Pictures from Rome

I haven't taken a lot of pictures during this pilgrimage to Rome, in no small part because I've taken pictures of my favorite sites before, most notably when I was in Rome in January two years ago.

I know that many of you have enjoyed following the photos from this trip via Facebook so I will provide links to these albums:

The Canonization of St. Damien of Molokai

The Basilica of St. Peter

Roaming Around Rome

Here are links to the albums I've posted previously (I'm afraid I didn't categorize them):

Rome I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII.

Just because

A little surprise

This afternoon I returned to Effingham after visiting with Father Sperl to find this picture from Saturday evening's high school graduation on the front page of today's issue of the Effingham Daily News:

PHOTO: Tony Huffman/Effingham Daily News

Confirmation pictures

Over at The Schuette Zoo, Kenda has posted a few pictures taken last Thursday evening when Bishop Lucas administered the Sacrament of Confirmation, including this one or her son and I:

In honor of the day

To make up for my previous rant, here's a pretty picture:

For your amusement

My friend Jonathan - who is the founder of Vinum Novum (to which I should contribute something soon) - sent along a new: Where's Father Zehnle?

I thought it was hilarious:

He first put it on my Facebook page, to which my friend Fr. House asked, "Who else would wear a cope to an amusement park?" I love it!

Day is done, but love unfailing

dwells ever here:

Shadows fall, but hope prevailing

calms every fear.

A rainbow as seen this evening over our high school.

A sad defeat

This evening the Bulldogs played their archrival, the Wooden Shoes, at Teutopolis.

The JV team played first in a very tight match, resulting in a tie of 1-1. The Wooden Shoes scored first and the Bulldogs had a bit of a struggle matching the goal managed to pull it off at the end of the second half, with 0:0 remaining on the clock. That was quite an exciting goal!

The varisty team played an excellent first half, keeping the Wooden Shoes - who only lost one game this season - from scoring. In the second half, however, the Wooden Shoes managed six goals, ending the game 6-0.

Tuesday the Bulldogs play their first regional game in Greenville.

During the games I gave my camera to a couple of the boys to keep them occupied when they weren't playing.

Here are a few shots they took:

Just for fun

In honor of the day

To lighten things up

Taken on a water taxi in Sydney's Darling Harbour.

Molokai

I've just returned from a fantastic day on Molokai! I'll write up a post about the day later tonight, but for now enjoy some pictures taken from the plane, of the island of Molokai and of the leper colonies.

A rainy day

It's largely been an overcast day on O'ahu today, which, given that I actually slept in until 8:30 a.m. (!) helped contribute to a bit of a lazy day.

I was able finally to print the letter to the pilgrims I wrote Saturday night. I also found the pilgrim's addresses and have the letters ready to mail. Now I just need a post box.

A few hours ago I decided to take a drive up to the North Shore and back. It wasn't raining when I set out but it didn't take long before it did start raining.

Rain here in Hawaii is nothing at all like at home in the Midwest. There, it only rarely showers but more often than not pours down. There's nothing like the sound of a good rain rolling in over the prairie as the rain pounds on the ground.

In Hawaii, the rain is very fine and calm, almost more like a heavy mist than rain. This helps make Hawaii the land of rainbows.

Driving around this afternoon I saw quite a few rainbows, and even managed to take a picture of one:

It was much more vivid and vibrant in reality than this picture shows.

Pictures of O'ahu

More pictures here.

Pictures from an interview

One of the boys was kind enough to post two pictures he took of my at one of the many interviews I gave at WYD 2008:

More pictures

I've posted pictures from the Mass with the U.S. Bishops, the Youth Vigil, and the Closing Mass of WYD 2008 (more and more).

I'll soon be making plans to attend WYD 2011 in Madrid, Spain.

I'll post more reflections when I have a bit more time to compose something worthwhile.

More pictures

I've managed to find a way to upload my pictures at the mall now. All I needed was my USB flash drive. It's too simple.

Here are pictures from the Aquarium and the Wildlife World and from the Welcoming Ceremony at Barangaroo (I love that word).

In just a few minutes we'll be leaving to collect a few minivans for next week's venture down to Melbourne. I'll be driving one and am not quite sure yet what to think about turning (they drive on the left side of the road). St. Christopher, pray for us!

This afternoon we'll be returning to Barangaroo for the Stations of the Cross.

Keep your prayers coming!

More pictures

I've posted some pictures from around Sydney and more, Sydney's Cathedral of St. Mary, the Blue Mountains and the Opening Mass for World Youth Day 2008.

Some of the kids have posted the following pictures of me:

Meeting Quincyans in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu.

At Mass in the Cathedral of St. Monica in Cairns, Australia.

Meeting George Cardinal Pell after Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Sydney.

At Sydney's Zoo.

In honor of the day

This one simply begs a caption

Photo credit: REUTERS/Jason Reed