Our last night in Rome was still great. I felt as though I had been in Rome for months, and I was ready to go back to Annapolis, but knowing it was the last night I would be in Rome was still a little odd. "Did I see everything I wanted?" I asked myself, so I thought about it, and after some thinking I decided I had seen everything except the Sistine Chapel. I knew there was no chance I could see it tonight since it was still closed after the conclave, but I felt peaceful about the entire trip. Yeah, I was ready to go back. I was ready to continue the mission at the Naval Academy.
Mass with Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien
Our last mass in Rome was Saturday evening with Cardinal O'Brien. He used to be a Chaplain at West Point (Beat Army!!!), and then was made Archbishop of Baltimore. On March 15, 2012, he was made the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem by Pope Benedict XVI. We had scheduled this mass months ago, but we were not sure if it was still going to happen because of the conclave. Since the conclave was over, Cardinal O'Brien was able to say mass, and it was just going to be our group. Mass was beautiful as always, and afterwards he came to talk to us about the conclave. All the Cardinals were sworn to secrecy about certain things inside the conclave, but he told us what he could, so we got inside information. Obviously, he told us how Pope Francis was elected. Here is the scoop!!!
Coming into the conclave there was no front runner, and so for the first election there was no surprise when there was no winner. On the second election people started to stick out, so by the third election there was actually a tie between Pope Francis and another Cardinal. After each election the Cardinals would go and pray for who the Holy Spirit wanted them to elect, and Cardinal O'Brien said "at the fourth election something broke." Pope Francis pulled ahead, but he still did not have the two-thirds requirement to become Pope. By the fifth vote it was all over, and Pope Francis had won the election. I think the coolest thing is that when the fifth vote was counted Pope Francis won by way more then two-thirds of the vote. It was inspiring to hear how unified the church was especially at a time when the world seems to be tearing a little around the edges. It was a great ending to a wonderful trip, but the greatest part of the trip was just getting to know some of the midshipmen in a closer way.
Hanging out with midshipmen
I met so many midshipmen who had never come around to the Catholic Midshipmen Club or bible studies. It was great to see them grow in their faith as they looked upon the beautiful history of our faith. There seemed to be a church on every street corner with some kind of amazing story. It was wonderful to see people's faces as they went from excitement, to amazement, and to peace. It was also nice to talk to them about what they loved about the faith and what they were still struggling with. It seemed that everyone that came on the pilgrimage was searching for something.
One of the midshipmen shared to me many struggles he had with the faith. He said that he believed in God, but that he had never really heard Him in prayer, and that he really did not know Jesus in a personal way. He told me that his prayer was not very consistent, so I challenged him to pray fifteen minutes a day for at least a week. I knew the Lord would speak to him, but he doubted that any change would happen. We never talked about it until after the vigil mass, and he came up to me and said "Marcos, you were right." I did not know what he was talking about at first, but then I remembered the challenge I gave to him, and he shared how the Lord had really spoken to him. I was so excited, and a little surprised, but I should not have been surprised. Of course the Lord is going to speak when someone is searching for Him.
The entire group bonded so much, and there will be moments that each of them will hold in their hearts for the rest of their life. The Lord was definitely working on our hearts during this trip, and I am so thankful for His love.
P.S. Happy Birthday Marta!!!
