A Ski Trip Full of Surprises

A lot has been going on lately in the North American College, and thus there is no short explanation for why it has taken me so long to update this blog!  But since a picture is worth a thousand words, this should do the trick:

I actually got a little sunburned.  No joke.

Our exam period at the College spanned the last full week of January, and the first two weeks of February - quite different from the 4 tests in 4 days format that we have back home!  We had the option to choose (for the most part) when our finals were, so I gave myself about 2 or 3 days between each one in order to have plenty of time to study (and, as I found out, plenty of time to get stressed).  But at the end of the day, the exams went well.  So, thank you very much for the prayers!

On the Thursday after my last exam, I flew with three of my classmates to a little town called Bolzano, in northern Italy.  The apartment we had rented was in a little town called Falcade, about an hour and a half from Bolzano, so we had planned to rent a car.  At the tiny airport, we walked up to the gentleman running the rental car counter, who informed us that the only car available was a Fiat 500, which is simply not suited for four 6' tall men and their luggage:

Fortunately, as we were about to bite the bullet and pile in, a gentleman walked up and turned in the keys for a Fiat Panda!  It still wasn't the most comfortable fit, but it was certainly better than the alternative!

Our silver bullet: 5 doors of awesomeness.

We spent the next two days on the slopes of the beautiful Dolomite mountains and got to see some breathtaking views.  Day 1 was especially sunny:

Day 2, on the other hand, was cloudy.  We decided (or, as I should say, my more adventurous companions convinced me) to head to the highest point in the vicinity on top of Mount San Pellegrino, which we hadn't attempted on day 1.  We were more than a little freaked out as we climbed into a huge lift and ascended into the cloud-covered summit, where visibility was basically zero.  We couldn't see much, but we did manage to find the pub!

My brothers Stephen Logue, Joe Furnaguera, and Dan Carr and I enjoying a beer on the slopes!

Coming down from the mountain was incredible!  Since it was so hard to see anything, we had to stick together and take it pretty slowly.  It took us about 20 minutes, and we were able to stop and pray daytime prayer on the way down.  We were truly blessed to be able to experience God in the beauty of His nature and in the joys of fraternity.  Being a seminarian is so awesome...

Also, this didn't happen, which was a grace in itself:

Another beautiful grace of the weekend was quite unexpected...We booked a small apartment on booking.com, and arrived on Thursday afternoon to move in.  A very sweet lady in her sixties named Pia Luciani welcomed us to the apartment and showed us around.  We were very grateful for her hospitality, but soon found out that she happened to be the niece of Pope John Paul I!

His fitting nickname is "the smiling Pope."

We were blown away as Pia told us stories, gave us holy cards, and shared her love for her uncle, who had been the Successor of St. Peter for 33 days in 1978.  We also got to visit the Church of St. John the Baptist, the small parish church in town where Pope John Paul (or "Papa Luciani" as he was known in there) had received all of his sacraments as a child.

The holy water font in which Pope John Paul I was baptized!

Our beautiful encounter with the Servant of God John Paul I was a reminder to the four of us that God is full of surprises!  He certainly took care of us that weekend, and I am very grateful.  Also, I did not die or injure myself on the slopes, so I am grateful for that too!

A blessed Lent to you all!
-Colin