Our Last Christmas in Rome

I still can't get used to having Christmas in Winter, in the middle of a school-year. As a result, it really comes around very unexpectedly. Back home I would have been selling nativity sets and snow domes at the bookshop for the last couple of months. I would have seen decorations in the shops since September. And we would be anticipating our Summer holiday.

It's very different here. I feel like we just got back from mission in Belgium, and all of a sudden it's Christmas.

       

On the 24th December we went to the Centro San Lorenzo (Youth Centre) for the first of the four Christmas Masses. After the Vigil Mass we went downstairs for dinner before heading to St Peter's Square to sing Christmas Carols. Some of the students lined up to attend the Papal Mass, even though they didn't have tickets - they got in!  The rest of us went back to the Domus for midnight Mass. Then we stayed up for a couple of hours to have drinkies.

Kev and I stayed at the Domus because it isn't worth going home for only a few hours. I got up again for the Dawn Mass. Then I telephoned home and spoke with my lovely family.That was definitely a highlight! After that Kev and I had a quick breaky and went back to the Centro for morning Praise, followed by Mass!!!!  (It's only once a year, and each of the Masses is different). 

Then we ran to St Peter's Square for Urbi et Orbi (the Pope's message to the world) and a blessing. He gave a short greeting in about 65 languages...what a clever Papa.

 Pope Benedict XVI - the little white speck on the balcony

We went back to the Domus for lunch. On a shelf in the dining room, there was a sock for each person which was filled with lollies and home-made rocky road. There was one for Kev and me, "Mum and Dad". Ours also had tim-tams in it. We have such generous and creative students.

 Christmas sock

 Our Little Angels

I had a little sleep to prepare me for Christmas dinner. The students cooked two massive turkeys. It was ace. We also had heaps of veges and wine and dessert. It was ace.

 Louisa, some students and a turkey 

 Kev and Hele

This was followed by entertainment. Our two Aussie students asked us to join them in singing, "Six White Boomers" and an Aussie version of Jingle Bells. I think it fit in nicely with all the other traditional and classy acts.

We were treated by a visit from Santa Claus and one of his elves. He did a great job considering we couldn't find the outfit - he wore red pants, a ladies red coat, a wig on his head and another wig on his chin, and a red WYD hat. Santa gave out our presents. (At the beginning of Advent, we took a name out of a hat. We prayed for this person each day, and then bought a Christmas present for them. That meant we only had to buy one present).

Funny little Elf and Funny Santa

The festivities continued until late. Then I rolled downstairs to bed and slept and slept and slept.

Most of the students have left for their holidays - and we can rest.

Mission in Belgium

Last week we went on our first parish mission with the new group of students. We went to Diest which is a small city (town) in the Flemish part of Belgium. I organised the mission with Leen - ten years after we did the ESM together. 

The parish were very welcoming, especially the priest Fr Felix. The weather was not so welcoming - the temperature ranged from about -4 degrees to 4 degrees. I managed to make it all the way through the 1980s without buying leg-warmers, but then caved in in 2012!  

Mission Team

Leen and I were visited a few times by Lili, who also did the School with us. She is living in Belgium at the moment so she joined us for a couple of days. For some reason, now that Lili is living in a French community her English as improved. She is so much funnier than I ever realised. In fact she has quite an Aussie sense of humour....constantly teasing! I told her I liked her better when she couldn't speak English. It was so good to see her.

Leen, Lili and Hele

The mission was really great. We held a few events in a theatre/bar, did street evangelisation, sang Christmas Carols at the shops, visited homes, and had different times of prayer in the church. 

Tasting the local beer

Singing Christmas Carols

No, we were not directing traffic or doing road-works. We wore these lovely fluoro vests instead of mission t-shirts. The theme of the mission was written on the back: "He is Coming!" (Jesus...coz it's Advent)

Speaking with people on the street 

- I had just given her a piece of paper with words of Scripture -

 Each night we were fed by people from the parish. It aint easy cooking for 30+ hungry little missionaries. They did a great job!

Yummy Dinner

Diest is home to St Jan Berchmans. Each day we prayed at his Shrine - the home of his birth and also the place where he is buried. You will notice that Leen and another lady are in the first photo. But can you see who is in the second photo....?  Look closely. Can you see Kev?

