the Duluth Seminarians in front of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls

Happy Advent!

Advent is my favorite season. Its a time when we Christians can really reflect on our readiness for Christ. Not only his first coming in the Incarnation, but more importantly his second coming and our personal judgment before God. You'll notice that the readings during the Sundays of Advent also touch on Christ's second coming and judgment. Advent is a time of waiting for Christ, a time to be sober and alert, a time of hope, Christ the King is coming!

We just finished our Thanksgiving weekend. Obviously different in Italy, but being America's seminary in Rome, we did it up. Turkey, stuffing, and even pumpkin pies. Pumpkin pies that were served while four priests were singing about pumpkin pies "I believe in pumpkin pies" to the tune of "I believe I can fly" by R. Kelly. It was amusing I must admit.

Saturday evening we had a pair of shows. One produced and put on by the newmen, and one by the oldmen. We did ours to the theme of SNL, complete with the Weekend update and the Real Men of Virtue (take off of real men of genius, budweiser radio commercial) which poked fun at few prominent seminarians here. In another skit, I played the part of one of our vice-rectors speaking at a vice rector's conference. Since it is the 150 anniversary of our Seminary, this skit took place in 1859 and did a spoof on our internet network system here, it being a carrier pigeon messaging system back then. It went over real well.

Sunday we had the big flag football game, newmen versus the oldmen. We lost by 3 points, the closest any newman team has come in ten years. Both teams spent a month preparing for the game and I can now see why we only do it once a year. It was real intense and physical. I had the wind knocked out of me and another guy fractured part of his face.

Classes are going well. You need to force yourself to study during the semester because there is no test or paper until a final 10 minute oral exam for most of the classes. At the opening lecture for the University, Father Giertech spoke on "why are there so few Thomistic saints?" Fr. Giertech is the Papal theologian and he teaches moral theology at my university. This gives you an idea of some of the professors we have here. Also at the opening ceremonies, the new rector spoke. He mentioned how he was happy that enrollment was up, and about other things including finances but he mentioned that in the big scheme of things all that matters is that the Truth is being taught and sought out at the University. This was neat to hear. When was the last time any of our presidents of our Catholic universities said anything of the sort in the States? The Angelicum is a great place to be. So many holy men and women pursuing the truth of the faith. When I'm there I feel like I'm in a holy place. In fact my classroom is the same room in which JPII defended his doctoral dissertation.

The week before Thanksgiving the five other guys and myself from the diocese of Duluth went to Siena for the weekend. Siena is the home of St. Catherine of Siena the patroness of Europe and a doctor of the Church. She is an incorruptible, they have her head on display in one of the churches there. We also visited the Cathedral there whose architecture is common for the time. It is like the Cathedral in Orvieto and the basilica of St. Claire in Assisi. I call them prisoner churches for the stripes of alternating colors of bricks. I think their pretty cool.

Siena also is the home of a Eucharistic miracle. There are consecrated hosts, Jesus, that are over 230 years old, yet have not shown any signs of decay. Someone stole the ciborium containing the hosts one night. The whole town prayed for the safe return of the hosts. They were found some days later in the charity box of a nearby church. They had some dust on them, so instead of consuming the hosts they were going to let them decay, which is a legitimate option. However, they didn't decay. There have been numerous scientific tests done that have only upheld the belief in the miracle. We were able to spend an hour in prayer with the hosts exposed in a class ciborium which is behind the glass in the picture below.

Again, I will try to keep on this. Keep me accountable by sending my messages or comments telling me to post more. I need motivation.

"But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thess 5: 8-11

This painting is in the Cathedral of Siena. Its for all you mothers out there!

