Republican town

Family Guy has its on moments and its off moments, but this week's episode was awesome. Here is another great clip

A Little Political Humor

For all you other Poli Sci and Scooby Do fans, a treat courtesy of Family Guy:

Goings on in Phoenix.

It has been a while since I gave you all a basic rundown of what has been going on here at the parish, so I figured it is about time to give you a picture of life in the past few weeks.

The most notable element of the past few weeks was the passing of a dear friend of Holy Cross.  Dr. Frances Amabisca has been an important part of our Holy Cross community in Phoenix since we arrived here.  In fact she has been tutoring Holy Cross religious since Fr. Tom Zurcher was here many years ago and ended with the four sessions she gave me when I first arrived here in July.  When I first met Frances in July it was evident that her health was failing and while she had better and worse days which steadily became more and more worse days.  When we celebrated Frances' Mass of Christian Burial on September 25, eight Holy Cross religious were present, including four who came in from outside of Phoenix, which was a beautiful testament to the impact that Frances had on Holy Cross here in the valley.  She will be dearly missed.


Also in the past few weeks, all our parish programs, the school, RCIA, RICA, RCIC, religious ed, youth group, and the multitude of other groups, ministries, and committees are now on their regular and normal schedules which means that my life has finally found a bit of normalcy, or at least normalcy for parish life.  There really is no such thing as normal really at the parish, but a day to day managing of the mini-crises that come up, while trying to get some prep work done for future projects.  It is not uncommon for me to walk into the office in the morning with 2 or 3 items on my to do list, get side tracked by a few issues that need immediate attention and then leave the office at night with barely any progress made on the original to do list.  So here is a peak of what I've been doing the past few weeks:

I have 3 couples preparing for marriage, so I try to meet with them every three weeks or so to check in on how they are doing and to facilitate a conversation about the FOCCUS inventory.  Two of these couples are also in RCIA which adds an interesting dimension to those meetings.

RCIA meets every Tuesday night, so far we have been just in the getting to know you stage, but the kick off picnic is this Sunday and the following Tuesday we start with the first of the in depth presentations.  My first presentation is in 2 weeks on the Life of the Saints.

Our Parish does baptisms twice a month, once in English and once in Spanish, however before baptism, parents must register their children for the Sacrament and attend two preparatory classes.  I led my first registration night a few weeks ago and on Monday I give my first class.

The new Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix, Eduardo Nevarres is making his first school visit in the diocese on Monday and it happens to be ours.  This has required a little bit of prep and explanation with the students on behalf of Sister and I, hopefully all will go well when he arrives on Monday.

Our major upcoming event at the parish is the Canonization of Blessed Bro Andre which will take place on the 17th of October.  We, like many other Holy Cross apostolates are planning to mark the event in style with a live viewing of the canonization (which incidentally is at 1:00 AM here) and a special mass Sunday night with Bishop Olmstead and a reception to follow.  This event will be the major focus for the next couple of weeks as we catechize our parishioners and prepare for the special mass.  This will be a great day for Holy Cross and we are doing our best to share that joy with all our parishioners.  Check out the new Holy Cross website on Bro. Andre at www.brotherandre.org 


 Finally a brief update on the rectory.  Progress has slowed a bit.  Construction is finished, plumbing and electrical are completed, and the painting nearly finished, however the house remains un-tiled.  Unfortunately there haven't been many parishioners coming forward to help tile the house.  Until they do, I fear the progress on the house will be fairly slow.  So please pray that some folks might come forward to help us.

On a side note, it is the first Friday of the month, so my monthly reflection has gone up over at the CSC Vocation blog, check it out here.

Please Vote!

