Station to Station

As we have been coming to learn during our time in Rome, there are few things cooler than discovering a new church! Each one has its own particular history, its own beautiful art, usually a handful of saints and/or blesseds, and plenty of reasons to drop in and say a prayer. During Lent, we've learned that the only thing cooler than discovering new churches, is discovering new churches together, and having Mass at each of them! Every Lent, the North American College invites pilgrims from all over Rome to the Station Church pilgrimage, offering Mass in English at a different church in the city every day of Lent. This practice of pilgrimage began in Rome as soon as Christianity was made legal, as Christians began to celebrate the feasts of Our Lord and the saints at the various holy sites associated with those devotions. Over time, this pilgrimage took on a special significance during Lent, when Christians sought to remind themselves that our life on earth is a constant march toward the heavenly city, and the fullness of our Easter joy. This idea of a march was also an important one for the early Christians, because many of the saints who were venerated in Rome's churches were martyrs  - soldiers who had completed this march of Faith by giving their lives for Christ.

Those chains held St. Peter as he was led to his crucifixion.

At some point in the recent past (I have no idea when), the NAC began to host station church Masses for English speaking pilgrims, using largely the same rotation of churches that have been used for centuries! The Masses begin at 7 am every day, and it is truly amazing to see how many people participate. Some pilgrims are in town for a few days, others have lived in Rome for many, many years. We meet young men and women from study abroad groups, couples celebrating their anniversaries, international classmates from our theological universities, and everybody in between! As for us NAC guys, we roll out bright and early (usually around 6:15, depending on the distance) and walk prayerfully through a beautiful Roman sunrise (or perhaps a torrential Roman downpour) toward whatever holy place awaits us. It has truly been a blessing to experience this Lent on foot with my brothers and sisters, praying at some of the holiest sites in the world.  Please know that my daily prayers and journeys have been offered for all of you who support me in so many ways!

San Giorgio in Velabro contains the relics of St. George, patron saint of England (and of my Dad).

The Church of San Marco is built on the site where St. Mark wrote His Gospel.

The Basilica of Sts. John and Paul contains chandeliers from the Waldorf Hotel in New York!

A beautiful morning at St. Paul Outside the Walls (after a 75 minute walk!).

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. A blessed Holy Week and Triduum to you all!

In Christ,
Colin

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

Merry Christmas!

It certainly wasn't the mile-long Reid family Christmas dinner table, but Fr. Harvey's feast for his six seminarian guests made for a wonderful Christmas meal!  We donned our tasteful paper crowns found in our Christmas crackers, and sat down to what ended up being an approximately 6-hour lunch/dinner/supper/feast of awesomeness.  (Don't worry, that was with a few breaks, including a walk around the block to help everything settle!)  Earlier that day, and the night before, we were able to serve 3 of the parish's 5 Christmas Masses.  It was a wonderful blessing to experience the joy of parish life during this beautiful season: everything from Christmas carols before Mass, the blessing of the manger scene, and a Nativity pageant by the children.  Truly a blessing!

Aside from sleeping and eating wonderful home-cooked meals, we have been able to see and experience many of the treasures of London.  We spent an evening at the British Museum and got to see the Rosetta Stone!  I've heard that if you touch it, you instantly learn every language known to man.  However, the bullet-proof glass prevented this from being done, so it looks like Italian classes will still be a struggle...

The Rosetta Stone features a single text written in three languages: Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic (a vernacular Egyptian), and Greek.  The Stone allowed archaeologists to translate the hieroglyphics!

On Tuesday, we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre in London!  So yeah, that was pretty awesome...

And, since you all know me pretty well, you know that it wouldn't be a trip without visiting a few more churches!  Thanks to our host, Fr. Harvey, we were given some great suggestions on places where we could experience the Catholic Church in London:

Corpus Christi Church, on the West End of London.  This church was designed to be, and still is, "the Actor's Church," because it is located near many of the city's great theaters.  It's pulpit also hosted many well-known preachers, including Monsignor Ronald Knox, a friend of G.K Chesterton who converted to Catholicism in 1918, and Henry Cardinal Manning, a hugely influential figure in English Catholicism in the 19th century.

