Jazz Brunch

The question is simply: So how exactly do you celebrate Christmas over in Rome?

Well it is different! Many of the traditions are the same. We decorate Christmas trees on each corridor, we have a big Christmas party and dinner, and set up a a precepe in the chapel. It is different though being away from family. This is good preparation for the priesthood though when most Christmases will be spent away from the family. Some things are also unique to Rome. First of all is midnight Mass with the Pope at Saint Peter's (I will make sure to post pictures of that one). It is not just that. Seminary life changes. On the last day of classes many of the men empty out of the house and head to all sorts of place to travel for a few weeks. Some make it all the way to South Africa and others only make it to Norcia (a short train ride away).

Over the years a certain cycle of celebrations has developed at NAC to remind us of the season. The first of these is the Jazz Brunch. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures. On the first Saturday of December the student kitchen is overtaken with a number of priest and seminarians. Some are cooking, some a plucking the strings on the string bass, and others are singing jazz-fied Christmas carols. (I was the official pancake flipper).

This kicks off the holiday season, and is also a great community builder. If I can round-up some pictures I will make sure to post them.

(re-post Dec. 7)

On the lighter side/something sweet

This morning I found a little surprise outside my door, a little bag filled with candies and a little present! I had forgotten it was Saint Nick's day. Here is a little recipe to help you celebrate and sweeten the Advent/Christmas season (originally published on Insight Scoop the blog of Ignatius Insight).
A little history and a seasonal recipe:

From Cooking with the Saints: An Illustrated Treasury of Authentic Recipes, Old and Modern by Ernst Schuegraf.

Nicholas lived in the fourth century and was bishop of Myra, now in southwestern Turkey. NNothing else is of historic certainty, although his veneration in the East can be traced to the sixth century. A fictitious biography written by Methodius in the ninth century contains all the miracles and legends we now associate with St. Nicholas. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to St. Nicholas, and his legend is particularly strong in Holland and Belgium and throughout Europe. In Holland, St. Nicholas has a helper who hands out cookies before the arrival of St. Nicholas on December 6.Here is a recipe for Speculaas, a cookie handed out by St. Nicholas and eaten between December 6 and Christmas Day.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup condensed milk

4 tbsp cinnamon

1 pinch each nutmeg, cloves, salt

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup slivered almonds, crushed

1. Mix together the sugars, the shortening and the butter.
2. Add the condensed milk and spices and gradually blend in the flour and baking soda.
3. Crush the almonds with a rolling pin and mix in. The dough will be somewhat stiff.
4. Roll into logs covered with plastic or waxed paper. Leave in refrigerator overnight.
5. Cut into slices and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for around 10 minutes.

Traditionally Speculaas are imprinted with some pattern created by a wooden mold (before baking). If you imprint the cookies with a mold, they will look better.

Makes about 80 cookies.

As Father Benjamin Sember says:

Father Benjamin Sember was my main source of sanity last year, and hence a good friend. So I have decided to share a quote from a recent conversation. Anyone who has spent anytime in Italy will appreciate this:

Welcome to Italy, where you have to obey all the rules that you have to obey. Which rules are the ones you have to obey? The ones you have to obey. You don't need to obey the ones you don't need to obey.

Wisconsin Thanksgiving in Rome

Even though we are Rome, the men of the Pontifical North American College still enjoy a fine traditional Thanksgiving.

Just like how everyone has a day of vacation from work, Thanksgiving is one of the few days that we are officially allowed to cut class. Most of us take advantage of this to sleep in, and so did I. For me this mean I slept until the incredibly late hour of 6:00 AM. I honestly could not sleep any later! This is very different from my university days! I decided to spend the morning by going to Saint Peter in the Vatican. While it is always beautiful to visit, this holy sight of Christendom is especially prayerful before the tour groups start arriving at 9:00 AM. I prayed for the Pope and our bishops, our nation and her president-elect, and I prayed for my own family.

