Living Bones

Yesterday I went with a few of the guys from the seminary on the scavi tour at St. Peter's. The tour goes through fairly recent renovations and excavations below the basilica. It starts with ancient Roman burial crypts where middle class Roman pagans burried their dead. And as you walk along the street (still underneath the Basilica) you eventually arrive at an ancient Christian burial site where the ceiling holds the oldest known mosaic of Christ. But the highlight of the tour was the bones of St. Peter. After being discovered and thoroughly tested, the remains of St. Peter were put in a clear box (built by NASA) almost directly under the main altar of the Basilica. Our tour guide, a brother seminarian, told us that John Paul II used to come to this site upon arriving back in Rome after every major trip to pray at the remains of St. Peter. And structurally it is clear that these bones are the heart and central foundation of the Basilica.

I took the opportunity there to pray for my family, friends, and the many parishioners that I have had the opportunity to work and worship with. And as I prayed, I couldn't help but think of how imperfect Peter was. I kept remembering how he had doubted Jesus, sinking into the water, and how he intentionally and publicly denied Jesus three times. But somehow he was invited to be one of the twelve disciples. And somehow he became the first pope- the rock upon which the Church was built. And somehow countless people have come to Rome from all across the world to pray at his remains.

Right after returning to the seminary we all went to holy hour where we prayed, gazing into the Eucharist in a golden monstrance. And as I sat in silence I kept thinking about the juxtaposition- Peter who had publicly denied Jesus Christ and now the Eucharist- in which Christ is truly present.

As prayer continued I thought about how all of us are somehow present in the Eucharist as well- in some kind of harmonious union with God and with one another. And how all of us, like Peter, are incredibly unworthy. I sat for a while thinking about that- our unworthiness, our weakness-- and yet our invitation, our strength.

Directly after holy hour we prayed Evening Prayer as a community. And the response was: "I shall know the fullness of joy when I see your face, O Lord." What a great line! When I read it, the first thing that came to mind was this image of Mother Teresa- the sheer joy that she must have experienced as she encountered Christ in this child. The sheer joy that she experienced when she saw God, face to face.

I spent some time with that one- reflecting on the many times that I have seen the face of God in prayer, in the poor, in family, in the sacraments, in friends, in parishioners, in strangers. And being full of joy.

An attitude of gratitude is the theme for the day I guess. Grateful for these saints who have freely spent themselves in the service of others and for God who continually invites us to do the same in his Spirit.