Corpus Christi features a statue of St. Genesius, a martyr of the early Church and the patron saint of actors.  Notice the masks at his feet!

On Christmas Eve, we had the joy of visiting a place that was very highly recommended to us by many people: the Brompton Oratory, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of London.  The Oratorians are a community of priests founded in Rome in the 16th century by St. Philip Neri for the simple tasks of living together, praying together, and performing works of charity together!  The Oratory is currently one of 4 Oratories in London, and was the second one founded by one of my favorite (hopefully soon to be) saints: Blessed John Henry Newman!

The man himself.

Walking into the Oratory was like walking into a church back in Rome: the architecture was Baroque, the pulpit was in the middle of the nave, and there was some saint enshrined in a side altar!  A little taste of home, I suppose.

"She's a real beaut, Clark!"

Today, we had the chance to visit a small convent of Benedictine nuns near London's Hyde Park, where perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is kept in honor of the Tyburn Gallows which were once located nearby.  It was at those gallows that an estimated 50,000 people lost their lives during the Protestant Reformation in England, many of whom have been declared Venerable, Blessed, and Canonized by the Church!

The Blessed Sacrament is adored in the heart of London 24/7!

After visiting the convent, myself and my 2 companions set off to find the stone which marked the actual site of the Tyburn gallows, a stone which was, according to a sign outside the convent, exactly 300 paces east of us.  I was initially certain that east led us directly across the street, but after scouring a large grassy knoll and finding nothing, we realized that what I had believed to be east was actually south, and that it was no surprise that I had not made it from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  After getting our bearings (literally), we finally found the stone in the middle of a median of a busy intersection, marking the place where hundreds of holy men and women gave their lives at the gallows rather than deny their love for Jesus Christ and His Church.  Such a simple place, but truly quite remarkable.

Tomorrow, I will be leaving Fr. Harvey's and meeting up with my great aunt and uncle, to spend a few days with them in Lutterworth, a small town a couple hours north of London.  I am incredibly grateful for the joys and laughs of the past week, for the parishioners of St. Edmund's who have given us more baked goods than we had ever imagined, for Fr. Harvey's great hospitality and warmth, and for the 5 men with whom I have been able to share these wonderful experiences.  I am truly blessed!  Thank you all for your prayers, and, as always, know of mine.  God bless you all; Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Colin

Bonus Pictures:

President Reagan stands proudly in front of the American Embassy in London.  These colors don't run.

Our 2nd great culinary craving: Chipotle!  We partook on multiple occasions.

London Calling

Well, since we can't go home for Christmas, we figured we could get the next best thing: a land of dreary winter skies, Starbucks Eggnog Lattes, properly formed lines, and the glorious English language.  Today, three of my NAC brothers and I arrived at London Gatwick airport to begin a two-week long adventure in the heart of the British Empire!  We are staying with an incredibly kind priest who is the pastor of a parish in Loughton, roughly 40 minutes northeast of London, in the Catholic Diocese of Brentwood.  He has generously hosted NAC seminarians in his rectory for many years now, so we will be the next in a long line of men who have benefited from his hospitality!

Myself, Anthony Stewart, and Vince Fernandez.  Thanks to our other traveler Michael Holmquist for taking the picture!

The picture above is taken in front of Westminster Cathedral, the mother church of Catholicism in England and Wales.  Construction of the church began in 1903, and has slowly and steadily continued in the years since.  It is in the beautiful Neo-Byzantine architectural style, featuring three large domes, a beautiful baldechino over the altar, an Eastern-style crucifix, and some spectacular mosaics.  The church is not yet finished, which is why the marble decoration only reaches about halfway up; but even so, it's a beautiful place!  We celebrated the fourth Sunday of Advent there today, and were blessed to listen to a beautiful men and boys' choir sing the Mass parts.  The parish community is joyful and vibrant, and the huge church was nearly full of both parishioners and pilgrims alike!

After Mass, we satisfied one of our two American culinary cravings by paying a visit to a Starbucks right across the street.  (Stay tuned to find out what the other craving is!)  Vince was pretty excited when he found the Eggnog Latte.  And he had every right to be excited, because it was amazing.

Let's go!!!