"Nostra Donna Del Latte"

our lady of the milk

It's been awhile and I apologize. We just finished our last Italian lesson today, and for me it will be the last Italian unless I find opportunities and study on my own, because unlike most of my classmates I will be taking the majority of my classes in English for the first three years. So over the past two months I have received over 200 hours of Italian instruction. They have a scale over here that goes as follows: A1-A2-B1-B2-C1-C2, where A1 is beginner and C2 is you're basically Italian. After two months, I am considered in the B1-B2 range. Which I am happy with. There are guys who I feel have learned the language better than myself especially in the speaking area, but I am content with where I am. I will make it a point to read and write on my own in Italian. Your reading of a language is a different kind of learning from writing and speaking, so reading a lot doesn't necessarily mean you will speak well. I need to keep forming thoughts and sentences in Italian to help with that.

This Sunday we leave for a six day silent retreat, which I look very much forward to. It will be a time to switch my modes of thinking from Italian to preparing myself to learn what the Church wants me to learn to be an effective shepherd of his sheep. After the retreat we have Ordination week here which is a big deal. It is when most of the fourth year guys are ordained to the deaconate. This is actually the most serious time of commitment for a seminarian, even more so than the priestly ordination. It is at this time that a man makes the promises of celibacy, prayer, and obedience. The ordination takes place in St. Peter's. Not at the St. Clement altar, that one is reserved for only the Pope, but the altar directly behind it. This is where I will be ordained God willing in three years.

The college has only been full this fall for two or three days and not consecutively due to the fact that each class has had retreats throughout September. I can see how this place will become a small city and I've heard how you may not see some guys for months at a time. I haven't started to miss home much yet. I just try not to think about it mostly. We are very blessed here and for the most part, although we are in the middle of Italy, the college feels like the States. We get the Armed Forces Network so we get all the big sporting events. I particularly have enjoyed Sunday evenings. It is when the NFL football games are televised due to our time difference. I feel like I'm at home on Sunday evenings.

I've joined the Choir for the time being, to I think the joy of my mother and the dismay of the other choir members and choir director. We practice twice a week now leading up to the ordination and then I believe it falls to once a week. So mom, I'm working on the singing voice!

The following are the courses I am taking this semester. I'm not even sure what some of them are, I guess I will find out:

TI 1301 Introduzione alla Sacra Scrittura.

TI 1302 Pentateuco e Libri storici dell’A.T.

TI 2348 Atti degli Apostoli.

TI 1303 Teologia fondamentale.

TI 1305 Escatologia.

TI 2314 Introduzione alla liturgia.

TI 1345 Introduzione alla teologia.

TI 0308 La lingua del N.T.

I have been trying to understand my place in the seminary and how the Lord wants me to go about at least this year. For example, last year I was one of the leaders at SJV, my old seminary, and this year I am only a new man. So there is a difference there. However, I have come to see things in a more clear way. Different attitudes, habits, ideas, etc. that are either good or bad, will be beneficial to leading people to Christ or harmful and being a hinderance to others' journey to Him. I can see these things in myself and in others. I feel that I have the ability to be a good example even now here. And possibly even now to call guys on. In the Office of Readings that we pray daily the readings have been from St. Augustine on Pastors, and I'm realizing how awesome of a responsibility it is to be a priest, a pastor. How essential it is to be virtuous, generous, and other centered. So I'll see how this all plays out, but I believe that this is THE time to grow in holiness and to really learn to give of ourselves.

Again I am so blessed to be here, so blessed to be happy here. I have nothing to complain about. I just try to persevere everyday, that is what we are all called to do. Just remember the amazing prize we all have at the end of this life for those who do persevere in holiness.

A little something from our first pope on this...

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:6-9).

Orientation!

Class of 2013 NAC in front of St. Peter's. I'm on the far right side. I'll try to crop a better one sometime.

We arrived back in Rome on Wednesday. The other eight guys who didn't come over for early orientation arrived on Thursday. So Thursday the Pontifical North American College Class of 2013 walked into the Immaculate Conception Chapel to the ringing of bells and the welcome of the staff to start our time off with prayer and a message from our rector. The bells will ring again for us personally as each man departs once and for all from the college.