Many of you know that I spent three years as a manager with the Notre Dame Band, an institution I still love dearly. At the moment the band is in a competition sponsored by CBS and if they win they receive $25,000 for the band. The competition is for the best compilation of the Hawaii Five-O theme song by a marching band. Please cast your vote for the Band of the Fighting Irish. Here is the link to vote:

http://promotions.mardenkane.com/cbs/marchingbandmania/index.cfm?yt=7dxrBbyKZ3A

And here is the Band's Performance:

Rectory Update

As many of you know, the rectory here at St. John Vianney has been under renovation since I got here in mid July.  However things are starting to shape up and we are nearing the end.  The construction is finish, as well as the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.  The painting is in progress and the tiling should begin tomorrow.  I decided to take a quick video of the building today before the tiling began so I could walk through the whole building.  Here it is:

Back in Phoenix

The new kitchen and dining room, the door leads to the new chapel.

After Final Vows/ Diaconate weekend I returned on Monday to the parish where I was met with some substantial progress on our new rectory.  Over my three weeks at Notre Dame, the plumbing and electrical wiring was completed, dry wall was completed, windows were installed, and wall texturing begun.  Now the work is handed over to our parish volunteers, who have graciously agreed to paint the walls and tile the floors.  If all goes according to plan, we should be in the renovated rectory by the end of September. 

View of the living room from the kitchen.

The new chapel

At the parish, September also brings the return of many programs that had taken a break over the summer.  I am still slowly getting to know the multitude of different groups involved in our parish.

Lastly I have been asked to reflect on my experience here at St. John Vianney on yet another blog, the CSC Vocations Blog where I will have a column on the first Friday of every month.  Feel free to check it out!


That's about it for now, the next few days brings the regular parish routine, RCIA meeting, baptismal prep classes, and of course Save Environment Training, but of course, I'll take a break on Saturday to watch the Notre Dame game!

Go Irish!  Beat Boilermakers!

On the Joys of Being a Deacon

As mentioned in my previous post, I had the pleasure of being present at the Ordination to the Diaconate of Paul Ybarra, C.S.C. this morning.  As an ordained deacon Paul is now able to do a couple of things he could not before, one of these is to officially bless things in the name of the Church, which led to the following episode this evening.

I was walking down the hallway with my laundry and Paul was walking towards me.  I said "hi" and then joked by asking "have you made holy water yet?"  Paul's answer was "no" but with the vocal expression that said he had forgotten that he could now make holy water, so now he had to give it a try.  The hallway was pretty empty because it is hot out tonight and most of the seminarians had gone to find air conditioned bliss, however Denis Strach, who was just a couple of doors away overheard us, so into Denis' room we went to make holy water.  This being a rather unplanned and off the cuff event, the usual implents for holy water making were not on hand, but we managed to scrounge up a suitable container and found the prayer from the missal on the internet and there on Denis' desk Paul made holy water for the first time. 

What was remarkable about this event was the absolute joy on Paul's face.  Sure there was a certain giddiness, like when you buy lotto tickets for the first time when you are 18, but there was also a joy much deeper than that as Paul realized the great gifts, but also responsibility that come with being a minister of the Church and a conveyor of God's blessings, in a very real way, to others.  It was a great reminder to me, that though there are indeed many challenges to this life, it is still at heart, a life of great joy.  Thanks Paul!

Congrats Paul

Yesterday my brothers in Holy Cross and I, along with many of our family members and friends had the pleasure of witnessing the Profession of Perpetual Vows of Paul Ybarra, C.S.C.  The Profession of Final Vows is always a highlight of the year and a great witness for those of us in formation.  To see someone, similar to us in many respects, and for those of us who have been in formation a while, someone who is a good friend and brother in community, give the entirety of his life to Holy Cross, in service of the Lord is always an amazing shot in the arm and a great reminder of why we chose to be in Holy Cross and the true purpose of our formation.

Today we get to see Paul make yet again another public commitment in service to the Lord and His Church as he is ordained a deacon.  As a deacon Paul will serve both in Sacrament and in Word to the people of God. 

