Ethiopian Summer

And now, finally, an update about how my month in Ethiopia was. This was an article that I wrote for our seminary newsletter. Enjoy!

Ever since my childhood, I had romantic visions of being a missionary to Africa. In addition to this, in high school, I remember watching a movie about Mother Theresa and being deeply moved by her love for the poorest of the poor and the sick. Consequently, spending several weeks with her order of sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, in Ethiopia was really two dreams come true at once. I stayed at 2 of the Sisters’ centers, one in Addis Ababa and the other in Jimma—both of which were very unique and beautiful experiences. I will try to briefly share some of the things which the Lord is doing through the Sisters which I was privileged to be a part of.

In Addis, their mission houses about 400 patients, including men, women, and a children’s orphanage. Just outside the city in Asco, the sisters also have a dedicated AIDS orphanage, where they have about 400 children from infant to eighteen years old. They have a wonderful clinic, a school, and weaving looms where the children can learn how to make scarves and cloth to sell for themselves. In Jimma--which is in the southern highlands of Ethiopia—they have roughly the same number of patients, but the Sisters’ life is more rural: growing their own produce and coffee, and raising cows and pigs in addition to their hospice ministry.

In my whirlwind tour on the day I arrived, I was immersed into the reality of the poor who lived there. Tuberculosis and AIDS were the most common ailments, while many others suffered from fungal infections, cancer, mental disease, and relapsing fever. Many of the children were physically or mentally handicapped, while others were suffering from cancer or serious burn wounds. Part of the house was also a dedicated emergency room, where the more serious cases from the streets were brought. On average, a few people died every day—deaths which were probably not even preventable with better medical facilities.

My responsibilities as a volunteer were to assist in any area of the house that needed it, whether it was handing out meals at lunch, feeding those who couldn’t feed themselves, playing with children, doing physical therapy, signing patients into the emergency room, or bandaging wounds. The most rewarding ministry work for me was doing massage therapy with Tuberculosis patients in Jimma. Even though I only knew a few phrases in the local language, I was able to communicate through my hands that I cared for their needs. In addition, I was filled with joy knowing that this was the body of Christ in the poor that I was soothing.

While much of the ministry is one of simple presence with the poor, part of the experience is also sharing experiences with the other volunteers. People from all over the world gave their time to help the sisters: nurses from Spain and Denmark, Seminarians from Lebanon, and various service groups from France and Germany were just a few that came through this summer. I was blessed to serve alongside a few brother seminarians from the North American College in Rome, which provided much needed respite at the end of a long day with the poor.

However, the most profound experience during my stay with the sisters was perhaps the most unpleasant. For my first week I was violently ill—most likely because of the water—and was bedridden in-between what I liked to call “moments of purgatory.” I was frustrated that I had come all the way around the world to serve the sick, and here I was being yet another patient for the sisters to serve. Yet, the Lord was doing two wonderful things for me in the midst of the illness: I was getting much needed rest (since I never seem to take the time to do it on my own), and the Lord was giving me a greater sense of solidarity with the sick. The wonderful thing (in retrospect) was that as I loitered around the toilet, praying for a quick death rather than the pain I was experiencing, I would hear patients from the Tuberculosis Ward making noises outside which sounded like they were in far worse pain than me.

When I think about what I’ve taken from this summer, there were many beautiful experiences: playing with children, feeding finger food to the elderly (which is a very messy ordeal), laughter with brothers in missionary work, and the simple, deep Eucharistic devotion of the Missionaries of Charity that I was blessed to partake in. There were also moments of sadness: not being able to give money to people who really needed it, seeing several deaths and near-death moments, and feeling helpless in the face of real suffering and poverty. Indeed, without the life and rhythm of prayer, what the Sisters do is simply impossible. And yet, with complete abandonment to Divine Providence, anything seems possible for these humble servants of God. It is a beautiful vocation, and I pray that more people be inspired to join them. As the Sisters are fond of saying, “Jesus is waiting for you to touch Him” in the poor. May we be blessed to always see His face in the poor—and indeed, everyone—that we serve.

One of the mud huts that the poor lived in.

Sister Servita, mother superior in Jimma

Aids orphanage in Asco

Chapel of the sisters in Addis

Icon Completed!

Dear Friends and family,

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I know I haven't been writing much, but I wanted to share a moment of joy with you. Through your prayers and God's mercy, I was able to finish my icon of "Our Lady of Kazaan" on April 22nd, the Memorial of St. Anselm and the anniversary of my own Confirmation. By providence, it is also the anniversary of my Marian Consecration that I made 4 years ago at Steubenville. I wasn't planning to have it done until Friday, but Mary decided to grant me a special grace and help me finish it on the day when I gave myself to her for the first time.

