The early third day of Christmas...

I woke up this morning at 605 am after sleeping around 3am... I prayed to wake up with enough time to get to the Vatican and get good seats for the Audience... turns out my alarm was on silent (and set to 645)... so when I woke up refreshed at 605, i decided not to go back to sleep and instead hope for a good sunrise...

That's my "I'm too tired to make a tired face, so here's a my eyes are open wide and yes I'm a bit scary right now

So I hopped in the shower, got ready and left, taking the metro instead of walking as I was hoping for a sunrise over St. Peter's square... which turned out to not happen but mostly due to it being overcast... I think the metro this moring was the longest time I was alone today... immediately when I got off the metro, I found a cafe, grabbed a cafe latte and a chocolate filled croisant for 1,90 EURO! Dirt cheap breakfast I'd say... no wonder why they eat so much stuff like that! After I got the cafe I talked with a older man for several minutes before heading into the square.

I'm getting pretty good at setingup self portraits...

After waiting awhile in the square, I discovered that the nativity scene I wasn't impressed by, looked amazing in the quiet morning sun, with soft footsteps distant... I have pictures... but ;-) I can't post everything! (unless you beg :-P)


When we wen to the hall, we were the first to start a new section, being in the second section on the right, second row, seats one and two (I met luke near the obelisk and after a bit of run around trying to find the auditorium, we ended up in line.)

For the most part of the time we waited (about two hours once indoors) we (the americans behind us and the colombians in front of us) staged a sit-in, refusing to get up until his appearance was close... which gave us breathing room and practiced my patience... and my friends. But it was also a practical crowd measure, to prevent ourselves from getting squished for too long/hard... we only got up about 30 mins before he came and when we did, we got squished a bit, but not nearly as bad as the pack in the above photo!

This thing is gorgeous! And i'm struggling right now to find out what it is... my guess is either creation or judgement... but I wish I could find out!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAPA B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So after this photo, Papa B came over at which point I got to both hold his hand and touch his ring! I had planned to touch my rosary to him, or at least hetti, but the moment he came over everything went out of my mind except "hand" then "ring". The photos that the official photographers took of me look crazy... (I bought one and will post it when I get it tomorrow or when I return to Rome if I leave before I pick it up). It's crazy... cause once I touched the ring, everything in my body shifted from whatever mix of excitement and intrigue and anticipation I had, into this very odd trance like peace... where everything all of a sudden seemed to disappear though completely apparent. I didn't expect it at all... but it was crazy. I don't really know how to convey what happened/is still happening, but peace has been a strong strain in my day.


The audience... he read in French, English, German and a few other languages... He's crazy at languages... he also sent out a blessing to the families of everyone present, and the sick... I have a video of the precise wordings, (I actually got lots of videos today) It's not posted yet, but I think in 6 hours or 18 at most, it should be at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/index_en.htm

After the Audience we got some really good pictures of the vatican city on the way out.

Luke and I. (He's a future "Chinese American" as he puts it... he's working in Bejing.)


Sometimes this city lends itself to moments of great beauty... and unfortunately... posting them all would drive you NUTS!

This was at St. John Lateran... I went into St. Mary Major, OL perpetual help, St. John Lateran, Holy Cross, 'St. Peter and St. James', and St. Martin (ai monti)... and I may have actually been in more than that... I could be forgetting a few... it's crazy... I only wanted to go into St. John and St. Pete's today... but I kept getting pulled into churches by people I kept meeting... like I said, I may have had five minutes throughout the day I wasn't with someone... and I was with many people today (four/six main ones)
we went to the coliseum (colosseum)
and then "St. Peter's and St. James'" Which had a divine mercy painting... and was the second time we (Susana and I) came into mass halfway... (eventually we made a mass at St. Martin at 6pm)
Susana and I walked around a bit after mass and headed down to the forum area... and on the way we found the above as we looked back!
(Susana and I)

But the night ended at The Victor Emanuel monument... (I think that's what this is... I'm too tired to check!)

So the whole day I've been looking for how to get to Medjugorge... but no one seemed to know how except a Cistercian monk who knew halfway and advised against it... Cistercians have a spirituality of finding God in ordinary life. And though I tend to agree that God is not "somewhere out there" but if He's found He'll be inside, sometimes going somewhere helps refocus my internal search.

I've also gotten a lot better at buying food... I still hope to stop by a grocer's soon... cause that's ideally cheap... so far I've got a good meal down to 3-5 euro (A large slice of pizza and a 1.5 ltr fanta is about 5, and if you buy a 1.5 ltr you have it for the rest of the day! So you can eat for like 10 euro or less three small meals.)

Anyhow, I'm gonna head! Night and God bless you all!