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April 6, 2008
I arrived in Rome today. It took longer than expected,
however. The train leaving from Mainz to Mannheim was 30 minutes late, so I knew I would miss
the next train (from Mannheim to Munich), and thus miss the train to Rome at 9 p.m. The service agent told
me to go to Frankfurt to catch a train to Munich from there, which would have been
barely on time. But the train to
Frankfurt was *also* late, so I instead took a train from Frankfurt Airport to Munich
and arrived after 11 p.m. I asked there how I could get to Rome. I then took a train
to Salzburg at 11:45 p.m., then took a train from there
to Venice at 1:30 a.m. The conductor
on that train was kind enough to let me sleep in a bed for free even
though I did not have a reservation on that train. I arrived in Venice at
8:30 and took an express train to Rome (whose conductor luckily also did not
charge me any extra), finally arriving at 1 p.m. In the end, I was only 4
hours late to Rome, but
it felt longer because on the way I had so much uncertainty whether
I would get here at all.
I called my friend at the seminary for the Legionaries of Christ, where
I was going to have lunch at 1, but of course was late. He had lunch
ready for me at 3 p.m. instead. We talked for an hour, then, I went to
St. Peter's for Mass at 5:30. I was suprised to see a Cardinal celebrating Mass. I later learned he
is Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.
I have had delays on every part of this journey from the US to Germany
to Italy
butafter lunch and Mass today, I feel more at ease. I am ready to carry
out my tasks and make a prayerful pilgrimage.
Tomorrow I will visit the CEP (Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples)
in the morning, and then see what happens! Using e-mail and telephone are
convenient at the convent hotel.
I might call you today, but I may fall asleep before you come home from
hiking. I will try calling once before I sleep.
Chris
Monday,
April 7, 2008
Feast of St. Jean
Baptiste de la Salle
For the first time in more than one week, I had a full night of sleep.
I slept shortly after 10 p.m. and awoke around 5:30 a.m. and then closed my eyes
thinking I would get up in a few minutes as I had done all week. When I
opened them again it was 8:50
a.m. I was too late for breakfast at the
convent (until 9 a.m.) so I just prepared to go to Mass at 10.
I attended the 10 a.m. Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in one
of the side chapels. After Mass I took a few photos and prayed in
the Eucharistic Adoration chapel.
I then proceeded to the Piazza di Spagna, where I arrived about 11:30 a.m. and
found no receptionist downstairs, so I went directly to the elevator. The
receptionist came out of the elevator and asked me where I was going. I
gave him Fr. Pinto's name, and he told me to go up one floor. There I told
the guard I wished to meet Fr. Pinto. He asked if I had an appuntamento.
I said, ¡®Non appuntamento... and he said sternly ¡®Non. I asked, ¡®Parla
inglese? He said, ¡®A little. Then I confidently stated, though nervous
inside, that ¡®He knows I am coming, but does not know what
time. This seemed to convince him, and he led me to a waiting room. A
few minutes later, Fr. Pinto came in. He did not recognize me just from
my name, but as soon as I began to mention the e-mail my father sent him,
he immediately remembered.
I explained what I had brought in my bag, the DVDs about Naju. He asked
if I wanted him to give them to His Eminence, to which I of course said
yes, that these were for His Eminence to send out as he sees fit. I
informed him that PAL DVDs would also arrive by mail from Korea. He said
this was good, as in India
and Italy PAL is used.
I did not intend to ask anything else, but on his own initiative,
Fr. Pinto began giving me words of encouragement. He thanked and
encouraged those ¡®who remain faithful to the Lord and Our Lady even with
many difficulties and opposition. What each of you contributes is just a
small drop, but we put these drops together, and ask help from above to
overcome the forces of opposition and evil. I replied that we are so
blessed and thankful for such good and holy shepherds as His Eminence. Fr.
Pinto said that even now His Eminence was in a meeting with thirty other
Cardinals and the Holy Father, and also a member of 13 different commissions,
adding, ®Sometimes I see His Eminence, and wonder,
how can he do it? But he is such a man of prayer and deep faith, and
even faced with difficulties, he always maintains calmness and serenity.
I said, ®Even from a great distance, we can sense the holiness and love
of His Eminence. Then I also showed him the bottles of water from Our
Lady's
spring in Naju. I said these were personal gifts to him, saying my
father suggested he could send one to his mother in India, as my
father remembered Fr. Pinto saying that he spoke to his mother about Naju.
Fr. Pinto happily exclaimed, ¡®He has a very good memory!¡¯
He thanked me for these gifts, saying he would show them to His
Eminence. Finally, he repeated, ¡®What each one of you is doing is just a
small drop, but these drops have to be put together, and they become an
ocean. As we exited, he asked, ¡®You are Benedict Lee's son? ®Yes," I
said. ®Give my regards to your father. I have read his testimony, and was
very impressed. I thanked him for these words, and he wished me a
holy pilgrimage here in Rome.
As I left, I wondered if I should have tried to ask for an update
about the case of Fr. Chang or the Kwangju
decree, but I was hesitant because I thought he might not want this information
to go through me. I knew a letter from Fr. Chang would arrive soon, and
did not want to risk giving
any bad impression about it.
After this I returned to the convent and had lunch which I bought at
a supermarket. I was going to rest briefly and go to the Vatican again,
but I slept until 4:30
p.m.Now I will go to the evening Mass nearby at Santa Maria
Maggiore. I will have dinner prepared by the Sisters at the convent
tonight. Tomorrow I hope to visit the Vatican Museums in the morning.