Yesterday was the feast of St. Monica, So the majority of us went to St. Augustine's here in Rome where St. Monica is buried. We prayed for our mothers there individually because, as you may know, St. Augustine's conversion is largely attributed to the prayers of his mother St. Monica.

This morning we went to St. Peter's early when it is much more quiet and celebrated mass in the Crypt in front of the remains of St. Peter. John Paul II and Pope Paul VI are also buried down there. I have much admiration for both those men but especially for Pope Paul VI because of his encyclical Humanae Vitae. If you don't know the story behind that encyclical then its worth understanding. Pope John XXIII commissioned a group of six people to explore the Church's position on contraception. When Pope John the XXIII died, Pope Paul VI expanded the commission to seventy-two, including bishops, theologians, cardinals, women, and experts from medicine.

The commission came to the majority opinion that contraception is not intrinsically evil. Pope Paul VI prayed and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit decided not to change the Churches teaching on contraception. And how prophetic that document has become. Speaking of contraception Pope Paul VI says:

How easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards...and that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection (Humanae Vitae).

Isn't this what has happen since contraception has become so prevalent in our culture?

Many point to this document as a prime example that the Church is guided by God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. Man's wisdom was in favor of contraception, but we can see that man's wisdom is not on par with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit which guides the Church.

Here are some pics...

I do not have one of Julia Roberts, although I did see here Wednesday evening. She is in town shooting a movie.

The Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St. Peter's, welcoming us.

Spencer's birthday a few weeks ago.

Chiesa Nuova, the church I went to while in assisi. Its built on the site of St. Francis' child hood home.

The Cell that St. Francis's parents locked him up in.

The top of the Panteon in Rome.

Assisi ancora!

So its been awhile since my last post. Things are still well with me. I'm still plowing through 6 hours of Italian a day in class and a couple more outside of class. This past week we only had 4 days of class however due to the Solemnity of the Assumption yesterday. Its somewhat of a national holiday here that most places take off an extra day during the week. In addition to the Assumption of Mary, there were a number of other feasts that made it a truly festive week in Assisi.



Tuesday was the feast of St. Claire of Assisi. I attended mass at 6:30am in the crypt where her body now rests. That evening there was a city wide vigil procession to celebrate the patron of Assisi's feast day which was the following day, Wednesday. No, it was not St. Francis's feast day, his is October 4th. It was a much lesser known saint, one who you won't even find in the proper of saints for those of you who pray the liturgy of the hours. Needless to say, Wednesday was a big day for Assisi. It was the feast of Saint Rufinus, and in Assisi it is actually a solemnity. He was the first bishop of Assisi and said to be responsible for Assisi's ,as a city, conversion to Christianity. He was martryed in the 3rd century. Christianity was still illegal at the time.

Wednesday night they had a large fireworks display from Rocco Maggiore, an old military fort at the top of hill on which the city rests. We had a great view from the terrace of the place we are staying.

I was telling some folks that its great to learn Italian just for the sake of it. I will not be taking classes in Italian, at least not at first, like some of the other guys. Its a bit easier to learn this way. I enjoy praying with the english and Italian side by side. I also enjoy praying the mass in Italian and listening to the readings in Italian while seeing the words in Italian. I just purchased an Italian Bible for primarily that reason. I think my reading comprehension is at about 65% and my listening comprehension is around 35%. My speaking is lagging far behind. My hope is that I will be able to listen and read and learn that way which will help my vocabulary and ability to speak.

Thats about it for now, Ill be back in Rome in a little over a week for orientation to the seminary and some more Italian classes there.

I hope all of you are well, may God bless you all.

"La mia carne è vero cibo e il mio sangue è vera bevanda"

My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink

-from today's gospel

What a great gift we have in the Eucharist!

-Nick

Va Bene!

