5 reasons why my 4 days in portugal were the best of my spring break

Besides the fact that I got sick in Sevilla, so obviously Spain couldn’t be first, and I was only in two different countries for spring break, Portugal was not just a default winner. It earned its position. (Note, I promise I am in love with Spain. See my post on La Sagrada Família if you don’t believe me, but sometimes you just have to pick favorites). Regardless, here is why Portugal took the cake:

1. St. Anthony is Portuguese. For the record: he may be St. Anthony of Padua to most, but he is not Italian and is equally St. Anthony of Lisboa. In Lisbon, there is a Church built atop his home, which we visited. After St. Anthony helped me find my John Paul II crucifix here in Rome, visiting his hometown was an extraordinary highlight of my time abroad and another amazing St. Anthony experience. His feast day is the day before my birthday, and at some point I would love to go to Lisbon one June to celebrate.

I love St. Anthony of Lisboa! Posing by San Antonio,

the Church built over the Saint's home in Lisbon.

2. The pastel de nata is a famous pastry of Portugal and possibly the most delicious pastry I have consumed in my lifetime. We devoured ours in Belém at Pastéis de Belém, a pastry shop that has been open since 1837. The recipe for the pastel de nata, or pastel de Belém as it is called there, comes from the Heironymite Monastery, and “follow[s] the ancient 'secret recipe' from the monastery. Passed on and known exclusively to the master confectioners who hand-crafted the pastries in the 'secrets room', this recipe remain[s] unchanged to the present day,” according to the pastry shop’s website. Besides housing this wonderful food, Belém is as historically important as it is beautiful. Even so, if you don’t make it to Belém when you’re in Portugal (though you ought to), at least eat the pastel de nata somewhere else.

Paul holds up a pastel de nata as I drink my cappuccino

in Pastéis de Belém (above). And, (below), the whole

gang enjoying every minute in Belém.

3. Fatima, the Marian apparition sight, (second in fame only to Lourdes), is in Portugal. And, it is an easy daytrip from Lisbon, where we stayed. To be in the place where Mary appeared to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco was such a blessing. Even though, as a Catholic, I am not required to believe the Fatima story, I do trust in it fully, trying to follow the teachings of many holy people that have come before. John Paul II said “I've been on a pilgrimage to Fatima as most of you, dear pilgrims, with the rosary in my hand, Mary's name on my lips and the song of God's mercy in my heart." You may not know (as I didn’t until recently,) it was during these apparitions that Mary revealed, among other things, the “O my Jesus” prayer, which many say at the end of each decade of the Rosary. Essentially, being in Fatima inspired in me a greater devotion to the Rosary—what more could I have asked for?

The Basilica of the Rosary in Fatima contains the bodies of the children

to whom Mary appeared and is right next to the spot where Mary appeared.

4. Sintra is in Portugal. Castles. Palaces. Nature. Estates. Gardens. Cory and Paul made fun of the fact that every eight minutes I was wowed by the views and kept calling everything my “favorite,” and Paul tried to get me to go without saying “guys, this is REALLY cool,” every other sentence. That failed miserably, which gave Cory a big kick. But, in Portugal, I felt like I could be a princess, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Inside the Moorish Castel in Sintra is like a magical land.

5. Cabo da Roca, the most western part of Europe happens to be in (guess) Portugal! “Here, where the land ends and the sea begins...” claims the monument there. Standing at the edge of cliffs that drop 140 meters before where the water is then crashing around is terrifyingly powerful. The wind was strong on the coast and it was rather chilly. I was closer to the East Coast than I have been since mid-January, and that tugged at my heartstrings more than a little. Looking west, towards home, I literally felt my heart pulled in that direction. Cory and I joked about just swimming all the way to school. The vastness of the world along with the creativity of our Creator is made very apparent here.

The wind (above) is so strong at Cabo da Roca, the most western part of Europe, but the sky was beautiful as we watched sunset begin.

And (below), Cory spots America!

Paul throws my backpack off the 140 meter cliff. Awesome.