Next, we headed to Victoria Station, the main transportation hub in downtown London, where we loaded up our Oyster cards (reloadable transit passes) and got on the tube (London's epic underground metro system).  We made it to our stop in Loughton, and got to St. Edmund's parish without a problem!  A cup of tea later, I can say with great joy that it is good to be here.  More to come, I hope!  I am, after all, the world's worst blogger.  But I will do my best to keep you all posted.  Thanks for the prayers, and, as always, know of mine!

Michael makes sure we got off at the right stop.  Anthony is just happy to be here.

A Joyous Day with the Great Archbishop of Milan

Well, my apologies for another long, undeserved sabbatical!  I think it's safe to say I'm basically the world's worst blogger.... Anyhow, I figured a good time to get back into it would be on the wonderful feast of my home parish patron, as well as the patron of seminarians, St. Charles Borromeo.

"He loved God and man."

St. Charles was a truly incredible man, chosen by God at a very turbulent time in the Church's history to undertake several monumental tasks on her behalf.  He was raised in the midst of great nobility, wealth, and power, and was even made a Cardinal at the young age of 21, according to the common nepotistic norms of the time (his uncle was the Pope Pius IV).  However, rather than allow himself to be consumed by the culture of his time, Charles dedicated his entire life to the service of God and neighbor.  He attended the closing sessions of the Council of Trent, and worked tirelessly to implement the conciliar reforms in the Archdiocese of Milan, of which he became the archbishop at the age of 25!  In Milan, Charles became known and loved as a true shepherd, as he traveled across countless miles to visit the diocese's outermost parishes, and sold all his possessions to help the poor during times of famine.

I was certainly fortunate enough to be formed by St. Charles' prayers and presence throughout my childhood at that beautiful parish in Northeast Minneapolis, but I didn't really know much about him until I came to seminary and learned that he is the patron of seminarians!  Participating in the 40-hour Eucharistic celebrations every year at St. Paul Seminary allowed me to draw closer to this inspiring man, and now, in Rome, I get to be very close to his heart.  As in, literally, his heart is venerated in the church of Sant' Ambrogio, a roughly 20 minute walk from the NAC!  So today, after class, I had the joy of visiting the heart of St. Charles Borromeo, to pray for my parish back home, and also for all of my brother seminarians.  There even happened to be Mass starting just as we got there!

One funny story about St. Charles is that he had a remarkably large nose.  

Since he was well aware of this fact, he made sure that every depiction of him be done from the side, so that he might never be overcome by vanity!  And when you consider the fact that St. Charles' episcopal motto was "Humilitas, Humilitas, Humilitas" ("Humility, Humility, Humility"), this humorous self-criticism makes a lot of sense!  May we all be filled with this great humility which so filled St. Charles, and which allowed him to love God with an undivided heart and his neighbor with all his strength.

Preserve in the midst of your people,

we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled

the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,

that your Church may be constantly renewed

and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,

may show his face to the world.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity

of the Holy Spirit,

One God for ever and ever. Amen.

From Silence to Craziness!

As can hopefully be seen from the smiles on my classmates' faces, the first-year silent retreat in Greccio was a beautiful one.  And, in customary silent retreat fashion, the lifting of the silence yesterday morning was followed by roughly 6 straight hours of loud voices and laughter, as we called to mind the joys of the week and enjoyed our wonderful freedom of speech.  (There was also some special rejoicing by our Kansas City brothers, who turned on their phones to see that the Royals' 29-year playoff drought had ended!)

Our retreat center was a beautiful Franciscan-run building nestled into the side of a mountain, overlooking a picturesque valley and further mountains off to the east.  The small, medieval town of Greccio was a lovely 40-minute walk away, and boasts of the place where St. Francis constructed the first Nativity scene!  The town is very famous for this bit of history, and there are images of St. Francis and his creche all over the town.  Closer to the retreat center, there is a small Franciscan hermitage, where one can visit the saint's room, as well as a beautiful grotto where he would often pray.  Despite having lived in a much more primitive time (and having walked pretty much everywhere), St. Francis sure did find his way around in Italy.  It seems that no matter where we are in the country, we're never too far from some area of significance in the life of that incredible saint!

