A RUGged Post

I'm still sifting through memories and moments of the big Philly trip to see Pope Francis last September, and I'm still marveling over the monumentalness of it all; the fact that I took a fifteen hour bus ride anywhere, the fact that the city of Philadelphia was so unexpectedly fascinating, and the fact that I was on the same street as Pope Francis all astound me.

Considering how much I love and admire Pope Francis I should really just be marveling about the fact that I'm on the same planet that he is on, shouldn't I?  He has so much to teach us about love and kindness and mercy and God and yet we seem to spend so much time arguing about what he says and what he means.  We just don't understand him, do we?  Sort of like those Pharisees who argued with and questioned Jesus every time he spoke.  Truthfully, I have to admit that sometimes when I read the words of Jesus, I don't understand Him, either.  I mean, why did He say that He came to bring division? What's that about?  Doesn't scripture say that "He shall be peace"?  It's just too confusing for me to wrap my head around the whole concept.

But whether or not I always understand Pope Francis doesn't matter because I love him, anyway. And whether or not I always understand Jesus doesn't matter, either, because I for sure love Him, anyway!  I love Him with all that I am.

But back to Pope Francis in Philly-I'm sure it's no secret that I'm a nerd for all things Catholic, so I was thrilled to learn that a piece of carpeting upon which Pope Francis walked while saying Mass in Philadelphia could be had for the cost of a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  What a unique memento!  I dashed off an email to Flemington Department Store in New Jersey lickety-split, sent in a donation to St. Jude's, and within a few days was proudly admiring my future second-class relic of a future saint.  Now I just need to have it blessed!

The authenticity letter.

I won't sweep my admiration for Pope Francis under the rug!

Philly Photos

Quaint alleys were everywhere!

I loved the majestic and historic buildings.

We saw a lot of bark-less trees.  I've never seen anything like them anywhere!

Wish I could have stopped to smell the roses!  What a lovely outdoor display!

The City Hall is so beautiful!

I did not try the Pope's favorite coffee.  Was it Argentinian, perhaps?

Street musicians!  Fun!

Floral-painted garbage trucks!  Might as well disguise the smell with something sweet to look at!

St. Maria Goretti

This relic of St. Maria Goretti was a gift to me from a Sister of St. Benedict Center.
I have since given it to one of my sisters but was so blessed to have her in my home for a short time.

The relics of St. Maria Goretti, the eleven year old Italian girl who lost her life to save her purity and the purity of her attacker, and then forgave her murderer before she died, have been on a tour in the United States while the church where they are normally kept is being restored.  The tour has been called "The Pilgrimage of Mercy."  The remarkable story of the conversion of Alessandro Serenelli, St. Maria Goretti's murderer, was highlighted during the tour as well.

I was anxiously anticipating this visit from St. Maria Goretti as the reports coming from her visit in Chicago were amazing. She was escorted by Homeland Security and many of Chicago's finest police officers.  Her story was covered by several secular news outlets and we were told that people would leave her presence with tears in their eyes and a sense of deep love and respect for the saint even if they didn't know anything about her before coming to venerate her relics.

My family was blessed to visit the relics of the youngest saint while she was at St. Mary's Visitation Parish in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.  I had never before witnessed such a long line to enter a church!  It was a beautiful sight!

The line waiting to venerate the relics of St. Maria Goretti at St. Mary's Visitation Parish
in Elm Grove, Wisconsin while we were visiting.  We were told that the lines were long and constant
during the entire time that St. Maria's relics were there.

Each visitor was allowed 15 seconds to venerate St. Maria's relics in the glass case before moving on for silent, private prayer for as long as desired within the church.  While it appears that Maria's body is incorrupt, this is not so.  Maria's skeleton is encased within a wax body.

We were fortunate to find a place in the front row of the church to pray
following our 15-second veneration of the relics.
This photo was taken from that vantage point.

It was deeply moving for my family to pray before the relics of this mighty young girl, perhaps mostly so for my daughter who is very near to the same age as Maria was at the time of her death. Even more moving was the report of a Wisconsin woman who was healed from the degeneration of a ball joint in her arm upon touching the case that contained St. Maria Goretti's relics.

In this upcoming Year of Mercy beginning on December 8th, I pray that I will learn to forgive like the beautiful and remarkable St. Maria Goretti.

If you don't already know her fascinating story, you will want to read about St. Maria Goretti and the Pilgrimage of Mercy and will learn a great deal when you visit this link.

These are the items that I brought to touch to St. Maria Goretti's coffin.
The artwork was purchased at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The charms and the small, second-class relic were gifts to my daughter from a
 Handmaid of the Precious Blood.

