#OhHey Blessings

Woke up in London yesterday, found myself in the city, near Piccadilly; don't really know how I got here.  I've got some pictures on my phone...Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want.   

We're young enough to say 'Oh, this has gotta be the good life.'  

I say, 'Oh, got this feeling that you can't fight', like the city is on fire tonight.  This could really be a good life. 

To my friends in Cali, I say hello.  My friends in VA, they don't know where I've been for the past few months or so: Paris to Poland, to Colorado

This weekend reminded me that there is always beauty within the drizzle.

I journeyed to London Victoria by bus, it was windy and a little bit snowy and a little bit rainy.  But honestly, I was too excited to care.  I jumped off the bus and found my way across the street to Josh and Renée.

#OhHey awesome friends in another country.

We walked through the streets, trying unsuccessfully to find Josh's favorite pub and Mozart's Terrace.  But we found an Indian restaurant instead and laughed while assuring the owner that no, we didn't want meat on this Friday in Lent.

#OhHey Catholicism.

We traipsed through the streets, snow swirling around us, and laughed over the most minuscule things.
As I sat in a pub drinking beer (#ohhey I'm legal here), there was peace within the chaos of the talking, friendship at the table in the back, and deep conversation amidst the frivolity of pub life.

The next day, we set out to see everything and anything London-y.  Of course, that meant going to the World's End neighborhood.  And drinking English Breakfast tea in the Victoria Station while eating tuna sandwiches, oranges, and caramel-filled Cadbury eggs, at 10 in the morning.  And seeing the Colossal Foot and Sir Robert Smirke's bust at the British Museum.  And poring over an old French book for 15 minutes instead of looking at the description.  And holding ancient stone knives.  And of course, that also meant going to Ben's Cookies and seeing where My Fair Lady took place, and yes, I did eat fish and chips.

Ben's Cookies are the greatest food since sliced bread.*
*photo is lovingly stolen from Renée.

#OhHey we-saw-everything-except-the-tower-which-doesn't-bother-me-in-the-least.

Cooking with friends is one of my favorite experiences ever.  Because you're working together towards the same simple goal, and somehow, that puts you in a frame of mind to have very neat conversations.  Don't ask me how it works, but it does.

#OhHey I've missed this.

Good food and drink also bring people together like no other.  The hours flew past from 8 to 9 to 11, and we sat, covering everything from adventure stories to classes to Lent to the meaning of life.

#OhHey we're so deep.

Saying goodbyes is never fun.  But hidden within a goodbye is always the promise of see-you-later.  Saturday night and Sunday morning were full of see-you-laters.

And that is a beautiful thing.

"Lowly, and Yet Chosen"

HABEMUS PAPUM!!

Oh my goodness, I wish you all could have witnessed our campus here in Austria tonight!  We have a new Papa... I can't express the joy in my heart right now.

I was in the TOR sister's house at 7:10 pm, ready for Women's Scripture Group, and Meredith came bursting in the doors: "Habemus Papum!".  We all screamed rather loudly, and then Sister Maria Teresa ran to get the sisters' TV from the other room.  About 3 minutes later, we had EWTN all hooked up and playing in their living room.  There were only about 30 of us, and it was really neat to experience this history with the sisters.

We all waited with bated breath to hear who it was, and we jumped every time that silly curtain on the balcony twitched.  Finally, the cardinal emerged and told us who it was- Bergoglio.  But none of us could seem to remember who exactly he was.  

Pope Francis.

A Jesuit.

An American.

Being from Franciscan University, we kinda went nuts: St. Francis of Assisi! (We were just in Assisi praying for him!)

Being Franciscan, we are excited to see the spirituality of a Jesuit Pope.

And being American (honestly, who cares if it's North or South!)..... we have an American Papa!!!!

As I read about him, I am struck by his humility.  Even as cardinal, he took public transportation in Argentina, and cooked his own meals.  He preferred to live in a flat heated by a simple stove.  And as we watched him tonight, this humility shone through.  Before giving us all his blessing, he first asked for our prayers and blessings.

After the papal address, we gathered in the Church to sing in Thanksgiving and then to pray a rosary together, as a campus, for our new Pope.  It was beautiful to be with my classmates, offering our prayers for this man who we already love.

I cannot wait to get to know Pope Francis better.  To read his writings and to listen to his teachings.

St. Francis of Assisi: Pray for us!

St. Peter: Pray for us!

Blessed Beyond Measure

About 250,000 people were in St. Peter's square for the last audience of His Holiness Benedict XVI.

I was one of those people.

Some people got to watch the helicopter take off from the Vatican on TV.

And I was less than a mile away.

