That most necessary time of year...

It is exam season, folks!

I have my first of 7 exams this coming Friday, 4 next week, and two the following week. The study guides are being created, encyclicals printed, coffee brewed, theology manuals consumed by the chapter, coffee brewed again, and prayers for diligence made. While the stress of exams here at the NAC is much like the stress faced anywhere during a finals period, there is something amazingly profound about studying this much concentrated theology over the course of 3 or 4 weeks. Sometimes, while I'm sitting at my desk, I'll stop and realize: "holy cow, I'm studying the Psalms right now!" or some little revelation of that sort. It's not always fun, but the Lord always gives the growth and the strength to overcome the little obstacles. And, at the end of the day, this is the stuff I'm going to spend the rest of my life teaching to others! That usually makes it hit home a bit.

Please pray for me! I will offer my coffee-induced studiousness for all of you.

In Christ,
Colin

Holy Land, part 2: "And he went down with them and came to Nazareth..."

"...and was obedient to them."

The two primary "poles" of our Holy Land pilgrimage were also the two primary poles of Our Lord's public life: Galilee and Jerusalem. They were the places where he called his disciples, where his preaching took place, where his miracles were performed, and where he eventually underwent his passion and death. These places are more or less the setting for most of the Gospel text, and thus were understandably the focal point of our 10-day pilgrimage!

And yet, we know too that the overwhelming majority of Jesus' life took place, not in the fishing villages around the lake, nor in the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem, but in the town of Nazareth, an essentially insignificant Jewish town which happened to be, for Mary and Joseph, "their own city," as Luke describes it (2:39). It was there that Christ lived his quiet years within the loving embrace of the Holy Family, assisting his foster-father St. Joseph in the humble trade of a carpenter, and praying with His Blessed Mother, who no doubt treasured these many peaceful years in her heart. This city, while neither the place of Christ's birth nor of his public ministry, nevertheless carries great significant for us as Christians, because, in fact "he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'" (Matthew 2:23)

The Church of St. Joseph in Nazareth commemorates the great patron of the Universal Church.

But the site of this home of the Holy Family is significant not only because of what happened after Mary and Joseph returned from Egypt, but also for what happened there before. For indeed, Mary, having grown up in her parents' home in Nazareth, and having met her future husband there, also received, on one seemingly ordinary day, a message which was to change her life and the lives of all those who had ever lived and would ever live. It was in this little insignificant town that the angel of God appeared to a young girl who seemed, in the eyes of the world, to be an insignificant Jewish girl. We are all familiar with Mary's answer, and of the rest of the story of the Incarnation, a story which continues to this day, and which will continue for the rest of eternity. But the reality is that Mary's fiat occurred at one moment, in one place, in one earth-shattering decision which set humanity free. And the place where this moment took place was here, in Nazareth.

The inscription on the altar at Nazareth reads, "The Word was made flesh here."

In our Mass for the day at the Church of the Annunciation, we read for our Gospel the passage which contains that most significant event in the history of the universe: the moment of God's becoming man. The accompanying priest who preached that day drew our attention to the mystery of insignificance which God seems so pleased to use throughout history, whenever he can. Here we were in this place which, to the Jew of the 1st century - or to anyone of the 1st century, for that matter - would have been so insignificant and unimportant. And yet it was here - in Latin, hic - that God had chosen to come and first pitch his tent among us. And this girl to whom he had appeared was young, poor, and unmarried - in the society of the time, a woman of no social standing or significance. And yet, it was her - his lowly handmaiden - whom God had chosen to be the mother of his only-begotten son! If God was able to do such marvels in that time, and in this insignificant place, then what could possibly prevent him from working in the midst of those poor, lowly, insignificant areas of our lives, areas which we might have already written off as being "outside" of God's providence?! This brief stop in the place of Christ's Incarnation has brought all these reflections to light, and helped me to recognize that the Incarnation, which began here - hic - in the town of Nazareth, will always continue in my heart and in the hearts of all who welcome him in lowliness and meekness!

