My Rome Journey: Part Three

I began blogging about my recent journey to Rome for the Church Up Close conference for Catholic journalists. Part one is here and part two is here in case you haven't had a chance to read them.

I left off where I was taking a little rest in the homeless shelter, graciously allowed by the MC sisters in Rome.

 I got up from a very short rest, straightened up the bedspread on the bed and made my way over to the chapel to prepare for Mass.

The chapel was beautifully decorated for Mother's feast day. How comforting it felt to be there in that holy and loving place. Time stood still for me at Mass. God was blessing me, I had no doubt. I spoke to Him about all of His blessings for me and asked for a place to stay that night until I could get the keys the following day to where I was supposed to be staying.

The Mother Superior told me that a family she knew (who didn't speak English) would take me right after this Mass over to the other convent across town where the 7:00 PM Mass would be held. I had previously got word to my friend Mary while still in the U. S. (who was going to the Church Up Close conference as well) about the 7:00 PM Mass and hoped that she may be able to attend too.

After the Mass, another sister whom I met last year gave me a big hug outside the chapel. Feeling so filled with grace after the Mass, it was extraordinary to hear her words to me. She said something like,

"Donna-Marie! Mother Teresa brought you here to us this day - her feast day! She wanted you to be in our shelter and feel these feelings!"

It was as if she read my mind and heard my heart! I felt that her words to me were such an amazing confirmation about my earlier conversation with our Lord! God is so good. I was extremely thankful for His loving care and was so happy and humbled that He allowed me to experience all of this on dear Mother's feast day.

I talked a bit with sister there outside the chapel and then went to get my luggage and give more of my books to the Mother Superior. Then, it was off with the generous family who drove me across town to the other convent. It was there in the monastery next door that I was told I'd stay for the night.

Upon arriving to the big church next to the convent, I had to get my HUGE suitcase up the many stairs that led to the church. The kind gentleman who drove me assisted me. I felt that I needed to constantly apologize for my heavy suitcase. When you're an author, you bring your books to give away, and books are heavy! They didn't understand a word I said which made it all the more embarrassing.

I went over to the convent to see if I could let Sister S. know I had arrived. But, I was told that she wasn't there yet. She was over at Mother Teresa's exhibit. As I headed over for Mass, I turned a corner and there was the Cardinal coming towards me, reaching out his hand. I took it and kissed his ring. God was blessing me again!

I made my way into the huge crowd to find a seat for Mass. Droves of MC sisters filled the church along with the laity. Many of the sisters humbly sat in the back over to the side and on the floor. I squeezed through some people with my lap top computer case hanging on one shoulder and my purse on the other and managed to get a seat a couple of rows from the back of the packed church.

"Wow, two Masses on Mother's feast day - God is good!" I thought. The music started and Mass was beginning. I bowed my head in prayer and then just moments later felt someone tapping on my shoulder from behind. I turned to face a MC nun.

"Donna, it's me, Sister S., please come with me." She took me by the hand and led me through the crowd standing in the back of the church because she wanted to speak with me outside.

"Donna, where will you be staying tonight? We can't put you up here. It's a men's shelter," she explained. My heart sank and I felt that little tear well up in my eye again (exhaustion can do that to you).

"Oh, that's okay, Sister, I thought I was staying here but my friend Mary may be at this Mass and I'll see if I can arrange something or find a hotel." Sister said she'd be praying that Mary would be there. And I knew that it was getting later by the moment (and this would be a long holy Mass) and I wasn't sure where I would end up - would any hotels have vacancies?

I went back to my seat, set down my things and prayed. "Oh, Lord, what am I to do? But, thank you for bringing me to this holy place, I know You have a plan. I surrender everything over to You."

I felt our Lord tell me "I had no place to lay my head." I thanked Him profusely for allowing me to feel these feelings and to have the grace and really no other choice than to depend on Him.

To be continued...

Arriving in Rome on Mother Teresa's feast day: Part Two

Last night I began to recount my journey in a blog post regarding my recent trip to Rome where I attended the "Church Up Close" conference for Catholic journalists. I "happened" to arrive in Rome, Italy on Mother Teresa's feast day. Those of you who know me I'm sure realize that Mother's feast day is a big deal to me. Here's the first post in case you didn't read it.

So, there I was at the Missionaries of Charity convent, feeling quite exhausted as well as a bit awkward because of the way I showed up at the convent unannounced and with baggage, inquiring about a place to stay. I wasn't supposed to be there until later that evening to accompany the sisters to the feast day Mass at the other convent's church.

Earlier, the Mother Superior told me that the plans had changed and the sisters would not be going to the 7:00 PM Mass. She explained that there would be a 5:00 PM Mass for Mother Teresa's feast day right there at the convent's chapel and I was welcome to come.