Lots of people read about saints in books and online.

We saw incorrupt saints and had Mass at their tombs.

Only the Pope and appointed Cardinals can say Mass at the high altar in St. John Lateran.

But when there's no Pope, our own Franciscan friars can say Mass there for us.

The area around St. Francis' tomb is somewhat small.

But our awesome travel agent got all 200 of us permission to have Mass there anyway.

(Can you tell that Mass was kinda one of the highlights of the trip?!)

And then there are "everyday" blessings- Old Bridge gelato, 'Habemus Pizza', praise and worship at the seminary in Rome, having a dear friend for dinner with the school, and walking through the streets of Assisi with a wise Friar.

I can't comprehend how many times we all looked at each other after one experience or another and thought "That shouldn't have just happened.  We shouldn't have been able to experience that".  And yet it did, and we were.

As I think through these last 2 weeks, I will be posting my thoughts about Rome, Siena, and Assisi.  

Sts. Francis and Clare, Pray for us! 

Roma: Take Two

Why take two, you might ask?  Because I've already been blessed to have been here this semester!  I was delinquent and didn't post about my first trip (although it's completely drafted and everything!) but I figure this one can take its place.

We left our school campus yesterday afternoon at 3:30, drove 14 hours over the Alps and down into Italy, and arrived just after 6 this morning!  It was a long and tedious drive with very little sleep, but as soon as we pulled into that parking lot, we were out of the buses and running toward the Vatican!  We weren't the first ones in line, but we were far enough up that we knew we'd get decent seats.  We found ourselves next to some seminarians from St. Paul/ Minneapolis, and after praying morning prayer with them, we talked to them for about a half an hour.  Soon, there were tons of people pushing into us from behind, and at one point, we were literally being carried forward by the crowd; I couldn't have stayed still if I had wanted to!

Once through security, a group of about 20 of us discovered that we'd been separated from the main group: they were all up in the very front section, and we were in the back.  Still, after much debating over whether it was worth it to sneak up front, we figured that since we were right next to the barricade, we had a chance of seeing Pope Benedict.

Vatican events are great ways to meet people.  We got to 'talking' (or rather, communicating) with an Italian group standing near us, and even though we spoke very little of each other's language, we were all able to understand rather well.  We ended up praying an Italian/English/Latin rosary with them.  And then, as we hung the Franciscan University Austria Program banner over the side of the barricade, we found out that a woman standing across from us has a brother at Franciscan, and her husband works at a Catholic news company.  She was there with her daughter and two infant sons.

Finally, 10 o'clock arrived and cardinals began making announcments and welcoming hte various groups who were there.  Franciscan got mentioned, as well as my diocese!  At 10:30, we all started craning our necks toward the archway next to St. Peter's, and as the organ music began, Pope Benedict came around the corner in his Pope mobile!

He began weaving his way through the crowds, going up one aisle and down another, and just when we had given up hope that he was coming near us.....

THERE HE WAS!

Right next to us!  He stopped to bless two children across the barricade from us, and was literally RIGHT in front of us!  He looked straight at me; needless to say, taking pictures wasn't the very first thing on my mind.  It was one of the most beautiful moments in my life, right up there with receiving first Sacraments and becoming a godmother.  I don't think there was a single person in our group, guys included, whose eyes were dry. (admission: half of us were crying like small children. embarrassment level: zero.  It's the Papa! We're allowed to cry!) (oh, and there's no zoom on the pictures!)

Let's be honest here: after that, not a whole lot mattered.  There was a reading from scripture and the Pope gave an address in Italian, followed by short addresses in 6 or 8 different languages.  And then we were given a Papal blessing that extends to all our family members and loved ones back home.  I didn't know that was possible!  He also blessed any religious articles that we had with us.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up by pizza, gelato, walking, more pizza, and more walking, but we kept going back to that moment, when the Pope was 4 feet away from us, and time seemed to stand still.

Tomorrow, we will be touring part of the city and then watching Papa leave Vatican City before the abdication.  Of course, it will be bittersweet, but to be here, as history unfolds, is incredible in and of itself.

You're all in my prayers!  

Allison

(ps: please pray for a friend of mine who is entering a cloistered monastery on March 3rd! thanks!)

you world traveler, you

The amazing thing about living in Austria is that the world is at your fingertips.  Quite literally.  I type in a few names on the train website, click go, and I’m off.

This past weekend, the school organized a trip to Poland for us.  I love it when they do this, because all I need to do is give them money and they plan everything!  What a blessing for us busy students!

