Rome Sweet Rome

These next few posts are written in retrospect. As they days go by, I will attempt to catch-up on the happenings of the pilgrimage.

(Friday)

We touched down around about 2pm local time in Rome. The Broken Bay pilgrims and I stumbled off the plane and into the baggage claim train. We went to the baggage claim carousel and began to wait...and wait...and wait. Pretty soon we realised that the vast majority of pilgrims were missing their luggage. I theorised (and maintain) that our Italian baggage handlers had just declared a smoko, and dared not do anything that  might interfere with their break. About 15 minutes later (the typical duration of a respectable smoko), and after we had all fallen into confused dismay, our bags began to appear one after another.

 

 Fr. Stephen and I waiting for our bags after touch down.

With a mixture of tiredness and relief we boarded our coach and met our tour guide, Davor. I took a few minutes to soak in the surrounding Italian landscape. In all honesty, it looked quite similar to what might be seen in Australia, except for the lack of basic driving etiquette on the roads.

My first glimpse of Italy outside Rome. (Not a great photo)

After about 45 minutes drive we arrived at Hotel Palacavicchi in Ciampino, a short drive outside the city limits. Everyone, myself included, tried nobly to stay awake for a few hours in order to avoid an irregular sleep cycle...many failed. 

The clock struck 7pm, which meant the hotel restaurant opened their doors to the pilgrims. With a ravenous appetite we feasted on pizza, bruschetta, pasta, salad, and I got to have my first taste of Italian beer. A very welcome flavour.

Post-dinner conversation was very brief as each pilgrim escaped to their rooms to crash. There was night and there was morning, the first day.

Sam

P.s. A big update on the way.

A Short Sojourn

We touched down this morning at 6:30am in Abu Dhabi. The flight apparently took the full 14 hours, but for me it felt like 4. Almost immediately after my last post, I fell into a deep sleep. For me this is truly a blessing, given my previous track record of torturous long haul flights.

  The food court in Abu Dhabi airport!

It's just occurred to me that this was the first time I've been on an A380. Previously, I'd only ever flown on 747's. From the outside the A380 looks positively gargantuan. It really takes an act of faith in the ability of mankind to climb aboard such a monster and expect it to somehow hop you across the world. Apart from the aircraft itself, I'm extremely impressed with the level of service on the flight. The Etihad staff were very kind and courteous, the food passed for edible and the entertainment options were surprisingly good.  

 The view from my cabin window.

There's been a brief delay with our connecting flight to Rome which has given me the opportunity to deliver this quick update. Skimming over my pilgrim booklet, I've noticed that tomorrow is going to be a very full day. Apparently we're going to try and visit the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum - all before lunch! After that we will take a tour of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and finish with a visit to the Basilica of Santa Croce. Wow! I'm ashamed to say that my historical knowledge of these iconic sites is severely limited. So I've decided to try and use this next 6 hour flight to get all read up.

The book I've selected for this purpose is the first one I could find on the subject. It's called "A Catholic's Guide to Rome" written by Frank J. Korn. Apparently this guy has visited Rome over 50 times and has extensive historical knowledge of the sights contained therein. I look forward to gleaning some of his insights and claiming them as my own. ;)

Boarding time! See you in Rome.

Peace

Sam

In the Air Tonight

 

It's finally official, the pilgrimage has begun! My feet no longer rest on Australian soil, but are instead held suspended inside hundreds of tonnes of flying human genius. In the time it's taken me to settle down, eat a meal and watch The Jungle Book, we have flown 1900 miles and are passing right over Uluru (provided the computer read out isn't telling me curlies). 

According to my watch it's 12:15am Australian time, and I'm beginning to feel the tiredness set in. No sound can be heard except the occasional seat shuffler, some murmured conversations and the muted purr of the four enormous jet engines propelling us through the sky. The relative "silence" comes as a relief after today's non-stop rush. The lateness of my registration resulted in what I would call 'healthy levels of anxiety,' which gave me just the right amount of panic power to get packed in time. A mild form of terror seized me around midday when I realised I still had not received my plane tickets from the booking agency, but providence prevailed after a single phone call and the subsequent and satisfying chime of my inbox.

In about 13 hours our first stop will be Abu Dhabi, where we will barely have the time to gulp down a cup of coffee before boarding another plane to Rome. Let that sink in...

 The nerves are setting in.

I'm honestly trying to come to terms with the fact that I'll be in Italy tomorrow! In Rome; the city to which all roads eventually lead; the visible sign of Christ's Church on earth. The very same Church that I wish to give my life over to in service. And now I get to enter into Her throbbing heart, from where She pumps the life of my faith throughout our beautiful world. Thank you Lord for the gift of our Church.

I want to say more, truly I do. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And like apostles, I simply cannot stay awake another minute.

