St. Peter Express

The abridged adventures of one of the 1.5 million pilgrims that descended upon Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II: an account of everything but the beatification itself.

By F. Ferguson

Exodus and Exile
The last hours before departure, I’m playing with fire: rushing to iron a pillowcase, drying and straightening my hair, baking cookies. Everything goes smoothly until the discovery that the last metro connection to Austerlitz Station is closed. The clock is ticking… terrified of missing my train, I race across the Seine heaving my big backpack, but on the platform, my cohort of 80 university students decked out in white and blue are milling about excitedly. Apparently, there’s still a half hour before departure. I get some funny glances—I probably look like how I feel: a packcamel after a Saharan sprint.

Self-ostracized in my sweaty and gross state, I nervously make my way to the couchette listed on my ticket. At a compartment stuffed with backpacks and a bunch of girls, I muster a friendly, “Hi, I’m bunk #96.” They’re not impressed. “The bunks are all taken; we’re not actually assigned anywhere, so you’re free to pick whatever spot you find.” Oh. Heat transfer: burn. I drift down the train peering into body-less but backpack-filled compartments, the lone new kid on the school playground.

Constructing a Sun in a Moving Train
Somehow my bunk is re-rendered to me, so I drop off my backpack and wander down the narrow hall in search of friendly faces. And I find one: a fellow in a classy blazer who answers, “engineering” when asked what he studies. His response and general friendliness inspire my soliciting help to transform my pillowcase into an unmistakable symbol of national identity. He kindly accepts. While he sets up a compass, three roommates swoop in on this quest to create a perfect circle—we consider tracing a round of Camembert, but it’s proportionally inadequate. Replacing the compass’ weak fiber with dental floss, the operation continues, and finally, the train finally begins to inch towards Italy. Cheers erupt from throughout the train; exuberant students stick their heads out the windows, waving at startled people on the platform.

But I, I stay put, observing the team of gallant Frenchmen at work making me a sun, which I eventually snip out with a tiny hot pink Swiss Army knife. Some of this brigade also stick their heads out the window, notably the fellow who drains his carton of pork rillettes into the rushing evening wind. Mirth and merriment abound. Visitors pop in frequently, asking what we’re doing with newspaper and scarlet fabric all over the place. The guys grin, “Making a Japanese flag, obviously!”

As dinner winds down, one of our accompanying priests leads vespers over the loudspeaker. We pull out our booklets. Chant, hymn and prayer fill the train.

Romeward Bound
A group leader arrives to herd his errant flag-making sheep from the far end of the car. I meet the people with whom I will be deployed in Rome. Ten of us, including a just-engaged couple and two brothers who’ve come from the coast of France for this trip, cram cozily into a compartment. The space is decked out with giant French and Vatican flags, much to the delight of the priest who stops by. We hold a discussion on love and forgiveness; a passage from one of John Paul II’s homilies: “Is not mercy love’s ‘second name’?” particularly strikes us. We pray Compline with the rest of the train before splitting.

Then the priest’s voice invites us to pray the rosary. I slip into the nearest quiet compartment, where the girls graciously gesture to a seat. How wonderful this trip is: strangers so freely praying together.

Later while I’m chatting with the girls in my own compartment, an American exchange student finds me and we talk briefly before the beds are set up. I climb into the middle bunk in the direction of movement (toss-up between slamming into the wall or into the two vertical straps in place to keep bodies from falling). But it’s actually exceedingly peaceful. I’m flying through the night on my back across the countryside in an insulated roller coaster. In my pajamas!

In the Morning
I wake up to what seems like one of the miracles required for the beatification to be valid: I could swear that we’re traveling in the opposite direction. What I am sure of is that most of us are awake, but no one moves until the priest’s voice informs us that soon it’ll be time for Lauds. To dress in the space of about two squashed square meters and chant morning prayer from our bunks, we become contortionists. (Yet another miracle?) After breakfast, we break to meet with our small groups to further discuss Divine Mercy.

Later, some students lead singing over the speakers and introduce our Roman itinerary. The useful narration is interspersed with some wry commentary as well as spontaneous karaoke until a rather doleful voice informs us that the mic has been reappropriated by the proper train authorities.

On the walls hiding the beautiful city of Florence, there’s gigantic graffiti that reads, “YOGURT,” with a “v” in place of the “u.” How Latin.