Congrats Paul and thanks for the great witness of your life in Holy Cross

A Check-In with the Abbot

Yesterday I took a little break from the Notre Dame break and ventured to Lisle, IL to see Abbot Austin, OSB, at St. Procopius Abbey.  Abbot Austin was just Fr. Austin when he resided at Moreau for a couple of years while working on his PhD in Patristic Theology.  As mentioned in an earlier post Abbot Austin was supposed to be with us this year as well as he finished up his doctoral dissertation, but over the summer grace intervened and he was elected the Abbot of his monastery.  Unfortunately I won't be around for his Abbatial Blessing on September 18, so I decided to use the opportunity of being at ND to take an evening to visit him.  The Abbey is only two hours from South Bend, but many more from Phoenix.  I joined the monastic community for mass, dinner, and vespers on Thursday evening and left after lauds and breakfast this morning.  I also got some time to tour the Abbey, catch up with Abbot Austin, and even get my copy of The Rule of St. Benedict signed by him.  Even though it was a short stay, it was a time of great grace, relaxation, and sleep.

A Note on the Roman Missal

As many of you have already heard, H.E. Francis Cardinal George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently announced the First Sunday of Advent of 2011 (or November 27, 2011) as the implementation date of the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal in the United States.

Many are asking why do we need a new translation, why now at a moment when much of the English church is struggling and why change what we are used to.  Hopefully this brief explanation of the process will help answer some of those questions.  The decision to revamp the language of the mass was not a decision in and of itself, but rather the confluence of a series of events.  After the Second Vatican Council and in accordance with the liturgical reforms laid out by the council fathers Pope Paul VI promulgated the new Roman Missal in 1969, this was the First Typical Edition of the Roman Missal ("typical" here is for the most part synonymous with the word "standard").  Many committees based on language group were formed to translate the Missal from its original Latin into the various languages of the Church, this first time ever this was done.  The English translation of that Missal is the one that we have grown to know and love over the course of the past forty years.  In 1975 the Missal was revised a bit and a Second Typical Edition was promulgated by Paul VI.  The revisions to this edition were relatively minor and thus the English Missal simply maintained the translation that already existed and only tweaked where the original Latin was tweaked.  In 2002 Pope John Paul II promulgated the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal.  Again in the original Latin the changes were relatively minor, the addition of a few new saints on the Roman Calendar and the clarification of a few practices in the Preface or the General Instruction (these practices, such as bowing during the words "he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man" during the recitation of the Creed, have already been implemented).  However in 2001 the Holy See issued a document entitled Liturgiam Authenticam regarding the use of the vernacular in the books of the Roman Liturgy. 

This document called for a closer translation of liturgical books from the original Latin text into their respective vernacular languages.  For the many folks who speak the romance languages this is no large issue because the root of their language is Latin and the translation is fairly easy and accurate.  However for those of us who do not speak a romance language the task of translation is far more tedious and complicated, as we try to capture sentiments expressed by expressions, sentence structures, and verb constructions that simply do not exist in our language.  Liturgiam Authenticam asked that the translations of new liturgical texts be kept as true to the original Latin text as possible.  This meant that when the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal was promulgated in 2002, we were not able to simply able to tweak what we already had in English, but needed to take a serious look at what our English translation said and whether or not it could be improved.  When the original 1969 Missal was translated the process focused on trying to best capture what was said in Latin using common English parlance. What resulted was a translation that was fairly intelligible and mostly captured the gist of what the Latin text is trying to say.  This process too was not perfect and some of the translations in the Missal we have been using since that time have felt inadequate.  The best way to demonstrate the differences in how we translate Latin into English would be through an example. 

The greeting and response we all know well from mass is: “The Lord be with you…and also with you.” The Latin text for this greeting has always been “Dominus Vobíscum…et cum spíritu túo.”  Even with a modicum of Latin, or for that matter Spanish, Italian, or French, it is easy to see that the word “spirit” appears in the Latin and not in the English.  In the new translation the response to “the Lord be with you” will now be rendered as “and with your spirit.”  Thus the new translation in a sense more closely follows what is in the Latin.  Again for our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters the response to “El Señor esté con ustedes” has always been “Y con tu espíritu,” which rendered into English is also “and with your spirit.” 