What is most amazing about the whole process is that, looking at the icon, I am overwhelmed by the sense that "This isn't mine." Yet, the beauty of it is that this sentiment is ultimately true: the Gospel proclaimed by the iconographer is not his own, but that of Christ and His Church.

While on close inspection, there are several "mistakes" that I made, God shows in the finished product that He can indeed "write straight with crooked lines." Indeed, the parallels between iconography and our own spiritual lives are striking. Many times, we are doing the same things over and over again without seeing results, like the numerous, watered-down lines on the faces of Jesus and Mary. Yet, when the time is right, God reveals the plan He had all along for the small details, and His glory is manifested when all the little disparate things are brought together.

Looking back, I would not have been able to finish without your loving support and prayers, as drawing straight lines is even difficult for me! And yet, as you can see, it doesn't take an artist to make an icon, only obedience and the desire to witness to the Gospel (and a good teacher :)). Next year, Lord willing, I will make another icon under Fr. Paul; but for now, I must focus on my studies, as is only fitting for this time of year. Please continue to offer up prayers and sacrifices for me, as I can assure you they are bearing fruit: this icon is but a taste of what God can do in us when we give ourselves to him. A Blessed Easter season to you all: He is truly risen as He said, Alelluia!

Coming soon: pictures from start to finish!

Latest Icon update

Hey Everybody,

I know its been a while, but I thought I'd post a picture of the icon and how its going...

Also, if you were wondering and/or praying for my exams, I wanted to say thank you because I passed all my classes and did very well in many of them. They grade on a scale of 1-20 over here, with 10 being a passing grade and rarely giving scores above 17.

Please continue to pray for me, as Lent will surely be a time of purification to finish the icon by the deadline in April. Speaking of Lent...its almost here! May each of us receive the grace to follow the Lord in the way of the cross during these 40 days. I'll try to update more regularly, especially with a post of pictures of the big icon of the immaculate conception. It was just finished today by our teacher, Fr. Paul, and will be soon blessed and placed in our chapel. It is absolutely stunning.

Until next time...

Happy New Year!

Blessings and grace to all of you from Belgium! It is the first day of our "Study block," it snowed 2 inches last night, and I am procrastinating yet again to give you a small update on happenings "across the pond." I was graced to spend Christmas vacation in Rome with both brothers from Leuven, as well as former brothers from Steubenville and my diocesan brothers studying in Rome. Our itinerary was packed and included day trips to Florence and Asissi, mass at the 4 major basilicas in Rome, A scavi tour under St. Peter's, midnight mass and New Years mass with the Holy Father, and trips to several world class museums. O yeah, and a whole lot of great Italian food and beverages (including copious amounts of limoncello).

Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from Rome, but several of the other guys took a lot. When I get them compiled, I'll share a few with you. Here's some of the midnight mass with Pope Benedict. A friend gave us a sweet hook-up, so we were able to sit behind the pope with the "people's choir"

The nativity set outside of St. Peter's was pretty spectacular as well...

I was also blessed on New Year's day to be able to pray with some of my brothers with some praise and worship and Eucharistic adoration. I really miss doing that here in Belgium, but hopefully this semester I'll be able to get something started. There are so many opportunities for grace.

I was also blessed to return to Asissi. Everytime I've been there it is just wonderful. If you haven't been there before, you really should go there for retreat sometime...absolutely breathtaking and peaceful. Here's a picture of the basilica of St. Francis and the nativity set they have outside (Francis was, of course, the first person to display nativity sets on Christmas)

My icon is coming along well, and I am almost done with all the solid colors. I will have a separate post about that in the coming days. Please continue to pray for me that I perservere and avoid laziness during the exam block. May we all, like the wise men, seek the Lord-bearing the best gifts that we have for Him.

Iconography

It's been a while since I last wrote, and many things have happened, both good and mediocre. One of the real blessings has been the opportunity to write an Icon. An icon is not technically a work of art, but rather a prayer form of the Eastern Church, which has its roots steeped in an artistic tradition that is highly symbolic. Simply put, an icon is not about artistic talent, but obedience to a set of artistic forms to proclaim the Gospel in pictures. It's really fascinating, but I don't have the time to elaborate more right now. Below are some pictures of me working on it in various stages. Please pray for me, as the process of creation is a spiritual journey. Hopefully, I will be finished sometime this spring. You can see the finished image in the second picture next to me. The name of the image is "Our Lady of Kazaan"

Blessings to you!

