Easter Morning at St. Peter's Square |
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A Grateful Pilgrim
I am sitting in St. Peter's Square! (Yes, in the Vatican.) I'm anxiously awaiting the
arrival of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Waiting for him to celebrate the Mass of
Easter Morning, a pinnacle moment of this Holy Year, 2000 AD. I'm waiting; I'm praying,
and, yes, I'm writing (I did come three hours early).
I'm also asking myself, how did I get here for this momentous point in history, momentous,
not only for me, but for the Holy Father and for the Church? Who do I thank? I'm feeling
a palpable sense of gratitude, yet, I'm not sure to whom I'm grateful. As I ask myself
this, I can't help remembering the feelings of this past week as well. A week with many
spiritual high points coming one after another. My wife, Jody, and I, and our group, have
already seen the Holy Father four times in the past eight days, three times during Holy
Week Liturgies. Now, as we prepare to celebrate the Risen Christ, Our Lord's Passion is
still very fresh in our minds. The spiritually-emotional liturgies of Palm Sunday, Holy
Thursday's Chrism Mass and Good Friday's Veneration of the Cross were singularly capable
of altering the course of our spiritual lives. Each liturgy was powerful and brought
tears to my eyes and to my wife's eyes. Yet, there was more, so much more.
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Church Grandeur |
Individually, and as a member of a CYO group from St. Anthony's in Cody, we visited many
churches in Rome. To visit a church in Rome was beyond our usual experiences and
expectations. From the magnificent Basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Paul's outside
the walls, to apparently small neighborhood churches, we were always surprised by the
interior grandeur as we entered their old doors. From the largest to the smallest, each
church was ornate and beautiful. We couldn't find an unadorned niche or an unpainted
ceiling. To look heavenward was always a surprise, for each ceiling was a painted or
gilded glimpse into salvation history or into heaven.
Each church had many altars, relics, tombs and monuments, and so many confessionals. St.
Peter's itself had enough confessionals to occupy every priest in the Diocese of Cheyenne,
providing they could speak Italian.
We visited the Vatican Museums, actually one tenth of them. The surprising fact was
that the museums' buildings themselves were the greatest museums. The ceilings and
walls were themselves greater works of art than I could have imagined, each telling a
part of the history of Christianity. I believe the most lucrative business in the 16th
and 17th centuries would have been scaffold-renting and selling artists' supplies.
We ended up in the Sistine Chapel with its magnificent works by Michelangelo. Whereas
the painted ceiling and walls were almost anti-climatic after the museum, I was still
overwhelmed by the realization that I stood where so many Popes have been elected by
the College of Cardinals, yet truly chosen by the Holy Spirit.
Pope John Paul II at the reading of the Passion |
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The highlights! Surely, attending the Masses celebrated by the Holy Father, especially
on Holy Thursday with over three thousand priests, Bishops and Cardinals present.
Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ consecrated by St. Peter's successor; yet,
blessed to recognize that it is the same Body and Blood that is consecrated on the
altar at St. Anthony's in Cody every day. Observing the Holy Father in silent,
unmoving, contemplation during the chanting of Our Lord's Passion on Palm Sunday.
Attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion from our
own pastor, Father Daley, only yards from St. Peter's tomb, and visiting with Archbishop
Foley and Cardinal Stafford; these were all highlights.
However, a personal highlight was ascending the Sacred Stairs, La Scala, on my knees. One
of the graduating seniors, my wife and I walked to the Basilica of St. John Lateran on
Holy Saturday. We first saw the Sacred Stairs on a Wednesday tour. The stairs, transported
from Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helen, are believed to be the stairs from Pontius Pilate's
palace. Our Lord would have surely ascended these stairs twice to face Pilate early
Friday morning, once after His arrest and again after being questioned by Herod. Our Lord
would have subsequently descended the stairs to be brutally scourged and crowned with
thorns after being condemned to crucifixion.
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The Kiss |
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Christ's Passion |
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Ecce Homo! |
The steps are reputed to have the bloodstains of Christ upon them. As we painfully
crawled to the top of the twenty-eight walnut covered steps, we cringed as our knees
became sore and the air became more humid. Oh, what a minor discomfort we felt compared
to Our Lord's Passion. As I contemplated what Our Lord endured on those stairs for us,
the best I could offer were the painful steps in my own life, united with Him. After we
reached the top and viewed a chapel called the Holy of Holies, we entered a gift shop
where we were moved to depart with many lira, in part, by our own fervor and, in part,
by two very helpful nuns. Since we had visited two Vatican gift shops previously (the
largest being on the roof of St. Peter's), we knew that the nuns were usually helpful but
not persuasive. These two at La Scala, however, were especially zealous and had us pegged
as we came through the door.
Another personal highlight was our short trip to the catacombs of St. Calixtus. We were
spiritually and emotionally moved by the privilege of standing in a small space where
five popes had been buried during the Roman persecutions. It was hardly the ornate tombs
found in and under St. Peter's for our more modern popes. Then our guide, Father Richard,
a Salesian priest, pointed out that one Pope had been beheaded and four deacons martyred
where we stood. They had been celebrating Mass in secret when Roman soldiers surprised
them. As much as we were aware that martyrs had died in the Coliseum, we had been unaware
that we were standing exactly where these other early saints had given their lives for
Christ. These catacombs stood in stark contrast to the magnificent marble edifices found
elsewhere in Rome. Yet, it reminded us that the Church is the people of God, wherever
they are, in St. Peter's or in a dark cave.
So, how did I get here? More importantly, whom do I thank? Surely I can thank the Rome
2000 CYO group for including my wife and me after they were two-thirds into the planning
and fund-raising. But Rome 2000 wouldn't have occurred if a group of CYO members, Father
Daley and CYO Director, Joan Kastner, hadn't set the first pilgrimage in motion in 1995.
The first group broke all the ground and journeyed to Rome for Easter, 1996. Maybe I
should thank them. However, if Fr. Daley hadn't inspired the 1996 group with photographs
of his 1993 trip to Rome, they never would have begun this biennial pilgrimage. So, I
should thank Father Daley, or, should I thank the parishioners of St. John the Baptist
Parish in Buffalo? His parish had sent him on his 1993 trip. "Thanks, St. John the
Baptist Church!" But, wait! Father Daley said his 1993 trip wasn't his first. Fr. Daley
said he first traveled to Rome as a youth himself. Surely that first trip inspired him to
be more animated in his talks about Rome to our first CYO group. Well, who do I thank
for this privilege? Maybe everyone. All these people have led to my being here. I also
thank the Holy Spirit, for He guides and inspires all His people, these fellow members
of the Mystical Body of Christ. I guess I can thank the Church. "Thank You!"
~ written by Rick Moser on Easter Sunday |