Holy Land, Part 1: "Come Away to a Lonely Place..."

"...and rest awhile." - Mark 6:30

It was these words from Our Lord to His apostles which beckoned me and 36 of my brother seminarians to the Holy Land for a 10-day pilgrimage of prayer, as we visited the places which have truly been made holy by the presence of Jesus Christ Himself. Like Christ's apostles those many centuries ago, I too had been feeling in my own life a great desire to come away with the Lord and to rest with Him. This desire had grown especially in the first months of this academic year, a year which has been filled with a lot of work and countless up's and down's! After an arduous few December weeks of house responsibilities and class work, there was no greater feeling of relief than to depart the North American College and fly off to a place which is so unlike any other place I have ever set foot. While all of us were certainly leaving behind a place of relative comfort and familiarity in exchange for a new and eye-opening culture, we were spurred on by the knowledge that He whom we seek is the Lord! Just as those two disciples, having asked Our Lord where He was staying (John 1:38), were invited to "Come and see," so too we, as Christ's disciples, left our Roman home to see this place where the Son of God was born, where He lived, worked, and taught, and, ultimately, where He died and rose again for our salvation. I, for one, had many ideas in my mind of what to expect upon arriving in these Biblical sites, but nothing could have sufficiently prepared me for the beauty of that holy place. As one studying for the priesthood, it is my great hope that I might be able to share my experience of this beauty with all of you, and with whomever else the Lord might place in my life!

"And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen." - Mark 1:16

Our pilgrimage began on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, or, as it is sometimes referred to in the Scriptures, the Lake of Gennesaret or Tiberias. We arrived in Israel in the evening, when it was already dark, so we were not able to see any of the surrounding terrain when we arrived at our hotel. But already the crashing of the waves could be heard nearby! That first morning, we awoke to the beautiful sight of a gray, misty lake, surrounded by hilly bluffs and rocky shores. As a Minnesotan, I can say that any lake, insofar as it is a lake, is a welcome and heart-warming sight. The peaceful rhythm of the tide, the intermittent jumping of fish in the misty morning, the scattered buoys anchoring in seemingly random places...it was all so similar to many-a-lake I have seen and enjoyed throughout my life. And yet, this lake is sacred. It is, in its own right, a relic, a testament to the life of several men who once walked its shores and fished its waters. One of these men, of course, was the Son of God, who chose to spend many days of His public ministry around this particular body of water, teaching in their synagogues, healing their sick, and "preaching the Gospel of God" (Mark 1:14). But then, there were the ordinary men who made this lake sacred as well. They did not choose to be born in the surrounding towns of Bethsaida and Capernaum, but they were born there, nevertheless, and would go on to serve the Lord in extraordinary ways. They were simple men, men of little education and negligible influence, men who had hardly any reason to expect that their lives would take them away from their insignificant, isolated little corner of the world. But it was a simple encounter with a man named Jesus which changed everything...

"And Jesus said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.' And immediately they left their nets and followed him." - Mark 1:17

For Peter and Andrew, those simple Galilean fishermen, this encounter with the itinerant preacher from Nazareth was mysterious. Doubtless it would have left them full of questions and uncertainties. And yet, in a single profound movement of God's grace, Jesus' words beckoned to their hearts. Scripture does not give the reason why they dropped their nets - and essentially their entire livelihood - to follow this man. But their lives, and indeed the entire world, would truly never be the same! From that moment on, they were disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, walking with Him through the surrounding villages, learning from Him, speaking with Him, oftentimes struggling in their understanding of Him, but all the while growing in their love for Him. When he left his net that day and followed after Jesus, could Peter ever have expected to one day find himself in the center of the world - Rome - presiding over the local Church and ultimately dying at the hands of the Romans on account of His love for Jesus? The adventure which lay in store for these men was something which they never could have comprehended...And yet, their Lord remained ever true to His promises. By His grace, these Galilean fishermen would one day be crowned the princes of God's holy Church!

