Meus Casus Romae

This is my last post. Tomorrow I leave for Anconna, and then to Isernia and Ceretto the following week. I think I will also travel for a night to Bagnoregio, Saint Bonaventure's hometown. Then: home on May 15th. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

As I am ending this journey, I am filled with two emotions: happiness and sadness. Yet, it is always so incredible when those two emotions mix. My experience has been that these two emotions = joy. It is because when happiness accompanies sadness, the sadness signifies not a certain-lacking, but rather the presence of memories, of shared moments with friends, of beautiful experiences: of an awesome journey. This is truly the case with my casus romae. 

Many of my friends left yesterday and this morning. I will, in all reality, probably not see many of them ever again. Many, if not all of the professors here, I will not see again. Rome may never be home again.

But one thing is for sure: memory. And memory is a divine experience. I really think it is. The whole Christian faith is about memory, if you think about. We remember the Cross, the Resurrection; we remember the life of Jesus Christ, and that's why we follow him. You see, memory is a mediator into another world and another time. Thus, how blessed I am that I now have this memory of Rome, Italy, Europe, and even Africa. For the rest of my life, I will be able to see the places I've been, and remember the time I had. 

Do I say good-bye, then? I don't think so. I'll say instead: "It's been real", and in the phrase of the Italians: "Ci vediamo Roma"--see you later Rome.

So, my friends and family, thank you for following my journey with me. I thank God for this touching and changing experience, and I cannot wait to continue not my Casus Romae, but my Casus Vitae--my Adventures of Life. 

But, before I say goodbye to this blog, let's just take one quick re-cap of the past 4 months:

I have...

swam off the coast of Capri,

sky-dived over the Swiss Alps,

drank beer in Germany at the Hofbrauhaus,

slept in the Saharra Desert,

walked on pavements from B.C. era,

attended a Papal Audience,

prayed with Benedictine Monks at Norcia,

witnessed the sun rise over the mountains of Umbria,

been to an A.S. Roma calcio game,

visited the Great Mosque of Kairouan,

slept, eaten, and celebrated Easter in a town, Mother's hometown, of 20,

attended Carnevale in Venice,

slept outside, in a small corridor, at Venice waiting for the train,

bought a leather jacket in Florence (and shoes),

swam inside of caves off the Amalfi Coast,

prayed in the great Duomo of Milan,

bargained at Tunisian markets,

tasted Limoncello from Positano,

walked inside the ancient Roman Forum and Coliseum,

drank a cappuccino and eaten a cornetto every morning,

attended Vespers with the Holy Father,

smoked hookah in Tunisia,

been to a broccoli and mushroom festival in two small Italian towns,

been inside the Blue Grotto,

seen the Michelangelo's David and the Sistene Chapel,

participated in Mass at the Pantheon,

experienced off-road, intense driving through desert sand dunes,

read a petition (in Italian!) at a small church in Sorrento,

slept in a total of four countries--two continents,

walked through the ancient ruins at Pompeii,

cliff jumped from 35 feet off the coast at Positano, twice,

seen and walked through the great salt lakes of Tunisia,

smoked a Cuban in Piazza San Pietro,

participated in the Easter Vigil Mass with the Holy Father at Saint Peter's basilica,

seen, and prayed before, the original San Damiano crucifix,

been lost, more than twice,

walked through the American Military Cemetery (WWII) in Tunisia,

spent way too much money on gelato,

learned to appreciate just how horrible Italians are at driving,

gone dancing, clubbing in Tunisia, Rome, and Switzerland,

seen and walked through the ruins of the great, ancient city of Carthage,

worn a turban, and tried to sell my girl friends for camels,

been offered a man's sister to be my property in Tunisia,

prayed the Way of the Cross at the Coliseum on Good Friday with the Pope,

eaten German bratwursts,

seen the leaning Tower of Pisa,

slept in an airport and on a packed train,

received a massage at a 5 Star Tunisian hotel after losing my debit card,

prayed at the bodies of Ss. Francis, Claire of Assisi,  and Catherine of Sienna, 

kissed a beautiful girl named Catherine in some really romantic spots,

spoken with may too much confidence in my Italian capabilities,

met so many new people--annoying, awesome, young, old, and everything else,

gone on the Scavi tour and walked through an ancient Pagan "City of the Dead",

prayed before the bones of St. Peter, first Bishop of Rome,

been to the top of the basilica of St. Peter's in the dome,

admired Michelangelo's "Moses" at S. Pietro in Vincoli,

sat in silence at 4 AM by the Trevi Fountain, letting the beautiful artwork touch my heart,