St. Anne Street Shrine at Old St. Mary in Milwaukee

On a beautiful autumn Sunday afternoon, following the 11:30 am Mass, a group of about 150 people processed behind the Saint Anne Society of Old St. Mary Parish and Fr. Tim Kitzke for the unveiling and dedication of a new Saint Anne Street Shrine that looks out from the parish offices on Milwaukee Street upon all who pass by the downtown neighborhood.

Especially poignant is the fact that a "gentleman's" strip club had been trying to purchase a building across the street from the parish office but their license was denied by a 15-0 vote of the city's aldermen.  I'm sure that the prayerful efforts of Fr. Tim Kitzke and the parishioners of Old St. Mary, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and St. Anne, had a lot to do with that decision.

Regarding the shrine, Fr. Tim pointed out that the Virgin Mary in St. Anne's arms is looking back toward the parish and St. Anne is looking out to the city, modeling her strength and dignity as a woman for all of Milwaukee.  The Shrine will sanctify the city and be a blessing to all those who walk past the parish.

What follows below is the wonderful and moving introduction and blessing given by Fr. Tim during the dedication of the shrine:

Introduction:

Today is a momentous occasion in the history of our parish as we celebrate this dedication of this street shrine to St. Anne, the mother of Mary our Blessed Mother.

St. Anne was a faithful servant of God in whose womb was conceived the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  Through her example Mary grew in fidelity to the Lord as servant most pure.  When the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary she was filled with grace to become the Mother of Jesus, and St. Anne his maternal grandmother.

Today we stand in the shadows of our church to dedicate this image of St. Anne for public veneration.  We bless our city with this shrine so that all who pass here may know of our commitment to the mission of Jesus that the doors of our church are always open and welcoming. This public expression of faith is built upon the traditions of our immigrant ancestors who came here from Bavaria, Puerto Rico and Africa.

This shrine celebrates the dedication and the generosity of the St. Anne society in our parish who for over 170 years have been committed to the mission of Old St. Mary.  The initial bricks of our church structure were hand made by the first members of the society in 1844.  They have worked selflessly since to ensure that all who seek the Lord Jesus can do so in our church.

May this image remind us that the saints are ever near and intercede for us ceaselessly and we join them in the marvelous Communion of Saints and sing the praises of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Fr. Tim offered a prayer of blessing for the shrine.

Following the sprinkling rites with holy water, Fr. Tim incensed the shrine.

Blessing:

Lord, we bless you for you alone are holy, and because in your compassion for sinners you sent into the world your Son, Jesus Christ, the author of all holiness.

He sent the Spirit to sustain his newborn Church, a voice that teaches us the secrets of holiness, a breeze that strengthens and refreshes, a fire that sears our hearts with love, the seed of God that yields the harvest of grace.

Today we praise you for the gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon St. Anne in whose honor we dedicate this street shrine.  May we follow in the footsteps of the Lord keeping before us the example of St. Anne, mother and grandmother, and grow to a maturity measured not by nature but by our faithfulness in Christ.

May we proclaim the Gospel daily in word and in deed, shouldering our crosses daily and extend our hand to others in your service.

St. Anne is for us a witness to the life of the Gospel and stands in your presence to intercede for us. Grant that we may benefit from her intercession.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer to St. Anne

Good St. Anne
you were especially favored by God
to be the mother of
the most holy Virgin Mary,
the Mother of our Savior.
Through your intercession
with your most pure daughter
and with her divine Son,
kindly obtain for us the grace
and the favor we seek.
Please secure for us also
forgiveness for our past sins
the strength to perform faithfully
our daily duties
and the help we need
to persevere in the love
of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.

St. Anne's Women's Society
History:
Est. October 6th, 1844
Most Reverend John Martin Henni, D.D.
Bishop of Milwaukee

Instrumental in the construction
and decoration of the church.

Mission:
To support the parish Liturgical life
with items necessary for sacred worship.

To support their membership
through prayer, spiritual enrichment and study.

Dedicated:
To St. Anne
Mother of the Virgin Mary
2015

St. Anne and the Virgin Mary seem to be standing in the middle
of the downtown neighborhood in this reflection through the shrine's plexiglass.

Old St. Mary exterior

Old St. Mary Exterior

The National Shrine of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia

St. John Neumann's incorrupt body (his face is made of wax)

"How much I love You, O my Jesus.  I wish to love You with my whole heart; yet I do not love You enough.  My lack of devotion and my sloth make me anxious.  I have one desire, that of being near You in the Blessed Sacrament.  You are the sweet bridegroom of my soul.  My Jesus, my love, my all, gladly would I endure hunger, thirst, heat and cold to remain always with You in the Blessed Sacrament.  Would that in Your Eucharistic presence I might unceasingly weep over my sins.  Take entire possession of me.  To You I consecrate all the powers of my soul and body, my whole being.  Would that I could infuse into all hearts a burning love for You.  What great glory would be given to You here on earth, if every heart were an altar on which every human will were laid in perfect conformity with Your will to be consumed by the fire of Your love." 