"Great!" I thought. "I'll not only be able to get to Mass for my Sunday obligation, but I'll also be with the MC sisters on this beautiful feast day. God is so good to me!" Sister showed me where we'd store my suitcase for the time being and then ushered me to the the women's shelter and showed me a bed that wasn't being used. "You can rest on this bed," she told me.

Then, off to the dining room where I was given a plate of food. As I ate my meal, a young woman from the shelter came quietly into the room and sat right across from me at the table. She seemed very interested in watching me eat. I asked her if she'd like some of my food and she said, "Si."

So, I cut her pieces of my nectarine and handed her one at a time. She ate them right up and thanked me by nodding and smiling. I couldn't help but see Jesus in the young woman as she took each piece of fruit and asked me for more with her eyes. I was so thankful for God's grace on Mother's feast day - He was allowing me to experience this encounter of what Mother would describe as encountering "Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor."

I then felt inspired to take out a Miraculous medal from my purse and asked the woman if she'd like it. "Si," she replied. I helped her to put it onto her plastic heart necklace that adorned her neck. She seemed so happy to be wearing it. I asked her if I could snap her photo. She was delighted. After a while, she left the room to sit out in the courtyard with the other women who lived in the shelter.

My dinner "guest" wearing her new Miraculous medal

I didn't plan to nap or rest even though I was really very tired and sore. I knew I'd probably feel worse from the jet-lag after a nap and Mass would be coming up soon as well. I wanted to make a visit to the chapel and have a little time to be with Jesus to express my thanks for all of His blessings. So, after I cleaned up my dishes, I made my way over to the Blessed Sacrament. On the way, I passed the huge bronze statue of Mother Teresa that I had seen last year while in Rome, only this time she was adorned with a necklace of flowers for her feast day.




In the MC courtyard near the chapel






In the M C chapel on Mother's feast day


Later, Sister came and found me in the chapel and suggested that I rest. I did what I was told and laid down on the bed for about fifteen minutes or so, because it was already almost time for Mass to begin. I felt tremendous grace again, being given a unique experience to once again be in a women's shelter, lying on one of the beds.





My bed


I had once stayed in Harlem, NY at the MC's women's shelter when I was there for a long week end to help with the soup kitchen and participate in the prayer life of the sisters while also being guided by a retreat at the convent given by my spiritual director, Fr. John A. Hardon S. J. I recounted that Harlem shelter experience in my book: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship.

That Sunday in Rome, I was feeling a great gift from God, allowing me to be at the shelter and MC convent, all the while still feeling a bit "homeless." This part of my experience is very difficult for me to articulate. The combination of being allowed to feel "homeless" and cared for at the same time is a grace that filled me with joy and gratitude.

"Trust and surrrender" echoed in my heart...

To be continued...

The Church Up Close!

I'll be "up close" to the heart of the Church, which as we know is at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. I am very honored that I was recently chosen to participate in the "Church Up Close Program" for Catholic journalists which will cover "the Church in the age of Pope Benedict XVI."

From the program description: Combining class-room seminars, personal meetings, and on-site visits, the Seminar gives journalists an array of tools to strengthen their coverage: a basic sense of the lay of the land at the Vatican; a serious, in-depth analysis of specific hot-button issues confronting today’s Church; a personal introduction to some knowledgeable insiders and key players in Rome; a taste of the rich history and culture behind contemporary Church affairs; a chance to dialogue, in an ideal setting, with journalists from around the world, on the complex relationships between religion and the media.

With God's grace and my participation in this program, I'll be keeping you posted on what's happening in the Church! Pray for me please!

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Year of the Priest comes to a Close

At 10 a.m. on Friday 11 June, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Year for Priests will officially come to an end with a Eucharistic concelebration presided over by the Pope in St. Peter's Square. During the Mass the clergy will renew their vows and the Pope will proclaim the holy "Cure of Ars" as patron saint of all priests.

All the priests of the world have been invited to the meeting, which is being promoted by the Congregation for the Clergy and has as its theme: 'Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests'.

VATICAN CITY (VIS) - A world meeting of clergy will take place in Rome from 9 to 11 June to mark the end of the Year for Priests, called by Benedict XVI to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the holy "Cure of Ars".

All the priests of the world have been invited to the meeting, which is being promoted by the Congregation for the Clergy and has as its theme: "Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests".

The theme of the first day, 9 June, will be "Conversion and Mission". Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany, will preside at a meditation in the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, which will also be relayed to the basilica of St. John Lateran.

This will be followed by a period... Continued here.

My Rome pilgrimage

I've been telling you that I would post about my trip here and then I came back from Rome to four birthday celebrations - 3 of my kids' and mine too, as well as Thanksgiving to boot! Needless to say, I was very busy. Now, I will finally fill you in a bit.

Let's start at the beginning...



