Viva Cristo Rey.

Between heaven and earth

Between light and dark

Between faith and sin

Lies only my heart

Lies God and only my heart

A group of students and I went to see For Greater Glory (also known as Cristiada) yesterday night.  Based on true events, the film revolves around the Cristero War in Mexico during the 1920s, when the Mexican government sought to suppress the peoples' right to practice freely their religion.  In particular, the laws passed by the then-Mexican president, Plutarco Calles, sought to suppress the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on the Mexican people.  In response to the stringent anti-Catholic laws enforced on the Mexican people, a group of rag-tag freedom fighters, self-proclaimed Cristeros, banded together to fight the oppressive federales of the Mexican army, sent by the government to quell them.  

While not reviewed positively by many media critics throughout the United States, this movie, for me, and I believe for my students as well, was particularly moving.  There are countless - countless - heart-wrenching scenes, scenes so painful to watch that all of us as a group grimaced on more than one occasion.  A particularly agonizing scene involving a young boy, who we later learned was Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, had the student next to me in a shower of tears.  Here we are, a group of young people striving after authentic holiness - witnessing in this film dozens of priests, laypeople, even children of 1920s Mexico, martyred for their faith in gruesome ways because they refused to deny their faith in Jesus Christ.   And while we weren't able to discuss much of the movie after the credits rolled (due mostly to the fact that it was 12:30 in the morning and we were exhausted), the prevailing sentiments that swirled in my head as I drove home from the theater were: If faced with similar circumstances, would I be ready to die for Jesus Christ?  

In my human weakness, every ounce of my being says, right now, "NO!  I am not brave enough!"  Yet, as seems to be the case with the probably thousands (maybe even hundreds of thousands) of martyrs throughout the history of the Church, I believe deeply in my heart of hearts that God gives a special grace to those He has chosen to be martyrs for His Church.  In the film, during what I thought was the most moving scene of martyrdom, a young boy is asked to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ in order to have his life spared.  He is given one last chance to deny his faith, as he stands before the grave in which he is to be buried following his execution.  "Just say it," his padrino (godfather, the mayor of the town, present at the site of the execution, along with the young boy's parents) says to him.  "I can't," says the boy, covered in blood from torture, yet smiling through his suffering.  "I love you.  Viva Cristo Rey."  With that, a soldier plunges his bayonet into the boy's chest, and he begins to die.  As he writhes on the ground, in visible agony, he traces a cross into the sand.  "I'm going home," he whispers, before a soldier delivers a coup de grace and finally kills him.  As I watched this scene with tears in my eyes, I could not help but think of the heroic courage given to this child by our good God, to withstand his torture, walk to his grave, affirm his faith in Christ yet again, and forgive his executioners.  

While the storyline of the young boy was indeed moving, perhaps the most moving plot point for me was the faith journey of the leader of the Cristeros, el General Enrique Gorostieta.  Throughout the film, the viewer knows that the General does not believe in God.  He sees the struggle for religious freedom as a noble one, fights with the Cristeros with passion and conviction, and believes President Calles to be a barbarian, yet he lacks faith in God.  In a particularly turbulent time of the war, he asks one of his soldiers, who is also a Catholic priest, the time-honored question, "Why would God permit such atrocity in this world?"  The priest responds with the age-old answer, that God is able to bring about incredible triumph in the face of horrific evil, his Holy Cross being the prime example.  Finally, near the end of the film, as the viewer has seen the breadth of the General's interior struggles of doubt, he asks the priest-soldier to hear his confession, moments before his death in a gunfight.  This stirred in my heart so deeply - after years of doubt, the General returned to God.  What a testament to the goodness and mercy of God, but also what a testament to the humility required by the General.  It truly warmed my heart and gave me tremendous hope for those currently struggling with doubt to see that after years of being away from God and away from the sacraments, the General was able to make a return to God and die in the state of grace.  God is good, He is very, very good.  

So, in the midst of these incoherent ramblings, the bottom line is: see the film.  

Be challenged by the story of these heroic Cristeros.  

