Buongiorno from Roma! Br Matthew’s and my time in the Eternal City has been moving along very quickly. It is just shy of the two month mark since we left Brisbane. As you can imagine it has involved a rather steep learning curve. However with each week I find myself becoming more and more acclimated with the goings on of the city and the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). Our studies are well under way and we are currently preparing for several midterms. Only in Rome can one take a study break by visiting one of nearly 900 churches or chapels to be found in the city. Already I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit two art galleries and several important historical basilicas. We learn a great deal in the lecture hall but these trips are just as formative I believe. To be able to spend time in the presence of these great saints and pray quietly is a truly awesome gift and one I am very grateful for. At Christmas time we have been fortunate enough to be invited by the Oxford Oratory to join them and obviously Brs Shawn and Tyson. It will be a great opportunity to spend time with the brothers and soak up the atmosphere of the city that was so critical in the making of our beloved Blessed a John Henry Newman (co-patron of the Brisbane Oratory). It will also afford us the chance to visit the Birmingham and London Oratories too which is very exciting!
An extract from the Reflection in the Oratory Newsletter. If you would like to read the rest be sure to view the latest newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe!