Remembering last year....

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday.  This solemnity is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.  Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, had several "encounters with Jesus".  These encounters were in the form of visions and visitations from Jesus himself.  You can read more of Faustina's experiences  from her diary here.
She was canonized on April 30, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

Last year, on this day, I was in Rome for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II.  He is now Blessed John Paul II. 

I will never be able to express in words the experience of being in St. Peter's Square for this event.  Both Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II have a very special place in my heart.  I feel as though I know them.  It feels like they are part of my family.  As a matter of fact, Pope Benedict reminds me so much of my grandfather.  Whenever I see him, I feel like I want to run up to him and hug him...to have him embrace me in his arms the way my Grandpa Joe did. 

I wanted to share with you some pictures from that wonderful day!  Thanks to my dear friend, Monsignor Steven J. Lopes, we were able to have a birds eye view of the entire ceremony from the garden balcony of Cardinal William Levada, Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.  Mons. Steve is the Cardinal's priest secretary.  Although we started out in the middle of a crowd that numbered in the hundreds of thousands, Fr. Steve rescued the four of us from certain death by a crushing crowd!  I kid you not!  Thank goodness for cell phones and persistent nuns!

These are the pictures I took AFTER we were rescued and were safe!

This is the view of Cardinal Levada's balcony from St. Peter's
That's where were were privileged to be!!

Once we made it through the crowd, this was our view down
the Via della Conciliazione!

News crews were set up on the tops of many buildings.
This was a station from Germany.

I think we had an excellent view!

This was the view looking directly down from the balcony. 
Wall to wall people with no breathing room.
And yes, it's true, many Europeans do NOT wear deodorant!
Just sayin.

Telephoto lens!

Some of the sisters enjoying the view.

Wonderful coffee and Italian Easter bread..Colomba Pasquale.

Awesome boys choir.

The opposite view of the balcony.

Aren't they pretty?

Can you imagine waking up to this view every morning?

Deo Gratias - Thanks be to God!

Pope Benedict XVI

This has to have been one of the most wonderful spiritual experiences of my life!  It was intense.  I felt like I belonged there.  I felt like I was home!

  “The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them!.” (1074 – paragraph 2)