been run-over by Nuns in line for a Papal Mass,

seen way too much local Italian PDA,

ridden a boat around the Island of Capri,

and, most importantly,

I have grown in my knowledge of Creation, of culture and history, of people and relationships; I have seen more of the world, and therefore have read pages of the Book of Time, that great book that is the imprint of Love's divine creativity and power.

I have studied abroad. I have grown, matured, developed my senses. And the best part is, is that while my Roman adventure may be on its way to completion, I have the rest of my life to love, the rest of my life to laugh, to see the smiles of others, to give and receive hugs. 

Life is a time for joy, and I can't wait for the future to unfold, to let the present moment be a product of a memorable past and a preparation for a hopeful, joy-filled future.

And the last thing is this. I dedicate this whole journey to my Grandma Lena. When she past away, all I could think of was how beautiful she is. Now, here, I could not help but consistently be reminded of her, daily, in the constant apparitions of beauty I witnessed. So, all of my happy moments, home-sick times, and incredible memories: I humbly dedicate them to my Grandma. I love you, Grandma, and, I'll say it one more time: Dance, dance, dance in the eternal bliss of God's Kingdom.

Pax et bonum!

A.S. Roma

This past Sunday I went to an A.S. Roma calcio (soccer) game. Listen up, I'm in love. The passion, the die-hards, the extreme hatred for the other team, the chants, the yells... I am a Roma fan.

"A Lei...forza Roma Lei, forza Roma Lei, forza Roma Lei, Roma Lei, Roma Lei, Roma Lei!"
-The words of my first learned chant

Unfortunately, Roma lost: 2-1. It was an okay game; personally, their defense was a little weak. This is sad because going into the game, Roma was in first place. Not any more.

Oh, and after the game, we got lost. That's been a theme for this trip, I feel. Getting lost. And the worst part was that we found out we were going the wrong way after walking up a steep hill only to walk straight into a gate, and it was closed.

As an official fan, you'll notice my beautiful jersey in the above picture. In addition, I have a "Roma" flag, too. This will be hung to show my loyalty to a team across the ocean. Forza Roma!

----
In other news...
Saturday night: The beautiful Catherine and myself went to a salsa club. Oh yeah.
Monday night: Went out to dinner for Morgan's birthday at a great pasta place called "L'Archetto". It was quite good, yes.

Today, I have to study (fat chance) for an exam I have tomorrow (blah).

It is weird that I am ending my time here at the John Felice Rome Center. For the next two weeks, I will be in Anconna, Isernia, Ceretto, and Rome. There is also a chance for one or two nights in Cinqueterre. I am not sure if I will be able to post after Thursday, so I'll try do one final posting before then. I love you all!

Pax et bonum.

Benedict XVI's Anniversary

Friends and family,

Just wanted to let you all know that yesterday was the Holy Father's anniversary. Remember to say a prayer for him. In 2006, he said, on his anniversary: "On this, the anniversary of my election as the Successor of Saint Peter, I thank the Lord for his unfailing help, and I express my gratitude to all those who have supported me by their prayers. I ask you to continue praying that, by God's grace, I may always be a gentle and firm Shepherd for Christ's flock." (General Audience, April 19th). 

Pope Benedict XVI is under attack. The Church is under attack. Christians are under attack. But, again and again, may we continue to show, amidst the trenches of evil, secularism, and materialism, that we are about relationship and love. That on the last day, we will still rise up and proclaim with open arms "Christ is King". 

Benedict, before he was Pope, wrote once that God cannot suffer, but He can suffer with. I think he nailed it: God has a heart, and He is intimately close to all of us. Especially by the Incarnation, He has made a gratuitous promise: He is with us, forever and always. 