It was on the shores of these sacred waters that we now found ourselves. What a perfect place to contemplate the mystery and the awesomeness of God's action in our lives! What better place could we choose to meditate upon God's faithfulness to His people, and indeed to every single one of His friends? For it was near these same waters where Christ first called his disciples that He also appeared to them after the Resurrection, having undergone His passion and death with hardly any of His friends beside Him to conform Him. But, just as He came to these fishermen at the beginning of His ministry to call them to Himself, so would Jesus later call them to Himself in a moment of reconciliation and forgiveness.

"Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you any fish?'..." - John 21:4

"...He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' And Peter said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'" - John 21:17

This part of the beach where Christ cooked breakfast for His disciples and allowed Peter to confess his love for Him was a mere 10-minute walk from our hotel! It was a tremendous blessing to be able to spend several hours on that sacred shore, sitting on one of the large rocks - to listen to the tide roll in and to pray about that day when Peter was able fall at Our Lord's knees and undo the denial which he had committed just days before. How many times has Jesus offered me these moments of reconciliation too, in the wake of my own fear and failure? Sitting upon those rocks, the Lord's mercy and faithfulness were quite literally before my eyes.

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But it was not only on the shores of that sacred lake that Christ revealed Himself to the world. The whole surrounding region of Galilee was bathed in the peace of Our Lord's presence, whether it was the synagogue where he taught (Mark 1:21), or the house where he cured the sick and the possessed (Mark 1:32), or the tax office where he called a man named Matthew to follow him (Matthew 9:9).

A 4th century synagogue built in Capernaum stands on the site of the synagogue in which Jesus Himself would have taught and ministered!

The ancient town of Capernaum, and the modern church built over the site of St. Peter's house.

In all of these places, we stopped to read the Scriptures which described the particular scene. It was amazing to see entire chapters of the Gospels suddenly fitting into place and coming alive as we realized that we were standing in the very places where Our Lord had preached the Kingdom of God. Surely, a little more imagination was needed at some places than others, since much of what was once this Biblical world is now either turned into ruins or built up into an ordinary, modern town. But even to see these sites and to know beyond doubt that they do exist was enough to bring the Gospels to life. We were left to imagine what it might have been like to sit in the synagogue of Capernaum on that most ordinary day when Our Lord first made His appearance, or to see the four men carrying the paralytic to Him on a stretcher, or to see Him heal the demoniac who could not be restrained by even the strongest of shackles. In all of these beautiful places, we were able to open the Scriptures and enter into those profound scenes in which Christ proceeded to reveal Himself to the simple men and women of Galilee.

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'" - Matthew 5:1-3

Another site of great peace and spiritual renewal which Galilee offered us was the proximity of the Mount of the Beatitudes. It was not far from the shores of the lake, nor from the towns and villages where Jesus had been preaching, so it made sense that He would have retreated there with His disciples and brought with him all the people eager to listen to His teaching. While on the mountain, we seminarians read through those 3 chapters of Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount, the sermon which stands alone as the greatest sermon every preached, and which has always been regarded by Christ's followers as the institution of Our Lord's law of love, prefigured by the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Sitting in the grass as the sun descended toward the horizon, Jesus' words hit me in the way that they have always challenged me and called me to examine my own life as a Christian. And yet, there was something about being in that sacred place which urged me to listen to those words even more attentively...How do I respond to Jesus' words? Am I living the Beatitudes by giving myself over to Him in poverty of spirit, meekness, and purity of heart? Do I harbor thoughts of anger towards my brother or of hatred toward my enemies? Do I pray in such a way that I may be seen my men? Am I anxious about the unimportant things of life, without surrendering all these cares into the hands of my heavenly Father? All these thoughts, and more, came to mind as I prayed through the perfect sermon. How much our world is still in need of hearing the Sermon on the Mount!

