ROME & ASSISI

Saint Peter's square

Today I picked up the 214 pictures I had printed from my trip and as I looked through them I had to admit, not only was Assisi my favorite place that I traveled to but my Assisi pictures are beautiful. Rome and Assisi was a school trip and a pilgrimage. It was also the last trip of the semester I would be taking and I was excited to close the semester the same way it began - with God. 

After departing from my restful but short visit to Tuscany the girls, Jason, and I made our way to Rome to meet up with the rest of our study abroad program. In Rome we stayed in a five star - Italian five star that is (not nearly as nice as an American five star hotel, but nice for poor students so I'm not complaining), hotel. Next to the hotel was a simple little chapel which served as our location for evening Mass on the first night there and for daily adoration on the next couple nights. I was pretty exhausted that night and was in pilgrimage mode so I decided to call it a night after adoration. The next couple days in Rome were BUSY! They were filled with Vatican tours, Rome tours, a Papal audience, Scavi tours, shopping, not eating lunch because I was too broke (haha), and lots and lots of walking! It was a wonderful, wonderful time but very exhausting. Lets just say I had no problem falling asleep at night and missing out on the evening excursions people took after dinner. Since the four or so days I was there were so packed with education and experiences I'll only touch on some of my highlights. Now, please don't be mistaken - the whole trip was a highlight of my entire semester. 

View from the Cupola in St. Peter's

One of the most amazing experiences I had was one evening we had the opportunity to attend a praise and worship adoration at the NAC - The Pontifical North American College, aka the North American seminary in Rome. We were escorted by a couple of the friendly seminarians from Saint Peter's to the NAC and then given a brief tour of the building. Especially after hearing all the political chaos going on back home with Obama being elected along with peoples theories and fears about religious freedom being threatened, I looked at these young men in a new light. They knew what could potentially impede the calling they had from the Lord but they were courageous. These men were and are truly soldiers for Christ and are on the front line of the American religious battle field. Thank God for these men. In addition to their courage of simply following their calling, they are a testament to the gift of the priesthood that Jesus Christ gave us. Without priest's we wouldn't have the opportunity to receive the Blessed Sacrament daily, or pray in the very presence of Christ in Eucharistic adoration, or allow the Lord to wipe us clean in the Sacrament of Confession. And in more simple terms, we wouldn't have the opportunity to hear some of the most holy men preach or even be lead in spiritual direction by them. The priesthood is such a beautiful Sacrament and I thank God and all His faithful sons who hear His call. 

Colosseum 

Now before I continue to get carried away, let me continue telling you about my experience at the NAC. After our tour we joined the seminarians in an evening of Praise in front of the Blessed Sacrament. They led music beautifully and with such love for the Lord and they also had multiple prayer teams around the chapel. I was blessed with the opportunity to be prayed over by three of these magnificent, holy men. I prayed for an intention which followed from an intention I had prayed for in a FOP back on the Austria campus earlier that semester. In those couple moments of prayer the Spirit was so present. He spoke to me so clearly through these men and really healed and loved my heart. It was honestly one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Actually afterwards I couldn't stop smiling because I was filled with so much peace and love from the all loving God. After that evening I walked back to the metro, after picking up some most delicious gelato, with a happy heart. 

Pope Benedict XVI

Of course the Papal audience was a magnificent event in Rome. We weren't outside watching the Pope mobile circle around like most Wednesday Papal audiences because poor Pope Benedict was not feeling well and decided it would be best if he spoke to us in doors from a stage. Although I can't say, "I squeezed myself to the very front of the gate and was 3 inches and an 8th of a centimeter away from touching his hand!" the audience turned out to be a blessing because we didn't have to wait in a long line at the crack of dawn. We could sleep in and get decent seats. Thats right, seats! It was amazing to see the Pope in person and to hear him speak to us and bless us, our family, and our sacramentals we carried with us. Because I'm twenty, A.D.D., and well - me, I can't tell you what his address was about but I do remember thinking about how incredible of a job that one man has and how lovingly he carries it out. VIVA LA PAPA. And as they announced Franciscan University and we all stood on our chairs and cheered joyfully and loudly, I proudly held up my Belmont Abbey, red and all, sweatshirt. Gotta represent, right? You're welcome, fellow Abbey students, alumni, and faculty. 