Flag-Making, Reprise
One car over, an assistant helps me center and pin the sun to the pillowcase with red safety pins. During our industry, we sing with another girl. When it’s time to work on the Polish side of the flag, someone from my group shows up and offers help. Thus while poking fun at the Parisian accent, we fuss with the large swath of red fabric, folding, cutting, pinning, and occasionally yelping in pain as we clumsily pierce our fingers. Well, he just pretends. I bear the injuries.

Rome
We leave Termini Station at 3 pm in our groups for the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. It’s a brief visit, as the second train carrying our mass’ celebrant, Cardinal Vingt-Trois, is delayed four hours. Our group settles on a bench-lined walkway between the Carcalla baths and the Circus Maximus to discuss charity and compassion. Then we break out our rain gear and head to the Forums, snacking on satisfyingly chewy chocolate chip cookies. The rain lets up as the chaplaincy meets at one of the oldest churches in Rome, the Basilica of Saint Clement. In the courtyard, our chaplains describe the building’s conversion from house to church, and the role of families in evangelization.

We then convene at the Lateran Obelisk—the largest standing in the world—waiting for others of the 1,500 from the Paris diocese to arrive. We’ve secured the basilica for our own French mass, and we enter singing joyously. After the mass, students linger to continue singing. The gilded ceiling and exquisite paintings in the apse and transepts are lit beautifully.

Nightfall
After picnicking near the Coliseum, we begin our trek towards the Vatican City. Other flag-bearing pilgrims cross our path that features clocks marked with numerals that couldn’t be more Roman. Near 11 pm, we arrive at the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II. From my plot in the gutter, I can see the glowing cupola crowning St. Peter’s basilica above the housetops and the illuminated Castel Sant’Angelo lying at my feet. Not bad for a first outdoor sleepover. We’re just a drop in this river of bodies and sleeping bags lining the street; on the sidewalk, steady streams of Poles—some in cultish metallic red capes—parade past in both directions.

The priest takes his post at the intersection with a loudspeaker, rallying the morale of his French flock. Flags and banners dance above us in the night sky; we cheer as the bus carrying a company of cardinals—the Cardinal Car—creeps past. Traffic finally gives way to the multitude steadily filling the streets. Our territory secured, we pray Compline and sing the beautiful chant Totus tuus, the motto of John Paul II’s pontificate. Then we party like we just traveled 1,104 kilometers to celebrate the beatification of our favorite Polish pope of all time. Out come the guitar, violin, drums, and jubilant hymns… Some people actually fall sleep, but plenty don’t even try, opting to sit on the wall with the intention of singing through the night. Unfortunately, the post-hymn repertoire attracts an audience of smokers and the wind sends smelly toxic fumes in my direction. I muffle my aggravation, burrowing into my sleeping bag.

Devotedly washed and sprinkled with rose petals, Hamza Ali al-Khateeb lies prepared for burial.

But the rituals of death cannot wipe away the horrific injuries that have mutilated his body almost beyond recognition.

Nor do they blot out that Hamza - riddled with bullets, kneecapped and with neck broken and penis hacked off - has the rounded cheeks and gentle face of a child... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392684/Hamza-Ali-al-Khateeb-chi...

The situation is becoming increasingly grim for Pakistan’s Christian population. Unimaginable fits of violence and acts of desecration against sacred lands barely begin to describe the horror and devastation that non-Muslims face in a nation that is becoming increasingly less tolerant. Last week, the Asia Times reported on two alleged instances that perfectly illustrate how the situation has devolved:

Christian tombs were recently... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/report-police-refuse-help-after-christia...

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia‘s Orthodox Church teamed with Conservative parliamentarians Monday to push legislation that would radically restrict abortions in a nation struggling to cope with one of the world’s lowest birthrates.

The legislation would ban free abortions at government-run clinics and prohibit the sale of the morning-after pill without a prescription, said Yelena Mizulina, who heads a parliamentary committee on families, women and children.

She added that... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/russian-lawmakers-prepare-for-major-crac...

19-year-old Katya Koren is an attractive, young Muslim girl from Ukraine... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/19-year-old-muslim-girl-allegedly-stoned...

(Reuters) - Last January, Nazih Moussa Gerges locked up his downtown Cairo law office and joined hundreds of thousands of fellow Egyptians to demand that President Hosni Mubarak step down.

The 33-year-old Christian lawyer was... http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/27/us-egypt-christians-idUSTRE74Q...