 ~Adapted from the diary of St. John Neumann

St. Peter's Church

Beneath the altar of the lower church of St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia lies the incorrupt body of St. John Neumann at what has now come to be known as the National Shrine of St. John Neumann. St. John Neumann, a Redemptorist priest and bishop of Philadelphia, died of a stroke on the city streets at the age of 48 while running errands.  It had been his wish to be buried in the crypt at St. Peter's Church which was managed by the Redemptorist order.  Following his death, many faithful people came to pray at his tomb and many miracles have been attributed to his intercession.  After being declared "Blessed" in 1963, his remains were exhumed and found to be incorrupt.  They were placed in a glass encasement in the newly built lower church, the building of which was necessitated by the throngs of pilgrims who came to pray at his gravesite.   He was canonized a saint in 1977 by Pope Paul VI. 

While on pilgrimage in Philadelphia to see Pope Francis, we were blessed to visit the National Shrine of St. John Neumann.  We had an opportunity to be blessed with the relics of St. John Neumann, to pray before his incorrupt body and to tour the breathtaking upper church.  Bishop Hying, who told us that visiting the shrine had been on his bucket list, shared a bit of St. John Neumann's life story with us.

St. John Neumann was born in 1811 in what is now the Czech Republic and studied for the priesthood but was denied ordination due to a glut of priests.  He came to America in 1836 and was ordained in New York.  Lonely in his travels, he joined the Redemptorists in 1842 to become part of a community.  He was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852.  

He is well-known for his tireless efforts in service of the faithful immigrants of America.  He knew six languages, started the first Diocesan Catholic School System, founded several religious orders of sisters,  built new churches at the rate of one each month, and tirelessly traveled throughout Northeast America.   He was often teased about his short stature.  He was so short, in fact, that his feet didn't reach the stirrups of his horse which must have made all of the traveling that he did all the more difficult.

Of all of the places that we visited and all of the sights we witnessed in Philadelphia, I was most deeply moved here at the National Shrine of St. John Neumann.  To kneel before the incorrupt body of a saint who shares my Czech ancestry, to be blessed with his relics, to view his disciplinary measures, to hear his life story-all of this made St. John Neumann come to life for me and I will forever after consider him to be one of my favorite saints.

mosaic of St. John Neumann

the altar in the upper church

Bishop Hying telling the story of St. John Neumann's life-in the background is a statue of
St. John Neumann next to the Marian altar.

ceiling art

The First Station of the Cross:  Jesus is condemned to death

The stained glass windows told the story of his life:

"Our Mother daily heard Mass to which she took one of us."

"What emotions were mine when I set foot on American soil"

"Dearest God give me holiness."

A reliquary holding a few of the saint's personal items.

A close-up of the reliquary box reveal St. John Neumann's vestments, some wood from his coffin and disciplinary items

St. John Neumann "discipline"

"discipline and ellicium of SJN"-Bishop Hying explained that St. John Neumann
 would have worn this around his thigh as an act of penance.

Blessed with the relics of St. John Neumann

Learn more about the National Shrine of St. John Neumann here.

Prayer for the intercession of St. John Neumann

O Saint John Neumann, your ardent desire of bringing all souls to Christ impelled you to leave home and country; teach us to live worthily in the spirit of our Baptism which makes us all children of the one Heavenly Father and brothers of Jesus Christ, the first-born of the family of God.

Obtain for us that complete dedication in the service of the needy, the weak, the afflicted and the abandoned which so characterized your life. Help us to walk perseveringly in the difficult and, at times, painful paths of duty, strengthened by the Body and Blood of our Redeemer and under the watchful protection of Mary our Mother.

May death still find us on the sure road to our Father's house with the light of living Faith in our hearts. Amen.

Love is Our Mission/Pilgrimage to See the Pope

"If your Catholic faith ever becomes complacent, if you ever find yourself in a rut spiritually, if going to church and praying become routine, here's what you do:  you throw some stuff in a bag, including a pope t-shirt, you jump on a bus and ride for fifteen hours, you come to a city that maybe you've never been to before, you hook up with over a million other people and you celebrate the faith...When we open ourselves to go on pilgrimage, to do something new, to step outside of our comfort zone, God richly blesses us."  ~Bishop Donald Hying

The stuff in my bag included Pope Francis' favorite book, The Betrothed, to read on that 15 hour bus ride.

