-Praha

Last weekend I went to Prague and had a really neat time. This was our first time to travel without the school, so there were bumps along the road, but it all worked out. I went with a seminarian, Brian, two preo-theologate students, Ben (he was the one who taught me how to ski) and Jeff, and Rebecca Wunderlick. We stayed at the Arpacay hostel.

In the picture from left to right: Ben, Brian, Jeff, Rebecca, and me. We ate dinner one night at Puskins. I had spaghetti. The painting you see in the picture is Puskin himself.
We did not have any definite plans on Friday so we basically walked around and went to different things. We made our way near Old Town Square and then went across the Charles Bridge. We then walked up the castle, finding St. Vitus Cathedral with an adoration chapel off to the side. There was Mass there that night so we said the stations before it and went to Mass there in another language(I would tell you which language, but I do not know which one it was). The castle had a great view and the Church was beautiful. After that we went down the hill to find the men something to eat. We found a bakery. At that time we were at Old Time Square and there were churches and surrounding shops around it. So we did some walking there.

This statue is Saint John Nepomucene on Charles Bridge. The five stars around his head represent five letters in latin which say "I do not confess." He would not reveal what he was told in confession, because of the seal of the confessional. He is considered the first martyr for this. He was thrown off Charles Bridge.

On Saturday we planned to meet Father Martin at Wenseclas Square so he could show us the city. He took us to different churches and told really neat stories. He took us up to the castle and told neat things there as well. He told us that in the Carmelite monastery there, there is an incorrupt nun still sitting where she died. He brought us there to show us the monastery, but we could not get in. That's okay.

Joanna Gallegos, this image is for you. It is Saint Joanna at Saint Vitus Cathedral.

Finally we were able to go see the Infant of Prague. I had been looking forward to that all weekend. This was very interesting to me. I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure what I was going to see or what it was going to be like. I went in and began to look for the Infant. He was directly in the front. I wasn't even sure how big he would be, I was thinking rather large. Finally, I spotted him to the left. It was an infant, as you would imagine. He is tiny, much smaller than I imagined. After I had contemplated this after a while, I realized he was just the right size. And to gaze upon this Infant. It was this infant that saved us. This small child with little hands, small eyes, and a tiny mouth.

We had Sunday Mass at this church, Our Lady Victorius, celebrated by Father Martin.