The retreat certainly came at a wonderfully opportune time, since this week is one of the most hectic of the year!  On Thursday, October 2nd, 43 men of the North American College will be ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence Cardinal Wuerl at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica.  As pretty much anyone here will say, it is one of the most beautiful moments of the year for the College, and a cause for great celebration!  I have had the privilege of being in the choir which will be singing for the Mass, so I think I will get a pretty awesome seat!  Please pray for those 43 men who will be prostrating themselves on the floor as they give their lives in configuration to Christ the Servant.

God bless!

-Colin

"You're Most Welcome!"

The new men of the Pontifical North American College have heard these words many times in the last month, as we have experienced time and again the beautiful spirit of fraternity and welcome that is very much a part of this seminary.  It is often said here that because the men come so far from home, it is even more important to make this place feel like home, and we have certainly enjoyed the fruits of the hard work that has gone into making this college our true home!

During our first week back from Siena, we visited the beautiful shrine on the outskirts of Rome called Our Lady of Divine Love, where each of us received an image of Our Lady of Humility, the Patroness of the North American College.  Later on that week, we were able to visit that original image in the chapel of the Casa Santa Maria, a house for English speaking priests who are sent to Rome for studies.  We were led in Vespers by Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, and processed outside to a statue of our lady, where we sang the "Salve Regina" (The "Hail Holy Queen") and dedicated our lives as seminarians to our Blessed Mother.  Our lady is truly watching over us here!

Every seminarian has this image in his room!

Our orientation period also featured an excursion to the gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer home in the beautiful mountains outside of Rome.  Unfortunately, the Pope wasn't there, but we were able to see many of the favorite spots of Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI!

Pope St. John Paul II in prayer at his fish pond (not my picture!)

My brothers and I standing at the very same pond!

One of the last off-campus trips of orientation was a trip to the Swiss Guard barracks, which are located just inside the wall on the north side of the Vatican.  It was pretty awesome to get a behind-the-scenes look at what is essentially the coolest military force in the world.  We also got a crash course in the Swiss Guard's proud 500-year history, the most notable event of which was their valiant stand during the 1527 sack of Rome, in which three quarters of the Guard died protecting the fleeing Pope Clement VII.  The barracks featured weapons from every era, as well as the evolution of their ever-awesome Conquistador-esque uniforms.

NAC Orientation finished with a weekend trip to Assisi, a town made forever holy and famous by the life of one of the greatest saints to ever live!  The escape to the Umbrian countryside was a welcome relief from the Roman heat, and the free schedule offered us many hours to hike, pray, (eat, sleep) and explore the richness of the city.  Throughout the weekend, we were blessed to have Mass in the town's holiest sites: The Basilica of Saint Clare, which holds the famous San Damiano Cross as well as the tomb of St. Clare, The Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, where St. Francis would often go to pray, and The Basilica of St. Rufino, the town's Cathedral where both Francis and Clare were baptized.  All the while, we new men had many opportunities to hang out with each other and with the faculty priests who had accompanied us.  It was a truly blessed weekend!

Can't beat that view.

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Rufino, where Sts. Francis and Clare became Christians!

Aside from all the wonderful trips, our days have been filled with other things like our daily 4-hour Italian classes (which just finished up this past Friday!), as well as various conferences and introductions into the daily life and routine of the seminary.  As more and more of the older men have come back, the house has gotten a lot busier, and it's been pretty awesome (as well as overwhelming) meeting so many guys from all over the country, many of whom are preparing to be ordained to the diaconate in less than two weeks!  An especially wonderful grace has been spending time with my four diocesan brothers, Fr. Joe Kuharski (a fifth-year priest finishing up his theology licentiate), Paul Haverstock, Nick Hagen, and Tim Wratkowski.  And, these past couple of week, we were even blessed by the presence of Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the Archdiocese's new auxiliary, who was in town attending a conference for new bishops.

Today, the new man class will depart for our retreat in the town of Greccio, roughly 90 minutes from Rome, another town which has Franciscan significance, since it is located on the mountain where St. Francis received the stigmata!  Please pray for me and my 47 brothers as we enter into silence before the start of our first year of theology.  Be assured of my prayers for all my family and friends as well, which includes you!

Until next time, please enjoy this picture of my favorite Roman street performer, Chufu the magician, juggler, unicycler extraordinaire.  God bless!