Believe deeply in your convictions.  

Pray intensely.

Love Christ deeply. 

Live your life as if ready to die for Him at any moment (however unlikely a martyr's death may be).  

Viva Cristo Rey!  Que viva!

picture source 

time

"Let us take a good, honest look at our own lives.  How is it that sometimes we just can't find those few minutes it would take to finish lovingly the work we have to do, which is the very means of our sanctification?  Why do we neglect our family duties?  Why that tendency to rush through our prayers, or through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?  How are we so lacking in calm and serenity when it comes to fulfilling the duties of our state, and yet so unhurried as we indulge in our own whims?  You might say these are trifling matters.  You're right, they are, but these trifles are the oil, the fuel we need to keep our flame alive and our light shining." 
~ St. Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God 

Let's just put it this way: this knocked me off my feet in prayer this morning.  Needless to say, this will be my meditation for a good, long, while!   

another long hiatus

The title of the post seems to be the norm around these parts, doesn't it?

A quick snapshot of life right now, for old time's sake:

1. My heart is immensely full of Easter joy.  Alleluia!  Resurrexit, sicut dixit!  This may have been my most fruitful Lent to date.  The Diet Cokes from which I fasted for these forty days have never tasted better!  In this forty-day sojourn in the desert there were little, unique moments when I felt especially that my good God was tugging fervently at my heart.  Triduum especially was a grace-filled time, each liturgy more beautiful than the last (if that's even possible, of course!).  I meet with my spiritual director tomorrow for the first time in three weeks, and I know there will be much to discuss!

2. Have you read the new English translation of the great Easter Proclamation, the Exultet?  I most certainly recommend doing so.  You can find text of the new translation at this link.  It is about halfway down the page, and begins with "Exult, let them exult."  It is a beautiful way to meditate more deeply on the profound realities of our Lord's Resurrection.  Three cheers (and thanks be to God) for the New Translation of the Roman Missal, implemented just over four months ago!

3. Still flirting with the idea of going to Rome in June.  At this point, it seems less likely than before, due much in part to the suddenly very real possibility of diving into the house-hunting foray and the need to save every - and I mean every - penny.  My heart aches to be in Rome to share in the joy of our dear friend to be ordained to God's holy priesthood, and if God wants us to be there, we've entrusted the logistics to St. Joseph.  If not, we're definitely planning a trip to wherever his first Mass is stateside!

4. My work, while often challenging, is really, really wonderful.  I love my students and love the conversations that I have with them day in and day out.  To encourage and affirm them in their journey to know Christ deeply is humbling and exhilarating.  Things have begun to wind down significantly - after all, we're only about five weeks from the end of the academic year - but this is a time to invest individually in students and support them in any way possible as the year concludes.  I look forward to what the remainder of the academic year brings, and what God has in store for my students next year!

5.  Making a wedding album.  This is something that is completely overdue - we've been married two and a half years already!  I found a copy of our wedding program tonight as I was cleaning our bedroom and as I reminisced, made a resolution to create a wedding photo book online.  I know it will be a long (and perhaps occasionally arduous) process - just started uploading the first of hundreds of digital negatives to a photo hosting website, and the upload process is already taking much longer than I wanted it to!

I think that's about all there is happening in life right now.  Life is often ordinary, sometimes grueling, but mostly remarkable.  There is something completely remarkable about the gift of each day - of each simple, monotonous, ordinary day.  So grateful to my good God for the gift of so many ordinary days, full of extraordinary moments of grace.  Thank you, Jesus, thank you!

O, death, where is your sting? 
O, hell, where is your victory? 
O, Church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night


O, Church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He's alive
He's alive!  
- Matt Maher

right now

And yet again, a month has passed without a single update to this humble blog.  If only I was able to be consistent!  Regarding the internet and social media in general, there's a lot swirling in my head right now, and I'm sure that's part of the reason I've been away from this little cyberhome for awhile.  