Now there are many legitimate arguments regarding dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence and which sort of translation is more beneficial to the English speaking Church.  This is an argument I will not get into, given that much has already been said by much more knowledgeable people than I.  However it should suffice to say that this process of translation took a lot of time and has certainly not been without controversy as many bishops and scholars discussed how to best capture the Latin text of the Roman Missal and as stated above the Holy See has finally approved the final product.  The new translation will be a big change for the Church in the English speaking world, like all human endeavors this translation is not perfect and adjusting to it is going to be a challenge for all of us.  However this new translation also provides the English speaking Church with many beneficial opportunities as well.  It will give all of us the opportunity to listen more attentively at mass as we adjust to the new language.  We know well how easy it is to get distracted during mass, we start thinking about the Jets game that afternoon and before you know it we are at the Our Father. As we implement the new translation we will have to chance to be captivated by the liturgy as we listen for and adjust to the new language. 
The language itself will be a bit wordier, often times making the prayers more poetic and beautiful, but also at times making them more verbose and a bit wordy.  Though it is often difficult for us to grow into change, our transition to this new translation will be much easier if we come to it with open minds and hearts.  There are many beautiful elements to the new translation and it would be a shame if we missed them due to our own anger or hesitation over a new translation.

It is also important for us to remember that we are not changing the Mass.  The Eucharistic Sacrifice was given to us by Jesus Christ and is eternal and unchanging.  Though the specific wording and gestures we use might change from time to time, the inherent nature of the Mass does not.  While the way Mass sounds might be different and the words might be a bit more formal and academic, we need to remember that the Mass itself is still the same, that Christ is still present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the sacrifice we offer.  As we begin the transition to a new translation may we keep in mind just how great a gift we have been given in the Eucharist itself.

For those who are interested on reading more on the topic, the USCCB has put together a very nice website (complete with countdown clock) at www.usccb.org/romanmissal/

Deer Porte 2010

Our panelists, Bro. Rodney Struble, CSC, Fr. Bil Melody, CSC,
and Fr. Rich Bullene, CSC.

On August 10, I left Phoenix for Notre Dame so that I could join my brother seminarians at our annual camp in La Porte, IN, affectionately known as Deer Porte (our previous camp location was called "Deer Park" so we merged the two names).  Camp has been a long and somewhat storied tradition among Holy Cross Seminarians and more about it can be read over at the CSC vocations blog.  Essentially camp is a time for the seminarians to gather before the beginning of each academic year and spend some time together, getting to know the new seminarians and catching up with the other seminarians after a summer apart from each other.  There is a lot of time for recreation: bocce and corn hole tournaments, a fishing derby, just sitting around the pool chatting, but there is also time spent in orientation meetings as each formation program starts its year and also time spent in prayer and reflection. Every camp is given a theme to guide the seminarian's reflection and different speakers and panelists give talks to give us something to chew on over the course of the week.  My classmate, Matt Kuczora, CSC was this year's camp mayor and did a wonderful job.  We had lots of fun, but also fantastic presentations as well by our guest speakers.  However, I have to admit that one of the best parts of camp this year was spent not at camp, but was our free day where a few of the other seminarians and I headed into Chicago to visit the Museum of Science and Industry.  This was the one major Chicago museum that I hadn't been to yet and it was loads of fun.  Where else can you walk through a real life German U-boat one minute and a 727 the next!














We returned from camp on August 18, and for my brother seminarians the time between then and now has been spent preparing for the start of the academic year.  I have been doing my best to get any work for the parish that can be done off site done, but I have also spent much time with many of my friends here at Notre Dame, making sure I see them before I leave for Phoenix again.  I will return to Phoenix on Monday after Paul's profession of perpetual vows.  However more on that as they come.  My next major event is a trip to Lisle, IL, a western suburb of Chicago to visit a benedictine monk, who lived with us at Moreau last year, but was elected abbot of his monastery over the summer.


