While the beer is not crucial to this statement, it definitely made for a lot of special memories during that semester. The Kartause Keller has their own brew of dunkel that tastes like...I don't know, really really good Austrian beer. There's nothing like it. Also its right down the stairs from where I lived, a definite plus. A pitcher was just 7 euros but the long talks and great laughs we had went far beyond that. Sometimes we went to the Keller to "study," or just because there was nothing else to do. But my favorite evenings there were just me and a friend, philosophizing and getting deep. Maybe it's my imagination but it also seems like men actually prefer to have discussions over a beer...whatever works for you! Always make time to get to know friends on a deeper level, and those are the friendships you will keep.
12. If you don't want to take a risk, just do it for the story!
(see my first blog post for this one!)
13. When you have nothing left and you feel stripped and vulnerable, give all the glory to God and praise Him still.
My travels were not always a smooth and thrilling ride. In my fortunate lifetime, I have never thought I would have the feeling of having nothing at all to my name. Well, it happened. My friend Kristen and I decided to go on a last minute weekend trip to Rome to see Pope Francis, a few days after his election to the papacy. We were really excited because it was our second trip to Rome and we were staying with friends and we already knew how to navigate the city. On Saturday, we started at our friend's house near St. Mary Major and walked to the catacombs, and then trekked across the city towards St. Peter's Square to do some shopping. It was a beautiful spring day and we were feeling confident and excited. We had returned to Rome for two reasons, to see Pope Francis and to get more amazing gelato from Frigidarium. If Rome is the center of the Church, then Frigidarium is the center of all gelato.
That was the last gelato I ever had.
As were eating that cold deliciousness, we decided to hop on a city bus for the last few blocks to St. Peter's.
Famous last decision.
The bus was crowded and we struggled to even find standing room. Suddenly, a man tapped Kristen on the shoulder and pointed....her purse was open and her wallet was gone. We leapt off the bus, as if we could somehow catch the culprit. I sucked in a breath, about to start cursing and crying, but before I could, she immediately said "Praise the Lord and give Him the glory. He'll make something beautiful out of this." And with that frame of mind, we survived. After making the necessary phone calls, we decided to continue on to St. Peter's before calling it a day. I stopped in a gift shop to pick up some things to be blessed and reached for my own wallet.......it, too, was gone. To this day I have no idea what happened to mine. We had not a single coin to even take a bus back to where we were staying or even to use the public bathroom. We had basically nothing of worth left in the country, other than our phones, praise God.
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| Our police reports. Good times! |
Oh, but our adventure had only just begun. We still had to get back to Gaming somehow.
After being rescued by our amazing friends, we finally got to see Pope Francis. We had nothing to lose, at that point, so we strove to gain. Here is a link to his Angelus homily about the source of the disciples' strength to keep on going. How appropriate.
In the spirit of St. Francis himself, we made the 20 some hour train trip out of Italy only by a whole lot of begging and praying. In answer to our prayers, we had already miraculously discovered a crumpled 50 euro bill in the bottom of my backpack, sent by a friend to buy her souvenirs. We spent 44 of those euros on a train ticket to Florence, and saved the other 6 for a bus from the train station to Gaming. We prayed so hard that entire train ride; that no one would check our tickets after Florence, that no one would ask for passports, that we wouldn't need any more food or supplies. And nothing bad happened. We had nothing, but we were given everything. By praising Him through the anger, frustration, and fear, I gained trust and a renewed belief in miracles. You'd better believe we kissed the ground of the Kartause when we finally made it home.
During that same trip, and on a haphazard trip to Cinque Terre the week before, I really truly prayed until my heart ached. I prayed desperately because there was nothing left to do. We weren't going to get our money and documents back, we just had to get back home somehow. But when I was safely back in Gaming, my spirit exhausted from begging, I realized that I should still be praying like that. Our prayers should not wane or become more lax when we don't desperately "need" something. Every day prayer should involve a plea, a cry out for mercy, protection, and the ability to love. For when we do not have love, then we truly have nothing at all.
"And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:2-3
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