Obrigada, Portugal. I cannot wait to visit this land again.

back to barcelona - what la sagrada família and gaudí will teach you

March 1882: where were you? Not around, I’ll assume. That was 128 years ago. 128 years from now, in 2138, where will you be? Again, not around, I’ll assume. After all, 128 years is well over a lifetime. Gosh, it is long enough for five or six generations to pass.

Incredibly enough, it was just over 128 years ago that the construction of La Sagrada Família, the famous church in Barcelona, began. (However, its story dates back even further—back to 1866). Architect Antoni Gaudí, whom you have certainly heard of, at least in name, was in charge of its design. His work was and is incredibly unique, strikingly loud and delightfully refreshing.

I have visited La Sagrada Família two times in my life thus far and hope for a third trip one day: the first time with my parents when I was just a little baby, a vacation I am sure I appreciated and understood immensely, and just recently with my friends Cory, Paul and Octavia when I saw Barcelona over spring break. La Sagrada Família experience is difficult to explain. When I saw it, I became obsessed with it. It is impossible to just look at; you must study it. I was uninformed of the whole story behind the work. I didn’t understand what half of the symbolism in the architecture was, and most of the details that have taken years to plan and longer to produce went over my head. But, despite my ill education, Gaudí’s work made something move in me. And, after actually researching it, I respect not only the building, but also the man. Unquestionably, Antoni Gaudí was a person to look up to.

Almost 19 years after my first trip to Barcelona, I've returned, and

with the continual construction since 1882 of La Sagrada Família behind me, I couldn't be happier to be back to see this amazing Gaudí masterpiece. In Gaudí's own words, "La Sagrada Família is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the hands of God and

the will of the people."

However, before I gush too much about Gaudí, more background. The church isn’t finished yet, but it may be finished in the “first third of the 21st century,” according to the Sagrada Família website (and, trusty Wikipedia says it should be finished in 2026, confirming this former hypothesis). Its construction is, and had been since the beginning, funded entirely through donations; with, to quote the Sagrada Família website once again, the “ultimate aim of being a catechistic explanation of the teachings of the Gospels and the Church.” The symbolism I mentioned earlier really does explode from the church: the facades with extensive summaries of Jesus’ life, the towers representing the apostles while pointing us to Heaven, the interior, the structure, the stained glass, the geometry. The list goes on and on.

The Nativity facade (above) of La Sagrada Família impresses everybody. This part of the church is genuine Gaudí work, completed before his death in 1926. Paul and I having fun (below) taking photos outside of the church with the Passion facade in the background. This facade was built after Gaudí's death, but in obedience with the architect's desired design.

Gaudí himself put over 40 years of work into the church, only to be hit by a tram in 1926 outside of La Sagrada Família and die a few days later. He never saw it remotely close to completion. Near the end of his life, he lived, worked and breathed La Sagrada Família, and no other projects were even on the radar. Reading about his devotion to both this church and the Church inspires. And, even though Gaudí would only see one of the bell towers completed, he humbly understood this sacrifice and had no problem leaving the fate of La Sagrada Família in others’ hands. “There is no reason to regret that I cannot finish the church,” he said. “I will grow old but others will come after me. What must always be conserved is the spirit of the work, but its life has to depend on the generations it is handed down to and with whom it lives and is incarnated.” He was fittingly buried in the crypt of La Sagrada Família, which is where Masses are held. With Gaudí missing, the church’s construction is a collaboration of different artists, but the concept is that Gaudí’s intentions are remembered behind everything and his ideas preserved as much as possible. A plan with which Gaudí would unmistakably have no qualms.

The ceiling of the crypt of La Sagrada Família depicts the Annunciation. The crypt is where Gaudí was buried and also where we attended to Mass.

I really cannot imagine dedicating the better half of my life to any project, much less one I knew I could not finish. He was an artist with a purpose and a pursuit; his purpose glorifying God and his pursuit Heaven. We should all be like that. We are all called to be like that, because in 128 years we won’t be here, but we’ll be somewhere else.

planned parenthood admits abortion “kills”

I’ve run across similar Planned Parenthood pamphlets before, but I was again reminded of such a few weeks ago when Bryan Kemper blogged about it.

