Full Regalia

So the Swiss Guards came out in full dress Thursday evening for a Mass at Saint Peter's to start off the new academic year. It was great to be gathered together with fellow classmates and students and faculty from the universities of all over Rome.















Christ the Teacher: Program for the Liturgy


As concelebrating priests we processed in at the beginning of the liturgy to surround the main altar, where off to the right a schola from one of the universities was leading the music. Cardinal Grocholewski, who is the Prefetto della Congregazione per l’Educazione Cattolica (trans. Guy Who Takes Care of School Stuff), presided at the liturgy, centered over the tomb of Saint Peter.

2,000 years after Saint Peter was killed here for the faith, students from all around the globe were gathering to reaffirm their fidelity to that same belief; where Nero extinguished a human body, thousands are united in the living body of the Church joined to Peter's successor.

As the liturgy progressed I kept hearing the words of Revelation cascading past my ears: the golden lampstands were surrounded by the elders, clothed in white robes, as the smoke of the incense went up from the altar, built over one 'who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne'. As we stood for the gospel, the bishops, while not wearing gold crowns, cast off their miters as they turned toward the Word from which they preached. At the time of the homily the chair was brought in and placed before the altar, not quite surrounded by an emerald rainbow, but pointing to the chair of authority before which we all one day will be called. All the symbols were there to prepare us for the coming of the lamb that was slain, yet living, who would come to the altar before us.

Much of the liturgy was sung, with the Responsorial Psalm drawing my attention, as the cantor was blind, and followed the text by braille.

The readings were taken from the weekday, meaning they weren't specially selected for the event. This made the themes particularly intriguing. Paul in his letter to the Romans (6: 19-23) tells us how he is explaining things in simple terms because our bodies are so weak: any student who has spent hours poring over texts knows how true that is. Jesus in Luke's Gospel (12: 49-53) talks about how he has come to bring not peace, but division, and as students of the Gospel given to us by the Word of God, 'sharper than a two-edged sword', we are given a content that might not win friends and admirers, but earn us an end similar to Peter's.

At the end of the liturgy, after I had joined the other priests in distributing communion to the thousands gathered there, we paused to prepare for Benedict to come to address the gathered congregation.

These guys brought their halberds for the occasion:















Pope Benedict XVI joined us to share some words of encouragement and exhortation. Similar to his words to our rector a week or so ago, he reminded us that study is built on the foundation of prayer. In addition, the opportunity of studying in Rome gives the person the opportunity to share in the rich historical and cultural foundation of the Faith. His full text is on the Vatican website, if you want to brush up on your Italian.











Father Miro, sitting next to me, took this picture. I think it's somebody important.