 Photo Credit: Ryan Pietrocarlo

Sorry for the hiatus

Well folks, sorry for the month long hiatus.  My commitment to keep the blog updated weekly totally flew out the window as I began to settle into the parish this page got put on the back burner.  It also did not help that Blogger is blocked by the diocesan web server, which is the only internet service available at the parish at the moment.  I am currently at Notre Dame, where all the seminarians spent a week together at camp and are now preparing for the start of classes as I have a little free time as I wait here at ND until next week so I can witness the Profession of Perpetual Vows of Paul Ybarra, C.S.C., my predecessor seminarian at St. John Vianney.  More to come on those events as they happen, but now without further ado, a recap of the past month.

I left New York on July 14 for Goodyear, Arizona and my home and apostolate for the upcoming year.  I was met at the airport by. Fr. John Herman, C.S.C., my pastor and supervisor for the year, who took me to my new home.  For those who don't know the Phoenix geographic layout.  Goodyear is a township/outer suburb to the west of Phoenix.  Chandler, Tempe, Mesa are on the eastern side of Phoenix and Avondale and Goodyear are on the western side.  The parish is currently in the middle of expanding and renovating the rectory (the house where the priests live) so I moved into a house that is usually used to hold retreats and meetings on a temporary.  Hopefully the rectory should completed by mid September.  Here are a couple of pictures of the rectory during the renovation process:

 The original part of the rectory, now gutted.

 

The addition to the rectory, which is under construction, from the original rectory.

 The addition from the back looking at the original rectory. 

Two weeks later, framing is up in the addition.

What will be the chapel, framed and ready to go.

My main goal for my first month at the parish was just to get to know the parish, to get to know the parishioners and the many different groups and ministries at the parish.  With a parish that is 4,500 families large, it's not the easiest task, but one that is extremely worthwhile.  I also started getting my feet wet in the various groups, ministries, and responsibilities I will be a part of or responsible for over the coming year.  This included going to a fair bit of meetings as well as starting to preach, presiding at a wake and going along with the pastor to another, and one burial.  This small taste of parish life so far has made me very excited for the many opportunities that will present themselves in the upcoming year.  The last notable event of my first few weeks at the parish was the arrival of our new associate pastor, Fr. John Korcsmar, CSC, who arrived about two weeks after I did.  Needless to say Fr. John Herman and I were very excited to have Fr. John K, with us not only to help us with the work of the parish, but also to complete our local CSC community.  On August 10 I left for Notre Dame to join the rest of the seminarians at camp, but I will cover that in the next post, which will be soon.

Family Outing

Alas, I am blogging from the air again, I am currently en route to Phoenix but I figured I would take the time to give a brief update on the goings on of my past week.  The ND savvy out there will probably recognize the statue in the above photo and probably recognize that it is not the one in front of Corby Hall, so yes you're right, we took a family trip to Gettysburg.  In all honesty it was originally billed as a family trip to Hershey Park and the Gettysburg leg (which is about an hour away) was added on later, at your author's humble request.  Hershey has been a place where my family has spent many a summer vacation and it is always nice to go back.  However with me at 25 and my brother at 21, this trip, while certainly still fun, brought the realization that our Hershey days are probably behind us and it is up to my brother to have kids of his own before we head back again.  But that being said, there are still some awesome roller coasters at Hershey that still give a thrill to children of all ages. 

Our time at Gettysburg was short (about4.5 hours) but extremely worth while.  It was my first trip to the famous battlefield and was certainly worth it.  I guess what is most striking is the sheer size of the battlefield, which took nearly 2 hours to drive around.  Equally striking was the absolute skill (and bit of luck) that was needed for the Union to be victorious.  As our tour guide drove us around the battlefield and outlined each phase of the battle it became apparent just how close the Union came to losing the Battle of Gettysburg, a possible history changing outcome.  However it is not the bravery and determination of the Union soldiers alone that makes Gettysburg sacred ground, the land is a great reminder of what the consequences of a divided nation can be.  A place where thousands of Americans, both Union and Confederate died in service to their country.