Anyway, here's five quick goings-on in our lives right now (too tired to crank out ten): 


1. The full-time job has started!  It's beautiful and wonderful, albeit a little bit slow-going right now.  I know for certain that the pace is only slower because we're in the summer recess.  Give it about three weeks, and the pace will be picking up - and won't relent until about mid-December.  In the words of my mother, "Enjoy the slower pace now, because when you're cranking out those sixty-hour workweeks, you'll miss it!"  I'm not sure I'll miss the slow pace like she says, but I am grateful for this slow pace now, to be able to get my bearings before the academic year and really hash out what needs to happen to begin the year successfully and on the right foot.  I really, truly love being back on campus.  God is so good - I'm so humbled to be back, working for the Catholic campus center to which I owe so much of my own spiritual growth.  


2. Our beautiful godson will be baptized this weekend!  About two months ago, we were asked to be the godparents to a sweet little boy who was then born in mid-June.  It was, yet again, another moment to be completely humbled before the goodness of God.   Right before Christmas last year, it was our dear friends' announcement of the expecting of this precious boy that was the catalyst in allowing for me a moment of deep personal suffering to unite with Jesus.  The sorrow I experienced had absolutely nothing to do with our dear friends - I believe it was simply the timing of their announcement that served as a sort of "breaking point" for me, and my heart very much needed to be pierced at that moment.  As with any suffering, it was a painful moment for me, but it is now, half a year and a beautiful six-week-old godson later, that I have begun to understand God's work in all of this.  He's good, He's really good.  :)  


3. We're moving!  Same complex, but a different - and bigger - apartment.  As excited as I am to move to a bigger space (for the fifth time in as many years, dating back to my college apartments), I am not looking forward to the inevitable packing and unpacking that will have to occur, especially as the move will coincide with my work at the Catholic campus center picking up for the academic year.  Yet I know that it will all happen - it always does, everything happens as it needs to, and while it seems daunting in the moment, when I have an opportunity to look back on the craziness, I realize that we accomplished all that we needed to in order to have a successful move.  We'll move four weeks from this weekend - it is coming up much too fast!  :)  


4. I've purchased more bottles of wine in the last two weeks than I have probably in the last year.  No idea why - I think maybe deep down I desire to be a wine connoisseur and/or collector, but I know that will absolutely, positively, never happen.  :)  I just stopped by Trader Joe's this evening and made my most recent purchases, a California Chardonnay and an Argentinean Carmenere (my most recent favorite) - two wines for under ten bucks!  Looking forward to building up our wine collection, and, obviously, tasting the wines we purchase!  


5. I'm home alone tonight - I sent B off to have fun with some friends.  They're grabbing a beer and taking in "Captain America" at the cinema.  I know he'll enjoy the "comic book" movies more with the guys than he will with me!  I am happy to have this time at home, to (hopefully) restore a bit of order to our apartment.  Our little living space always seems to be thrown into a tizzy during the workweek.  We currently have piles of laundry, dishes, and paper strewn about in multiple locations.  Time to tackle the crazy!  


a presto, tutti!  a presto!! 

a full heart

It has been much too long since I've returned to this humble cyberhome to share my incessant thoughts and endless ramblings with whoever it may be that stumbles onto this tiny blog.  Quite frankly, our life has been fairly regular and ordinary in these past weeks - days and weeks go by, we have our ups and downs in the spiritual life, we have our little joys and our little struggles in our married vocation, and life continues.  I'll admit, the "ordinary-ness" of married life used to slightly scare me, but now, it really is a tremendous gift for which I remain abundantly grateful.  So, long story short, there hasn't been much to write about in these past weeks.  

Until today.  :-)  

We traveled this weekend, to the Kansas City metro area, about 500 miles southwest of where we live.  We piled into the car with two friends early on Friday morning and headed out shortly after eight; arriving in KC, KS (or at least a suburb of it) right around 5:00 in the afternoon, after a good eight hours of driving.  It was there, in the heart of the Great Plains, that we witnessed the ordination of a dear, dear friend to the sacred order of deacons.  