Written by Rhonda Robinson

Never before have I walked into a church to be greeted by a barrier of armed police with metal detector wands. Nor have I had to let officers open my purse to search for weapons before I could enter a sanctuary—that is, until now.

That was when Geert Wilders came to speak at Cornerstone Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He came to warn America, to warn Christians. He came to wake up the Bible Belt to the threat of Islam. But before a single word was spoken, these ominous signs foreshadowed the truth of what was yet to come.

Geert Wilders is not a president, royalty, or anyone most of us would recognize on the street. And yet, as he took the podium to a loud applause and standing ovation, Wilders stood flanked with security constantly scanning the crowd, reminiscent of our own presidential secret service.

Why all the fuss for... http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/05/20/geert-wilders-presents-5-steps-am...

Written by Diane Schrader

Let’s pretend, for a moment, that academic freedom really did reign on America’s college campuses. I know, it’s difficult to envision, but just for the sake of argument let’s pretend it exists.

So into our little fantasy, let’s introduce a character. Let’s make him one of the most influential young conservative Christians in America, who is also a teaching assistant and Ph.D. candidate at Yale. (Ha ha ha! A well-known conservative Christian teaching at Yale! This is one crazy fantasy!)

And let’s say that in a lecture one day, he says the following things:

1. The Bible teaches that Islam is evil. Evil, repugnant, futile and useless.

2. Muslims, therefore, are evil.

3. God says that Muslims are spiritually filthy.

4. The life and property of Muslims hold no value when we are battling them. Here in America, this is not the place and time where we can take their lives and property, but in other places, we can, and at another time, we may do it here, as well. But not here now. Not yet.

Let’s further pretend that we have audio of this teaching, widely... http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/05/16/video-a-muslim-view-of-peace-and-...

Written by Scott Baker

NEW DELHI (AP) — Two Muslim mothers in a northern Indian town have been arrested on accusations they killed their daughters for dishonoring the family by eloping with Hindu men, police said Sunday.

Newlyweds Zahida, 19, and Husna, 26, were strangled when they returned home after getting married to men of their choice, said Anil Kumar Kusan, a police officer.

Marriages between Hindus and Muslims are not common in India and are frowned upon by both communities, although there are more instances of inter-religious marriages among the educated urban population.

Across India, many marriages are... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/india-mothers-accused-in-honor-killing-o...

Schools are helping teenage girls keep abortions secret from their parents. Imogen Neale reports.

A MOTHER is angry her 16-year-old daughter had a secret abortion arranged by a school counsellor.

Helen, not her real name, found out about the termination four days after it had happened. "I was horrified. Horrified that she'd had to go through that on her own, and horrified her friends and counsellors had felt that she shouldn't talk to us," she said.

She had suspected something was wrong, but her daughter insisted her tears were over everyday teenage dramas.

But Helen confronted... http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/news/5005398/Schools-arrange-se...

Written by Jonathon M. Seidl

With the military’s “Don‘t Ask Don’t Tell” policy repealed, its branches have been forced to update their positions regarding same-sex couples. One such update includes the Navy now okaying its chapels to be used for same-sex marriages. But despite the repeal, some say the move could violate current federal law.

As CNS News reports, “the Office of the Chief of Navy Chaplains has decided that same-sex couples in the Navy will be able to get married in Navy chapels, and that Navy chaplains will be allowed to perform the ceremonies — if homosexual marriage is legal in the state where the unions are to be performed.”

That‘s a change from... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/navy-memo-reveals-same-sex-marriages-now...

Colorado Springs, CO is seen by many as the center of the Christian evangelical community in the American West. So it is more than ironic that the United States Air Force Academy, also based in Colorado Springs, has just opened a prayer circle and Stonehenge-like area so that its Wiccans, Druids, and “earth-centered groups” have a place to worship.

“This outdoor worship space is something we have created to help people of all religions,” Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, the academy’s superintendent, told The Gazette before a ribbon-cutting on the site... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/wiccans-druids-earth-centered-groups-get...

Faith Community Church will be hosting Peter Russell of Wild Hope International and two Maasai /Wild Hope Warriors from Tanzania, Africa, on Tuesday, May 3rd, at 7 pm at their 355 D St. Campus.

Peter says that, “For years our Wild Hope team have felt we were to be a bridge between the West and Africa ...especially in regards to renewal, revival and the discipling of leaders. Right now there is a great in-gathering in the part of Maasailand where we work. We have never seen anything like it in all of our years working with the Maasai! And our dear friends are at the center of it, being agents of God’s incredible GRACE and LOVE.”