Final Reflections on Mexico

All in all Mexico was a fantastic experience.  Not only was it an opportunity to learn Spanish, but also an opportunity for Chris and I to experience the Mexican culture and to begin to understand a bit, not only the language but also the cultural base of the many Mexican Americans we minister to and with here in the United States.  Speaking of Chris, I cannot thank him enough for being pretty decent company for 6 weeks in a foreign country and for his kind and gentle forbearance.  We did pretty well considering we made up about 75% of each others' English conversation for 6 weeks.  Thanks must also be given to the many other seminarians who eventually joined us at CIRIMEX, there was a large group from the St. Paul's Seminary, St Paul, MN and from St. Meinrad's, Mundelien, and St. John Vianney in Denver.  They are just great guys in general and very much brought some welcome company and fellowship at the language school.

The program itself was intense to say the least.  Four hours of grammar instruction in the morning and 2 hours of conversation in the afternoon.  All the sessions were one on one just me and the teacher meaning there was really no opportunity to take a rest at all and of course after school was over we all went home to speak more Spanish.  The students often joked that the 30 minute break in the morning was the best part of the day, but truthfully, it was the one point in the day when we didn't have to think about Spanish at all.  However in reality this was probably the best way to learn, basically forcing myself to start thinking in Spanish.  I am certainly much more confident (and hopefully a bit better) with my Spanish after my time at CIRIMEX.  I also cannot thank my two teachers Aurea and Rosy for their patience and gentle guiding hands.  They really did help a lot.

The time also allowed us to get to know the people of Mexico and experience some of the great beauty of the country.  Mexico is certainly a country that has its fair share of problems, we have all seen what great evils the drug cartels have brought and how a culture of corruption among the police and government makes the drug problem and many others worse.  However at their heart the people of Mexico really have a lot going for them.  They are a people of great faith, passion, and devotion and a country of great natural beauty and resources. Mexico was an excellent host to Chris and I over 6 weeks and we are certainly much richer for the experience. 

PICTURES!

Alas I have finally gotten my pictures off my camera. They can all be found here

Here are a few highlights

The Jiamador cutting Agave in Tequila

















The National Palace in Mexico City

The Cardinal gives the benediction at the Eucharistic Procession
in Guadalajara

The Cathedral of Guadalajara

Home

Well folks, Chris and I wrapped up our time in Mexico on Thursday and flew home on Friday, Chris to St. Louis and I to Chicago. Oddly the longest leg of my trip was the bus from Chicago to South Bend, but alas I did make it home (though and hour and a half behind schedule). After some time on South Bend mostly spent changing over my luggage from Mexico stuff to Phoenix stuff and of course celebrating the 4th of July a bit. On Tuesday I left South Bend for New York where I will spend the next week with my family. Hopefully this time will allow me to relax and catch up a bit (especially on this blog) so look for more updates soon.