The ordination itself - held on Saturday morning in a local parish church - was nothing short of completely beautiful.  We arrived about an hour before the Mass to pray and prepare; yet, I found it impossible to pray coherently in that time, as the choir was rehearsing and it was entirely heavenly.  The choir eventually began to rehearse "Lift High the Cross" - one of my most favorite hymns - and the beauty of that moment, of what was about to happen to five men (four to be ordained priests, our friend to be ordained deacon), was all too much and tears stung my eyes.  All I could do was smile at B as I tried to choke down what almost became a sob.  The occasion of this ordination was truly providential -the four men ordained to the priesthood are the first priests of the male branch of a relatively new religious order; and our friend, ordained to the diaconate, would then be just a step away from joining his brothers in God's holy priesthood.  The process to ordain these men has been very long - many different steps needed to happen, all in God's time, in order for this blessed day to come.  As I wiped away my tears - the first of many that day - I think I realized the magnitude of the ceremony about to happen, and the gratitude owed to our good God for truly blessing this work done for His Kingdom.  

There really are no adequate words to describe what then transpired - an almost transcendent ordination Mass, where the joy felt among the faithful was palpable.  We smiled proudly as we watched our dear friend join his fellow brothers in the community, to make promises of obedience and respect to the ordaining bishop and to, more importantly, make eternal promises to God as His ordained ministers.  Next to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Rite of Ordination may have been the most beautiful part of the day - watching these five young men literally lay down their lives in service to God's holy people and make solemn promises to both Christ Jesus and a successor to Christ's apostles.  Another moment where the tears flowed freely was watching our friend - now a deacon - be welcomed by his fellow deacons into this sacred, beautiful order.  My heart was full of joy at that moment - a joy that could only be expressed by a shower of happy tears. 

Two hours and 45 minutes later, Mass concluded - really, it felt like just minutes had passed.  We attended a lovely luncheon and caught up with many old friends - sisters from the female branch of the order that we knew from our time in college, other college friends, even some priests from back home who had made the trip for the ordination.  A priest friend summed it up well - "It's a small world when it comes to our family in the Church."  Really, it couldn't have been said better.  While we didn't know many people at the ordination, by day's end we had gotten to know many more, and it was that much closer to feeling like a family.  

In the evening we attended a lovely dinner reception - not unlike a wedding celebration.  We ate delicious food, indulged in an open bar, and even took to the dance floor at one point and spun around to a merengue.  Many members of the order are from Italy (our friend included), so the reception offered me a truly precious moment to practice la bella lingua, which I haven't spoken consistently in what seems like years!  The most special moment of the evening was by far our little private moment with our friend when he was able to offer us his blessing.  In heavily accented Italian, he prayed with us and over us, and it was a great gift to us, so special, in fact, that I can't possibly attempt to describe how wonderful it was.  Following his blessing, we were able to share a few more words, where we again reiterated our great joy at his "yes" to God and humbly asked for his prayers for us.  And, before long, sadly, it was time to depart, and bid our goodbyes - as the gears in our heads began to crank along as we started to brainstorm ways of, God willing, getting to Rome for his presbyteral ordination (the likely location in about a year).  


The prevailing sentiments we took away from his weekend was a sense of great joy as we watched these five men resoundingly answer "yes" to God's call.  I shared with our friend how happy it made us to watch him say "yes" to God, and how beautiful it was to pray with him as he discovered his vocation and committed to it.  There is something uniquely special in witnessing a resounding "yes" to God's call to His holy priesthood, and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to witness these fine young men make these solemn promises to God this weekend.  


We also remain sincerely grateful to God for our friendship with "Don Ale" (that's what we'll call him now) and his prayers for us.  He blessed us with his presence at our wedding almost two years ago, and it was an honor and a privilege to return the favor.  (And we only hope that it might be God's will that at least one, if not both, of us somehow make it to Rome to see him ordained a priest!)  God willing, he'll be the godfather to our firstborn daughter (or second-born son) someday.  We remain convinced that it is truly this friendship with God's chosen priests that will encourage and inspire us in our own pursuit of holiness for years to come. 


