2012 Wrestlers - St. Mary's Central High School

EDITORIALYou have probably heard that Italian cuisine is fantastic, that Italian drivers are suicidal, and that a planeride overseas is the longest eight hours of one’s life. While these are all true, I would like to share a side of Romethat you may not hear as often. It is about faith, and how the pilgrimage to Rome this past June deepened myfaith and opened my eyes to the world beyond Bismarck, North Dakota.Every day in Rome we went to Mass, and every day we spent time in the many churches of Rome. Someof my favorite moments in Italy were those spent in churches. This may sound boring, unless one understandshow incredibly beautiful a Roman church is. St. Peter’s Basilica, for example, is magnificent and unbelievablyhuge. I could stare at it for hours. Some places, I wanted to do just that: lie on my back and look at the ceiling,where heaven is painted in brilliant colors. Unfortunately, we only had two weeks, and I would need two monthsto explore every part of St. Peter’s. Just being in one of the four major basilicas is an experience: my whole mindbecame absorbed with trying to comprehend it all, trying to find words to describe what I saw. At the end of theday, I was amazed at how awesome the churches were and how sore my neck was.The trip to Rome made the faith a very tangible thing for me. To read about something is one thing, tosee it in front of you and touch it is another. I will share an example with you. One day, we went to Lateran (adistrict of Rome) to see the Basilica of St. John. After touring the church and ascending the Scala Sancta (HolyStairs, which is a whole other story), we walked over to the Santa Croce in Gerusaleme, or, The Holy Cross inJerusalem. We werewarned that what wewere about to seewas worth the tripto Rome in itself. For too fewmoments, I knelt in front of relics ofthe True Cross. Among other relics,four wood splints from the crossof Christ, thorns from the crown ofthorns, and the sign that read “Jesusof Nazareth, King of the Jews” wereheld behind glass. Having learnedabout the crucifixion since I couldread, it was very moving to finallybe in front of the real thing. It wasright there. I could see it and I couldnearly touch it. I have never beenso speechless. Yet in that speechlessmoment, I learned what “I believe”really means. Yeah, it was worth it.In all honesty, I could talkfor hours about Rome. The Romepilgrimage is an experience thatdeepened my faith and opened myeyes to life and Catholicism outsideBismarck. I hope I have excitedthose who are going and convincedthose who are unsure. It is the tripof a lifetime, and a trip that will change your life. Itcertainly changed mine. All I can say is, “Grazie!”Rome pilgrims enjoying a breakEDITORIALBy Sam Hager-Senior Sports EditorFinding theWords