When in Philly do as the locals do-wear the local sport's team hat-even if you're a cardboard cut-out of the Pope!

From the moment I learned that my sister Cindy and I would be joining the Diocese of Gary, Indiana on their pilgrimage to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia, I got busy researching the city and the World Meeting of Families.  I investigated the shrines, the food, the historical points of interest, and sent email after email to Cindy with suggestions for all of the wonderful things I hoped we'd do while on pilgrimage.  I could not remember a time in my life when I had ever been so eager or excited.

As the date of our departure drew nearer, I became more and more nervous about the idea of traveling to an unknown city to experience something that I was sure would be beyond anything I had ever experienced before.  Much to my surprise, I received a phone call from my friend, John Schultz, about two days before we were set to leave, and he told me that he would also be traveling from Milwaukee to Gary, Indiana to join in the pilgrimage with Bishop Hying and the Diocese of Gary. He offered to drive which greatly relieved the worry I was feeling about driving through Chicago and Gary. Knowing that John would be traveling with my sister and I felt like a little miracle, a sign of God's providential goodness, bringing security to two women fearful of traveling alone. With John we were blessed to safely reach the church where we would leave for Philadelphia on one of three buses, together with about 130 pilgrims from Gary. And with John, we were blessed to have a guardian angel who befriended and looked after all of the Gary pilgrims during the entire trip.  God always provides for our needs!

I told Bishop Hying that he should have a cardboard cut-out made of himself so that he wouldn't have to pose for so many pictures.  It turns out that in his first assignment as a parish priest he did have a cardboard cut-out and the parishioners would use it to play pin-the-collar on Fr. Don at the parish festivals!  It was auctioned off at a parish benefit when he became bishop.

Before departing on our journey, I asked Bishop Hying why he wasn't already out East celebrating with Pope Francis and all of his brother bishops of the United States.  His response, so sweet and humble, touched my heart deeply.  He simply said, "I want to be with all of the people of Gary.  I want to journey with them and spend time with them."  It was the response of a true shepherd, one who is willing to endure a challenging journey so as to be present to the people who love and need him.  It was a response I won't soon forget and hope to mimic in my own shepherding of my family.

Over the course of the pilgrimage our group experienced injuries, illnesses, missing pilgrims, some anti-Catholicism, weariness, large crowds and confusion.  We also experienced new friendships, deep prayer, spiritual inspiration, healing, forgiveness, profound joy and love.  The latter definitely outweighed the former.  I felt flooded by God's grace and goodness throughout the pilgrimage but never so poignantly as I did when Bishop Hying announced that Anointing of the Sick would be offered to every pilgrim who desired the Sacrament.  As the oil dripped down my forehead, I felt the love of God permeating my sin-sick soul.  Now surely I didn't have to travel on a pilgrimage to receive the blessings of the Anointing, but perhaps, in this far-away church, the significance of the Sacrament, the peace and fortitude it brought, was more meaningful than ever.

"The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock."  ~Jeremiah 31:10

We were blessed to attend Mass at three churches along the way:  The Cathedral of St. Columba in Youngstown, Ohio, St. Peter's Church in Merchantville, New Jersey and Christ Our Light Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  At each parish we were greeted with great joy and hospitality and were offered feasts to strengthen us along the way.  Fittingly, the responsorial psalm at the Mass we celebrated just before heading into Philadelphia for the Festival of Families was "The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock."  It was a beautiful reminder that God would be protecting us as we traveled to a large and crowded city to face the unknown, hoping for a glimpse of the Pope.

St. Peter's in Merchantville, New Jersey was a gorgeous church.

I'd been praying to the Infant of Prague hoping he'd help me get a selfie with the pope.
 I didn't get that selfie, but I did get many graces!  This large statue was at St. Peter's in Merchantville, New Jersey.

Bishop Hying and Fr. Andrew posing with the lifesize cardboard cut-out of Fr. Andrew serving up meatballs.
 Pope Francis isn't the only one with cardboard cut-out images!

Our time in Philadelphia was exciting to say the least.  None of us were entirely certain of where we were going or what we would see but I don't think anyone was disappointed if they missed out on anything that they had been hoping for.  This adventure turned out exactly the way God intended it to be for us!  We enjoyed walking down the quaint and lovely streets of Philadelphia, we encountered heavy security, we treasured our time visiting The Shrine of St. John Neumann (that visit requires a post of its own which will follow shortly) and Old St. Joseph's-the oldest church in the United States that is still in use today. We enjoyed the Festival of Families on the jumbotron,  we ate Philly Cheesesteaks, we prayed more rosaries than I can count (one of the pilgrims from Gary, Dave, made rosaries for each of the pilgrims and had them blessed by Bishop Hying), and we lived our pilgrimage like we try to live our lives-with complete trust and confidence in God despite so many unknowns.