Thank you, Father God, for the gift of these priests (and deacon) to us!  May you bless and sustain them all the years of their faithful service to you.  


a presto.

too long

So many different topics to consider on this blog, but the past month has certainly gotten away from me.  How is it May 22nd tomorrow?!  

The Cliffs Notes version is that much is going on in our lives - very good, very exciting things.  Many new goals have sprung forth from these developments.  There's so much to document and to post here, but I don't even know where to begin.  

As far as short-term future blogging goals, I'm hoping to revive "New Meal Monday" this week with a new chili recipe.  Here's hoping I remember to get out my camera when the time comes to make the meal! 

In the meantime, here are 10 extra-short snippets of the goings-on in life right now:

1. I have a job!  Starting July 1st, I'll be diving back into campus ministry full-time after a two-year hiatus.  It is humbling, exhilarating, and exciting to think about being back on campus (my alma mater!) with students, attempting (albeit weakly) to love them like Jesus. 

2. My little sister is engaged!  She'll be married next October, 2012.  It is terribly exciting - and I get to be maid of honor!  (Or, as my husband informed me, matron of honor - it sounds so much older than just maid!)

3. B and I have resolved to begin (slowly) making our way through the seasons of The West Wing.  Considering we just watched the pilot episode this evening, I'd say we have quite a ways to go.  :-)

4. I bought a cilantro plant a week and a half ago, and while I haven't used any of it yet, I am so looking forward to being able to just snip the leaves I need in any given week, instead of buying an entire bunch of cilantro and having about 85% of that bunch go to waste because we just can't use that much cilantro before it spoils.  Hooray for herbs!  I have a small pot of basil and another of chives that have just started sprouting, too.  I am hoping to maintain this trend of keeping our most often used herbs in pots during the summer - it is convenient, low-maintenance, and inexpensive, a great thing! 

5. I am a convert to the FranklinCovey daily system of planning.  (www.franklincovey.com)  I sat in on meetings all week at my new job and after a quick introduction to the daily system, I have resolved to integrate that method of planning into my work next year.  I am hoping it can provide a balance to my work/vocation/homekeeping and increase my effectiveness in each of these areas. 

6.  I witnessed a beautiful Nuptial Mass today of two former students with whom I worked during my first stint in campus ministry.  They are a beautiful example of faithful love - I am honored to have known them during their college careers and to have watched from afar their journey to this momentous day. 

7.  "Sway" by Dean Martin might be one of the greatest songs ever.  I'm listening to the Glee cover of this song right now, and it just makes me want to get up and dance!  (Dean's version is best, however!) 

8.  B is making pulled pork for Sunday Dinner tomorrow!  EXCITED!!!!!!!  (pulled pork is one of my very favorite meals, and we've never made it before)  :-)

9.  Making plans to visit Washington, DC this summer to visit my old roommates at the end of June.  They have lived out there for 2+ years, but this is the first time I will visit them there.  I haven't been to the District in ten years, so I am more than looking forward to my return.  It promises to be quite the trip! 

10.  No matter how many times I fall, fail, or make a mistake, I am a beloved child of God.  All of us are.  How mind-boggling is this?! 

a presto. 

on death, judgment, and difficulties

I understand this is a massively depressing title for this post.  It's a work in progress - thanks for bearing with me.  

Last night was strange in a variety of ways.  Firstly, B and I were completely exhausted - Friday and Saturday nights were late nights (in bed no earlier than midnight) and we were certainly feeling the brunt of the ensuing exhaustion.  I was also coming down with something resembling a cold (dangit!) for the second time in three months - I am still on the couch and not 100% as of today.  We were supposed to attend a cookout, to meet the university students with whom I will work closely next year in my new position; however, after attending an evening Mass and not feeling any better (if not worse), we elected to go home, order a pizza, and rent a movie (which happened to be The King's Speech!).  

