At the tomb of Peter


Well, we are almost a week into the regular orientation schedule! For the next few weeks a typical day will begin with 7 am Morning Prayer and Mass, then breakfast, followed by 8:30-1 Italian classes (with 30 min coffee break), 1:15 pranzo, 2:15 conference and then typically free time from 3:15-5:45 when there is (optional) exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Evening Prayer around 6:45, cena at 7, then homework and time for exercise, relaxing, etc.

Yesterday we were introduced to the Spiritual Directors, and we have a days now to choose certain ones we'd be interested in having as our SD, then meet with them for 15-20 minutes and then rank our top 4 choices. The head SD and the rector will then assign each man a SD, based on the directors current "case load", and the directees preference.

After the conference yesterday some of us went on the Scavi Tour underneath St. Peter's. The Scavi is a guided tour (we had a seminarian who has the Scavi as his apostolate) to the necropolis underneath the Basilica, where the tomb of St. Peter is located. It is a wonderful explanation of how we (the Church) came to find the bones of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, first pope, and the rock on which Christ built His Church.

At the end of the tour when we reached the place where Peter's bones are contained, we were invited by our guide to gather all of our intentions for our families, friends, etc and bring them to Peter for his intercession to our Lord.

A lot of non-Catholics don't understand or appreciate the Catholic devotion to Saints and how they are intercessors for us to the Lord. We read from Sacred Scripture a verse from Acts that explains why intercessory prayer is powerful and a great resource for believers:


"Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s portico. None of the others dared to join them, but the people. Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them. Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured."
Acts 5:12-16

The first Christians believed that even if the shadow of Peter touched them that they would be cured, and they were! Today, we have the very bones of the man that professed Christ as the Son of the Living God, that walked on water, that spread the Gospel message of Salvation and that ultimately gave his life in witness to the Truth! How awesome is that!?!

All of the intentions that I brought last Friday to Mass at the Altar at the tomb were also remembered during the Scavi Tour. We prayed an Our Father at the bones of Peter, who was one of the first people to hear that beautiful prayer from the mouth of the Savior of the world!

Today, we were assigned our Formation Advisors, and will most likely meet with them this weekend on the trip to Assisi.

In the afternoon, those who went on the Scavi tour yesterday had the chance to visit the Swiss Guard Baracks. Normally only Swiss nationals (children, I believe) and former Swiss guards are allowed in. They make an exception for NAC Seminarians...such a blessed opportunity to see the armory where the weaponry is stored, see where their uniforms are made and visit the chapel the guards pray in. If you don't know, the Swiss Guards are the ones who protect the Pope. Here's more info on them: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/

Praised be Jesus Christ...

KPL

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