Recap: Tlaquepaque y Tonola

Last week Chris and I also spent some time in two of the major towns for artisanal crafts here in Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque and Tonola. Fr. Aaron Michka flew down on Sunday for a few days (yes the same Sunday we got back from Mexico City) and we spent Sunday afternoon with him in Tlaquepaque. Tlaquepaque is a town world renowned for its galleries and is definitely the higher end of the two towns. While the art was certainly interesting the main purpose for our trip was not the art but rather the Mariachi. Tlaquepaque has a large square in the middle of town that is often occupied by Mariachi or Ballet Foclorico groups. Conveniently the square is surrounded by restaurants, which makes for the perfect opportunity to rest, have a little tequila and enjoy the entertainment. After taking in the sights and sounds and strolling through some of the galleries we headed home fairly early so that Chris and I could get some rest. Later on in the week Chris and I headed to another Tonola with some of the other students at CIRIMEX, this was in their words "a cultural field trip." Tonola is another town near Guadalajara that specializes in artisanal crafts. The difference however between the two, as my host mom put it, is that Tlaquepaque is for the gringos and Tonola for the Mexicans. The crafts made and sold in Tonola in a sense represent better the traditional crafts of Mexico and are a bit cheaper, they include ceramics and other clay products, glass, and paper maché. This being a cultural field trip, the teachers arranged for us to see not only the shops, but the workshops behind them where the crafts are still made. In many cases these "factories" are still family owned and operated with the skill of glassmaking or ceramic making passed down from generation to generation. Also on a cultural note at the glass factory Chris, who had also been to the Waterford factory in Ireland noted the stark difference in safety precautions between the two places. The craftsmen at the factory in Tonola worked in fairly crowded conditions with molten glass at the end of 4 to 6 foot poles, yet all of them had on shorts and T-Shirts, meanwhile in Waterford all the craftsmen where covered in some serious layers of protective clothing. The most interesting stop on the Tonola trip was certainly the ceramics factory. This factory has been in the same family for several generations and produces a unique type of ceramics with a labor intensive cross-hatch pattern. Not only did we get to see all the beautiful wares they produced, but we also got to see the family members at work in the back carefully detailing each piece of clay, shaping the clay on the turntable, or firing it in the kiln. The shop was also filled with pictures and letters from celebrities around the world with their plates/bowls/cups. The most prominent photo at the moment was one of Prime Minister Harper of Canada, President Calderon of Mexico, and President Obama having lunch on their dishes. President Obama was apparently so impressed, he took his napkin ring and then bought a whole set for his family at the White House.

That's about all for our past two cultural outings. I am actually on the plane home at the moment and will post a recap of our last week in Mexico shortly.

Pictures!

While it is true that the cable for my camera is home in South Bend, I just realized that I took some photos of the Seminary's Eucharistic Procession with my phone and thus can send them to my computer via blue-tooth.  So alas some of my actual pictures from my time here in Guadalajara.

The seminarians used colored sawdust to create a "carpet" of sorts for each altar.

The first altar, constructed by the seminarians in theology.

Our Lord, on the move.

The procession makes its way to another altar.

Recap: Mexico City

It has been a fairly busy couple of weeks down here in Mexico.  Trying to cover everything in one post would be information overload, so I will probably break things down into a couple of different posts over the weekend.  However before we get to the recap of the events of the past few weeks, a soccer note.  Mexico is most certainly in the thick of World Cup fever.  The past few weeks of group play have been exciting and the Cup seems to be the primary topic of conversation for just about everyone.  Even us Americans at the language school find ourselves trying to sneak a peek at games during our breaks or even during class every now and then.  I figure if the commentators are speaking in Spanish, it counts towards learning Spanish.  With group play now over things have intensified as the tournament enters its elimination rounds.  The US bowed out this morning against Ghana and the Mexicans play tomorrow against Argentina, which will certainly be interesting to watch/experience.  The rest of this post will cover Chris and I's trip to Mexico City last weekend.  Yes there are pictures and again I will put them up once I get home and find my cable.