“Two of these leaders in Maasai, James Kukan and Solomon Kipi are coming to the States with me! James and Solomon are warriors for Jesus. In his youth James was a literal warrior and songs have been sung about his feats. And now he's leading the charge in seeing true spiritual transformation amongst his people as Pastor, Community Leader, and Wild Hope TZ Trustee.”

“Solomon is a Worship Leader and a Missionary to the Maasai of Tanzania. He is passionate and full of life in his pursuit of Jesus. Both of these precious brothers have testimony of God's faithful presence to bring to their brothers and sisters in the West.”

“So, for the first time, Maasai/Wild Hope Warriors will be coming to the States …crossing the bridge of Kingdom connection the Lord is building.”

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor." (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
“We have such a deep sense that we need each other ...both of us, on each side of the ocean, and that together we’ll see His Kingdom come in awesome ways!”

Please join us at Faith Community Church for a blessed evening and witness the faith of these incredible Maasai men and what God is doing in Tanzania.

Written By Jonathan Light

DEARBORN, Michigan – The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that the City of Dearborn, Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Chief of Police Ronald Haddad, 17 City police officers, and two executives of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce were named as defendants in a ninety-six page federal civil rights lawsuit filed in the Federal District Court in Detroit on 22-Feb-2011.

The lawsuit, brought by TMLC and co-counsel “Sharia law expert”, David Yerushalmi, stems from two separate police actions at the June 2010 Dearborn, Michigan Annual International Arab Festival.

Richard Thompson, TMLC President and Chief Counsel, commented, “Muslims dominate the political and law enforcement process in Dearborn. It seems that... http://www.dearbornfreepress.com/2011/02/25/mayor-oreilly-and-chief-hadd...

As the 2012 budget battles began, Clare Coleman, CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, took to the pages of the Washington Post. In a piece called “Five Myths about Planned Parenthood,” she argued that defunding the organization was an ignoble goal for members of Congress looking to cut the bloated federal budget.

She said she wanted to... http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/265590/five-truths-about-planned-...

Just when I thought the current team running the White House might have used up all its allotted mistakes comes word that President Obama failed to issue either an Easter or a Good Friday greeting to the nation.

Now, let’s forget for a moment that these greetings, which presidents issue on many holidays and commemorations of events, are largely perfunctory and symbolic gestures that nobody cares about.

Until there’s a problem... http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2011/04/25/easter-greeting/

The year 2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Leland Ryken, a scholar of Christian literature and the Puritans, describes this as one of the most important cultural developments in the history of the English-speaking world. In his new book The Legacy of the King James Bible, Ryken records its sweeping influence on our language, education, religion, and culture.

The King James Bible has been “the greatest vehicle of literacy in the English-speaking world,” by one account. Statesman Daniel Webster credited his famous oratory to its shaping: “If there be anything in my style or thoughts to be commended, the credit is due to my kind parents in instilling into my mind an early love of the Scriptures.”

For almost four hundred years, the... http://blog.heritage.org/2011/04/22/morning-bell-religious-faith-is-stil...

Written by David Swindle

We’ve seen where we’re heading today in this country and it’s the Parisian streets, with Muslims transforming prayer into an act of political intimidation and a politically correct government refusing to enforce the law against a favored minority group.

But this kind of thuggery has a political expression too and with the election of Barack Obama we’re starting to see its creep into our own political system. Look at the recent history of the United Nations and you’ll see an Islamist infiltration akin to the occupation of Paris’ streets.

NewsReal Blog‘s all-star blogger Joseph Klein has recently... http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/04/19/americas-cultural-future-is-in-th...

“A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is the theme of this year’s National Day of Prayer. God has been America’s fortress in many ways throughout history. Each year, Christians gather all across our nation to celebrate God’s goodness and to pray for His guidance. This year Fillmore will participate again in the annual National Day of Prayer. Thursday, May 5th is that day. Christians from all across Fillmore will gather at this year’s chosen church, First Baptist Church, 1057 1st Street. A number of Fillmore area pastors will participate. There will also be singing and some congregational interaction. We will pray for our nation, our national & state leaders, our community & schools and other things related to our nation’s future. Anyone who loves this country and wants to pray for its future is welcome to come. Meeting will be held at 7 p.m.. For information call 524-5564 or 524-3844.