Fr. James Farfaglia from Rome: Praying at the Tomb of the Venerable John Paul II

No matter where I have lived as a boy and no matter where my vocation to the Catholic priesthood has taken me, I feel mostly at home where I am right now: in Rome.

It is early Sunday morning in Rome.  Nineteen years ago, John Paul II was the Pope and this is the first time that I have been to Rome without the presence of Pope John Paul II.  He is gone and I do feel his absence.  Deacon Keith Fournier sent me an email last night, urging me to write something about my initial experiences for all of my dear friends of Catholic Online. No matter where I have lived as a boy and no matter where my vocation to the Catholic priesthood has taken me, I feel mostly at home where I am right now: in Rome.

P>ROME (Catholic Online) - (Editors Note: Fr. James Farfaglia is a contributing writer for Catholic Online who is attending the closing sessions for the year for priests. He is on a pilgrimage, filing updates for Catholic Online along his way. We ask our readers around the globe to pray for Father James and all priests.)

I have been living in Texas for more than ten years.   My parents live in Binghamton, New York and I visit them once or twice a year.  However, Binghamton really is not home for me. 

I was born in Stamford, Connecticut and when I was five years old, my parents took us to the beautiful New England town of Ridgefield, Connecticut.  Despite the fact that no one from my family lives there anymore, Ridgefield is my home town.  That is where my boyhood memories are. 

Whenever I visit my parents, I usually look for an opportunity to take a ride to Connecticut just to cherish the beautiful memories of the past.  In Stamford, I drive through the neighborhoods where my maternal and paternal grandparents lived.  In Ridgefield, I drive by the first and then the second house where I grew up. 

In Connecticut there are always so many vivid memories that pass through my heart, but something is missing.  Both sets of grandparents, people whom I miss very much, have been gone now for many years.  Although I cherish the beautiful memories as I drive through Connecticut, I am always filled with a sense of emptiness.  People that I love very much are no longer there. 

No matter where I have lived as a boy and no matter where my vocation to the Catholic priesthood has taken me, I feel mostly at home where I am right now: in Rome.  Rome is my spiritual home.  This is the center of Catholicism; headquarters for the gigantic family that we call the Catholic Church.  This is where so many of my brothers and sisters shed their blood as our spiritual family began to grow and this where my brothers and sisters from all over the world come now to pray and to celebrate the gift of faith. 

For all of us who are members of the Catholic family, Rome is home.

It has been nineteen years since I have been here at my spiritual home.   Like my trips to Connecticut, I am happy to be here, but something is missing.  Actually, that something is someone.  

Nineteen years ago, John Paul II was the Pope and this is the first time that I have been to Rome without the presence of Pope John Paul II.  He is gone and I do feel his absence. 

On Friday afternoon I entered St. Peter's Basilica for the first time.  As I walked through the massive doors and glimpsed at the main altar, I instinctively walked towards the right where Michelangelo's La Pieta majestically stands.  There, in front of Michelangelo's masterpiece, I turned to my priest friend, Father Richard Libby, a priest from the diocese of Corpus Christi, and like a kid with a new bicycle, I told him that this is the spot where I spoke with John Paul II.  

Back in March of 1982 I had the privilege of being part of a group of eight seminarians who served a papal Mass.  When the Mass concluded and the Holy Father removed his vestments, he graciously greeted us.  I was able to speak with him for a few moments.  It is a memory that I will cherish always. 

On Saturday morning, Father and I returned to St. Peter's Basilica in order to visit the tomb of John Paul II.  Long lines of pilgrims patiently waited their turn to enter into the tombs of the popes, located underneath the Basilica. As I meditatively passed by the tombs of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I, there it was: the tomb of the great John Paul II.  He really has left us.  Someone is missing.

I felt almost surreal.   The vivid memories of more than twenty-two years of priesthood flooded my soul.  I knelt down and prayed. I prayed for my family, for my parishioners, for my electronic parishioners all over the world that so generously read my Internet homilies and articles, I prayed for all of my benefactors who have been so helpful to me as I develop the newest parish in the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. 

When I got up from my brief, but intense prayer, I asked one of the ushers that stood in front of the tomb if he could leave a small journal that I was carrying with me.  I told him that the journal contained prayer intentions written by my parishioners at St. Helena's before leaving Texas for this most incredible journey for the closing events of the Year for Priests.

It is early Sunday morning in Rome.  Deacon Keith Fournier sent me an email last night, urging me to write something about my initial experiences for all of my dear friends of Catholic Online. 

At first, I came up with a blank. However, Deacon, with his characteristic enthusiasm, urged me to take the task to the Holy Spirit.  I did what he asked me to do, and I awoke this morning with the ideas for this article. 

I was looking forward to attending today's Noon Angelus with Pope Benedict XVI.  But, someone else is missing.  The new Pope is in Cyprus.  I am disappointed that I cannot see him today, but I will see him Thursday night at a special prayer vigil for the Year for Priests.  

More than 10,000 of my brothers in the priesthood will be there to renew their love and their enthusiasm for the beautiful gift of the Catholic priesthood.  On Friday morning we will all celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with Pope Benedict XVI and this amazing year dedicated to the priesthood will come to an end.

Yes, someone is missing here in Rome.  But, as I prayed before the tomb of the first Pope, Simon the fisherman, I reminded myself that many Popes have come and gone.  The Church is still here and it is still standing strong.  As Chesterton wrote in his extraordinary book entitled "Orthodoxy", ".the heavenly chariot flies thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling and prostrate, the wild truth reeling but erect."

-----

Father James Farfaglia is the pastor of Saint Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Father has a hard hitting blog calledIllegitimi non carborundum.  He has also published a book called Man to Man: A Real Priest Speaks to Real Men about Marriage, Sexuality and Family Life.  You can contact Father at fjficthus@gmail.com.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online