Because we are instruments of God, we are called to walk through life as pilgrims of hope, faith, and love. This awareness accompanied me on our journey to Assisi, the beloved town of Saint Francis.

Today was a day filled with both lasts and adventures: last-minute visits to churches we haven’t seen, visiting saints’ relics for the last time, and doing any last-minute shopping before we head to Assisi.

Today, we visited the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and the Basilica of St. Paul, followed by the opportunity for some personal sightseeing and prayer in the afternoon.

We began our third day in Rome with an early breakfast, then got on the road for the Vatican. Excitement was in the air! Our commemorative baseball jerseys were packed and ready to go.

Our second day in Italy was marked by beautiful highlights. We started the day with a moment where all the seminarians gathered together to pray our Morning Prayer together, thanking the Lord for this new day and getting us ready to learn about these places.

After two weeks tracing the footsteps of Saint Paul across the ancient landscapes of Turkey, followed by a week immersed in the sacred memory of Greece, we have finally arrived in Rome—the Eternal City, the heart of our faith, and the center of our pilgrimage.

This morning, on the second Sunday of Advent, we began the day with a brisk walk through Athens to the Chapel of Saint Joseph which was in a shopping mall near the hotel.

While there were no stockings bearing gifts hung up at our hotel, we were blessed with the gift of a beautiful day on this feast of St. Nicholas after the 48 hours of downpour.

We began our day with a bus tour of Athens, finishing at the Acropolis and the Areopagus. Unfortunately, the tour came with plenty of rain.

How often do we take time to consider the the world around us or even the world within us? Well, today was quite the opportunity to do so for me. Not much beyond sitting on a bus happened this rainy day in Greece.

St. Francis Xavier is often depicted with his heart on fire, demonstrating the consuming love for Christ that drove his missionary efforts in which he claimed more that 30,000 souls for Christ through the saving waters of Baptism.

We started our day today at an overlook of Thesolonica. There we had an amazing view of the whole city.

The start of a new liturgical year also marks the start of the next portion of our journey with St. Paul.

These are the many things that run through our heads and hearts today as we prepare ourselves for the next part of our Pilgrimage.