Last weekend Chris and I ventured to Mexico City for a whirlwind trip.  We left on a bus at 11:30 PM Friday night and got into Mexico City just about 6 AM Saturday morning.  Before any of you conjure up images of a horrible Greyhound trip it needs to be noted that there are actually some extremely nice bus lines down here in Mexico, some might even say luxurious.  The bus line we took from Guadalajara to Mexico City and back certainly fit into this category, with only 3 seats a row (1 seat - aisle - 2 seats) with plenty of leg room and a fair bit of recline to be about as comfortable as you can be on a bus.  Each seat also had a personal entertainment system fully stocked with all sorts of TV shows and movies, of course all in Spanish.  Anyway after making it to Mexico City at 6 AM Chris and I quickly familiarized ourselves with the Metro and went straight to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to see Our Lady on Juan Diego's famed tilma or cloak (the primary purpose of our trip).  The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe really is not so much a singular church as it is a complex.  The actual Basilica is a relatively modern church built in 1976 after the original Basilica began sinking into the ground and was deemed unsafe.  It is the current Basilica that currently displays the tilma of Juan Diego and in which St. Juan Diego was canonized in 2002 by John Paul II.  After Mass and some time to pray in front of the image of Our Lady (which is made slightly difficult by the moving sidewalks that are employed to keep people moving) Chris and I headed to the Old Basilica, which was eventually shored up by engenieers, though still very much tilts to one side.  The interior of the Old Basilica however is quite stunning.  The third major building in the complex is the Chapel of St. Michael which is at the top of Tepeyac hill and provides great views of Mexico City and the Basilica complex.  Our Last Guadalupe related stop was the museum our Our Lady which is more or less in the sacristy of the Old Basilica and houses some great religious art in a variety of styles.

After finishing up at the Basilica Chris and I headed to Chapultepec Park, Mexico City's version of Central Park, the park is very large and home not only to green space, but also to several museums, a zoo, and other odds and ends.  We headed to the Museum of National History and the Chapultepec Castle (they're next to each other).  These two buildings sit at the top of a hill in the park and provide more spectacularly great views of the city.  The museum itself details the story of Mexico from its indigenous beginnings to the present day, with much emphasis on its colonization and its war for independence.  The Castle has played home to a variety of things over the years, but is now a tourist attraction, being re-decorated to appear as it did when it was home to Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, during the short lived Second Mexican Empire.

After the park it was downtown to the Zocalo or main plaza of Mexico City, with the Cathedral on one side of it and the national palace (think the West Wing, or the offices of the President) next to it.  The plaza itself which is usually wide open was occupied by tons of high end booths and several large TV screens because it was declared the national gathering spot to watch the World Cup, but alas Chris and I were not deterred. While the national palace was off limits (we didn't have our passports), Chris and I made our way to the Cathedral which is certainly unique, with a strange interior design, it is sort of like 3 different worship spaces in the body of 1 church.  The highlight of the visit however was certainly a trip up to the top of the Cathedral bell tower, which again led to some great views of the city.

After finishing up at the Cathedral many of the museums and public buildings were closed so Chris and I planned to walk around the downtown area and get a general feel for the city and to see what might cross our path.  This was going well until it started pouring torrentially which drove Chris and I into a random mall to come up with a better game plan (and have a beer).  After leafing the guidebook we came upon the Torre Latinoamericana, one of the tallest buildings in Latin America, and conveniently nearby and open late with several indoor observation decks and a bar at the top.  After taking in a little museum on the history of the tower and the view of the city from the observation decks, Chris and I capped our day in Mexico City with a drink or two at the Bar on the 41st floor with a great view of the city.  Then we caught the 11 PM bus back to Guadalajara, where we arrived 6 AM Sunday morning.  While there was a minor stir when I left my wallet in the cab that took us from the bus station back home, all eventually ironed itself out after someone graciously found my wallet (with my phone number in it) and graciously returned it and importantly everything that was in it, later in the day.  This certainly counted as a minor miracle, but was a great reminder that there are still people in the world who have the best of intentions and are willing to do that which is right. 

That's all for now, more to come later in the day!

Congratulations to Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB

For the past several years we at Moreau Seminary have been blessed to have Fr. Austin Murphy, OSB as one of our guest residents as he worked toward a Doctorate in Patristic Theology.  Always a pleasure to talk to and renown for his athletic talent, Fr. Austin and I often talked about our common childhood roots on Long Island and of course the Mets.  We just received word today that Fr. Austin was elected yesterday at the 10th Abbot of St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, IL.  While his presence will most certainly be missed at Moreau, his talents will certainly  aid him as he takes on the leadership of his monastery.  Ad Multos Annos!