Sunday, November 4, 2012

Living the Life

A lot has happened in the past two weeks. Here's an update.


Last weekend I got to take pictures for EWTN of the papal mass inside St. Peters. Amazing being literally 5 feet away from the Pope. Couldn't see him very well because all the people in the basilica crammed as close to the center aisle as they could, standing on chairs, so they could also get a good picture of the Holy Father. Part of me thought it was cool to see Catholics from all over the world gather in one place, and so excited to see Pope Benedict, but then at the same time I wish people were more respectful of his presence, and of the mass itself.

This past weekend we took a trip to Nettuno, home of St. Maria Goretti. We had mass inside her house, and I sat 2 feet away from the exact spot where she was stabbed to death and essentially martyred for standing up for her beliefs and faith in God. The priest gave an amazing homily about the life of St. Maria Goretti, and placed so much emphasis on the Eucharist.  It was a moment for me where I became closer to Christ.


After touring her house, we went to the Church dedicated to her and prayed by her tomb. It was right next to the Mediterranean, so we also went to the beach for a little bit. Gorgeous view and so much fun to run freely along the sandy beach and into the water!

Overall, have learned a lot about Italian culture these past few weeks. Some things to note:
1. Italian police officials are rarely, if ever helpful. Mary and I journeyed to the American Embassy to mail her absentee ballot (on the cold, dark, rainy day of Halloween) just to find out that it closed 10 minutes early. More ironically, the guards outside the US Embassy did not speak English, and so could not give us any direction of what to do besides come back a different day.
2. Romanitas. If you act like a Roman, you will be treated like one. I've been asked many questions in Italian by Italians lately, and unfortunately all I can say back is "No parlo Italiano"
3. Cappuccino is the best thing ever. So is gelato, nutella, pizza, and pasta.

Today I went for a 6 mile run from where I'm living to St. Peter's Square. Thought of what a blessing it is to be here.

Heading to Poland later this week. Also to Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, Padua, and London later this month!

Thankful for every day here, for what I've done so far, and for the adventures to come.


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