Time to update

Well, I figured I procrastinated long enough. A lot has happened since the last time I updated. So where should I begin...

Stella Mariae: I mentioned this household before. As a mentioned previously, I've been spending a lot of time with this household. I've been going to their commitments. When I was at Holy Hour with them in the Eucharistic Chapel in Christ the King Chapel, I felt like I was at home. I feel that this is the household I should join. I have to wait until next semester to intent though. But that's OK. I'll get to meet the 15 girls who are in Austria this semester.

Antonian Hall...otherwise known as the cafe: I've come to find out how their food is like after orientation...OK but not great. I'll never understand why the food was great during University Day and Orientation, and not so great after the start of school. You would think that the quality of the food wouldn't change. I guess that's wishful thinking. But, I do like their breakfasts. So it's not a total loss. But I think that they should publish the menus in advance so people can know when to go to the cafe and when to avoid it like the plague.

Classes: Extremely busy with a lot of work, especially in Dr Bergsma's class, PBS I. You have to make sure that you have the reading and the journaling done by class. I'm usually almost completely done by class time. I do love his lectures, and his dramatics and chalkboard drawings (like Moses with the horns). But I don't like that he stuck me almost completely in the back of the class (we have arranged seating, and I'm near the back). I don't know if that's a good sign that he thinks I can do well in the class or whether he just doesn't like me. Who knows. But overall, I like my classes. Prof. Solom is really nice in my Intro to Catechetics class. Dr Healy of Philosophy of the Human Person definitely knows his stuff, and starts the class with an Our Father followed by attendance. In my Foundations of Catholicism class, you have to make sure you have completed the reading, otherwise Dr Donohue will start giving quizes. And I really like my Intermediate French teacher, Prof. Zori. She doesn't go too fast, and I'm able to keep up. Although I didn't do as well as I would have liked on my first test, I'm hoping to do better this time. We're studying about food and about things in France like different industries and different cities in France. I'm glad I didn't retake Elementary French because it would have been too basic for me.

So next weekend is homecoming. That means that the masses will be in the field house. I keep a cushion in my car so I don't have to kneel on the hard floor. I tried one time during orientation, and my knees hurt like crazy. So this makes it easier for me to kneel at mass. Oh, and the next FOP is this coming Saturday. I really enjoyed the last one. I just hope that I don't get knocked over by someone who's slain in the spirit. But I'll probably bring my bible, since I saw people bring their bibles the last time.

St. Francis' feast day is coming up pretty soon. (that was my paternal grandfather's full name, btw) I was born on the feast of St. Bonaventure. It was the 700th anniversary of his death. He died on July 15, 1274, and I was born on July 15, 1974. How freaky is that? And he's a doctor of the Church too. Cool! :-)

Forgot to mention something

I forgot to mention something. Perpetual adoration started in the Port yesterday. I was there last night...it's a beautiful monstrance. I like that I can go to adoration more often. When I was home, I couldn't go to adoration that much. I usually went to adoration at St Joseph's on Thursdays. I couldn't always make it to Spirit and Truth though, since they have adoration as well.

I have to tell you something. I really like being here at Franciscan. I like the fact that I'm not the only person whom people would consider a "Jesus Freak". Here, everyone's a Jesus Freak! :-) It's inspiring for me to see how devout a lot of people are. And the Friars are great too.

Yesterday there were American flags placed all over campus yesterday in honor of 9-11. I thought that was really nice. There were flags by a lot of the academic buildings and around the rosary circle. I think more schools should follow in their example.

Well, I have to go. Happy Lord's Day! :-)

Been busy

As you can tell from the title, I've been pretty busy. Last week, my parents stopped by Steubenville to bring down some things that I couldn't fit my my Ford Taurus, like my winter clothes and my printer. Plus I had to get a desk for the apartment so I'd have a place to do my homework while at home. So I got one from Walmart, plus a task chair. So now I've got my own mini office. My parents stayed in Steubenville for a few days. This was the first time my mother got to see the campus and the town. She really liked the Rosary Circle. And my parents took me downtown (during the day, of course) to see what it looks like, since I had heard of rumours of downtown Steubenville being really bad and that I should avoid it at all costs. But anyway, we went downtown. We went to visit St Peter's Church on 4th street (I think. Is it 4th Claire?), right across the street from Steubenville High School. It's a beautiful church. There's so much artwork. I'd have to try to venture downtown more often, just during the day. My parents left on Sunday. They went down to the Tampa area for vacation, and to look for a house (they've been house hunting in Florida for as long as I can remember, what makes this trip any different?). My mother has always said that she wants to move down to Florida and to get away from the NJ winter cold. I have a funny feeling she'll stay in NJ. I feel that if they were meant to move down to Florida, they would have been there by now. But anyway, I digress...

Last Friday was the Household open house. It was in the JC Williams Center. All of the households were there. Some of the guy households can get pretty crazy.

I've been spending time with the Stella Mariae household. They have a devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart. And they're a really nice group of girls too. I really feel comfortable with them.

Oh, I wanted to update on the music ministry. I didn't make it into the music ministry. I think one problem was that I didn't know a lot of the new songs that they sing, considering that I grew up with songs like "Sing to the Mountains" and "Be Not Afraid". I'm slowly learning the new songs. Hopefully by the end of the semester, I'll know the newer songs better.

A lot of people on campus have been sick with colds, myself included. And my mother caught my cold before she left Steubenville.

I have a quiz in Intermediate French on Monday. I've been revieving like mad the last few days trying to make sure I know what I'm doing. I think I've finally got Passe Compose down, and were were going over some of the verbs and countries. I think as long as I practice, I should do fine. I've been praying that St Therese would help me with my French, since she's a fluent French speaker...and a native at that. I have her picture on my desk. Just wish me good luck (ou bonne chance en francais).

Bonne weekend mes amis! (see, I still remember) :-)

OK, off to mass. See you later! God Bless!