About three-quarters of the way through the movie (His Majesty King George VI and Lionel Logue were about to rehearse for the coronation in Westminster Abbey), I, without any particular reason, decided to log onto Facebook.  It was there on the social networking site that I saw a flurry of status updates about someone not often thought about in my mind these days.  These statuses were reporting a massively historical bit of news: 

The United States had eliminated Osama bin Laden.  

Immediately I relayed the news to B - who, understandably, was shocked.  After all, it isn't every day that the major news networks are reporting that the United States has eliminated the most wanted terrorist in the world.  We fumbled around with our remote controls (we have way too many!) and finally was able to reach a news station to see what exactly was going on.  The coverage confirmed the flurry of Facebook statuses - the United States had raided the world's most wanted terrorist's luxury compound in a city north of the Pakistani capital city, and in a firefight, the man wanted for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks had been killed.  

I didn't know what to think.  At first, deep down, there was almost an excitement to the news, similar to when the United States had captured Saddam Hussein many years ago, thoughts of "we finally got him" and "it's about time" that swirled in my mind.  Then, as we started to digest and process the news, calling our parents to make sure they had heard, I found myself trying to pray for the repose of his soul.  I remember a particular moment of solitude before the President's address to the nation where I finally realized that bin Laden, like all of us someday, came face-to-face with God, the Just Judge, and needed to answer for the doings of his life.  And in that moment, I feared for his soul and tried, albeit poorly, to ask God's mercy through a series of silent Hail Mary's.  

Let me tell you - it was difficult.  The memories of September 11th remain palpable to me - I recall watching the news footage of the anniversary of the attacks last fall and my heart still aching for those who perished in a fiery grave on that clear September day.  I remember sobbing into my mother's shoulder the night after the attacks, as the news coverage continued incessantly and as lower Manhattan continued to smolder.  I remember writing busily in my journal in the following days, and I know that in my fifteen-year-old immaturity, I had a few choice words for Osama bin Laden as I tried to process my thoughts.  So, last night, to attempt to pray and ask God's mercy on this man was a difficult task. 

And then I watched the ensuing celebrations around the United States - places like the White House, Ground Zero, and Times Square, where hundreds gathered to celebrate the death of this man.  And I know that my fifteen-year-old self from September of 2001 would have joined in the revelry and celebrated robustly what the media and politicians have dubbed "a decisive victory in the War on Terror."  To be honest, as I watched the celebrations ensue, my stomach was uneasy.  It is one thing to celebrate patriotism and be proud of our America, it is quite another to celebrate that patriotism in the wake of a man's death.  I agree wholeheartedly that Osama bin Laden has caused devastating agony to the citizens of the United States.  The actions of al-Qaeda and its influence on America will be written about for ages to come.  Yet, as Americans, we should not be treating this moment in history as if we won the big game.  Our lack of decorum in recognizing bin Laden's death was difficult for me to watch - and B and I agreed that the footage of the celebrations could ultimately be damaging for the United States in the wider Arab world community.  Indeed, this is a defining moment in American history - but to rejoice in this man's death is not, in my humble estimation, the way to go about these things.  

This is truly one of those moments where the teachings of our Lord are so very difficult.  Jesus knew what he was saying when he instructed the disciples (and us) to "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you."  It is something that I - and the rest of the United States - very much need to take to heart.  

a presto

BEATO! BEATO!

Santo Padre, some days you are but a distant memory to me, yet deep in my heart I know how influential you were to my following Christ.  Your love for the youth of the Church inspired and encouraged me, and continues to do so.  I remain so very grateful to your yes to God in all things - your vocation, your episcopal appointment, your election to the papacy, and especially your yes to the corporal suffering you endured on earth, to show the world how to unite our pain to His on the cross.  Holy Father, you are my hero!  

My spiritual grandfather will be beatified in a few short hours by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI!  I will attempt to watch a bit of the beatification coverage (beginning at 1:30AM our time, about an hour from now), but I am so exhausted that I am not sure I will make it very long.  In any event, I rejoice with the rest of the world and look forward to many celebrations in the days, weeks, and months to come to honor and remember the heroic life of Father Karol.  

"Remember, Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you!"  