At this point, dear friends, I will end this first Holy Land post. I hope to write another update or two in the coming weeks about our subsequent days in Jerusalem, where we, like Our Lord and His disciples, traveled from the peace and tranquility of Galilee to the bustling noise and chaos of David's city. There too, the graces were abundant! I am grateful for all your prayers, and want you to know that you have all been in mine over the course of these blessed days.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
-Colin

December Update

Dear friends,

With the Advent season in full swing (and already almost over - how did that happen?!), I just wanted to brief you on a few different things that have been going on here at the NAC over the past few weeks. It's certainly been a busy time!  We've had some beautiful liturgical celebrations, exciting community events, and, of course, a steady dose of academic work. There certainly hasn't been much time to rest in these past weeks, but the Lord has certainly been close in all the hustle and bustle - after all, this is one of the busiest times of the year for priests as well! So it's been good to get a taste of that in this penultimate year of seminary.

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we had our 61st annual Spaghetti Bowl, a flag football game between the new men and the "old men" (the returning guys). It's always a great time, and, of course, a surprising display of athleticism and highlight reel-caliber play. This year, rather than resurrect my unimpressive role of 2nd string free safety, I was asked to help out in the broadcasting booth, which is essentially one of my favorite things in the world! I've always loved watching and listening to Al Michaels, John Madden, Joe Buck, Jon Miller, and all those guys, and, when we would play sports on my block as a kid, I was most content when I could sit on the curb and provide the play-by-play call. The three of us in the booth had a great time that day, and I think (or at least hope) it added a bit to the overall experience as well!

Then, on December 8, we solemnly celebrated the patronal feast of our beloved country and our College - the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception! If there has been one particular grace of living over here these past two and a half years, it has been coming to a greater appreciation for the saints and devotions which have played such a formative role in the history of our homeland. One instance of this is seen in the North American College's dedication to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, who had been declared by the American bishops to be the special patroness of the United States at the 6th Provincial Council of Baltimore in 1846, in order "to gratify a pious desire pervading the whole United States." Our Immaculately conceived Lady has truly been our protectress and our queen since the beginning, and it was only fitting that our Roman seminary would also be entrusted to her protection! We celebrated the solemnity (which is also a day off of school) with a beautiful Mass in her honor and a big banquet to follow. What a blessing to re-consecrate our lives to her maternal intercession!

This past week was a busy one, with Christmas caroling at the Gregorian University, a practice homily for Christmas Midnight Mass, and, on Friday, our house Christmas party, which my class (the third year men) were in charge of planning and hosting. Last night, we had a Region VIII party for the men from the ecclesiastical province of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota - a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the company of other men who hail from the beautiful lands of the Upper Midwest and the Great Plains. We also celebrated the upcoming Pallium reception of Archbishop Hebda, who will receive his Pallium today as a sign of his authority as the shepherd of the flock in the metropolitan see of the Twin Cities. Be sure to keep him in your prayers as he carries out his very difficult task!

On Wednesday, 30 men from the house, including myself, will be traveling to the Holy Land for 10 days of pilgrimage! I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers, and certainly update you when I'm back in Rome. A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!

At Home with the Man of the Beatitudes

Every saint is, in some way, captivating. They are captivating because of their stories, their journeys, the paths which their lives took in the pursuit of something incredible. And each saint's story is as unique as our own: some lived long lives, while others had only a short time to live. Some were blessed with that spirit of holiness from the beginning; others spent decades searching in the wrong places, before finally meeting the One who fulfilled all their hopes and dreams. And yet, for all the differences which these stories carry with them, a few constants remain. These saints, the great men and women who captivate us, were sinners just like you and me. They too struggled in this life, facing pain, weakness, guilt, and loss - all the trials which confront men and women of every time and place. But, in addition to their sharing in the same struggles of life, the saints are also united in the fact that they themselves were captivated by God. In the midst of their own weakness and sinfulness, they found "the pearl of great price," the "treasure hidden in the field," and they decided to sell everything they had to buy it. It is this aspect of sanctity which can truly captivate us: how these men and women, each in their own way and in their own particular situation, have been able to leave everything to follow Christ.

This past weekend, I spent several days with a saintly young man who has captivated many, many young people in our world today. His name is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

So much can, and indeed has been said, about the extraordinary life of this young man, a life which indeed was so extraordinary precisely in the fact that, in many ways, it was quite ordinary too. He was a man of great joy and tremendous energy, a man who loved life and who loved those whom God had put into his life. He loved the outdoors, especially the mountains, and found in them some of the most powerful signs of God's beauty and goodness. But for all this, he found God's beauty most especially in the places where he knew God to be most present: in the Eucharist, and in the hearts of his brothers and sisters whom he encountered every day. When Pope John Paul II beatified Pier Giorgio in 1990, he did so by calling upon him under the title by which he is now so well known: The Man of the Beatitudes. Yes, this young Italian man - a mountaineer, student, son, brother, and friend - this man who had only reached the age of 24 before succumbing to tuberculosis, this man became a living incarnation of Our Lord's words in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven."

I had the chance to meditate on this passage from Matthew's Gospel as I sat in the room where Blessed Pier Giorgio died. The room was so full of peace and joy, certainly not the kind of eeriness we might associate with being in the very place from which someone we love has left this world. Rather, this was the place from which Pier Giorgio had gone forth to meet the One whom he loved more than his own life. It was from there that he had gone to be comforted, to obtain mercy, to see God, and to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Above the bed hangs the crucifix which Pier Giorgio clutched to his breast as he lay there. Nearby stands an altar, which is now used regularly by pilgrimage groups who wish to celebrate the sacred mysteries in this sacred spot. Outside the window, one can see the very hills which Pier Giorgio would climb every morning on his way to Mass in the nearby town. On the bed sits a pile of letters and pictures brought by men and women from around the world - many of them my age - all of whom have been captivated by the extraordinary life of this young man.

The place where my three classmates and I were staying during this blessed weekend was, in fact, the summer home of the Frassati family. It was owned by Pier Giorgio's grandparents, and, according to a custom not too different from our own summer traditions in Minnesota, he and his sister Luciana would spend almost the entirety of their summer vacations there. Nearly the entire house has been preserved as it would have looked like when Pier Giorgio was there, from the family portraits on the wall, to the old piano in the living room, to the furniture which has remained mostly the same since it was put there in 1908. Outside in the yard, the swing which he and his sister would have played on still hangs from its tree.

Outside Pier Giorgio's room stands a case with many of his belongings: his shoes, climbing crampons, outdoor cooking utensils, and wallet. One of my favorites was a transaction recorder in which he wrote down all the money he spent. Without fail, almost every other entry was marked down as "elemosina," that is, alms!

A biography of Saint Catherine of Siena given by Pier Giorgio to his sister in 1923, dedicated with the words, "To my good dear sister, on the day of your graduation, so that she might be your guide in along the way of ascent toward spiritual perfection. With affection, you brother, Pier Giorgio."

During one of the days in the region, we took a "hike" up to one of the local mountain ranges. I say "hike," because we basically drove our rental car to the foot of the mountain, took a cable car to a high point, and walked around from there. What would Pier Giorgio say?! Even still, it was a blessing to enjoy the autumn weather, and to scamper over the rocks which he himself knew!

The four of us stayed in the basement of the house, which is comfortably furnished for guests, and has a kitchen which we used for heat and cooking. In the evenings, we would sit and play cards, enjoying each other's fraternity, and sharing our own joys of being a friend of the young Italian mountaineer who has captivated each of us as well.

We met two young women from France there who loved Frassati too!

It was a truly a blessed weekend, my friends. I prayed for all of you while I was there, and I hope that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati might be for you a ready guide and steady example of what it means to live the Beatitudes!

"You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be so? As long as Faith gives me strength I will always be joyful!"

