St. Francis

Today we are in Assisi. This morning we celebrated mass in the Church of St. Francis. After mass they gave us a tour of the church which includes his tomb...very impressive.

I will try and post tonight. The wifi is not working in my hotel so it makes it a bit of a challenge!

Ciao!

Eucharistic Miracle of Siena

August 14, 1730, thieves entered the Church of St. Francis picked the lock to the tabernacle and carried away the golden ciborium containing consecrated Hosts.
The theft went undiscovered until the next morning, when the priest opened the tabernacle at the Communion of the Mass. Then later, when a parishioner found the lid of the ciborium lying in the street, the suspicion of sacrilege was confirmed. The Archbishop ordered public prayers of reparation.
Two days later, on August 17, while praying in the Church of St. Mary of Provenzano, a priest's attention was directed to something white protruding from the offering box attached to his prie dieu. Realizing that it was a Host, he informed the other priests of the church, who in turn notified the Archbishop and the friars of the Church of St. Francis.
When the offering box was opened, in the presence of local priests and the representative of the Archbishop, a large number of Hosts were found, some of them suspended by cobwebs. The Hosts were compared with some unconsecrated ones used in the Church of St. Francis, and proved to be exactly the same size and to have the same mark of the irons upon which they were baked. The number of Hosts corresponded exactly to the number the Franciscan friars had estimated were in the ciborium -- 348 whole Hosts and six halves.
Since the offering box was opened but once a year, the Hosts were covered with the dust and debris that had collected there. After being carefully cleaned by the priests, they were enclosed in a ciborium and placed inside the tabernacle of the main altar of the Church of St. Mary. The following day, in the company of a great gathering of townspeople, Archbishop Alessandro Zondadari carried the Sacred Hosts in solemn procession back to the Church of St. Francis.

During the two centuries that followed it has sometimes been wondered why the Hosts were not consumed by a priest during Mass, which would have been the ordinary procedure in such a case.

To the amazement of the clergy, the Hosts did not deteriorate, but remained fresh and even retained a pleasant scent. With the passage of time the Conventual Franciscans became convinced that they were witnessing a continuing miracle of preservation.
By this miracle the Hosts have remained whole and shiny, and have maintained the characteristic scent of unleavened bread. Since they are in such a perfect state of conservation, maintaining the appearances of bread, the Catholic Church assures us that although they were consecrated in the year 1730, these Eucharistic Hosts are still really and truly the Body of Christ. The miraculous Hosts have been cherished and venerated in the Basilica of St. Francis in Sienna for over 250 years.

I can not begin to express what I felt celebrating mass and also being able to bless the people with the miracle.

I never imagined that they would allow me to pick up the miracle. I was so nervous and overwhelmed. I kissed it and then placed it back in its place. I could not believe what had just happened. What a blessing! One of the greatest gift of my priesthood to date!!!

Assisi

Just arrived in Assisi after a very long day.

I wont be able to post pictures due to the fact that the wifi in the hotel is down. The Fransican Frair at the front desk was kind enought to allow me to use the front desk computer t0 post this for you guys.

I have so much to tell you all! We were in Siena all day and you wont believe all that I have to share...and the pictures!

I pray all is well. I hope to post tomorrow.

God Bless!

Baby Marcelo Update

Baby Marcelo is finally home and doing GREAT!  I got a comment post from mom and Abuela and he is doing fantastic.  Thanks to so many people who have prayed for this baby.  God has big plans for this kid... he truly is a miracle baby!   

Congrats Cristina and Ramon.

more pics from today...

Its Sister Amanda's birthday.  We celebrated with a surprise cake.

Happy Birthday Sister! 
*another pic of me at the St. Augustine's tomb.  

St. Augustine

Hi All! 

Just got back to the hotel after another great day in Italia.  We spent the day in Pavia.  A very nice town...

One of the things that struck me the most is how in this small out of the way town...in a relatively small Basilica, you find the remain of one of the greatest doctors of our Church!!! 

After studying so many years in the seminary and especially studying the works and writings of St. Augustine... it was such an overwhelming feeling to be in the presence of his remains- what a blessing!

(picture of me praying at the tomb of St. Augustine)

One of the beautiful things about this pilgrimage is the theme: "Family...be who you are" The trip is full of young families committed to the Catholic faith.  I see these kids and i am amazed at how much they know about the faith.  Since a very young age they have been around these incredible sisters.  

Good morning Pavia!

Awake, lyre and harp, with praise let us awake the dawn... Man is it cold! 

Pavia: Basilica of St. Peter in Ciel d'Oro
The original church dates back to the year 604 after Christ. The actual Basilica we see today dates to the twelfth century.  It was consecrated in 1132 by Pope Innocencio II.  It called Ciel d'Oro because of the gold colors on the ceiling.  

I'll post more about the visit later. 

Milan

Hi guys! 

Great to have so many comments.. i love them!

Happy Birthday Lyanne on this the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes!

What a beautiful trip thus far.  Just arrived at the

 hotel  after a very long day.  

We crossed over the snow covered Alps to get to Milan... absolutely spectacular! 

After arriving at the airport we headed to central Milan to the Cathedral- Il Duomo.  what an incredible place...they told us that this is the 2nd largest Cathedral with the capacity of 40,000 people... truly a site to see.

We had a great lunch at the galleria and then returned for the Holy Mass.  

It is absolutely freezing... when i was standing in line to go into the Cathedral i was thinking to myself... "oh good... let's go inside it will be warm"... yeah right! it was colder inside then out! I didn't have on all my layers... Tomorrow i will be ready for the cold.

The statue behind me is of Leonardo (not a ninja turtle or Dicaprio) ...Davinci. 

Standing in front of the Cathedral: Beatriz, Indigo, Me, Mother Adela, Sister Ana Margarita.  

Tomorrow we head to Pavia where the remains of St. Augustine are kept. 

(I promise to post more pics...)

Ciao

JFK

We just landed here in JFK New York at 3pm.  We took time to pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy...

Our plane leaves for Milan around 5pm.   

Ciao. 

PS> By the way, i love the comments... keep them coming! 

MIA Airport

Flight leaves to JFK at noon and then off to Milan, Italy.  

Pray for a successful trip! 

I'll post from NY. 

Day One

Hi everyone! Thanks for logging in... every day I hope to post new pics and comments about my whereabouts on the pilgrimage.  

Stay tuned!