Caio! from Assisi. What a great place to be for four weeks. It is beautiful. It still hasn't rained since I've been here. Apparently that changes in the winter. I am in class from nine to one every day followed by an afternoon two hour session of small group conversation. My Italian is coming along slowly. For some reason I really enjoy learning languages although I wish I was better at it. The town is bookended with the basilica of Saint Claire on one side and the basilica of Saint Francis on another. I havent been to pray at San Chiara but each morning so far a group of us have prayed the office of readings and lauds and celebrated mass with the franciscans at the tomb of San Francesco. This is the mother convent of the Franciscans. Thats kind of cool when you think about it. As a gauge of my progess in italian, I'll use the homily that the priest speaks in italian.

Most of the guys are in the main hotel, but 10 of us are in a near by apartment run by the hotel. Our rooms are further from the noise at night and we have a beautiful porch that overlooks the city that we hang out on at night. It is about 10 degrees cooler at night here than at rome and thats just enough to make a difference between a wet pillow and a dry pillow in the morning.

Again, its great to visit first hand the places that saints and martyrs have walked and the tombs where their holy bodies await the ressurection of the dead. Because we are not just spiritual beings when we spend time at these sacred places we can more easily enter into the same kind of attitude they had. It makes real their being, they are not just a story. They are people who unreservedly gave themselves up to the will of God, whatever that may be. Granted, nothing beats spending time with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, but with the saints we have fallen creatures like ourselves that can truly say:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim 4:7).

I was praying and wondering why we don't have tombs of saints in our dioceses in the States. Its because we don't have any saints declared by the Church. Why can't we in a few hundred years have tombs of saints in our dioceses that others can be inspired to persevere in holiness? Obviously this shouldn't be our ultimate goal but it sure is a possilble result if all of you and me and many others...

"Run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." ( Heb 12:1-2)

Again, know that you are in my prayers. Don't be afraid to send me specific prayer requests to bring to these holy sites.

Nick

Its Sunday here. We are just about to celebrate mass and head to Assisi for a month. I will be doing Italian immersion. I apologize for no posts in the past couple of days, and probably not many in the coming weeks because I will not have private computer usage. I will be able to check email, but I doubt I will have the time on a computer to write a blog post.

Yesterday, we visited the town of Orvieto. It is the home of the relic of the Eucharistic miracle from the 13th century. The Cathedral that was built for the relic took 400 years to build. It has a chapel that holds the blood stained corporal. The church from the outside and inside looks like a prison inmate because it has stripes, alternating light and dark stones. There are few churches from that time that utilized that style. There is a side chapel called the Chapel of San Brizio. It is beautiful. We weren't able to take pictures but you can see pictures online. It has frescos that look much like the sistine chapel. That is because Michelangelo received his inspiration from the Chapel of San Brizio. Art back then was meant to be catechetical for the illiterate. So in this chapel it depicts the resurrection of the dead, hell, judgment, heaven, and the anti-Christ.

Anyways, I'm off to mass. My transition has been smooth. The vice-rector and second year seminarians who have helped with early orientation have been most hospitable. May God bless you all back in the states.

Oh the beach!

Congratulations to tynelson8, thats my dad, on answering the question correctly! He also declared the doctrine of papal infallibility. The painting above depicts that declaration and is also in the room where he is buried. Notice the keys in his right hand.

Yesterday, we visited the Catacomb of Priscilla. From the 2nd to 4th century it was used as a burial for Christians. Because of the great number of people living in Rome and the high mortality rate Christians needed a better spot to bury their dead. So they used the old quarry. It was the site of burial for seven popes and many martyrs. All of which have been translated to various churches and shrines throughout the city. One of the neatest things is to see paintings, frescos from the 3rd century. These include various depictions of stories now in our gospels. Such as the multiplication of loaves and the infancy narrative. Now what is so amazing is that these are some hundred years before the canon was approved as it now is in 393 at the Synod of Hippo. These books especially the gospels had long been taught before the Church had made any official declaration. Also in the catacombs, exists the earliest existing painting of Madonna and Child. Unfortunately they would not allow any photos.

