through education. 

Shortly after leaving the Basilian Fathers, God led me to a position with the theology faculty at Strake Jesuit, where I have been since 1993.  Over the years, God has continued to define the details of my vocation within my position at Strake Jesuit.  Aside teaching theology, one of the greatest joys of my life is working with young men in helping them to discern the call of God in their own lives.  I cannot begin to describe how blessed and privileged I am to accompany the pilgrims on their journey.  The pilgrimage is the realization of a dream that I have had for over twenty years: to lead a group of students on a pilgrimage to Rome.  Please keep me and all the pilgrims in your prayers.  We will definitely be carrying you and your intentions with us as we walk.

Last Minute Thoughts from Brandon

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

What we are going to do these next nine days is significant. No doubt it will be very fun and joyful, but it is significant. After having planned this trip for so long, it's easy for any of us to get used to the idea of "going to Rome for a discernment pilgrimage." I've had to explain it countless times, so the words almost become numb. But what does it really mean, what are we really going to do?

Well, to put it simply, we are attempting to better listen to God's call for our lives by going to some of the holiest sites in Christendom, to the heart of our Church. This city has nourished Saints for centuries, and now we seek the same nourishment. We seek the answers others have found in this holy city, the answers to the big question, "God, what do you want me to do with my life?" This is significant. It's not a vacation or an educational trip. It's a pilgrimage. St. Ignatius liked to talk about himself as "the pilgrim", he liked to think of life as a pilgrimage. Well, we are going on a very real pilgrimage to Rome in order to better understand the path God has planned for our pilgrimage in life.

I sit here writing this while most of you are asleep. I'm actually surprised at how I have prepared for this journey. I'm an intense person, and add on top of that my anxiety, well, it's quite common for me to overprepare and overthink everything. I haven't done that this time. As the trip started to come within weeks' reach, I was thinking, "Well what should I do? What can I do?" There were few odds and ends things I had to do, obvious things, like raise the money and turn in the paperwork. But I didn't let myself overdo it. I think that was truly a grace from the Blessed Mother. She kept me from overpreparing and overdoing it all, in order to allow me to be truly open on this pilgrimage.

I do not know what to expect completely. I almost always plan what to expect. This time, I'm open to anything, open to any experience God wills for me. I don't have a plan for what this trip will look like. I almost always have a plan. I think the way I have handled preparing for this trip points to how I should handle my vocation overall: don't overplan or overthink it, just be open to what God wills. It's easy to say that but hard to do it. Somehow, by the grace of God and intercession of His Most Holy Mother, I'm open and levelheaded for this trip. By His continued grace, I ask to have an amazing, uplifting experience, and to be open and ready to wherever He calls me, all the days of my life.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria,
Ora pro nobis Sancta Dei Genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

Defending Life!

AMDG

This weekend Austin, Toan, and I (Brandon) went to Planned Parenthood to pray and offer sidewalk counseling to men and women entering and leaving the clinic. There was a man praying outside with a ram's horn, a copy of the Horn of Samuel that God told Samuel to march with around the outskirts of Jericho until the city fell. He walks outside the building where thousands of innocent lives are destroyed, praying it will one day fall. We also met some amazing other people out there, praying and witnessing to the value of life alongside us. Thanks to the awesome Pastor Rich Reaves from Lifepath Church for taking these pictures of us and witnessing to the dignity of all forms of life!

There is a Pro Life bus sponsored by the Knights of Columbus parked outside of that Planned Parenthood 24/7. It offers free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and counseling, all by trained professionals in a very comfortable environment. While we were there, two women both boarded the bus and got an ultrasound and saw the lives they were carrying. BOTH WOMEN kept their child. Two lives were saved while we stood outside Planned Parenthood, thanks to the wonderful work of the empowered women in the Pro Life movement who run that bus. Praise be to God.

I look forward to more witnessing to the faith with these two guys and learning about our discernment in Rome very soon. Please pray for us as we leave in less than 48 hours. To God be all the Glory.

Meet Our Pilgrims: Patrick Sullivan

I've grown up Catholic, always have been Catholic. I had never thought about being a priest exactly, but I have always had a strong inclination for leadership and helping people. These are both things a priest can do so it's definitely on my radar. From an early age I've loved retreats and other functions that were put on and sponsored by my church and or youth groups. I want to be able to bring that same joy I felt to other people, and like I said, a priest or another position in the religious life would be a great way to do that. I love kids and people and want to be able to share the faith with them and deepen their faith while also increasing my own. 

I can't wait to go to Rome and see the heart of our Church. Discernment is a long process and I can't think of any better way to get the process started than going to the source. This trip should be an amazing experience and I can't wait to go and hopefully come back with a better sense of discernment than I am going there with. 

Meet Our Pilgrims: Martin Montalvo

Hello, I am Martin Montalvo, Junior at Strake Jesuit. The fire in my discerning process initially sparked back in lower school when I would go to Mass with my family. I remember looking at the priest celebrating Mass, imagining myself doing the same actions, and going to sleep dreaming about it. My true love for God, though, came about when I moved to a different middle school my 7^th grade year. This new school was founded mainly by people of Opus Dei and was taught by people associated with it. They greatly influenced my passion towards Christ, making me want to learn more about Him. After learning and understanding about what Christ said and did for us, I wanted to do the very same thing. If there were any way in which I could learn more about God and serve as Christ did, I would do so. Thus, my fire for becoming a priest grew. Being able to understand more about God and trying to help out anyone in any way I can brings me great joy. 

Meet Our Pilgrims: Thomas Neiers

I'm Thomas Neiers, a Junior at Strake Jesuit and I am going with my fellow pilgrims to Rome this week. My discerning process really started in the middle of 7th grade when I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Holy Land and was able to serve at the daily masses we had with our priest at the famous sites in Israel, including the tomb of Jesus, which was a really powerful experience. 

My faith is important to me because of my parents and how they raised me. They really have helped me live my life as a Catholic and have been supportive of me these past couple years in my discernment. I'm really looking forward to the whole trip over all. I really think that the whole trip is going to be an amazing experience and can't wait for it.

Meet Our Pilgrims: Michael Blaschke

I began feeling a call to the priesthood about three years ago. I had grown moot in my faith, I wentthrough the motions, but I never really put forth effort into growing spiritually. But freshman year I met some of the priests and theology teachers, and I saw how happy they were. They always smiled, and never really complained about anything, and I thought, "Maybe there is something about this God thing that makes people happy". 

I began to open my life to God more fully, and I let Him in. I began to pray more and delve deeper into my theological studies. Through this effort, I began to feel a closeness to God, and I thought, "Do you want me to be a priest God?" I prayed about this and last year during my Kairos retreat (there is an option to go on a Junior Kairos and lead the senior version), I felt the call in full force. I knew that I was called to at least pursue the possibility, to discern more seriously than just praying about it. Even now, I feel the call. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. Whenever I think about certain paths, the first image that pops into my head is me, consecrating the Eucharist at Mass.