Chapel of St Jan Berchmans

Look at the window! I assure you that this is a genuine photo - no photoshop. The second photo is a model replica of the chapel. We had a lot of fun with this!!

On the last day, we had a celebration with the parish and the local Emmanuel Community. Then we had to say our farewells and head back to Rome.

Leen, Hele, Lili and Kev 

 Kev and Peter

Peter (in charge of the Emmanuel Community in Flanders) gave Kev and me a gift for organising the mission with him - a box with beer and beer glasses. He presented it to us in front of everybody. He said that he got us something that we would not be allowed to bring on the plane, so he would help us drink it straight away. He also said that he wanted the glasses back!!!

Assisi again

Last weekend we went to Assisi with the ESM for the National Emmanuel Community Retreat. We caught the train on Friday afternoon and arrived with plenty of time to settle into our accommodation (next to the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels).

It was a lovely weekend, with lots of time to pray and to catch up with friends from Milan, Florence and Naples. There was also great food, and because we are in Italy, wine with every meal!

The retreat ended with lunch on Sunday. Then we had to bolt to the station to catch our train back to Rome.

ESM in front of St Mary of the Angels

Belgium - Mission Preparation

Last Saturday I got up super-early to go to Belgium for mission preparation. I was met at the airport by my dear friend Leen, who did the ESM with me many years ago. She is one of the coordinators of the mission that we will do in three weeks.

We went straight to the Emmanuel Community Seminary in Brussels for Mass. Then stayed for lunch as special guests for Fr Mark's birthday. It was crazy-fun, because not only is he hilarious, but so were the others at our table - Jill Ann and Kit. I was the only sane person there!

Jill Ann, Fr Mark, Hele, Leen, Kit

Then we drove for quite a while to get to Peter's house for another meeting. (He is the other mission coordinator). We spent a few hours planning the mission together. After a quick dinner we drove for an hour and a half to the city of Diest where the mission will take place. We met with the parish priest and he showed us around the city. We visited most of the locations where mission events will take place. I was pretty tired by this stage, and ready for the journey home. But the priest had one last place to show us - the pub. So I was convinceed to try the local beer...twice. We got to sleep pretty late, but it was a great night.

Peter, Florence, Fr Marc, Hele

Then next day we drove to Leuven, which is a university town. We met with an American priest there who will welcome us all for two days during the mission. We will have some different events aimed at young students during the mission. After a delicious lunch (and more beer) the priest drove me to the airport for my flight back to Rome.

I went straight back to the ESM to participate in the last part of the French Cultural evening.  Needless to say, I was a bit sleepy by the end of it all.

Donna and the Concert

It would be putting it mildly to say that we don't get out much. I know we seem to be gallivanting around Europe, but when we are in Rome, our social life is not very....full. So I am very proud to say that we went to a concert the other night.

It all began about four years ago. When we heard that we would be living in Italy, Donna lent us a CD of an Italian pop singer (Cesare Cremonini). I really really liked it. Kev tolerated it without too much complaining. So, just before we left Australia, I asked Donna if she would come and visit us if Cesare were to give a concert in Rome. Donna doesn't remember anything about this, but I can assure you that she said yes.

A few months ago, I found that he was touring Italy. Needless to say, I invited Donna to come with me. I am extremely happy to say that, after initially saying no...not possible....that's crazy....she said yes!!!!

So last Tuesday, Kev, Donna, Lou and Alvise (my Italian teacher - also a fan) went to the concert. We were pleased to find that we weren't the only old people. Thankfully most of the people were young teenagers though which meant that they were quite short. So we could easily see over their heads and get a good view of the stage.

The concert was fantastic. Cesare is a good singer, pianist and performer. But the best thing about the whole night was watching Donna get into it. She was quite excited!

 Donna, modelling her new t-shrit. I believe that her husband is very pleased about the purchase!

Hele and Donna having a great time! 

Kev, unable to hide his excitement 

Cesare Cremonini 

The concert lasted two and half hours. It was so much fun. In Australia, it would be common to see a hot-dog stand outside the venue. In Italy, it was a guy selling doughnuts!

Typical after-concert snack.

We were very thankful to Alvise for driving us home afterwards, because the concert finished after the last train. We all had a great time. Even Kev liked it, although he said if would have been better if we were sitting down. I quite agree.I'll say it again, we are no spring chickens!

Donna and the Walk

We were so happy to welcome Donna to Rome for a week.