Cooking breakfast in the corridor. This is "scraple." One great thing about corridor breakfast is that we welcome back our priests alumni, this year Rev. Fr. Nick Dudo (on the far left) and Rev. Fr. Joe Freddy (on the center). In the far right is my next door neighbor, Deacon Jesse Burish of the diocese of La Crosse. Keep him especially in your prayers since he is preparing for his ordination to the priesthood this upcoming summer.

Returning to my corridor I found preparations for breakfast well on the way. Each corridor prepares its own big “American-style” breakfast. It is almost as much of a highlight as the turkey dinner later in the day. My corridor enjoyed Virginian-fried apples, egg-bake, Southern biscuits and gravy, and most especially the Philadelphian specialty of “scraple.” We make out own, and I inherited the recipe, so next year I will be continuing the tradition. This breakfast is really a welcoming event for all the first year men, since it feels so much like home.

"New Men," Brian Romportl of the diocese of Green Bay is looking at the turkey and stuffing with hungry eyes.

We celebrate a beautiful Mass, and after Mass we enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner. We have everything you could expect: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pasta, and cranberries. Well maybe the pasta is not traditionally a Thanksgiving dish, but in Italy they just cannot imagine a formal meal without pasta. This is followed by the Ambassador to the Holy See, Mary Ann Glendon, reads President Bush’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving, and than there is the long awaited presentation of the pumpkin pies. They are usually paraded out an original comical-musical-number.

"New Men," Jacob Strand from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is enjoying a great pumpkin pie!

The great thing about Thanksgiving at the Pontifical North American College is that so much effort is put forth by our employees to help us feel at home. It shows that they consider us family, and this helps us to remember the family and friends that we miss back in the United States and Australia. It is also a time that the College really demonstrates its generosity, as the refectory (dining room) is over-filled with Americans from all over Rome. If it was not for the College, most of these Americans would not be able to celebrate the holiday.

Thanksgiving dinner with all the traditional trimmings!

Well each of us misses our family and friends during these holidays that focus so much on spending time with family and friends, it is also a time to call to mind what we are thankful. There is much to be thankful for. It is a great opportunity to live, study and pray in Rome. It is great to be called to the priesthood. Each day I become more and more thankful for being called to this holy vocation. Hopefully each of use have given thanks to God for the vocation we have received, whether it is to be a spouse, a parent, a child, a doctor, a teacher, whatever, since each of our vocations is the way that God calls us to holiness and happiness.

I hope that each of you had a blessed holiday.

Poland-Slovak river boating

I am from the country, but Rome is a big city. So any time that I get to enjoy the country-side, I take full advantage of it. This is why I probably seek up places to go hiking, like Cinque-Terre and Norcia when I have time for travelling.

In Poland this past summer I was able to enjoy the beautiful Tatras Mountains on the Polish-Slovak border.

After starting the day out with a long bus ride out into the country – we celebrated Mass at an ancient wooden church. It is really humbling to mediate on the faith that makes these little village churches possible. These villagers do not have a theological education, yet I bet that I would be awed at the faith they possess. They would have to after enduring decades of Communist occupation, and before that generations of foreign domination. It is a demonstration of God’s great ability to provide for the needs of all his children – He gives us what we need to know Him and to love Him.

After Mass we headed to the boats. From what I could gather this was a national park of sorts that is shared with Slovakia, since the river meanders over the border back and forth.

Last year I fell in love with the mountains of Italy. I do not have any mountains near my home in the United States, so I always look to see the mountains where ever I go. Each mountain range has a unique personality, the southern Alps of Pedimont are different than Umbria, and the Tatras provide another variation.This simple river trip provided time to relax with my Tertio Millenio friends, and also to enjoy some genuine leisure and re-creation. Perhaps this is a clue to enjoy a more balanced life now that I am back in Italy.

Enjoy the scenery, and God bless!

Praise be God, through His Mother Mary: She has not died, but gone to Heaven!

Zenale, Bernardino. L'Assunta. (Church of Saint Charles on the Corso: Milan, Italy).

This day the holy and animated Ark of the living God, which had held within herself her own Maker, is borne to rest in that Temple of the Lord, which is not made with hands. – St. John Damascus

Most Catholics probably do not know the significance of the great Mystery celebrated this day. It is clear of course that the Church places great importance in this Mystery. It assigns it the greatest solemnity, makes it a holy day of obligation, and in many Catholic countries this Great Feast is even celebrated as a public holiday.