Peace

Sam 

Providence and Plane Tickets

The fog is clearing and I am beginning to see God's hand at work. As the clock counts down to take-off, it has become undeniable that the Lord is at work in my life. At 2:30pm today, I strolled into the diocesan head office to meet Kelly. She is in charge of youth ministry for Broken Bay, and when it comes to WYD, she is the expert. Kelly very kindly provided me with all the information and equipment I needed to survive the fast approaching pilgrimage. Towards the end of the meeting, a smile spread across her face when I asked: "So before I go...which flight am I on?" I think this question summarised for both of us, just how quickly this had all come about for me. 

For the last few days I've been contemplating how all of this is even possible. Past experience of WYD's tells me that registration, flights and forms have to be organised several months in advance. When I inquired about this, Kelly confirmed my suspicions. She said: "God must really want you on this pilgrimage, because everything just happened so easily." This may sound like simple luck, but I remember attempting to work on the administration end of WYD back in 2011 when I led a small youth group of 10. "Easy" is not the word I would use to describe the rigmarole that surrounds a WYD pilgrimage. So I tip my hat to Kelly, and all the foot soldiers back in HQ who have helped make all this possible.

 

Oh, I forgot to tell you the answer to my own question: "When is my flight?" I fly out tomorrow evening around 9pm local time. All that needs doing between now and then is the game of Tetris with my suitcase. Currently, I'm losing.

 

Peace and blessings.

Sam.

Viaticum (Food for the Journey)

Last night I had the opportunity to spend some time with my first-year brothers and Fr B. at the seminary. We prayed Vespers (Evening Prayer) together and settled down to watch an episode of one of my favourite ever TV series: Sherlock. And if there are any other fans of the franchise out there, make yourself known to me, because you’re exactly the kind of person I’d love to befriend. To top it all off we enjoyed a nightcap of delicious smoky scotch. Unfortunately, the pleasure was short lived, as I was kept awake most of the night with persistent stomach cramps. I’m still undecided whether to blame the scotch or my nervous excitement for the upcoming journey.

 This morning after Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Mass, Fr B. took us all out for breakfast, and bade us farewell as we embark on the second half of this extended holiday break. He was also kind enough to give my brother Ben and I a special pilgrim’s blessing to prepare us for our travels.

I’m now sitting back in my seminary room, waiting for my clothes to dry outside. I hope to get back home with enough time to say goodbye to my family and friends before I leave. I say “hope” because I’m still totally unaware of when I leave. I sense it must either be tomorrow night (Thursday) or Friday sometime. All will be revealed at 2:30pm today when I pick up my pilgrim pack from the diocesan head office; which will include my plane tickets and the like. I’m usually a very organised person, depending heavily on my own preparation. Being in such a last-minute rush is certainly unnerving, but also carries with it a romantic sense of self abandonment to God’s providence. “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself…” saith the Lord (Mt 6:34).

My challenge now is to work out God’s will in all of this. What is it that I am being called to do? As Fr B. made clear to me, I have a new state of life now. I am a seminarian, and must bear witness as such. My own hope is that this pilgrimage might offer an opportunity to meet other young men in the diocese who may have a calling to this amazing vocation. What better time to go out into the harvest than when the soil is rich in God’s grace? WYD is notorious for its power to predispose young people to the quiet voice of God in their hearts. After all, that is precisely what happened to me...

Getting Serious!

Today is another step closer to flying out.  I have quite seriously spent the most part of yesterday and today scrambling to organise myself in preparation for my imminent departure. I've managed to scrape together travel insurance and money cards, get immune boosters, cut my hair and set-up my phone for global roaming. Mostly, I've been receiving and shooting off emails in a desperate panic to coordinate the last minute booking arrangements with the pilgrimage agency. Fortunately for me, I've had the aid of professionals in the diocesan head office who have contingency plans already in place to accommodate stragglers like me.

I've tried my best to get on top of things, but it doesn't stop the odd obstacle from jumping up. While trying to gather my possessions for packing, I found my sleeping bag stuffed in a corner cupboard, while its carry case had evidently decided to cease dwelling in the realm of existence. Thinking quick, I just tore the bag off an old folding camp chair and chopped it in half...solved! Then I remembered that the Bishop told me I would be serving Mass during our travels, but as a first year seminarian, I haven't even been fitted for, let alone own a soutane. But divine providence struck again as I was gifted with a perfectly fitted cassock left behind by a fourth year brother who recently left to study in Rome. Let me once again quote Isaiah (out of context):

And it shall be said, "... prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way." Isaiah 57:14

Amidst the storm of preparations, I arrived back at the seminary last night for a mid-holiday debriefing and catch up with our first-year director Fr. B; who generously took us "first-years" out to dinner, where we dined on selection of Thai cuisine. After plenty of sleep, we awoke and attended Mass at the seminary for the first time in over three weeks. It felt great to be home again.