Ora et Labora

When the glorious diaconate festivities had died down a little, it was time for some weekend rest before the beginning of another academic year. After the long hours of pastoral and homiletic workshops, the choir practices in preparation for the ordination Mass, and the various logistics of hosting priests, friends, and family from back home, it was truly time for a little break from Rome!

So, for a brief, but restful weekend, I joined two priests and a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on a wonderful, prayerful journey to the tiny Umbrian town of Norcia. The town is beautiful in its own right, nestled peacefully in the Sibillini mountains in north-central Italy. Plus, it's small enough that you could pretty much walk through every street in town over the course of a couple hours; quite a big change from the ever-chaotic eternal city! Like many other such quaint towns in Umbria, Norcia draws tourists from all over Italy, Europe, and other parts of the globe by virtue of its picturesque landscape, small town feel, and very, very tasty food. In fact, Umbria is one of the few places in the world that can boast the local harvesting and sale of all 4 species of the infamous truffle (in Italian, tartufo). As I learned soon after arriving in Italy, seeing "truffle" on a menu usually doesn't mean that you're ordering something chocolatey...But, the tartufo has a flavor all its own, and as soon as you sprinkle some on pasta or spread it over a slice of bread, you know immediately why they are so highly sought after!

Little meat and cheese shops abound in Norcia!

But, in addition to its many natural qualities, Norcia boasts another, much more meaningful treasure: the birthplace of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, the twin brother and sister who founded Western Monasticism! St. Benedict's Rule, which he regulated for his newfound Benedictine monasteries would come to be unwavering source of stability in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire, calling men into a life of community centered around worship of God and monastic obedience, a life of Ora et labora (pray and work). St. Scholastica, for her part, would go on to form the first female branch of the Benedictine order, making her, in essence the mother of female religious life, at least in Western Christianity.

Considering the great importance of Norcia in the lives of these two saints, it is not surprising that there have been Benedictine monks living and working in Norcia since the 10th century, thus giving the city a thoroughly Benedictine tradition. However, in 1810, the monks of Norcia who had lived in the monastery since its founding were forced to flee during the persecution of Napoleon, thus leaving the birthplace of Benedict and Scholastica bereft of its beautiful monastic tradition...

But, through God's grace, the monks returned! This time, however, the monastery was not to be the home of Italian, or even European monks, but of Americans! In the 1990's an American monk named Fr. Cassian received the inspiration to bring monasticism back to Norcia, and, after receiving canonical approval, moved into the monastery of Norcia with his brother monks in the year 2000. Since then, the monastic community has grown and flourished. They have made additions to their building, restored the old basilica which stands majestically in the center of town, created a spirit of deep prayer and silence in their worship of God, assisted the Norcia community in countless ways, and even opened a brewery! By means of their beer especially, the monks have been able to reach people across the globe, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who are fascinated by the monks' proud tradition of brewing beer ut laetificet cor hominum ("to gladden man's heart"). Trust me, when you drink the Norcia brew, your heart really is gladdened!

Unfortunately, the town of Norcia, like many towns in the nearby regions, was significantly damaged by the earthquake which rocked central Italy just two months ago. Thankfully, no one in the town was killed, but the damage caused to many of the buildings, including the monks' beautiful basilica and living quarters, was substantial. For a few weeks immediately after the disaster, the monks had moved to Rome in order to remain together and decide how they would respond. In such a situation, with their place of worship architecturally condemned, and the majority of their monastery unlivable, it may have seemed natural for the monks to have continued their life for many months in Rome, where things were, seemingly, much safer.

But one thing that is amazing about Benedictine monks is their vow of stability. When a monk professes his religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, he also makes a fourth vow of stability, in which he promises remain faithfully attached to that monastery in which he will, conceivably, live out the rest of his life. It is one of the most beautiful aspects of Benedictine life, and one which allows monasticism to continue to be such a fruitful enterprise, both within the Church in that local area and in the lives of those may not have any interest in the faith. This vow of stability is just as radical today as in the days when St. Benedict was establishing the first monastic communities! In a world which seems to place such a high premium on the need for novelty and change and the ability to move from one thing to the next almost at a whim, the stability of the Benedictine monk stands as a testimony to God's faithfulness, as well as His love for us in the ordinary, mundane aspects of our daily life, in the ora et labora, we might say.