Teresa Tomeo and I were invited to an evangelization summit held in Rome near the Vatican. We both traveled on November 11th and arrived in Rome by separate flights on November 12th. I didn't sleep a wink on my flight because I was surrounded with very loud people who didn't think a night flight was for sleeping. In addition, I can never really get any sleep in a tight little spot anyway. Nevertheless, I was very excited that I would be meeting up with my dear friend Teresa at the airport. We found one another and our gracious driver, Alfredo, who then kindly took us to the apartment where we would be staying.



Here are the two of us - Lucy and Ethel as we are sometimes referred to. Don't look too close at me - this is after no sleep the night before on the plane and I mean zero sleep and then the journey to the apartment.

We were so glad to have the opportunity to be together and experience the upcoming summit together too. Is God good, or what? We felt incredibly blessed and thanked God right there on the spot. Alfredo did the honors of snapping the photo.



This is what we were greeted with when we walked into the very cute living room and dining room of our apartment - goodies for us, lovingly placed there by some sweet person. Cookies, flowers, fruit, wine - how wonderful! Rome, ahh, Rome sweet Rome! What a great start to an amazing trip!



Speaking of cookies...yep - they were delicious! Oh, that's right! Italian candies too!


After we took showers to try and wash away some of the sleepiness with hopes of getting some sort of second-wind, Teresa and I stepped out on the town! We looked all over and relished in the sheer beauty that we see in Rome. Oh, I must pause here and back up a bit to mention that when we got out of the car at our apartment when we first arrived, Teresa looked up at the blue sky and exclaimed out loud with her arms outstretched to the sky, something like, "The sky is even so much prettier in ROME!!!" And as soon as the words were out of her mouth, a voice coming from an apartment window above exclaimed, "Stai zitti!!!" That means, "Shut up!!" We laughed. "We're here!" we mused. "Watch out Rome!!"



First we walked up to a nearby church called St. Cecelia's As I posted a little earlier on this blog on the feast of St. Cecelia, "It was a very beautiful church and we spent some time there. I was most struck by a man who was pushing a broom, cleaning up the courtyard just outside the door. We stopped to talk with him and ask a few questions about St. Cecilia. I had remembered that I had read something about her recently and I wanted a find out more. The man stood there, leaning on his broom - his eyes gleaming as he told us the story he knew. We felt blessed to hear from this seemingly simple man who appeared to us to have a deep faith. The photo here is one I took of the altar in St. Cecilia's church. Her relics are below the altar." I couldn't wait to get to St. Peter's. That wouldn't be soon enough for me.




We came upon a neat little place that Teresa recognized from a previous trip, went in and enjoyed a glass of wine together.



Ah, dear friends together! What another glass of wine at another quaint little place? Well, we were just sipping, and lots of time had passed as we walked around, partly in a sleep deprived daze (at least I was) and partly just in awe of where we were, and we took it all in, thanking God all along the way.



We finally met up with our dear dear friend, Joan Lewis who is EWTN's News Bureau Chief for the Vatican. We sat down at a favorite restaurant and relished in one another's company. Yes, of course, we had to sip at another glass of that fine Italian wine and eat that scrumptious food cooked to perfection, mingled with amazing conversation and topped off with Limoncello. We remarked that if cameras were rolling or recording equipment, we could have had about 5 episodes worth of material based on the many wonderful things we shared about our faith and the Church!



Now, there's something funny about locks, keys and Lucy and me! It all started last year, almost 2 years ago, really in Rome. We seemed to have some trouble and that's why we nick-named ourselves Lucy and Ethel. Here's Teresa AKA Lucy attempting to turn the key in the lock to the outside door of our apartment for about the twentieth time. I was laughing so hard that I could hardly pull out my camera to document it! But, document, I did! I'm still recalling Alfredo's words of direction to us about the keys when we arrived - "this one turn this way and that one turn four times this way" - they are a bit tricky.




Up the stairs and another key for our inside door. We finally get in and can't wait to flop on beds that looked oh, so inviting after no sleep for what seemed like forever. But who cared? We were in Rome.



But, before bed, we had to get our clothes spiffy for our conference which we would be going to very bright and early in the morning. Don't you love the cute little kitchen?

We looked forward to having sweet dreams, thankful for our safe arrival, a wonderful time together and with dear Joan and all that was in store for us at the summit the following day with the great line up of speakers and people that we looked forward to meeting.

To be continued...

Just peeking...

I was just peeking at my friend, Joan Lewis's "Joan's Rome" blog and I happened to see that she mentioned me in the bottom of her post. Joan reports the news from the Vatican for EWTN. You can see it here.

A View from Rome...

Photo is taken at night from my friend, Joan Lewis's home. This amazing view is right outside Joan's dining room window!


Doing a little work at the computer at Joan's home; updating Face Book and writing emails to my family. What a great location, huh?




More photos and news soon...