About mid-morning I had my own meeting with Fr B. where we discussed the events of my holidays and how I was managing alone and away from the familiar structure of the seminary. After delivering my own verbal reel of highlights, Fr B. proceeded to give me pointers on how I might approach the pilgrimage so as to not completely wreck myself leading up to second semester of first year. His advice, like always, was very practical. "Stay hydrated, eat well, get plenty of rest and avoid overstepping your bounds... Stick to your spiritual routine, but don't panic if obstacles crop up. Learn to 'adapt and prosper at all times'... Most of all, don't forget you are a seminarian now; so act like one." All of this I have recorded, so anyone reading this might scrutinise my level of success based on future posts. I wonder if that's a good idea?

This may come as a surprise, but I am still totally unaware of which plane I will be catching and when. I will be meeting with the diocesan coordinators tomorrow in order to pick up the pilgrim pack containing all I need to know, and to receive the most late-notice pilgrimage briefing of all time. As I write these words I can literally feel the excitement rising in my chest. This is really happening! God is good!

Stay tuned and please pray for me.
Sam.

The Good News

"As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I came upon a certain place with a den, and lay down to sleep. I fell asleep and dreamed..." 

- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress.

Well, at least this all feels like a dream...

My name is Sam French, and I am a Catholic seminarian for the Diocese of Broken Bay in Australia. The reason I write this blog is because I've suddenly found myself in what I would describe as an equally wonderful and unexpected set of circumstances. I am going to start this blog today with the focus on the events that have transpired in the last few days, and then from there we can simultaneously work our way forwards and back through the piles of my biographical data.

As I mentioned above, I am a seminarian, and have only been thus for roughly six months now. It's a path I chose to take sometime early last year (2015), and so far, it has been the best decision I have ever made. I almost cannot wait to relate to you all the joys of following a priestly vocation...but I will.

These last couple of weeks, I have been on my first extended break since joining the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in January this year. For the last few months my life has been one of rigorous routine and intense formational experience. The seminary entails a structured spiritual life including communal prayer three times a day (Lauds, Vespers & Compline), daily Mass, an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, with the constant opportunity for spiritual direction and confession. Interspersed throughout these days is the intellectual and human formation which comes in the form of systematic study of the Catechism, a course on Christian Spirituality, a course on the passions and affective maturity, and the study of relevant Papal documents such as Mulieris Dignitatem and Pastores Dabo Vobis (all of this I will explain in detail later). Throughout this holiday break, it is expected of us (me and my six 1st year brothers) to maintain a prayerful structure to our days, albeit to a lesser degree. This goal can often be challenging outside the walls of the seminary, but it is certainly not impossible, especially now that I've come to realise my life without prayer is hardly a life at all.

Blessed with this marvellous holiday break, I've been earnestly praying that God will use these this time as an opportunity to draw me closer to Him. Since the holidays have begun, I've been actively searching out ways that this might be made possible. For whatever reason, my mind found itself hooked on the idea of a pilgrimage. I have always loved the notion of pilgrimages; a person going on a physical journey that represents and empowers their inner spiritual movement towards God. It fits so perfectly with the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church.

My first thought was to gather some friends and carpool it down to Melbourne. Which I thought would provide great opportunity to visit the the shrine of Saint Thérèse at the Carmelite Monastery, or the shrine of Saint Anthony in Hawthorn, or St Patrick's Cathedral. Unfortunately, the conflicting work schedules and alternate travel plans of my friends ruled this idea out.

Then it so happened, seemingly out of the blue, on Saturday 9th July I received a call from my Bishop asking me if I wished to come with him and the diocese on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Poland via Italy next week! Dumbfounded and buzzing with excitement I tried my level best to keep some sense of dignity on my end of the phoneline. Bishop Peter said: "don't say yes now, pray about it over the weekend and let me know on Monday."

Of course my instinct, like any sane individual, when given such a wonderful opportunity is to answer in the affirmative. But bound by holy obedience and the murmurings of my own moral conscience I knew I had to take this one to prayer and see what God was up to. First, I invoked the intercession of Our Lady and prayed a rosary of intention. I then meditated on the pro's and con's of the situation. On the one hand, it would be an amazing opportunity to meet new people, to grow spiritually, to see the world, to steep myself in the history and traditions of the Church I so dearly love. But it would also mean missing a good opportunity to be with my family, postponing a number of catch-ups with close friends, and run the risk of exhausting myself to depletion in the face of the upcoming semester. Each of these legitimate concerns I held up to Our Lord. But one-by-one they melted away like wax. If the prevailing sense of peace was not enough to convince me, I flicked open the Bible to Isaiah and read:

"you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off'; fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Isa 41:9-10

Boom! That was the gunshot I needed to hear to know the race was on. Perhaps I'm taking this passage of Scripture wildly out of context, but when you stumble across something like that in prayer, you know something's going on up there.

And so, this morning when I received a call from Bishop Peter as promised, I told him with a heart full of joy that I will accept his offer and go on this unexpected journey across the seas. I honestly cannot believe the gifts that the Lord has given me.

Now that the gears are set in motion, I must conclude this post. For there is so much to do and so very little time to do it. I bid you farewell for now, but I promise to write again soon and keep you updated as to this pilgrim's progress.

Peace
Sam