The streets continued: Stops 10&11

Stop 10:

Philadelphia Art Museum

The Skyline from the top

Katie & I after running them up them Rocky Steps with the Rocky Theme playin'

The whole scene

Rocky & I ;)

Stop 11: Catholic Underground at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul – located at 18^th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway- part of the Parkway Museums District Philadelphia

The artist was Paul Jisung Kim and he “makes noises with his face”. He was pretty chill guy from California.

 Catholic Underground, Basiclica of Peter and Paul

It was an awesome day in the city of Philadelphia. Hope you enjoyed my little timeline of my experience of the city of “Brotherly Love”. Next post will have more from my trip inside the Basilica & Love Park. I will eventually get in some of the museums & for Mass at the Basilica.

The streets of Philadelphia – 16 hours and 11 stops later....

Stop 1:

National Shrine of Saint John Neumann at St. Peter the Apostle Church

And just a few days after I left the very kneeler in front of him, Justin Cardinal Regali and Archbishop Chaput (new elected Archbishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia from Denver—took time to pray in front of this Saint. Pretty neat!

St. John Neumann's incorrupt body

Stop 2:

Independence Hall: We saw the few meeting place of Congress, where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written. Where Our Country began – the same place Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Hancock... plus many more met. It was pretty amazing.

"I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support, and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory." -John Adams, July 3, 1776

The finals documents are in Washington D.C. But the last drafts are pictured to the left.

Stop 3: Liberty Bell

Stop 4:

Old Church of Old St. Mary- The plaque outside said, “In this church on the 4^th of July 1779 was held the first public-religious commemoration of the Declaration of Independence” Then, everyone joined for a ‘solemn Mass of thanksgiving’. “God of our Fathers be with us yet”

Stop 5: Old St. Joseph’s National Shrine – founded in 1733—interior of new church is from 1840. The oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia

Stop 6: LUNCH at the City Tavern

City Tavern Restaurant– Washington & his buddies in 1773 would meet here to eat and have a beer. It was awesome! I had the Martha Washington Pot Pie.

                                                                              http://www.citytavern.com/

Stop 7: Polish water ice @ this little museum (competition: Italian water ice from Rita’s—You be the judge)

Guess who we found?

Stop 8: 

Shrine of the Miraculous Medal
side chapel

The ceiling

Katie & I outside of the Shrine. With the image of the Miraculous Medal on either side of us.

Stop 9:

Parish & National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia.

Beautiful image downstairs by the Adoration chapel

They had a BEAUTIFUL adoration chapel....

St. Rita in ecstasy

I was blessed to see her body venerated in Cascia, Italy in 2009. Also, they had a statue donated by the Augustinian Nuns and Friars in Cascia- on the occasion of the “Twinning” of the two shrines in 2004.

From the very back of the upper church
On the Feast of St. Rita- they fill both sides of the altar with red roses!!

Smokes! The Story of the Botafumeiro

St. James the Greater- Patron Saint of Spain

Feast Day: July 25^th

I never knew this story.

This is the legend:

“But the cult of James there began in the 8^th century, after the Moorish invasion had rapidly pushed Christian forces in to the northwestern corner of Spain, and there is no documentary evidence of it before the 9^th century. The cult then grew with the growth of pilgrimages and his image became more warlike as the Crusades developed. This version depended on his remains being transferred to Galicia some time after his death. An earlier version based the cult on the story that he had preached in Spain which his even less likely. As the pilgrimage grew with routes starting in various places in France, abbeys and churches were built along the routes, acquiring their own background stories (such as the association of El Cid with San Pedro de Cardena near Burgos) to impress pilgrims.”

Side note: Early this summer, I was in Burgos, Spain with Father Patrick & my best friends.

“St James himself acquired the attributes of a pilgrim: a floppy hat, staff, water bottle, and a scallop shell. The “Road to Santiago” has recently been restored with funds from the European Community and attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year. The botafumeiro, the six-foot-high incense censer hung from the crossing vault of Santiago Cathedral, introduced to counteract the stench of the pilgrim crowds, is still swung across the transepts almost brushing the floor of the crossing, on the saint’s feast –day each year.” (from Butler’s Saint for the Day by Paul Burns)

Which is today! Here is what it looks like

The Smoke Boat
and
Pope Benedict XVI with the smoke boat

I have watched this video before and cracked up. But never did I know the background. Did you?

Bernadette means "Brave as a bear"

Below are just some quotes which have struck me..... "little toothpicks God is throwing at me, which all add up to be a baseball bat in the end!" (Thank you Allen Kirchner for the revelation ;)

The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart this cross He now sends you, He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with His loving arms and weighted with His own hands, to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you, He has blessed it with His holy name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it you from Heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.