This feast is not a new feast invented by Pope Pius XII in his declaration of November 1, 1950, Munificentissumus Deus. The common perception of this teaching is also not one of doubt, but one of apathy. Why does it matter that the Holy Mother of God has been taken up to heaven body and soul?

It matters – it matters deeply not only within our souls, but with in our bodies – our bones, our muscles, and our flesh. This great grace of Mary’s Assumption is the fulfilment of the promise of the God the Father to redeem us and call us back to him (cf. Ps. 16). At the beginning of time there was no need of redemption, since God walked in the Garden of Eden with the first Adam and the first Eve. As Pope John Paul II put it Adam and Eve were “naked without shame.” After the Fall, this was lost. For they realized they were naked, and became ashamed. They hide themselves from God (cf. Genesis 3:9-15).

Heaven was lost to Adam and Eve, and since we are their children, we have also lost heaven. For through the first Adam death entered the world. The death we all face is the unavoidable witness to this fall. Death, strong though it may be, is not stronger than the love of God. God’s love for us took on a body like our body – with bones, muscles, and flesh – he became incarnate in Jesus Christ. He came to redeem us – which means literally he came to buy us back. God wants us to be with him in heaven. So the promise of our own resurrection is shown forth in the resurrection of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20-6).

Saint Ireneaus of Lyon tells us how this was first shown worth with the Blessed Virgin Mary. By his own death, Christ – the “second Adam” – undid what the first Adam did. Christ reverses death. So Mary – the “second Eve” – in her obedient words, be it done unto me according to your Word (Luke 1:37), reverses the disobedience of the first Eve. Thus God’s promise is fulfilled in her, and her body does not even come to know the decay of death. This is important for us to reflect on. The redemption of our body is a gift that we have not earned. We cannot earn it. But God nonetheless respects what He has created – and respects the freedom that He has created us with. He will not force the resurrection of our bodies on us, just like He did not force more to become the Mother of God. He offers us the resurrection in the promise that took on flesh in His Son, and as all the angles and the rest of creation waited on the words of Mary – so all the angles and the rest of creation waits for us to say, be it done unto me according to you Word.

This Great Feast in fact is the great invitation to join Mary in heaven. To accept the gift that God so graciously lays before us. This now is the moment to make our own FIAT. To fulfil the promises of our baptism as a response to the great gift that God offers us. This is so great that the Church has always celebrated it. The first Christian bishops preached about the Assumption of Mary. This Tradition was handed on, as is testified to by countless homilies through all the ages down to the present. We see this in art – all of the famous painters have always painted at least one image of the Assumption. We hear this in music – as some of the most beautiful music was composed to commemorate the Assumption. It has always been believed by the Church, so that is the reason why Pope Pius XII, defined the Assumption in 1950. He was not proposing something new, but in his words drawing together almost two thousand years of Tradition to glorify Jesus through His mother, Mary.

Mary Mother of God, Assumed into Heaven, Pray for us.

Pius XII, of Blessed Memory, Pray for us.

Poland and the impossible (the summer episode one)

In front of the priory with some of the other TMS friends

This is my first summer since leaving for Rome. As part of the tradition of many years I have not returned home, but instead spent it in Europe. The first part was a return trip to Poland. I had previously been in Poland for the days around New Years. This visit was much different -- instead of cold and snow; it was warm and sunny -- instead of only a few days staying in an infamous and semi-moral youth hostel; this stay was three weeks in the comfortable and beautiful Dominican priory in the heart of the old town of Krakow.

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity (the Domincan Priory Church), Krakow in Poland

This was not a vaction though, but a seminar. It was more academic than I thought it would be, but I has really been a cause of much reflection over the past few weeks. It was called the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society. The main topic was the encyclical letter of John Paul II, Centesimu Annus. This was a three-week discussion on the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church. This was not just a series of lectures, but an encounter. The participants are all young people -- graduate students and young professionals -- half are from America and the other half are from the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. This brings a very different perspective on many of the topics we were talking about -- family, Church-state relations, human rights, the Christian reflection on the economy and political change.