In this day of the Media's consistent dismissal of the Catholic Church, let us stand strong. And, on this day, be inspired by the Successor of Peter, who has proven himself against affliction that he is firm and gentle. And more: wise, charitable, compassionate, and honorable.

Yet, always, he points to Christ, Him who is the New Adam, Him who is the way, who is our strength and guide. Him whom we look to in order to share a glimpse, in His sonship, of the Divine Being.

Jesus Christ, guide us into the arms of Your Father, and by the Spirit You send upon us, strengthen us for this battle, but not that we may take up arms, but that we may open our arms and spread to all the corners of the earth the fire of God's Love.

Amalfi Coast

Basically, this weekend was a gorgeous one. The Amalfi Coast is simply incredible. It's like another, hidden world where everything is really, extra pretty. Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Capri and Pompeii: every location was to die for. Call me cliche, but it was.

I did this trip with a student, travel group: Bus2Alps. So, we went with a bunch of students, and it was pretty much awesome.

Let me start from the beginning. The plan is to meet at Termini (the central station in Rome) at about 8.00 PM on Thursday night. For most of the day, I was pretty bummed because I was going to this paradise place and Catherine wasn't going to be with me. But, arriving to Cipro (the nearest Metro station to us), I ran into Catherine and her friends. She, literally 20 minutes before she left, managed to sign up for the trip. So, that was a good start: great surprise!

We--Catherine, Liz, Morgan, Annabelle, Stefan, and Cory--loaded up on the Bus2Alps. We arrived at Sorrento at about midnight and got situated in our hostel, and went to bed.

Friday: Wake up early, and get on the bus for Capri. Listen up, Capri is incredible. So, so, so beautiful. I cannot even begin to say how pretty it was. When we got to Capri, we loaded onto a boat, and drove toward the island. Wow... writing about it makes me want to go back. The first thing to do, after drooling over the prettyness, was the Blue Grotto. So, for this, in groups of 4, we get into these small little row boats. Then, we have to fit through this way-too-small opening. It was scarier than sky-diving, not going to lie. The Blue Grotto is a cave, but the bottom of it is white marble so the light that gets into the cave has a beautiful blue reflection. It was so beautiful. 

Friday also consisted of, in Capri, free Limoncello and chocolate tasting (yummy), a walk through of the Giordiono Augustus--a gorgeous garden, with a stunning view of the island--and a lap of the island on boat--again, beautiful. Sorry that I keep using "beautiful" to describe it, but I can't think of another word. It really was beautiful. Truly, the loving creativity of God shines within all the spheres of creation!

Oh and before we returned on the boat, I was sucked into the temptation of others and jumped into the water with my gray boxers on. I had to do it. I don't regret it. I mean, it was cold on the way back, and I felt maybe a little bit awkward walking onto the boat with just my wet boxers on... hehe.

At night: dinner, got lost on the way home, and bed.

Saturday was a beach day. We took a 40 minute, scenic bus ride to Positano. Getting off the bus, we walked a good what-felt-like 300 miles to the beach. I'm totally exaggerating; I'm super lazy. Positano was, again excuse me for the repetition, beautiful. I played beach volleyball with an invisible net (it was actually quite hilarious arguing whether or not the volleyball hit the invisible net), and then a bunch of us got on a boat for some exciting activities. A.K.A, jumping off a 35-40 foot cliff into the sea. Scary and awesome. Catherine fell kinda not good, and hurt herself. I jumped twice, successfully swallowing a gallon of water each time because I think upon impact every pore of your body sucks in the water from falling 50 meters per second. Regardless: the points is that this was freaking sweet. I went cliff jumping into the Mediterranean Sea! After cliff jumping, we boated to some caves. A bunch of us jumped in and swam in the caves. I think my heart stopped beating because the water was so cold. That's okay, I don't regret this either. :) 

And I ate really tasty gelato, too.

In a sentence: Saturday was beautiful and awesomely sweet.

Saturday night, Cory and I took a 1.5 hour break and walked into town to buy some kebabs because we didn't want to eat the poopy Mexican-Italian hostel food. Okay, so something you should know about my time in Italy. Kebabs rule. They are these Middle Eastern type of burrito thingys, and they are super tasty. You can probably compare them to a gyro. Anyway, they're cheap and soooo good. I swear every study-abroad student I've met is in love with them.

