An Anointed Occasion

Today, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and my dear brother Matthew's birthday, marks the realization of a dream come true.

I awoke in agreement with the early alarm, in great excitement for the day ahead. I had an early cappuccino, packed my bag, and headed out the door.

Daily at the Angelicum, the Dominicans offer their morning prayer in the university choir chapel. That's followed by Mass in Italian. I arrived in time to celebrate the Eucharist. Today's feast day is especially revered by the Dominicans, as it was to St. Dominic that Our Lady of the Rosary appeared.

Two Religious Sisters from India and I joined the twenty plus Dominican priests for Mass. It was beautiful to experience the Mass that way. After the Italian Mass there is a morning English Mass and later in the afternoon another English Mass. This, of course, is one of the many amazing traditions of the Angelicum. And quite uniquely, we are the only Pontifical University to have daily Adoration, morning to evening. This is a tradition that was begun by a student nearly twelve years ago. The university community signs up to be guardians of the Blessed Sacrament and offer prayer through the day.

After morning Mass, I made my way to our first lecture, Psychology, where my fellow first years and I awaited anxiously the first class of our careers at the Angelicum. Sadly, the professor missed the lecture for reasons unknown even to the Dean. So, we took a caffe and awaited the next course.

Many of the same students gathered once again in another room for History of Ancient Philosophy, where we were introduced to the birth of philosophy and the Greek context that we will study more deeply. This professor will also be teaching us Greek syntax and terminology, as well as Logic. This should make for a cohesive study of Greek tradition and philosophy.

After that, I had an extended break for lunch. At this time most students make use of the very inexpensive bar and caffe and enjoy the break in the university gardens. I joined my friend Hannah, a lovely young woman from Sweden. She and I ate our lunches and relaxed in conversation.
Hannah and I have all of the first year courses together. We made acquaintanceship during orientation and have hit it off beautifully. She converted to the Catholic faith last year, coming from her secular Lutheran, Swedish background. She has a peaceful spirit and expresses her self gracefully. We can be seen around campus laughing, as we share the same sense of humor. Hannah lives her life with great love and compassion. It's a blessing that God has placed her in my life that we might accompany one another as the path unfolds. I am certain we will grow together in this journey.

Ongoing through the day, we both found ourselves in awe of this place that the Lord has brought us. Each of us with a unique journey of arrival, feel immense joy, excitement, and gratitude to be in this setting. We laughed about how it feels like we are on retreat walking the halls of the Angelicum and how splendid it is to be in such pleasant company. It's like being in a different world. Amongst the hustle and bustle of Roman life lies this treasured haven.

I have been trying to accurately formulate what it feels like to be studying at the Angelicum. The best analogy that I can come up with is this: It's like the fulfillment of a dream for a studious American student who wants nothing more than to attend Harvard. And finally, one day, he finds himself among the population of those who he aspires to be like, professors and students.

Here I am, walking the grounds of this historical place, in the company of men and women, young and old, lay and religious, who are passionate about discovering and living in truth. I loved my experience at UCSB, the diversity of students and ideologies. And now, I have the joy of sitting among people who hope to serve the world in love and grow intellectually. It's incredible.

On just the first day, I was introduced to seminarians from all parts of the United Kingdom, priests and sisters from Latin America, India and Africa. Among our first year group are South Africans, people from New Zealand and all parts of Europe and Asia. We span the world, and here we are together in aspiration to grow in our understanding of our faith and the world in which we live.

Hannah and I admitted to being Catholic nerds, as we scanned the shelves of the bookstore, in excitement for the titles that await us.

From ancient philosophy, we made our way to Latin. As an introduction to the language and in honor of October being a month devoted to Our Lady, we began the class with praying the Sign of the Cross and Hail Mary in Latin. After putting my linguistic background to good use in learning case markings and declensions, we then made our way to Introduction to St. Thomas. There we were greeted by our professor, a German Dominican, who devotes his research to St. Thomas. In his brilliance, he reviewed with us the importance of knowing Thomas Aquinas as a person in light of studying his great works.

I won't limit the paradisal and perfect nature of Heaven, but I will say, I feel like I'm as close to heaven on earth as is possible.

Today I pray in a special way for the Rosary High School community and for my brother Matthew, who I love so much.

Beata Vergine Maria del Rosario, prega per noi.