A Day in Chicago {Day 8: Meandering Home}

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

Visiting St. John Cantius placed first on our 1-day-in-Chicago-to-do list;  meeting up with a long lost high school friend was a very close second.  Brian, my dear friend from Gig Harbor High School and a current FB and Christmas card friend, caught our online posts as we traveled I90 en route to Notre Dame and emailed an invite to stop off at his place on our way back through Chicago.  Further communications revealed that he lived only a short distance from St. John Cantius, and very near to St. Michael's Church (in Old Town), which he highly recommended we check out, knowing how we love our Churches.

St. Michael Church, Old Town Chicago

Brian served as our personal transportation consultant for the drive into and around the Windy City, with great driving directions and tips for avoiding serious back-ups and finding free parking.  At Brian's suggestion, we met at St. Michael's in Old Town around lunch time.  The glorious artwork was captivating, and reminiscent of Churches we visited in Italy, the high altar and tabernacle were still in place. 

Tim, Zachary and I were all given St. Michael as our middle-name patron, and our family fosters a special devotion to this Archangel, so visiting this place named in his honor had special significance... little did we know HOW special and HOW significant!

Joseph teaches Emmett a new trick at lunch.

After our rendezvous at St. Michael's, we walked a few blocks through beautiful Old Town Chicago to Brian's house, where we met his wife, Kathleen, and sons Emmett and Evan, before venturing on foot to the neighborhood diner for deli sandwiches and milkshakes.  Post lunch festivities included a trip to the North Shore of Lake Michigan, a short walk from their house.  The adults lounged and visited on the sandy shore, and the our boys enjoyed a dip in the lake, while their boys frolicked on the beach.

Peter and Evan's sidewalk races in Old Town Chicago

4 boys on a bridge, heading for the beach

Back to Brian's house for sand-rinsing, Lego sharing, and adult bonding, we found ourselves still in town at 5:30PM when the daily Mass began at St. Michael's in a side chapel.  My new friend, Kathleen, and I speed-walked to Mass, while the men-folk lingered and joined us at the Church for a 6PM farewell gathering.  Barefooted sidewalk races and pinkie toe first aid ensued, and before long we tore ourselves away from our Chicago friends and began another many hours drive west.

Joseph and Peter swimming in Lake Michigan on Chicago's North Shore

Noteworthy:

• Tonight's en-route inspirational CD highlighted the spiritual experience of reconnecting with a long-lost friend named Brian, not seen in 27 years...on this day that I reconnected with my friend, Brian, not seen in 27 years; certainly a spiritual experience!
• On sharing our Chicago stories with Tim's parents, they told us that it was IN ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH in Chicago that they received the inspiration to give their unborn son (Tim) the middle name Michael! Certainly another spiritual experience...

Tim and me on the North Shore

Brian and Kathleen in their own backyard

Our final view as we departed Illinois heading West

Not Quite Lost {Missing Boys}

A foolproof plan it was not: "Take Joseph's cell phone and call me when you are ready for a ride home from the park."   Nice in theory, but putting it into practice became quite difficult without the phone.

Yes, Peter and his buddy Cam left the phone at home on their early morning fishing expedition, seriously messing with my morning serenity.  It's not that far to walk home from the fishing pond, and any other day that would have been plan A.  But as Peter is now donning a walking cast to recover from a nagging, painful ankle injury, the walk was to be avoided if at all possible.

Yet somehow I think the mix-up simply allowed for God's plan A; and if you are interested, you can read the rest of the story at Discerning Daily.

Cam and Peter head out before breakfast to do some fishing catching.

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts {Campus Visit}

Entrance to Thomas More College

Joining a quad of freshmen, as a guest on a top bunk in the men's dormitory, Zachary did not get nearly the 12+ hours of sleep I managed to accumulate sleeping solo in a hotel room near campus on our first night in New Hampshire.  After the previous travel day with very little sleep, that first night's recovery did the trick for me.  Zachary, on the other hand, probably banked barely a few decent hours of sleep, and in fact rolled out of bed only minutes before his first class which began at 9AM (just like at home!).  

Despite being well rested and recovered, I managed to tip over my morning cuppa coffee at the hotel, which fried my cell phone in the process.   There were endless refills on coffee in the lobby, so I survived; my cell phone didn't fare so well and devolved to texting functions only.