Mark

Silent Retreat and Week of Homilies

(pictures of the retreat house)

Grace and Peace to you and your loved ones!

My friends, God is good to us, more so than we deserve. Last week, I was priviledged to spend a week in Silent retreat at a Jesuit retreat house in Dronghen. The Grounds were beautiful and the time was so necessary to come to terms with the new life that I am living. I realize that nothing is familiar to me here except my faith, and the foundational relationship with Jesus Christ is all that remains when the other externals are stripped away. I thank you all for your prayers, because even in the midst of such turmoil and change, the Lord has been a constant presence to me here. I must mention also, the effects of your rosaries and mass intentions: Mary has long been my mother, and she, through the mercy and grace of God, has been comforting me during this time of transition. I know, in the depth of my heart, that the Lord will not abandon me, or any of us for that matter. Thanks be to God for His generosity!

In addition to the retreat, we were graced this week to have a homiletics workshop with Fr. Jim Wallace, C.S.S.r. His talks were excellent and I had the opportunity to write my first homily! I hope to be able to continue learning techniques for crafting better sermons and, through prayer and study, grow in deeper awareness of God's mystery.

(picture: a path at Dronghen, metaphor for spiritual journey)


We begin classes on Tuesday! I can hardly wait to get started. God continues to confound me and bless me more than I deserve. According to my study program, I could potentially be finished with my bachelors in one-and a half years! This is a civil degree, but it pairs up with the cannonical degree of S.T.B, which could also be finished in a little under 2 years! Afterwards, I would do my Masters, which pairs with the S.T.L. lasting about 2 years. In 3 and 1/2 years from now, I could be done with what would normally be 5 years! This is both a shock and humbling, for I know it means that I will be working very hard. Yet, I know that I am here by grace anyway, and the Lord will not give me more than I can handle. Please pray that I have wisdom and discernment regarding what exactly God is asking me to do with studies, so that I don't bite off more than I can chew.

I miss you all and hope that you are doing well. May God's love be with each of your families and fill you abundantly this day. I have Skype with an American phone number now, if you would like to call me. Just drop me an email and I'll give it to you. Until next time...

(Just a picture of a rib-dinner that I had with my brothers not too far from the college...amazing food...yes I know I'm random, but I liked it!)

New Life in Leuven!

It has been a wild ride these last few days! Thanks to all for the birthday greetings. I can honestly say that it was one of the most wonderful birthdays I've had, beginning with the airlines upgrading my seat for free--business class is really nice! When I arrived, my luggage was still in London, so I was stuck with the clothes on my back and my computer. Thanks be to God for answered prayer! (don't ask for poverty unless you really want it :)) That evening, we had a BBQ social and my first Belgian beers, which were pretty good. After not sleeping well, we had a full day of orientation conferences and dinner at an Italian restaurant with the priest faculty and new seminarians in town. Yesterday was spent at town hall and the International student office taking care of registration in the morning, followed by a free afternoon of wandering in the city. That evening we watched "Molokai-the story of Fr. Damian" in preparation for today's activities.

Today, we celebrated morning mass at St. Anthony's church, where the relics of Blessed Damian of Molokai (a Belgian saint) are kept. Afterwards, we boarded a bus and drove to his birthplace and took a tour of his home. For those of you unfamiliar with his story, blessed Damian went to the leper colony on the island of Molokai in the 19th century, caring for the sick, building houses and churches, and living in solidarity with the lepers who were quarantined by order of the government. He faced many hardships, since there were an average of 1000 lepers at any given time, no laws or law enforcement, and he was literally their only caregiver. His requests for better aid were largely ignored by both the government and his superior. Yet he endured slander and ridicule with profound humility, and continued to care for the sick and administer the sacraments. Eventually, he contracted leprosy and died from it--but the witness of his life and death changed the world and brought public attention to the disease of leprosy. Largely due to his witness, medicine was developed in the last century to cure it. Incidentally, Blessed Damian's canonization is due this year or next, and we will all go to Rome for the mass when it happens. You are probably wondering what my accommodations look like and such...well, they are modest but quite comfortable. It is probably the same size as my room at Mt. Angel, but it is split into two levels: the ground level with sink, desk and bookshelf, and the loft with my bed and clothes. We are on the fifth floor, so I have a great view of the city and the garden in the backyard. here are a few pictures.

Life is good here. There are 11 of us in the house, so it is very small, but they are all really good men. The Lord is already beginning to work on me, so prayers are appreciated. We begin our retreat this Sunday, so the rest of this week is still orientation stuff. I miss you all and pray that our Lord bless and keep you. Until next time...