Played some cards, went to bed.

Sunday: This morning, Catherine, Liz, Morgan, Cory and I went to Mass. It was a very touching liturgy. It was clearly filled with many pious, traditional Italian Catholics. When we arrived at the Church and sat down, an older Italian lady came up to me and asked if I would read one of the petitions. I explained that I couldn't really speak Italian that well, but she insisted. I can't say no to a cute Italian old lady, so I said the only other option: "yes". Again, I don't regret it. I loved reading a petition in Mass in Italian! O yeah. And the priest gave a two hour homily. Not really, but it was really long. Anyway, Mass was great. 

After Mass, we went to Pompeii: incredible. Pompeii cannot be described with words. You walk through an ancient Roman city: houses, stores, fast-food, bakeries (I saw the oven that they used), rich houses, fountains, temples, streets, red-light district, baths, water pipes... It was so cool! All I wanted to do was see the city in action. I cannot get over how advanced the Romans were. They had running water! A sewage system, too! It was incredible. They even had "welcome" mats (i.e., mosaics) outside of some houses. Just like we do now. They also had political propaganda, just like we do now, too! I don't know how to explain it. I saw, also, people that were preserved from the volcanic dust. They were in positions trying to cover up their nose from breathing in the smoke. Wow... If I have time, I promise to put up some pictures. It was absolutely incredible.

Then we came home.

Now I'm writing this. Next week is my last week of classes. Then I have exams, and am totally finished April 28th. I'm so sad. I really don't want to return. I can't wait to see everyone, but I'm so sad about leaving here. Nonetheless, this has been a truly magnificent experience, and I am thankful that I have been able to enjoy it and take advantage of it.

Pax et bonum!

Love Rome

No matter how many times I say it, I can't say it enough: I Love Rome.

Today, for my Art in Rome class, we went to the Trevi Fountain (freaking awesome), the Church of San Ignazio (incredible art work), the Church of Il Gesu (beautifully done), and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (one of my favorites in Rome). That's what I call a good day.

Also, I have been posted as a "Guest Contributor" at Caritas et Veritas. My newest article was on Baptism and Death.

This weekend, I am going to the Amalfi Coast, and will see Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. Italy is just full of opportunities. I am getting sad that my trips are coming to an end and that my time in Rome is shortening. I could have easily stayed here for at least a couple of more months. Looking forward to coming back sooner than later! But, I still have one more month to makes lots of memories, some you people will probably never know about. Hahaha. Love you all.

Pax et bonum!

A Few Things

1. Holy Week, and Easter Triduum were incredible. Spending such holy, liturgical days in the Eternal City, and specifically with the Holy Father were so touching. The Good Friday service, a solemn liturgy that yet was sprinkled with the hope of Resurrection was beautiful. Following the Liturgy, I went to the Colosseum to pray the Way of the Cross. On Saturday, I went to the Easter Vigil Mass at Saint Peter's: an immensely beautiful celebration of the Lord's Resurrection. The music, the readings, the whole Liturgy filled the Church with joy. Truly the Lord has recapitulated history and creation and has brought God to man!

After the experience of multiple liturgies with Benedict, I want to say something brief about His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. There is something so deep within Pope Benedict XVI that I could not stop staring into. It is his deep love for Jesus Christ. And he is an example of what it means to be Christian, an example of whom we can all learn. From the moment of his election, the Holy Father suffered persecution. Consistently, he has been dismissed, judged, and tormented. However, consistently, he proves to the be the better man, a man whose only focus is spreading the love of Jesus Christ, serving God and so serving others. His homilies were all touching, and his sincere appreciation for families, especially young children, was beautiful, to say the least. I would encourage all to read the following article on Pope Benedict XVI. It is quite touching: click here. It is about how he has been persecuted--why others have attacked him, and yet, how he has persevered and stood for truth throughout it all. Mary, Mother of God, pray for the Vicar of Christ, that his tears may be wiped, his efforts touched with grace, and his heart embraced by your Son. Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.

In all, this Easter I will always remember. May the peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, especially in this time of Easter joy!