Me at the Catacomb of Priscilla

Msgr. Mueggenborg, our vice rector, celebrated mass for us at the church which is now built on the same foundation on which Pope Sylvester I erected a church in the early 4th century. He made a good point in his homily which relates to the martyrs. When they sacrificed, they didn't give something "up" as if it will be worth nothing to them in the future. But they "handed it over to God." They gave their lives over to Him so that He would then make them holy. For myself who left family and friends and what is familiar for a significant period of time, I desired the Lord to stretch me through this experience. But with Msgr's homily he gave me some vocabulary to be able to put what I hope for into words. I am handing over family and friends and the possibility of a beautiful catholic wife and children to God so that he can purify me with them and make me holy. The more we give to God the more we receive back. I guarantee the martyrs and saints would do it all again knowing what they are experiencing now.

One thing that I heard from a wise spiritual director, when he was asked why there aren't more saints? He replied because people lack generosity, both to others and to God. We need to hand more over to God.

Today we spent the whole day at the beach. I spent 10 euro to rent a chair to lay on and a large umbrella. I knew enough that I didn't want to get burned. It was a beautiful day and the Mediterranean water was refreshing.

Me soakin' in the rays

There are 10 or second year guys here who have set most of this week up. They have been really selfless and made this week so enjoyable. They know the top 5 or so things to see and do in Rome and therefore we are getting the best possible Rome experience only a week into my stay here.

Mike Garry and Eli Gieske

Again, this college is amazing. It is ginormous. I wish you all well.

"He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister." Col 1:22-23

Today's question: Pope Pius IX was the 2nd longest serving pope. Who was the longest?

Four more years! Four More years!...

I arrived in Rome, Italy yesterday with 45 or so other guys, all Americans but for 4 Australian seminarians. Apparently Foster's beer is not that popular down under as they make us believe, as a few of them told me. The college is beautiful and large. A college is basically a residence over here. Universities are where men and women study. So you live at a college and study at a university. It is a different distinction between colleges and universities than we have in the states. So I live at the Pontifical North American College and I will take classes at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas or the Angelicum as it is more commonly called.

We were given a tour yesterday of our college, but it will take some time to become familiar with the whole college. My room faces the east and is very hot in the morning as the sun rises. I have a great view of our new field turf soccer field. It is smaller than regulation size, but I am still looking forward to shake the rust off of my soccer game from high school. My room also faces Bambino Gesù, a pediatric hospital which is just outside the walls of the college. I'm told they like to watch the games that we play on the field.

There is much more I can say, but I just wanted to mention our excursion today. We ventured out into Rome where we rode some buses and did some walking all the way to San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura, St. Lawrence Outside the Walls. St. Lawrence is the patron saint of comedians because of his great sense of humor. According to tradition there are two instances that show this sense of humor. First, during the persecutions under Valerian in 258 A.D. the prefect of Rome demanded the deacon Lawrence to bring the Church's treasures so he could confiscate them for Christianity was still illegal at the time. St. Lawrence showed up with the poor, the infirmed, and the lame. The prefect asked Lawrence what this was all about. St. Lawrence responded, "These are the treasures of the Church." Second, apparently the prefect didn't find it funny, because he had St. Lawrence put on a gridiron and burned to death. During his martyrdom, St. Lawrence yelled, "This side is done, turn me over and have a bite."

There is a basilica built with its alter directly over the tomb of St. Lawrence along with St. Steven, the Church's first martyr whose remains they moved from jerusalem to Rome, and St. Justin Martyr.

In the same basilica, Blessed Pope Pius IX is buried. He is important because he is the founder of our college. He founded a number of other national seminaries here in Rome. He wanted countries to send their seminarians to Rome to ensure that they were being taught orthodox theology and were being formed correctly.

Can you guess why the main chapel at the PNAC is the Immaculate Conception Chapel?

Hint: It has to do with this painting