St. Francis de Sales

‎"It is love alone that gives worth to all things."

-St. Teresa of Avila

"Sin and the rosary can't coexist, at one point one of them will go. Whether sin or the rosary, if you can only pray one hail Mary but with all your heart, Our Lady comes!"

-Fulton Sheen

"I should be changed, no more sadness, I have seen too much to doubt God's love for me, I have received too many blessings to think He doesn't love me, and that it ain't gonna be okay where ever He takes me!"

-Holy Spirit

Prayer is the key to God's heart.

-St. Pio

What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return.

-Blessed JPII

One cannot love without suffering or suffer without loving.

-St. Gianna Molla

“Do not be afraid to be saints. Follow Jesus Christ who is the source of freedom and light. Be open to the Lord so that He may lighten all your ways.”

-Blessed JPII

Speaking to a friend, today, I realized that sometimes suffering and the wounds or the difficulties make you enter into a survival mode and from there you think when will this be over so I can move on. But the process of moving on may be understanding and asking God for the grace to accept the new normal, to heal during the tough times, not wait until the pain is over, because it may always be a cross (But it will get lighter--hold on to that hope). You must move on and move forward. Each day-- asking for the grace to let go and surrender to His will.

Let’s see. I have been busy!

Since my last post on June 26^th ------ Let’s see. I have been busy!

I attended Catholic Sexual Ethics with Dr. John Haas

Started in PA, then drove to New Jersey & New York and onto Connecticut.... 4 states in 4.5 hours. P.S. That  doesn’t happen in the Midwest.

Then, took a bus from Hartford, CT to Boston, MA to spend the 4^th of July in Boston with Mr. and Mrs. Moore

Took a day off a work to travel.

Started new projects at the office---working on the monthly newsletter. Go to www.tobinstitute.org to sign-up for monthly newsletter and you will see someone familiar in the July newsletter. Sign-up quick ;) Even though all ya’ll should already be signed up.

Went to the Cheesecake factory— and discovered it’s not really the factory, the cheesecake comes from California. Fun fact for ya. ;)

Attended mass at a few new places! I went to Sts. Simon and Jude for Saturday night mass. Sts. Simon & Jude has a perpetual adoration chapel—so nice!

Took a train up to Doylestown, PA which is about 30 minutes north of the city and attended mass at Old Lady of Mount Carmel—a very nice parish with Fr. Paschal who is from Nigeria. I felt right at home with his enthusiasm and honesty!

Then, I was blessed to visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa. I felt like I was in the middle of Poland, I heard more Polish, French, and Spanish then I did English. Still felt like I was on a pilgrimage in Europe. It was a beautiful place—with a lot of relics of JPII and a great museum and bookstore. There were beautiful side chapels—Our Lady of Lourdes and Fatima---along with Mass in English and Polish every day.

It was a great experience and then I came home and jumped right back in the car to go up to Philly for the evening. We went to the Carmelite Monastery for a Extraordinary form of the Mass, all in Latin, and it was a HIGH MASS with a choir. They were having a special novena all week in preparation for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Saturday. The homily was at least 45 minutes long but it was AMAZING! He talked about Our Lady in three parts 1) creation 2) discovery 3) vocation and related them to Adam & Eve in the first creation, discovery, and vocation. It was fantastic. & the one time I don’t bring my journal into Mass :( ..I could write a entire post about that homily.

At the monastery—no AC—but people were packed in there. Afterwards we went into the entrance and there were pictures and pictures and huge case of Padre Pio relics....tons of things of his and statues and pictures! It was remarkable. That man is everywhere in this area and its comforting!

It was only my second Latin Mass and I appreciate it since it is Mass. I have a lot of learning to do so I can follow along better and understand it more. I wonder if what it was like for the generations who only had the Latin Mass and how it affected their faith. Because the congregation feels more excluded from the celebration but it really is that the priest is unified with us-we are all facing the same direction and speaking to God. I don’t know all the details but for our parents where they have grown up with the transition. I think my dad went to Latin Mass for 10 or so years before it is similar to what we see each Sunday now.

I have much more to say about the Shrine, my Boston trip, & more pictures to post.... I’ll try to post again soon! I am going to Catholic Underground (www.oyya.org) this weekend and spending the day in the city.

Hope all is well in MO & beyond!

xoxo

First Tweet recorded!

I know this is a little old news (June 28, 2011)-- but I just watched the video of Pope Benedict XVI sending out his first tweet!
Look at his face in the video-- he is so cute & happy! I just love Papa B and its all in Italiano. :)

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/28/pope-sends-out-his-first-tweet/