One of the many fine dinners out: Center is Lorraine Kroll (always full of giggles) and right is Dr. Hittinger -- philosopher of law extra-ordinaire

There are two aspects of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church that I realized during this seminar that were unexpected. The first was how robust and central the teachings are. This is not a filmsy after though of Catholic theology -- but really a growing and solid core of many of the issues that the Church has is addressing at this moment as She exercises Her Prophetic Office. Do you want to know what the Church teaches on gay marriage and why? This is a question that the helps to answer. Do you want to know how Catholic thought on the dignity of life and the commitment to a culture of life informs your political decisions? The social doctrine helps Catholic of good will discern this. Do you want to know why the Church instists on the autonomy of Her schools -- and way it is much more than just a "Catholic issue," but one that directly effects the freedom of every citizen -- not just the Catholic citizens? The social doctrine helps to make sense out of this.

It has value not just for Catholics, but presents a robust reflection on society that benefits all of society. This is why the social encyclical of John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, is addressed "to all men and women of good-will." This doctrine is a synthesis of the classical thought, such as Aristotle and modern thought, all in the light of the Gospel. So it can speak to all men and women, even if they are not Catholic, even if they are not Christian.

The cloister was filled with beautiful Italo-Polish works of art, such as these Dominicans

This leads into the second aspect -- and that is the "Christian amensia" of Western, especially European society. George Weigel in the book, The Cube and the Cathedral, places much significance on how the European constitution ignores the Christian heritage of Europe and its contribution to the current Western World (which includes us). As it currently states -- the two main contributions have been the classical thought and the Enlightenment. This is problematic since it skips 1.200 years of European history -- as if nothing happened. But something did happen. It was during this period that the very concept of A PERSON developed, and also the concept of HUMAN DIGNITY. These two concepts are the foundation of further political thought on HUMAN RIGHTS and also for DEMOCRACY. So the question develops -- Can Europe (and hence the U.S.) maintain its commitments to human dignity and human rights if it ignores the contributions of Christian thought, and the voice of the Catholic Church today? Looking at the steady erosion of religious rights, and even the freedom of speech in Europe today -- the answer seems to be NO. Looking at how Christian clergy can be between in the streets of London, and there is not serious follow-up by the secular authorities -- the answer seems to be NO. Looking at how ecclesial communities are being told that they must comply with policies and partices to go directly against their religious convictions or they must shut down their missions -- the answer seems to be NO.

This is the Marian heart of Poland, the Black Madonna of Jaz Gora

I was very ignorant of what the Social Doctrine of the Church before the Tertio Millennio Seminar. I think this is the case of with most Catholics, most Christians, and most everyone else. If they have any exposure to it, it is probably under the loose and much abused term "social justice." This is a shame. It is this body of thought where the Church shows that it is not remote to the world, but cares very deeply for the world. It is here where many of our moral convictions that seems arbitrary or even discraminatory -- it is here that they come to light as a compelling, pastoral, and ultimately loving response to the hurting world.

Our fearless leader and seminar director, George Weigel, leading us on his JPII "death-march"

There can be no doubt that European and American societies are facing immediate and drastic problems. I can see this very clearly walking through any European city -- they are not reproducing themselves. In thirty years the processes of nature -- namely death -- will reduce Europe to a mere shadow of her self. The structures of family, civic society, and public moral reasoning are falling apart. For example in Italy most children do not know the world for brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle -- from first hand experience. This is shocking in a country once known for its large families. Has the "secular experiement" that violently broke out on July 14, 1789 failed? It looks like it has. This was the conclusion of Henri de Lubac in his analysis of the crisis of the two World Wars in The Drama of Atheistic Humanism. The Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church provides a viable -- not just viable, but life-giving, alternative to the modern creed of secular-humanism. In fact secularity is not a real humanism at all, since it requires a person to deny a variety of spectrums of the human experience -- the spiritual, moral, religious, and transcendental dimensions of human life. Is a world that has been pruned of these aspects a world worth living in?