Above, Planned Parenthood pamphlet, (zoomed in below).

Yes, in a 1952 informational brochure about contraception, Planned Parenthood was honest in at least revealing abortion to be what it is: killing. I do not know how Planned Parenthood now gets away with lying to the public about abortion. The unborn are suffering greatly from these lies and so are women.

Sadly enough, on Planned Parenthood’s website now, they claim “abortion procedures are very safe.” Well, it is definitely not safe for the children, and certainly harmful to the women, in more ways than just one, (click here to read more about the ways in which abortion hurts women, an article by an ex pro-choicer which I strongly recommend).

One problem facing the pro-life movement today is that to be feminist is to be pro-choice. As Erika Bachiochi explains in the article I have linked above, the feminist movement proclaims “[i]f you want to stand for women’s progress, the line goes, then you have to stand for abortion.” However, true feminism embraces womanhood and all this entails, including pregnancy. “While these pioneering feminists endured the painstaking fight to change male-dominated political and economic institutions, the ‘pro-choice’ feminists of the 1970s and today instead sought to change the very nature of women, convincing many of them that, if they’re to be equal to men, they must simply become like men,” Bachiochi says. This feminism of our day is a sick form of sexism disguised under the name of women. Susan B. Anthony was the most feminist of us all, and she was pro-life. Why is that connection now so foreign to modern perception? If you want to stand for women's progress, you must not stand for abortion. Real feminists protect motherhood. Real feminists fight for the justice of the unborn. Real feminists are pro-life.

In the time it has taken you to read this blogpost (approximately 90 seconds), more than three babies were aborted in the United States.[i]

Pro-woman. Pro-life.

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[i] According to 2005 statistics from the Guttmacher Institute.

we are Easter people

“We are Easter people and alleluia is our song” said St. Augustine. This is certainly true, but why are we Easter people?

Simply, we are Easter people because Easter is vital to our humanity. Without Easter, there would be no promise of salvation and no reason for suffering. We’d be here on Earth with no hope at all. It is today that we remember the glorious strength of Christ.

In his Easter message, Pope Benedict XVI said, “Easter is the true salvation of humanity! If Christ—the Lamb of God—had not poured out his blood for us, we would be without hope, our destiny and the destiny of the whole world would inevitably be death.” Christ conquered death. And through this, rescues us from our own mortality. Only when he died and rose again was his purpose fulfilled. Only through death can he give life.

I was blessed enough to attend the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Peter’s last night. In his homily, the Pope spoke of salvation and baptism. He said, “this cure for death, this true medicine of immortality, does exist. It has been found. It is within our reach. In baptism, this medicine is given to us. A new life begins in us, a life that matures in faith and is not extinguished by the death of the old life, but is only then fully revealed.” He continued later by saying, “it is God who clothes us in the garment of light, the garment of life. Paul calls these new ‘garments’ ‘fruits of the spirit,’ and he describes them as follows: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ ”

St. Peter's is ready for the Easter Season. This photo is of the square

just after midnight on Easter morning when the Vigil Mass ended.

We all spend a lot of time searching for these fruits, love most especially. But, it is hard to perfect ourselves and truly answer the call to holiness we have each received. However, as Benedict said, this process has already begun through our baptism, we must now accept the graces, deny ourselves in light of God’s will and seek goodness: a daily struggle, of course. But, Benedict explained “this changing of garments is something that continues for the whole of life. What happens in baptism is the beginning of a process that embraces the whole of our life—it makes us fit for eternity, in such a way that, robed in the garment of light of Jesus Christ, we can appear before the face of God and live with him for ever.”

May you remember your baptism and all it means for new life in Christ this Easter season. We are all new in Christ’s victory. Sing Alleluia, for it is sincerely our song. We are Easter people. Buona Pasqua!

Happy Easter; He is Risen. Alleluia!