A post Easter update

7 April 2013 - Divine Mercy Sunday

It has been a full couple of weeks, here is the tip of the iceberg for you:

1 - Pope Francis
It struck me that this "Year of Faith" has been divided for us.  The first half of the year was with Pope Benedict XVI, a master teacher and believer who turned our attention to the heart of faith.  He taught us that fides quarens intellectum (Faith seeks understanding), with clarity and confidence.  This second half of the year is with Pope Francis, who is showing us how to live the faith in our concrete daily lives.  He's leading us down the path of conversion with courage.  If we follow it will be challenging, but man will it be rewarding.  Simplicity and convinced living of the Catholic Faith is his message.  Particularly striking to me was his homily at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday where he spoke to the heart of the priesthood and his Easter Vigil homily telling of our fear of being surprised by God.  Today, St. Peter's Square was full to the brim with pilgrims come to pray the Regina Caeli with him.  Its a precious time to be here in Rome.

2 - Archbishop Sample
On Easter Tuesday, 2 April 2013, Portland's new Archbishop was installed.  We have a new shepherd.  Although I didn't get to be there I joined in praying by offering Mass for Archbishop Sample and reading his installation homily.  His coat of arms description is also very telling to read as he seeks to lead us to vultum Christi contemplari (contemplate the face of Christ).  After being blessed to be trained to be a priest by Archbishop Vlazny and benefiting from his fatherly care as a seminarian for the last 9 years, Archbishop Sample will be the one to shape and direct my first years of priesthood.  I look forward to meeting him when he receives the Pallium here in Rome on 29 June.  I am excited to learn from him and follow him in contemplating the face of Christ!

3 - Retreat and Pilgrimage
During Holy Week I was in Lourdes, France on retreat, probably the only retreat I'll ever get to take during Holy Week.  Fr. Michael Monshau OP directed me and I went with Dale Tuckerman to my favorite place to go, hidden close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as we relived His Passion.  I felt like one of the Apostles, so close to the holiest of mysteries and yet not fully understanding what I was experiencing.  Here, I concelebrated my first Masses in French and Latin in the sanctuary of Lourdes.  On Easter Monday we left Lourdes and retreat, making our way on pilgrimage to Ars, Paray le Monial, and Annecy.  There I got to celebrate Mass at the tomb of St. John Vianney twice and beg his intercession for my priesthood, that I too would be a faithful priest and holy confessor, ardent believer and solicitous teacher of faith.  This whole time I was struck by a deeper need for penance in my life, greater simplicity.  Paray le Monial is where the devotion to the Sacred Heart began and we celebrated Mass at the tomb of St. Margaret Mary (Fr. Monsahu's special patron) and the next day at the tomb of St. Francis de Sales (Dale's confirmation Saint).  What a gift do be near the Sacred Heart for so long.  I prayed each day for you at the grotto of Lourdes and especially for all priests, particularly those I know and who influence me, at Ars.  I was also able to finish reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh and Band of Brothers by Steven Ambrose.

4 - The next run
Now its time to run through the finish line.  My days in Rome are numbered (less than 3 months) and we head towards the home stretch.  This week we have our annual Rector's Dinner which is busy for us as we host many gracious benefactors who help make our time here possible.  I will also meet with my thesis director and prepare my final draft to turn in, Saint Thomas More and Fatherhood.  There is also a seminar paper to write on genetics, classes to resume, and course reading to dive into before finishing at the end of May.  I have gotten to assist as a chaplain to the University of St. Mary's college students, the Missionaries of Charity, and the US Navy Base in Naples this year and so I will have to say my goodbyes there.  Exams begin in June, then a lectio coram exam where I teach my professors on a topic they choose and also defend my thesis.  I will be studying and packing up so that I can come home and begin my new assignment, wherever Archbishop Sample sees fit to place me.  I'll be blessed to have some guests coming to visit over the next couple of months, including my sister Kate, which will be a great boon to me, as well as getting to be here for the Pallium Mass for Archbishop Sample.  Please pray for me and I will for you, as I look forward to fulfilling what Archbishop Vlazny told me to do 6 years ago when he sent me here:  "to be a good pastor for the people in the Archdiocese of Portland".

The Resurrection is real; He is present to us now right when we needed Him most.  Do not be afraid!