This past Christmas vacation Hector from Fresno, California Gregg from Scranton, Pennsylvania and I were able to go to four different countries!…it sounds impressive but some countries in Europe are the size of a state in the U.S.
We started in Cologne, Germany and spent several days there. For the first couple of days in anticipation for Christmas we visited two of the largest, most colorful and yummy Christmas markets in the city.
We made a day-trip to Aachen, which turned out to be a very nice but unexpected treat for Christmas. In the cathedral there are the relics of the swaddling clothes of Jesus among other “Great” relics. Every seven years there is a large pilgrimage made by thousands to venerate these relics (venerating is not worshipping – which is due only to God).
We celebrated the midnight Mass for Christmas in the magnificent cathedral of Cologne. Another additional Christmas blessing was the presence of the relics of the wise men, the magi (Matthew ch. 2), who were guided by the star to Bethlehem for the cosmic and historically transforming birth of Jesus, fully God and fully Man. I had first learned that the relics are kept in this cathedral when Pope Benedict XVI visited Cologne for World Youth Day last year (2005).
Christmas Eve was freezing. I had two pairs of pants and four layers of clothing under my winter coat. They had no heat in the church and left the doors open which caused an awful draft but on the positive side it was nice seeing this huge cathedral full of people – standing room only.
I don’t hardly ever cook because most of the time I burn water but Hector, Gregg and I put together a very tasty Italian meal for Christmas Eve and a huge ‘American’ style lunch on Christmas day. It wasn’t exactly like being home (where we can’t return except for exceptional reasons during the first two years) but we were happy to be together in fraternal celebration of the birth our Lord.
From Germany we traveled to Luxembourg to stay for almost two days. The capital is very beautiful and we hoped to meet with a fellow seminarian, who is from Luxembourg. He studies with us in Rome and was home for Christmas but he forgot his cell phone in Rome so we couldn’t ever get it contact with him (momma mia!).
From Luxembourg we traveled to Louven in Belgium to sojourn at the American College (a seminary for the U.S. in Belgium). We stayed at the college and from it, as our base-camp, we were able to travel to several different cities without paying for hotel rooms.
We explored the attractive, canal-filled cities of Gent and Brugge and the famous city of Brussels but most of our time was spent in the museums, looking at the amazingly detailed Flemish art…and oh, yeah of course trying the varieties of Belgium waffles, chocolate and the incredible variety of beers made by monks throughout the country! Each restaurant had at least ten different beers on tap and each beer came in its own special glass.
There were sixteen other seminarians from Rome in Louven, so we gathered for a pleasant New Year’s Eve. From Belgium we went to Amsterdam in the Netherlands (Holland) for two days.
The city was pleasant enough but it did not have a good vibe to any of us three, perhaps because it seemed like most of the other tourists were there for only two reasons…and they weren’t to see the art of Van Gogh and Rembrandt, which we saw and enjoyed very much but rather two things that are illegal throughout most of the U.S.
While in Amsterdam we had visited a small chapel named after ‘The Lady of All Nations’. The bishop of Haarlem (the diocese encompassing Amsterdam) had approved of the messages from 56 Marian apparitions that happened to a lady (Ida Peerdeman) in Amsterdam from 1945-1959. The chapel was a place of hope and peace for us in the middle of a city that is suffering from disordered actions and poor philosophical precepts for a healthy life.
We returned to Rome with great memories and hit the ground running preparing for exams at the end of January. I am thankful for all who generously support me, especially with your prayers. Know if you are reading this that I keep you in my prayers also.
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