Thomas More College chapel (double doors) and cafeteria (side door)

 Main altar and surrounding beauty inside the chapel at Thomas More College

The chapel at Thomas More College, where our Lord is truly present in the tabernacle 24/7, is a sacred space frequented often by students and faculty throughout the day.  While I enjoyed an afternoon read on a sunny bench outside the faculty building, I witnessed an active faith alive and well on campus as many stopped in at the chapel to visit with our Savior, some staying for prolonged prayer and others simply dropping in for a brief pause in His Presence before going on about their day's business.  Our Lord has truly blessed this campus and His people who are called to study, work and worship within.

 Thomas More's resident iconographer/art teacher, David Clayton, gives Zachary at tour of his workshop/guildhouse and his latest icon which is currently 'under construction.'

 Formerly the sheep stalls, now the 'caf' for students and faculty

An immersion campus experience for Zachary, his full day at Thomas More College included attending classes in art, humanities, religion, and satire (literature).   We met for lunch in the 'caf' and shared another amazing home cooked meal around a table with new friends and another visitor, a girl from Chicago who had just arrived on campus for a 24 hour stay.  To say that the students and faculty at TMC were friendly would be quite an understatement~ the people on campus were truly delightful and showed outstanding hospitality.

An after lunch tour given by instructor David Clayton, resident artist and iconographer, led us through the chapel and the art guild classroom/workshop and gave us an inside peek into TMC's well planned, intentional, sacred beauty and glimpses of future projects and enhancements for the campus chapel.  The gift of art is a living gift at TMC, and an appreciation for beauty thrives.  The TMC liberal arts program includes a sophomore semester in Rome, where TMC has a satellite campus and where students are steeped in history, art appreciation and gain a greater understanding of the universal church.

 Thomas More College classrooms and library building

Italy Day 16 {San Giovanni Rotondo Cemetery, Monte St. Angelo}

Cemetery at San Giovanni Rotondo

Father Michael Pio translates the inscription on St. Pio's father's tomb stone.

Departing San Giovanni Rotondo was unlike any other departure on our pilgrimage.  We were not only leaving another little Italian town we had briefly explored and enjoyed; we were leaving a dearly loved new friend, Father Michael Pio, who had become like a family member to us in the hours we spent visiting.  After checking out of the Villa San Pietro, we departed together for the San Giovanni Rotondo Cemetery on the outskirts of town.  Father Michael Pio gave us a guided tour of the cemetery, beginning at the Capuchin Chapel in which are buried St. Pio's parents, brother, and sister; his spiritual daughter and Third Order Franciscan Adelia Maria Pyle; his superior, Padre Pellegrino Funicelli, and others closely tied to St. Pio.  Remarkably, while we were standing at the gated entrance to the chapel, a grounds keeper came along and offered to open the building for us.  Once inside Father expressed his amazement, explaining that in all the times he had visited this site, it had never been opened.  We were once again in awe of God's grace!  Father taught us about the lives of the holy men and women interned there and translated the crypts.  We prayed.

Father Michael Pio's mother's grave, which he visited daily, was housed in a crypt for fourth order Fransiscans.  We stopped there to pray together for the repose of her soul, and for the souls buried there.  We also visited the new Capuchin Crypt at the cemetery and Father shared personal stories and memories, and prayers for the Capuchins buried there.  Our departure followed, and Father stayed behind at the cemetery to pray.  With hugs, blessings and very fond memories we left San Giovanni Rotondo and our dear Father Michael Pio.

Picnic lunch at the Castle in Monte St. Angelo, which we only explored from the outside, as it was reposa.

In the year 490AD, St. Michael the Archangel consecrated a cave in the hills of the province of Foggia, which has been a holy place of worship and a destination for Christian pilgrims since the middle ages. In the town of Monte St. Angelo, and known as the 'celestial basilica,' this shrine dedicated to our patron St. Michael the Archangel, has been visited by some of our other patron saints, including St. Bridget and St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as many popes and St. Francis of Assisi.  An awe inspiring place, the cave is now a part of a beautifully decorated Church, many feet underground.  No photography allowed, we spent our time in prayer both at the cave and in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.  On display in the museum were dozens dozens of "thank you" cards to St. Michael the Archangel for his protection and prayers for many in need. 

PRAYER TO

SAINT MICHAEL
THE ARCHANGEL

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Art work given in gratitude to St. Michael the Archangel.

Noteworthy:

• Many Italian cemeteries have florists (up to 3 vendors) on site at the entrance.
• Many Italian grave sites are decorated with fresh flowers and regularly visited.
• I was always fascinated with cemeteries when Tim needed help navigating; I had to shield my eyes in order to stay focused on the task of map reading and not get distracted by cemeteries!  At least one wrong turn a direct result of cemetery fascination.