St. Paul Outside the Wall

The tours were great, shopping was stressful, and dinners were yummy; but something I am so grateful for is Rome brought me closer to my friends, especially Meg and Sarah. They are such beautiful women who are so faithful to the Lord and seek His will with their entire beings at every moment. I enjoyed so much getting to spend time with them and the other wonderful ladies they spend their time with. They became two of my closest friends and I am so blessed to have them in my life. One of the most enjoyable times I had with them is when we went to the Old Bridge Gelati shop in Vatican City with the T.O.R sisters. (By the way if you're ever at the Vatican - get your Gelato there. Cheap, delicious, and they give very generous servings!) Because those girls developed close relationships with the sisters I was able to spend a little bit of time with them and get to know them a little better. It was such a blessing and an enjoyable time. 

Saint Peter's

It's funny how these very simple things meant the most to me while I was in ROME - Catholic land! But the Lord blesses us in such simple and beautiful ways. He is so good. 

                                                        Saint Mary of the Angels

Now Assisi. I don't know if it was the business of Rome or what but as I left Rome and went on to Assisi I felt a little bit overwhelmed and exhausted; spiritually, mentally, and physically. However, once we stopped in Assisi I was filled with immense peace. Words don't do justice to the beauty and peacefulness of Assisi. I learned that before St. Francis died he blessed the city. You can definitely feel it. You can tell simple and magnificent saints like Francis and Clare lived there just by standing in the streets. Even if you have a heavy heart or are stressed about something, in Assisi you feel rested. You can tell you're in a holy place - it's really the perfect place for a holy person who appreciated nature and the Lord's creation like Saint Francis did because it is BEAUTIFUL. Absolutely stunning! 

San Rufino

Our schedule in Assisi was a lot less hectic but was filled with tours of amazing Churches where we had beautiful Masses, holy hours, and we even had a FOP. We were all able to buy leather bible or breviary covers, wallets or purses for ourselves and loved ones back home at this little italian man's leather shop - a wonderful man that Franciscan University students have been supporting for years. 

Where I stopped to pray at the hermitage

One of my very favorite parts of Assisi, aside from simple quiet prayer in the beautiful Churches; seeing the original San Damiano cross which spoke to Saint Francis; Saint Clare's hair, habit, and hair-shirt, and places were major events of these saint's lives and prayer life happened; was hiking up to Saint Francis' hermitage. Talk about beautiful! It was a quiet time to meditate and pray and place oneself into the life of a hermit. I actually didn't hike up, although I did hike down, but once there I walked up the mountain a bit and stopped in a little nook in the mountain side. I ended up laying down looking up at the beautiful blue sky through the green and fall colored leaves of the ginormous, ancient trees which saw Francis himself pray there and now myself. I sat and talked to God as I was encompassed in the peacefulness of nature and the crisp breeze whisping in the November air. As I hiked back down the mountain back to my hotel in time for a warm, Italian dinner, I got to know some girls who I hadn't had a chance to talk to all semester and together we watched the bright sun set behind the Italian hills in the horizon. It was honestly one of the most lovely days. 

St. Francis Basillca - We had Mass at his tomb here!

Going to Austria with not much of a plan of where to travel and leaving my journey up to God, He certainly saved the best for last. Assisi was my absolute favorite place I went to in Europe and the perfect way to say "good-bye" to trains, buses, and all those crazy things that entail quick, cheap traveling. 

I am so thankful for my four months of traveling...but I'll get into all that another time.

Until then, God bless you! 

Food for thought: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

The original San Damiano Cross

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

      Amen.

Assisi, Italy