One of the best parts of Poland is the food -- such as this well-hidden but very good lunch place

The time in Poland was not all studying though. There was plenty of time for a lot of fun. Krakov is a great city. It is a student's city -- due to the the large Jagiellonia University. So it offers that young optimistic ambience. It is also a very Catholic city. The communists refered to Krakov as the "black city" since at one time almost a third of its population consisted of priests, nuns, monks, friars, or other consecrated persons. It is the heart of Catholicism in the most Catholic country in the world.

It is still a living faith -- it has not become a museum piece as the Faith has become in the rest of Europe. Look at the university Mass at the Dominican basilica. Even though lectures are not in session at about 6:45 PM on Sunday you will see a young man setting up some microphones to the side of the altar, as he is doing this the students start trickling in. By the time Mass has started at 7:00 PM there are over 3.500 students filling the Church. The pews are full, so they are in the choir stalls, sitting on the confessionals, filling the side chapels, and I have been told when lectures are in session it spills out into the street. Why do they come? They come because they are feed here. Their devotion bears witness to a deep faith that their parents have passed on to them. They are attentive to the Word and open to the Mystery. They are committed. This was my most appreciated sight.

In addition is the delicious Polish food. Perogi and golki -- two of my favorite things.

Rafting in the mountains -- "the heavens are telling the glory of God..."

Well it is still the Christmas Season...

The Holy Father preparing to give the "Obi et Urbi" blessing on Christmas.

A view of where I was sitting for the midnight Mass with the Holy Father. Overall a good seat.
First Vespers (evening prayer) with the Holy Father. We came in very late, but were ushered right up to the front (no there is nothing special about us, the ushers just know that it is good to make the Basilica to look full for the Holy Father).
The Creche in the main chapel at PNAC.

Wow my first Christmas away from home! I did not know what to expect, but overall it went much better than I thought it would. The PONTIFICAL NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE has been helping young aspiring priest with the holiday season for the last 149 years, and they did a good job at helping me through it. I think it was more difficult on my friends and family back in the United States than it was for me.

There are three main things that helped with the season: 1) over here we are all in the same boat for the most part, (2) Rome and the Vatican do Christmas very well, and (3) just trying to keep my eye on the prize, priesthood, and what this means for my life.

NAC treats us very well around the holidays, and the whole season starts out with a college-wide Christmas party in the refractory. It sets the mood quiet well. There are the traditional foods and drinks, caroling, a newly elected Bishop Callahan to read T'was the Night Before Christmas, a big tree. You know the usual things, for the most part. There is also a lot of support from through the strong fraternal bonds that we develop here.

While I would love to be home for the holidays, there is just something about a Roman holiday. You spend it with the Holy Father to start with. It is also much less commercial so the true signficance of it really stands out. I started out the whole Advent season by attending Solemn Evening Prayer at Saint Peter with the Holy Father, and was gifted two tickets for the reparto speciale for Midnight Mass with the Holy Father. This means I enjoyed some really good seats. See the picture that shows how close I was. The next morning I slept in late, and got ready just in time to head down to the square (which square? there is only one square, Saint Peter's of course!) for the Ubi et Orbi blessing from the Holy Father. This is when he blesses the city of Rome and the whole world besides in about 40 different languages.

Lastly, as Servant of God, Archbishop Sheen always said, a priest is not his own. It is great to spend time with ones family during the holiday season, but a priest does not do that. He has his parish family, and really taking Christ as a model, he spends his holidays with those who have no family to visit them. Being here in Rome prepares me for this, and we all have no family here, so we held each other up in prayer and with affirming words.

It is a small sacrifice, but the secret of the saints is that holiness is found very often in these everyday-ordinary sacrifices. I think this is something that I can learn from new-parents. They make many sacrifices to be good parents, and a priest must make many little sacrifices of his will (and body, and mind, and heart) to be a good Spiritual Father. All these experiences in Rome are preparing me for this.

Thank you to all for holding me up in prayer during this time, it has helped greatly. God bless and blessed Christmas season to each of you.