Fr Rafael and I met her at the airport last Friday. The two of them did the ESM together fourteen years ago. It was the first year of the ESM in Rome.

After having a bit of tea and cake together and our apartment, we went to  pray the Rosary on St Peter's Square. (see top-right of this blog). Then she joined us for the rest of the usual Friday programme. Luckily jetlag was not really a problem so she managed to stay up until after dinner.


The next morning we met the ESM at St Peter's for the annual Pilgrimage of the Seven Churches. It began with Mass in front of the tomb of St Peter at 7:00am.

Church 1 - St Peter's Basilica

Church 2 - St Paul's Outside the Walls

Way of the Seven Churches 

(we knew we were on the right track!)

Church 3 - St Sebastian

Church 4 - St John Lateran

Stripey girls - Petra, Donna and Anne

 Church 5 - Holy Cross

Church 6 - St Lawrence

Church 7 - Santa Maria Maggiore

The whole thing took twelve hours. It was really wonderful. But we are no spring chickens so we were exhausted. Kev and I took a taxi with Donna and Lou to a restaurant near our place for yummy dinner. Then we hobbled home to bed.

Valencia

We were invited to give a presentation of the ESM at the Congress for the New Evangelisation in Valencia. The Congress was organised by the Bishops Conference of Spain, specifically for the youth apostolate.

We arrived on Thursday morning. While we were waiting at the airport for someone to collect us, we met up with a group of Italian girls who were also coming for the Congress. They recognised us from a WYD meeting in Rome earlier in the year. After waiting at the airport for a long time, we decided to catch public transport into the city...we were staying at the same place.

 Kev and the girls from the Jeunesse Lumiere Community

Kev and I, and many of the participants for the Congress were staying at the youth hostel. This brought back memories....noise, noise, noise...all night. But it was fun. At least we had our own room!

We met up with Miguel. He is a Spanish guy who did the ESM some years ago. After registering for the Congress, we planned to go over the presentation together but ended up having beer and tapas instead. Then we headed off to the opening of the Congress. It finished quite late so we decided to call it a night.

We gave our presentation the next day. We think it went quite well. (We have already received an email from one of the participants, wanting to apply for the School next year). It was a relief to have it finished because then we could just enjoy the rest of the events. It was fun hanging out with Miguel because, well, he is mad.

 Hele, Kev and Miguel in Valencia

We just love Valencia. It is really pretty. We loved wandering around the shops and eating and drinking...in moderation, or course.

 Piazza, Cathedral, and Basilica

Lots of fancy buildings

We really got into the tapas (various appetisers). Most nights we went to a tapas bar and tried out lots of different yummy stuff. They had cute little mini hamburgers.

Wine and tapas

We went to a restaurant for lunch on the last day. It was a 15 euro menu and it was superb  We had a delicious homemade ravioli for the first course. It was the best that I have ever had. Then I had stuffed capsicum for my main. The presentation was delightful and it tasted great. Kev had a slab of steak. It was a very exciting experience. We had wine, coffee and dessert. What a bargain!

 Yummy yummy yummy

It was a pretty busy five days but we really enjoyed it. We had to leave the hostel at 5:30am on Monday morning to get our flight back to Rome. We are starting to feel quite old and tired these days.

Wedding in Paris

Kev and I went to Paris on the morning of Saturday 27th October for another wedding. We knew both the bride and the groom. Marie was a student at the ESM during the year that we arrived in Rome, and Louis used to be the youth leader for the U.K.

We left Rome really early. Once we arrived in Paris, we caught some trains that got us to the church just as Marie was about to walk down the aisle. The wedding was really lovely.

Marie and Louis

After the wedding we said hello to some friends outside the church. We noticed that one guy was holding car keys so we gave him the honour of driving us to the reception. This was just as well, because we didn't realise how far it was - it was in the country.

We caught up with many of the other ESM students who were in the same year group as Marie. The reception was great. Many things were different to the traditional Aussie reception. Instead of having an M.C. announce the bride and groom, music starts blaring through the room and everyone waves their serviette in the air cheering.