Beato Giovanni Paolo, prega per noi!

Blessed John Paul, pray for us!  

a presto :)
picture source

UPDATE: Regrettably, I fell asleep with EWTN on before the coverage even began, rats!  Thankfully it is on tape-delay later today.  :)

bellssime nozze

Ok, I'll admit it - I woke up at 3:30 this morning (not on purpose), and proceeded to watch the Royal Wedding in all its entirety and fanfare.  (I had set my alarm for 4:45 so I could just catch the ceremony, but I slept fitfully and found myself wide awake at 3:30.)  Honestly, I was quite taken with all of the pomp and pageantry - the British certainly know how to celebrate and celebrate big!  I really only desired to see a few things - particularly how one conducts a Royal Wedding ceremony, and, quite honestly, I seriously couldn't wait any longer to see Kate's dress and how she did her hair.  (I am so envious of her hair, it's bordering on sinful.) 

While our wedding was certainly not a grand affair like William and Catherine's, there were so many small moments that I watched today where I thought back to our wedding day, and it was almost as if the feelings and butterflies of each particular moment came whooshing back into my memory.  For instance, Catherine and her father paused for only a moment before beginning their walk down the aisle to William.  My walk down the aisle with my father was somewhat similar, as I asked him just to straighten my train before we walked down the aisle (unlike Catherine, I didn't have the luxury of my sister behind me to do the straightening once it was time to walk!).  I remember so vividly that moment - Dad had just quoted one of my favorite lines from my favorite movie, Field of Dreams.  Then, he announced, "Let's go."  With that, I walked out from behind the partition, faced the doors to the church, Dad straightened my train, and we walked to B.  I honestly had about a million butterflies in my stomach at that very moment (I imagine the Duchess of Cambridge probably felt similarly at some point today), yet when we walked down the aisle, it was almost as if my peripheral vision blurred completely and the only person I could see was B, waiting for me.   Catherine's walk was undoubtedly longer (some have said it took nine minutes!), but the emotions and feelings of that walk down the aisle were, I'm certain, similar to the ones I felt but 20 month ago.  


In a word? The royal nuptials were gorgeous, and no doubt history in the making.  And while I am still tired from having woken up so early, it was certainly interesting and exciting to watch something so foreign to Americans - a monarchy - celebrate something so beautiful.  


 a presto.  :)

picture of William & Catherine source

Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia!  

He has risen as He said, Alleluia!

A blessed, joyous Easter season to you! 

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world. 

Picture: The Crucifixion, Giotto
Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy

six years ago!

April 19, 2005 fell on a Tuesday, just as it does this year.  The conclave had begun on April 18, with black smoke after each of the votes.  I only had one class in the morning on Tuesday - a Religious Studies class with a emphasis on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  We had a guest lecturer that morning who discussed different texts of the Torah (if I remember correctly).  A freshman in my second semester at the university, I took the class with two or three other friends from St. Paul's, the Catholic student center on campus.  

Probably about halfway through class, one of my friends received a text message from his brother: Habemus Papam!  White smoke!  Suddenly, none of us could concentrate and I was convinced that if we stayed any longer in class, we were going to miss the announcement from Rome, which was truly history in the making.  

Finally, on the count of three, we decided that we'd all get up and leave together.  As we walked out of class, my professor's mouth agape, we just about ran across campus to St. Paul's, where we arrived just as Cardinal Medina began the announcement from a streaming computer - ironically, where my office as an intern at St. Paul's would be just three and a half years later.  Once we heard the last name, I just about cheered as though my favorite team had scored a touchdown.  I had watched Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger preside and preach at John Paul's funeral Mass about ten days before, and his words had, without a doubt, comforted the Catholic faithful at a time of immense sorrow.  When I heard his name announced that day in Rome, I was nothing short of thrilled - in my humble estimation, Cardinal Ratzinger was the perfect successor to John Paul II - and truly perfect, as the Holy Spirit had truly chosen him to lead the Church.  

Happy Election Anniversary, Holy Father! 
Ad multos annos!

a presto :-)