In the evening I go to the Church
of Santa Susanna, the American parish
in Rome,
and pick up my ticket for the Papal audience on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning, I attend the audience, and in the evening catch the
train back to Munich.
Chris
April 9, 2008
This morning I attended the public
audience of the Holy Father. St. Peter's Square was packed with pilgrims from
all over the world. The Holy Father circled the square in the Popemobile at the
start of the audience shortly after 10:30 a.m. I was blessed that he passed close by my
seat twice before proceeding up to his chair. He gave a catechesis on
the life of St. Benedict, and greeted the many pilgrims, giving us his
Apostolic Blessing.
At the end, the Holy Father stayed
to greet special guests. Most pilgrims left the Square, but some of us stayed
to catch glimpses of the Holy Father as long as possible, until he finally left
the Square shortly before 1 p.m. and disappeared from our sight through
the gates at the side of St. Peter's Basilica in the Popemobile.
I proceeded to the Vatican Post
Office at the side of the Square where I wanted to send a postcard. It was
closed. I worried because I had only a few hours left when I could send mail
from the Vatican Post Office. I asked next door in the Bookstore of Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, the official Vatican publisher, when the Post Office
would open. They said, "In a few minutes." So I waited, but for at
least 10 minutes no one opened the door. So, feeling bored, I went back to the
bookstore and browsed without any particular aim. Some books about the Blessed
Mother caught my eye, and I wondered if any of them mentioned Naju. I thought
this was extremely unlikely, until I saw one titled "Le lacrime di
Maria: Truffa o prodigio?" (Tears of Mary: Fraud or Miracle?), by
Marino Gamba, published by Edizioni Messaggero Padova in 2008 (Imprimatur Feb.
28, 2008, Onello Paolo Doni, Vic. Gen., Padova) I did not immediately know
what to think of this title.
Though I know little Italian, I
could figure out the meaning of most of the sentences. The book describes
in detail about sixteen instances (with brief descriptions of dozens of
others) of tears shed from images of the Blessed Mother, including Syracuse,
Akita,
Civitavecchia, and
Naju. These last three recent events are in the chapter titled
"Is Heaven besieging earth?"
The section on Naju was
surprisingly detailed. It mentions most of the miracles that have occurred
between 1985 and 2007, including the tears and tears of blood, fragrant oil,
the statue moving, Eucharistic miracles, including the one in Rome witnessed by Pope John Paul II, and the
Blood on the rocks on the Blessed Mother's mountain. It mentions the DNA tests
of the Blood from these various miracles and the results that It is human blood
of type AB, the same as the Shroud of Turin.
It mentions Archbishop Youn's initial
positive reaction and later negative Declaration, repeated by Archbishop Choi.
The author states the Declaration's rationale that the Eucharistic miracles
contradict Church teachings, but raises the objection that the Church continues
to this day to honor the many similar miracles in Church history, including
Lanciano. The author says that, "many bishops and priests maintain a
positive opinion about Naju and, above all, the flow of pilgrims continues
incessantly." The author asks, why did Archbishop Youn changed his initial
positive opinion and assume "such a drastic position?" He attributes
the probable cause as the "modernist spirit" among "a good part
of the Korean clergy," that after Vatican II, many have "adapted the
doctrine of the Church" to "modern needs" and to pursue
"interreligious dialogue accommodating relativism and syncretism with
Protestants, Buddhists, and Confucianists."
Finally, the author names the many
bishops who have witnessed miracles in Naju and testified to their
authenticity, Bishops Daniel Chi and Paul Kim, Archbishops Giovanni Bulaitis
and Dominic Su, and Bishop Roman Danylak, and finally, "Both Pope Benedict
XVI and his predecessor, John Paul II, have followed with attention and
interest the developments of Naju."
I was stunned to find such a text
in the bookstore of the official Vatican publisher (though the book itself was
published elsewhere) right in St. Peter's Square, just as Judy saw the displays
and TV program in Italy
before. It seems that everywhere in the world, even in the very heart of
the Vatican, the good news
of Heaven's intervention in Naju, Korea, is made known, except by the Church
in Korea
itself.
After purchasing this book for 18
Euros, I stepped outside and found the post office had opened. I was thankful
that it had opened late, otherwise I would never have returned to the
bookstore.
In the few hours I had left in Rome, I made sure to visit the Dominican church of
Santa Maria
sopra Minerva where the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena is located. I prayed a rosary there,
then walked around the central part of Rome,
seeking perhaps some more beautiful churches as well as some delicious gelato
(ice cream). By chance I found the church
of San Ignazio, the
Jesuit church. I wondered, in this modernist day and age, why I would want
to visit a Jesuit church. But it was so huge, I just had to go in and look. To
my amazement, there were tombs of St. Robert Bellarmine, St. John Berchmans,
and St. Aloysius Gonzaga. I prayed another rosary for Fr. Chang before St.
Aloysius' tomb.
I had some gelato, stopped by
Santa Maria Maggiore for a few minutes to say "good-bye" on this
pilgrimage, bought a bottle of wine, picked up my luggage from the convent, and
went to the train station to depart Rome.
The journey back was completely on
time and without difficulty, although early in the night on the overnight
train I had a nightmare that I was in lying in bed during an enormous
earthquake and that probably no one around would survive. I woke up and
realized it was just the bumpy train ride over the tracks. I slept well the
rest of the night.
Chris
Berkeley
California, U. S. A.
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