first week of classes

i have just finished my first week of classes. i have waited 9 years to study theology, and now i am immersed in it with 7 different classes a week for 20hrs. what is it like you may wonder? well, it is like going to 4 spiritual conferences a day, then going back home to engage in spiritual reading, to be crowned with a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament. plus you are surrounded by 170 some other guys who are all better than you at what they do but desire to run with you in this race. God is overwhelmingly Good and i am thankful for this time.

our schedule looks like this: 6:15am morning prayer and Mass followed by breakfast. its about a 40min walk to school which starts at 8:30am. classes go until 12:15 (we stay in the same classroom and the teachers come to us) and then we walk home at a brisk pace to pray the rosary at 12:55. pranzo (lunch) is at 1:15 and then our afternoon is free for appointments, study, errands, and Lord willing a little riposa (nap). at 5:45 our holy hour commences and ends with benediction and evening prayer starting at 6:45. cena (dinner) is at 7pm, then we ususally have formation meetings at 8pm for an hour. depending on the night we might hit the lounge for a magnum bar (icecream) and relaxing conversation. by that point i am crying for my bed and some sleep to be well enough to start again the next day. this week i also got my first run in with italian dental work. lets just say my mouth hurts right now.

thank you for your prayers, know that you are in mine. here are some pictures from my little pilgrimage to Norcia.

pictures:

1) St. Benedict (this is his brithplace)

2) Norcia at dusk (this is pretty much the whole town)

3) the monks' church (built over the place where Benedict and Scholastica were born)

4) the crew (us guys that went, Jeff took the pic)