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Posts from the ‘Rome’ Category

Mar 15

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March 13th, Rome

Br Jaime Lorenzo, LC

I would like to share a little bit of my “live” experience here in Rome after the white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel.

The Smoke

At around 5:30 I went down to our computer room (where there are about 50 computers or so) to study for an upcoming midterm exam. About three computers were set up to show live feeds of the chimney, just in case the white smoke signal came. As we studied and occasionally glanced up, the only thing that the cameras showed were seagulls perched on top of the chimney, but no smoke. Read more

Feb 6

True Grit - Hiking

True Grit

The Legion of Christ 4 years later, a reflection

Br John Choi, LC

The only thing in life that’s free is the Grace of God…

The John Wayne movie True Grit begins with these words. If there was anything we’ve needed most in the past four years as a religious family, it has been True Grit. More than our own resilience, we have needed the Grace of God.

Four years have passed by since the tidal waves that swept over us. Suddenly, the congregation Bl. John Paul II spoke of so favorably appeared so deeply flawed, so wounded. Speculation spread rapidly that everything was wrong with the Congregation from Mexico, that it was just a farce that was going to have to go.

I remember that first night when we first found out about our Founder. It was a Thursday. I will always remember that night as the Dark Night of the Legion. Read more

Jan 10

Ordinations 2012

God, My Misery, and His Mercy

Br John Choi, LC

This Christmas has been special. It’s my first Christmas back in Rome since being in the US and Canada for the past four years. I’m coming back to study a Master’s degree in philosophy after a trying pastoral internship experience.

On the 15th of December we witnessed the priestly ordination of 44 young men to the priesthood. Their parents and family members watched as their sons, brothers, or uncles were anointed with the Chrism of God’s grace so as to share this grace with others. It was something to behold. Read more

Jan 3

Photo credit: Claudio.Ar (travelling) on Flickr.

Take Me Home

Br. Robert Wills, LC

Everyone needs a home.  And this “home” is much more than a house or cozy feelings.  Nor is it a place, but rather, it´s a state in which a person is fulfilled, can be at rest, and simply “be oneself” with others.   In My Ántonia (1918), one of the greatest American classics, Willa Cather vividly tracks several interwoven lives of immigrants and inhabitants in their quest for home.  Though many wander, the main character Ántonia Shimerda shows us the way to go. Read more

Aug 27

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The Phone Call Everyone Dreads

Br Matthew Schneider, LC

One night I was there in the community, planning to work on two projects in the week before we left for vacation. The next morning I was gone.

At 4 am, my lights start flashing, and someone is telling me to get up and call my brother-in-law. I stumble over to the nearest phone and dial. I dial and then he answers. “Your mom had an aneurysm.” I realize that must be serious – you wouldn’t wake me up at 4 am if it wasn’t – but in my nighttime stupor I have no idea what it is.

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Jun 12

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Witnessing a Highway Tragedy

Br Matthew Schneider, LC

I have only seen one man die in my life. I had seen him only minutes before full of life. This is how it happened.

When I was working in Cincinnati, we had a rare weekend free. We had arranged for some spiritual directions on the north side of town, however at the last moment all but one man cancelled. It’s a long drive, I thought, and we could probably see him some other time soon. However, we still went up and met him at a Panera Bread.

Driving back on I-75 went at a reasonable click. I saw two guys on motorcycles fly by, their bomber jackets flapping in the wind as they drove between the lanes of traffic. A little while later traffic stopped. Everyone had to merge into the left lane. As soon as we came around the stopped cars in the other lanes, we saw a man lying in the right lane with a lot of blood. He looked bad; his bike was 50 yards further down the highway in the ditch.

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May 9

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Mistakes

Br Matthew Schneider, LC

 

Reading, waiting for the others to finish, admiring the artwork, so sat I in St Peter’s. Then I realized something new. The statue right behind me had more carving work than first meets the eye.

Before I tell you what I discovered, let’s go back a step. I had been asked to serve a minor ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica and we were in acolyte practice. The problem with being the tallest is that the master of ceremonies immediately says “cross” when he sees me. I have to do weightlifting for a few minutes, then I sit there for most of the ceremony. Where we sit tourists can’t usually get close.

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Dec 9

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A Piece of Peace at Christmas

Br Peter Dolan, LC

One late weekday evening during the Spring of 2008, I called an old friend to “get some things off my chest.”  I had compiled a list of “I’m sorry” and “Please forgive me” items from the years past.  To go through the list was very tough, but the relief I felt at the end was undeniably worth every syllable.  Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience.  Let’s call it “confession”, in the broad sense of the term.

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