After a 10-hour bus ride, we arrived in Poland at 5 am.  We made our way up an extremely icy hill to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa (pronounced chesta-hova).  Because we were there quite early, we were able to be very close for the unveiling of the image.  (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Our Lady of Czestochowa, it is said to have been painted by St. Luke on a table built by Christ!)  Fr. Luke said Mass for us at the altar of the image, and most of us did the traditional walk around the Madonna on our knees.

Then, it was time for the difficult part of the trip- Auschwitz and Birkenau.  We all knew about the concentration camps from school, but visiting is totally different.  To walk the streets that Jews, Christians, and Nazis walked, to enter their barracks, walk their corridors, see their shoes, hair, brushes, suitcases, and dishes- it’s heartbreaking.  I couldn’t help but ask myself, How? Why?  How could this happen, and Why not me?  Being able to pray at St. Maximillian Kolbe’s call was a very small, flickering light in the midst of a tremendous darkness.  At Birkenau, the 150 of us waked the length of the train tracks in complete silence.  All we could hear was out trudging footsteps in the snow.  When we reached the end, we prayed a Divine Mercy chaplet together- once more, a little light in the darkness.

Back on the bus, we gradually started talking again, and eventually arrived in Krakow.  The hotel was lovely, and I enjoyed spending time with Stasia and Elyse, as we were rooming together.  The next morning, we were given a professional tour of the city.  Our tour guide was Catholic, so she gave us a lot of little Catholic “fun facts” :).  She was confirmed by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla!  We had some free time, so we went through the outdoor market and bought some gifts for people ;).  Perogies for lunch with the sisters who came with us, then on to the Divine Mercy Shrine, where St. Faustina received her visions and locutions.  We said the chaplet with the sisters, then heard a presentation by one of the sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, went to the gift shop (see a trend here?!?), and had Mass.  Dinner was on our own, so Stasia and I had hamburgers… don’t judge.  Not quite Polish, but very delicious!  That evening, we went to this fantastic shop for hot chocolate… I literally think they melted a chocolate bar into the cup.  It was super thick and creamy… yum!

On Sunday, we had a Latin Mass at the Cathedral in Krakow, then headed to Wadowice (pronounced va-do-VEE-chey).  Wadowice is Blessed John Paul II’s hometown, only about an hour from Krakow.  It is very small, so there was not tons to do, but we saw his parish where he was Baptized, received First Communion, and Confirmed, and ate “pope cake”!  JPII had a favorite pastry that he always ate when he returned to his home- it’s a thick layer of pudding-creme in between two flaky pastries.  So good!  (After eating it, I was very thirsty (and in need of spending my last zloty (Polish money)) so I went to find some water.  I saw some in a bakery, so I went in and asked for water.  There was only one kind, and she handed it to me and I paid.  When I took a sip outside, I was taken aback- I had forgotten to ask for still water!!  It was sparkling!  I’d actually never had plain sparkling water before; it was quite good and refreshing :P ).

We had another long bus ride back, and arrived home to Gaming about 1:30 am.  Thank goodness Monday was a “recovery day” with no classes.  Just 3 meetings.  Haha.

All in all, it was a really great weekend.  I was able to spend time with some different people and get to know them, see some things that helped me grow both as a person and in my faith, and prepare spiritually for my next trip! (But that’s another blog post in and of itself…)

running 'round Rome

bus...trains...metro...bus...plane...shuttle...taxi...walking...metro...walking...walking...metro...walking...metro...shuttle...plane...train...bus...HOME.

St. Peter's Square...my brother...lasagna...Colosseum...Forum...random Church...tiny restaurant...gelato...Vatican Museum...Mass...Churches...panini...ANGELUS WITH PAPA!... panini...travel...sleep.

(posts about our weekend are forthcoming!)

Random Thoughts and Ramblings

Time: 11:18
Location: dorm room
State of Mind: somewhat (read:completely) out of it
Why? finals are over!!!!  and therefore I am tired, braindead, and ready to sleeeep.
Looking forward to: sleep. (see a trend?) And home-cooked meals.  And seeing friends and family at home.
Best thing(s) that happened this past week: (1) Stasia and Grace made me half-birthday signs for my door, since I won't be in school for my actual birthday =) (Thanks to the Bunker!) and I got an A on my Biblical Studies paper! Huzzah!

What do the next couple days look like? tomorrow will be completely full of graphic design, and Thursday will be completely full of packing, and Friday will be completely full of packing and Liturgy Committee end-of-year stuff.

Wait.  Finals are over.  Why am I working on design still? Because it's not due 'till Thursday and we don't have a test in that class.

I'll try to post my designs after I turn them in, so that you can get an idea of what I'm doing =)
xoxo,