David, Basia, Raphael, Fr Benoit, Kev, Jess

Hele and Kev

Hele, Kev, Kit, Hannelore...being normal

The gang

We got pretty tired as we had been up since very early. We hadn't worked out where we were staying for the night, but hoped that someone had taken care of it for us. We spoke with Louis' mum who said there was a room for us in one of the houses on the same premises. So we snuck away at about 1:00am and went to sleep. We couldn't really see anything as it was pitch black. The next morning we noticed what a great place it was.

Our accommodation

Louis' mum and dad came at 8:00am to bring breakfast for us and all the other people who were staying in the house. They also kindly drove us to the train station back in Paris. From there we went to the airport and flew back to Rome in time for Mass at St Peter's. Twas a great weekend.

Lithuania

I went to Lithuania for a four days last week. Kristina was there to meet me at the airport. I was very blessed with beautiful weather, although it was a bit chilly. This was fine though because I had expected it to be freezing. Firstly, Kristina showed me where I would be staying for the night. It was in a |Jesuit Monastery....very nice indeed.

Kristina and Caterina infront of the Jesuit Monastery

I dropped my bag off, and then we had a walking tour of the city of Vilnius. It is so lovely. We went to lunch at a local restaurant - I had 'cepelinai' or 'zeppelin dumplings'...very nice. After that we had a meeting at Kristina's work to prepare for a mission which we will do next year. This lasted a few hours. Then Mass (in Lithuanian) and dinner and the walking tour continued.

The next day we did more mission preparation. We visited schools and universities and lots of churches and cafes.

Then in the afternoon we headed off to a retreat centre in the countryside. The retreat was for people who might be interested in the Emmanuel Community, as there are only two members in Lithuania . It was a lovely weekend.

Beautiful place for a retreat

The weekend finished on Sunday. I got a taxi to the airport and then headed back to Rome. After travelling for 6 hours it was nice to get back to the apartment.

New Year - of Faith

We started another ESM year with a new group of students. As usual, we began on October 1st with a pilgrimage to Assisi. It was a great week. The students are lovely and so is the Team! We were also blessed to have two priests accompany us.

ESM 2012 - 2013

One morning we had our morning prayer at a little spot which looks over the basilica. We were singing joyful songs of praise, and we must have sounded pretty good. A television crew from Italy's history channel heard us and asked if they could do a story on us. So they filmed us praying and then interviewed us. Originally they were there to do a story on the Conference that was taking place, with a dialogue between 'believers and non-believers'. It will air on October 24th.

The programme was pretty-much the same as previous years - we visited significant sites, we prayed, we gave talks, we ate, and we had fun. One day we went to the Church of San Damiano which is where St Francis received the message from Jesus to rebuild His Church. It was a nice little walk to prepare us for what was to come later in the week....

Kev - donning his new hat

Each year we ask the students to put on a theatre night - the only criteria is that each act be related to St Francis or St Claire, and that they make us laugh. Well, did we laugh. They were hilarious. One of the highlights was, "St Francis - the musical". It was fantastic. In past years, the Team has been put on the spot because we haven't planned anything, but the students insist that we also do something. This has resulted in some terrible improvisations. This year we put our heads together for half an hour before the show, and the result was some terrible improvisations. Oh well, at least people laughed.

The next day we trekked up the hill (or mountain) to visit the 'Carceri'. This is an isolated place where St Francis used to go to pray, where he could be alone with God. It was a lovely walk, but almost too much for this old bird. By the time we got to the top, it was worth the effort because it is such a magnificent place. After wandering around for a bit, we had Mass at the outdoor altar.

Mass at Carceri (little prisons)

Just before heading back to Rome, we went to the Basilica of Mary of the Angels. The basilica was built on a site where St Francis used to pray. It is also where he died. We had Mass in a side chapel where he used to shed tears for his sins. It is called 'the chapel of tears'.

 Fr Fabian and Fr Rafael (not shedding tears)

On October 11th we went to Mass at St Peter's Square to celebrate the Year of Faith, which will finish in November next year. It was great for our students to be at a Papal Mass, and even better because two of them had been chosen to meet the Pope. Anna from Australia and Robert from the U.S.A. were given a message from the Pope, as representatives of the youth of the world. Here is an article about it from Zenit.

ESM students

 Pope Benedict XVI

Hele, Kristina, Kev

The following day we were the first group to lead a Rosary in St Peter's Square, as part of a daily Rosary for the Year of Faith. Check it out: Rosary in St Peter's Square

Now we are full-swing into the year. It is already very very busy...but we are managing to have fun!