2. Cerreto: Early Easter morning, Catherine and I made it to the train station to head to Isernia. We left Rome at 6:15 and arrived in Isnernia at 8:20 to be picked up by "Rimo da Roma", Elena's husband. He took us to Cerreto, the exciting city of dogs, abandoned houses, chickens, and cousins.

All kidding aside, I love the small, very small, town. Not to mention, Rimo and Elena treated Catherine and I so wonderfully. I probably gained a good 10 pounds. My God, they eat good food. I don't even understand. Heaven, I suppose, may be able to compare.

In Cerreto, I introduced myself as follows: "Sono Tommy, il figlio di Carla". This usually led to the following response: "Tommy! Il figlio di Carla! Ciao, sono il tuo cugino!" I didn't know my family was so big. It was so great meeting new family.

Cerreto itself is actualy incredibly beautiful. It is set in the mountains. Everywhere you look: moutains and hills. Beautiful Moliese (the region of Cerreto) is! I loved it. And it's also peaceful to walk the small and few streets of Cerreto. To a certain extent, actually, it's sad that one day, probably very soon, it will be completely abandoned. There is something to learn in that way of life. There is something peaceful about simplicity, about living as a fraternal network, about living a life of hard work that is centered on the family.

I thoroughly enjoyed walking the streets of my mother, and seeing some of the roots of my family. It's a very neat experience.

In all, I had a wonderful Easter and a great time in Cerreto. We left on Monday. I hope to visit it again before I return to my home.

3. Forgive me for not posting about Germany. I will re cap briefly the trip here, in this post. So, Morgan and I wake up early Friday morning and prepare to head to the airport to fly to Germany. As we are walking out of the Rome Center, she looks at me and says: "Tommy...our train tickets are for tomorrow". Now, this is not a good thing. Let me explain. We are flying into Frankfurt. The plan was that we would then get on a train to Munich, spend two nights in Munich, take a train back to Frankfurt, spend the day there, and then fly home. This means that we are kind of screwed. However, Morgan and I both share the same "adventure spirit", which I can't believe hasn't killed us yet, and so we simply laugh it off and figure it will be okay.

Arriving into the Frankfurt airport, we get on a bus and head into the city. Walking out of the central train station, within a mere five minutes, we see a sign to our left: "World of Sex". Yeah, we were in that part of town. We keep walking until we find a more, you know, sophisticated area. Frankfurt was a very neat city. I had my first German beer there, enjoyed a brat for dinner, and had a fun night in the pub area of the city. It was a really neat area, with a bunch of German pubs. Actually, we ended up smoking some Hookah. I mean, I guess when I am going to get the chance to smoke Hookah in Germany again?

Now, at some point in the night, we realize: hm... we have no where to sleep. To make a long story short: We walk into a Church just to see it, and we notice a nun there. As a joke, we brought up the possibility of staying at the convent. We took our joke seriously, as we literally were homeless, and asked her. She couldn't speak English though. But, we then noticed that there was a priest in the Confessional. So, I say to Morgan, "Should I ask him?" That's what I did. He was a Capuchin Franciscan priest, and an incredibly nice guy. Turns out that he was incredibly generous with us and helped us find a place for the night. Saint Francis, pray for that friar! We got lucky. It's so great to experience the charity and generosity that the media o so often forgets about within the Church.

Now let me tell you about Munich. That city is incredible. We had a great time there. First of all, the churches are stunning. Second of all, the overall lay out of the city is quite cool. I really don't know how to explain it. I do know that I would love to go back there. At night, we went to the haufbrahusoneldcoie. Yeah I have no idea how to spell it. Basically it's this huge beer hall in Munich, and it's supposedly very popular. Freaking awesome. We drank some beer, had some conversation, watched a lot of Germans drink beer and sing, danced to some traditional music of the Motherland, and had a fun night in Munich.

O, and for the record, yes, I did have brats in Germany (really tasty), and yes I did have a pretzel (tasty, too). And also, for the record, I never knew that Germany was such a beautiful country. It's gorgeous.

Well my friends and family, this post is titled "A Few Things", and that is exactly what it is. Pax et bonum!