Old St. Joseph's is the oldest church still in use in the United States.

The church entrance.

A charming Holy Family holy water font-fitting for the World Meeting of Families!

Old St. Joseph's organ.

One of the many beautiful buildings in Philadelphia.

Since the celebration in Philadelphia was for the World Meeting of Families, we were joyously surprised, yet found it very fitting, that we should run into a beautiful family from Milwaukee!  Our guardian angel, John Schultz, is in the red shirt.

We spent a great deal of time walking the streets of Philadelphia and I just fell in love with the city. Every new street that we encountered was more charming than the last!  We stood and waited in the midst of large crowds for hours and walked the streets for miles.  And often, as we waited or walked, we prayed the rosary.  This, of course, made me feel right at home as I so often participate in rosary processions.  But each of those walks were not without a purpose.  Our main goal, of course, was to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis, to receive his blessing, and hopefully, to have a selfie taken with him.

Pope Sightings

On Saturday afternoon, our small group of about 20 pilgrims had a moment of excitement as we paused to rest in a park.  Suddenly we heard sirens and people started running to a nearby fence, so we ran, too.  It was as if we were all teenagers hoping to see our favorite rock star!  And then Pope Francis passed by in his Fiat on the way to give his talk at Independence Hall.  A man from our group was able to catch a picture of the pope waving from the back seat of his car.

Pope Francis waving from the back seat.

We journeyed on with my sister Cindy and Dave, another pilgrim, braving leading the way as they were the only ones who had maps of the city.  After passing through the tight security, having the entire contents of our purses emptied out and inspected, our cell phones and cameras examined and our bodies scanned by Homeland Security, we arrived at City Hall and the parade route that Pope Francis would travel before attending the Festival of Families.  We waited for three hours. No Pope. Rumours circulated that the pope had gone back to the seminary to take a nap.  Later that night as we watched the news coverage of his visit we noted that he did look extremely tired during his afternoon talk, but appeared to be rested and refreshed during the Festival of Families, so maybe that nap theory was accurate.  At any rate, when the parade finally took place at 7:00 pm, it happened so fast that it would have been easy to miss the pope passing.  Our three hour wait culminated in a two-second sighting of Pope Francis whizzing by and blessing the crowd on the other side of the street.  By this time many of our cameras had gone dead from having them at the ready for three hours.  Luckily, Cindy was able to capture this image of him.

Our one and only clear view of the pope during our visit.  

On Sunday we stood in line again, this time for two hours in a solid-packed two-block section of people, waiting to get through a security checkpoint that turned out to not be a checkpoint after all. 

Bishop Hying realized that we would not get to the Mass from this route and he called all of the 130 Gary pilgrims out of the crowd and we looked for an alternative route.  The crowds at the next checkpoint didn't look any more promising so the decision was made to find a jumbotron where we would celebrate the Mass.  Prior to the beginning of Mass, another papal parade occurred and Cindy was able to capture another image of Pope Francis in his popemobile on the jumbotron screen.  

Part of the crowd for the papal Mass.

This image is so amazing to me because it almost looks as if Pope Francis
is really right in front of us instead of on a jumbotron screen.

Following the Mass, we headed back by train to the stadium where our buses were parked and we prepared for our 15 hour ride back home through the night.  We were all exhausted but deeply moved and very happy. I have never before experienced such a fantastic opportunity or enjoyed myself more.  What a thrill to be in the same city as Pope Francis!  What a treasure to spend a significant amount of time with my sweet sister Cindy and my dear friend Bishop Hying.  What a joy to make so many new friends from the wonderful Diocese of Gary, Indiana.  I praise and thank God for this fabulous opportunity of a lifetime and for the grace of safety for all of the Gary travelers and especially for our beloved Pope Francis!

"Like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures."  ~Pope Francis

Viva il Papa Francis!

I didn't get that hoped-for selfie with Pope Francis, but here's the next best thing!

While I was away in Philadelphia, Paul and Mary had fun with Pope Francis right at home!  
Our parish has a cardboard cut-out in the office window so they took advantage of a photo-op after Sunday Mass.

When I arrived home I found that my loving husband picked flowers from the yard and arranged
them into a beautiful bouquet displayed with my daughter's note.  It's good to be home!

To read Bishop Hying's re-cap of the pilgrimage, visit here.