And so, the monks came back. After a mere two weeks in Rome, they returned to their home in Norcia, to join with their fellow citizens in the task of rebuilding their city, to continue to offer their daily prayers with and for the universal Church, and, of course, to keep gladdening men's hearts with their beer. They are currently divided as a community, with 6 of the monks living in the few undamaged cells in the monastery itself, and the other 10 living outside the walls of Norcia in makeshift tents! The monks are truly making many sacrifices, the heaviest of which much certainly be this temporary separation from one another. Certainly, there prayers will continue to make a difference in the lives of their brothers and sisters in Norcia, as well as in the lives of so many around the world!

So, this weekend was a chance to visit these simple, prayerful, quiet, awe-inspiring men who call themselves Benedictine monks. These men have something to teach all of us about God, about prayer, about work, and about ourselves. May we strive to imitate their example of stability, remaining faithful to God always, even in the earthquakes which shake up our own lives.

The Best Week of the Year

The beginning of every academic year at the NAC is marked by arguably the single most beautiful event of the entire year! This coming Thursday, 30 of our brothers who are entering theology IV will be ordained deacons in St. Peter's Basilica at the hands of Sean Cardinal O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston. It's an amazing experience to watch hundreds of American prelates, priests, deacons, seminarians, family members and friends pack into the vast space behind Bernini's iconic baldechino, at the breathtaking altar of the chair. There, on the marble floor at the center of Christendom, my 30 brothers will literally lay down their lives in service of God and His people, and, upon rising once again, will be conformed to Christ the Servant when Cardinal O'Malley lays his hands upon them.

For the third straight year, I will participate in the celebration by singing in the choir. To be honest, a church as big as St. Peter's has a really difficult acoustic to sing in! But we always do our best, and the music always does turn out beautifully. The beauty of an other-worldy liturgy is truly a wonderful gift that we are able to give the newly ordained men and their families.

Probably the coolest thing about the ordinations (at least from the point of view of a "younger brother") is that, every year, the reality of ordained ministry becomes more and more vivid! This year, for instance, I will be able to witness the ordination of two of my best friends in the world, Tim Wratkowski and Nick Hagen, both of whom are to be ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. I've know both of them for so long, and it's going to be so surreal to see them kneel before the Cardinal as laymen and rise again as deacons! I'm so proud of both those guys, as well as the entire class of ordinandi, and it's so cool to think that, in roughly one year's time, it will be time for my classmates and I to lay down our lives on that marble floor!

The morning after the ordination Mass is always quite a treat too. Every newly ordained deacon chooses a church in Rome in which to have a Mass of Thanksgiving with his family and friends. It is at this Mass that he is able to proclaim the Gospel and preach a homily for the first time! Having been to a couple such "first deacon Masses" now, I can honestly say that there are few things cooler! (A "first priest Mass" is probably one of those cooler things!)

Tonight, we will be celebrating a Mass in our College with all the friends and family of the deacons-elect as an "opener" of sorts to this amazing week. Then, on Wednesday evening, all the priests and seminarians of the College will gather in this same chapel for an hour of adoration, a reflection on the diaconate, and procession to our outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother, where we will entrust our 30 brothers to the motherly care of Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy. It is always one of the most wonderful, heart-warming moments of prayer in the entire NAC year. And this year, it promises to be more moving than ever, as I think about these amazing friends and brothers who will soon be receiving this tremendous gift of the diaconate.

Please pray for Tim, Nick, and the other 28 men who will be ordained this Thursday! May God bless them and grant them joy and generosity in their vocations!

Christ's peace to you all!

-Colin