Sunday, January 10, 2010

Private Audience with Pope Benedict XVI

Well, in short, I was able to shake Pope Benedict's hand today. The North American College asked for a private audience with the Pope to commemorate the 150th anniversary since the founding of the college. The experience is inexplicable. Somehow, I was able to capture it all on video while shaking his hand and kissing his ring at the same time. Praised be Jesus Christ!

Here's a photo to tide you over until I can get the video up and loaded:



And here's the video: (I'm the one that says "Love you, Holy Father")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS425gqwB-U

Friday, January 8, 2010

Starved for Attention

This weekend, and on into next week, the North American College in Rome celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary since the founding of the college. Many old faces have graced the premises these past few days, and will continue to do so throughout the next week. The festivities officially began this evening with mass at "Dodici Apostili," the "Twelve Apostles" church, which sits a few blocks away from the universities where most of us seminarians attend class every day.

Personally, it is one of my favorite churches in the city, with regards to its architecture and interior design. Frankly it was just an added bonus that the mass was held at this particular favorite church of mine. The real reason I went, to be quite honest, was the fact that Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop emeritus of Milwaukee, was preaching the mass--the man who sent me here to study in Rome. With over a dozen bishops in the church, added to over 100 priests, I quickly got to thinking about my prospective future as a priest. Full of renewed zeal and excitement to one day return to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee as a priest of Jesus Christ, I began to think of all the joys and blessings that a priest experiences--celebrating the sacraments, acting as a spiritual father to the faithful, and so much more. Furthermore, I began to recall the many blessings that I have been given in my life. Loving family members and friends, good teachers and leaders, holy priests, the gift to be able to experience all that I have experienced. Yet, in all this, I found myself continually looking forward to my own satisfactions, my own desires, the way I would execute MY priesthood. See the problem?

As my meditations progressed, I heard God saying "Don't forget me!" As in, "John, don't forget why you're doing what you're doing. Don't forget the author of all that is good! Don't forget me!" Have you ever loved someone, or even just had an affection for someone, only to find out that your feelings aren't reciprocated? You yearn for the attention of that person. You try to stick yourself out there to make yourself known. Maybe you give gifts, or try to spend more time with that person. Maybe your love isn't returned with the same level of affection. Maybe it isn't returned at all. Even still, maybe your acts of affection end up creating a distance--or so it seems. Conversely, have you ever worked so hard to show your affection for another person, to find that it was met with sincere appreciation and joy? Maybe you put great thought into a gift, and seeing their reaction when they opened the gift made it all worth it. Maybe someone simply tells you of their appreciation for your friendship, your marriage, your mutual love. This is a completely different experience, and one that often makes us feel in complete bliss.

I often find that I can relate to both of these situations when it comes to my relationship with God--and maybe you have as well. There are times when God places blessings upon blessings and fills my life with graces that I never acknowledge. He showers his love upon us in all these good things that we encounter. But how often do we recognize the source of all those blessings? How often do we acknowledge the source of all that is good? Imagine, for the purpose of this reflection, how God might feel when we reject, nor even acknowledge that which He gives us, that which He blesses us with?

On the other hand, there are times when I acknowledge the graces and blessings that God bestows upon me--and for that, I am grateful. However, the Lord wants us to go deeper. He wants us to know how joyful He is that we recognize His love. We are the gift receiver, we are that significant other whom He adores. When we reciprocate that love, He is overjoyed...and He wants us to know that. It's something that I don't often think to do, but the next time you find yourself in a situation where you recognize God' grace, or when your virtuous actions are pleasing to God--imagine how He reacts! Imagine the love, the joy, the intense compassion he pours over us.

Certainly God blesses us with so much, there's no doubt about that. Yet, there is a danger in settling for the gift itself. The true gift is the giver--the source of the gift. It would be a shame, and dare I say impossible, for us to go through life appreciating all the gifts we have been given without acknowledging where it came from. That being said, I must admit that all the good gifts I receive are in vain, unless they direct us to God. So, my prayer is that those who read this message may allow themselves to be carried by the Lord, the Good Shepherd, that you may entrust your lives to Him and come to know the graces with which He desires to win your heart. He is the perfect suitor, you are the bride, the Church--fall in love with Him!