Thursday, February 20, 2014

St. Stephen's Basilica

Besides Cave Church, which I talked about in my previous blog, Maria and I also visited St. Stephen's Basilica.  We didn't plan on visiting it, at least not on the day and time that we did; we just happened to come across it as we were on our way back home after a long day of terrific site-seeing.

 
 
 
 
 
As you can see, it is amazingly massive.  All of that open pavement laying below it?  Underneath that is the large parking garage needed to be able to fit all of the congregants who attend Mass there.  It is also significantly larger than the buildings that surround it.  Just the sheer size of it speaks to the glory of God.  But as you can see, it is also beautifully made, with wonderful artwork and sculptures, all in some way praising God and lifting Him up, pointing to His unlimited greatness.
 


 
As we get closer, we are able to see a statue of St. Stephen actually looking down over the front of the entrance, inviting them in.
 
 
St. Stephen is actually one of the few King-Saints in existence (a King (of Hungary) who was canonized into Sainthood).  He defended, protected, and upheld the Catholic faith for an entire country!!!  He spread the gospel message throughout his citizens and lived a life of holiness in his kingship.
 
After seeing the outside we stepped inside and marveled at it all; so much breathtaking artwork, so much symbolism, and all for the glory and praise and worship of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
I could go on and on with the pictures (and Maria took much better pictures then I did (can you spot the one photo I put up that she took?)) but no pictures can fully capture the awe of this Basilica.  We even decided to come back here to watch/listen to a concert with orchestra-level music. 
 
Needless to say, we truly felt the presence of God in so many ways here, as well as in Budapest in general.  There were so many other places that we visited and enjoyed, but the only way you will truly appreciate it is if you go yourself.  So if you can, do it.  You won't regret it.


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Cave Church

As I said in my last post I recently visited my girlfriend Maria in Poland.  We had a wonderful time together and we visited many places and sites.  One place we visited was Budapest, Hungary.  We stayed there for a few days, and some of the numerous things we have seen have been the Churches there.

One of these Churches is called Cave Church.  And yes, it is EXACTLY what it sounds like.

 
 
 
 
 
This Church was literally built inside of a cave!!  And it looks awesome.
 
Right on the inside is a little tourist shop filled with many beautifully hand-made religious objects.
 
 
 
 
And then we were able to proceed through the rest of the Church.  We came across a confessional built right into the cave walls,
 
 
 
 

awesome-looking statues, including one of St. Paul, since it is the Pauline Order in Hungary who has the Church,
 
 
 
 
 
and wonderful wood carvings, confessional, and an alter.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There are numerous other pictures I took, which are up on my facebook.  Needless to say, this was worth seeing. 
 
The amount of history behind this Church is incredible.  It was originally built during the 1920s.  The cave itself was used by various Catholic priests and hermits as a place for preaching and healing, long before the Church itself was even built.  It was decided that the Church should be made in order bring the Hungarian people back to their Patron Saint, the Virgin Mary.  Hence, the official name the Church was given was the Cave Church of Our Lady.
 
When building the Church they ended up not being able to set it up according to their original measurements because other tunnels kept opening up when they would commence drilling.  Many people during this time thought that this was the work of God. 
 
The Church was used during WWII, but after the communist takeover occurred the Church was blocked off, and many monastic orders in Hungary, including the Pauline Order, were suppressed.  However, when Communism fell in 1989 the Church was able to be opened again and given back the Pauline Order.
 
The tour of the Church was a truly breathtaking experience.  Maria and I really enjoyed it and learned how God really worked through so many people and so many situations to make this Church come into existence.



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Trip to Poland

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while.  But I have been on vacation in Poland.  I have been enjoying a wonderful time off of work and in a faraway place. 

But that really was not the highlight of my trip.  The real reason for going was to visit Maria.

 
 
 
She is this wonderful and amazing woman that I met about a year and a half ago.  Well, I guess I shouldn't say 'met' because we did not 'physically' meet.  She lives in Poland and I live in New Jersey.  So, we first 'met' on a pro-life website (sadly said website is no longer running).  We were both bloggers and became fans of each others' posts.  So we got to know each other and became fast friends because of that.  We read and enjoyed (and even critiqued) each others blog posts about the pro-life movement pretty regularly.
 
Eventually, though, we both started to become attracted to each other.  So much so, in fact, that we realized that we both wanted to be more than just friends.  Obviously, however, there was a little issue we had called distance.  We obviously couldn't exactly see each other face-to-face anytime we felt like it...or could we?
 
After skyping for a bit we worked out a date and a time for Maria to come to the United States.  January of 2013 worked out well.  She would be coming right in time for my birthday and it was during her school break. 
 
This was planned a few months before she would actually arrive (and this was her first visit to the United States,  by the way).  We got to know each other more and more during that time, what our likes and dislikes were, how important our faith was to ourselves, what we wanted and expected from our future, and more.  And we only grew closer as a result.
 
When the time finally came for her to come here, my dad and I picked her up from JFK airport.  She looked beautiful to me, even though she didn't think so (it was understandable; she was just getting done with a 10 hour flight, and was stuck in security for several hours after that).  At long last we finally got to see each other.  We went home holding hands, and we even had our first kiss that very same night.  And it was this night that we decided to officially declare ourselves to be going out.
 
A lot has happened between then and now.  We visited many places, both in the United States and in Poland (I went to Poland the upcoming summer).  We spent a lot of time together, but most of all we got closer to one another.  Most of all, our faith in God has truly helped us to realize the wonderful fruits that are in our relationship.  Her faith truly strengthens mine every day in one way or another, and she truly cares about my salvation.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is woman beyond all imagination and dreaming.
 
So the last couple of weeks I spent in Poland (and a few days in Hungary) with this amazing woman.  We celebrated many things, one of which was our one year anniversary.  Remembering all the amazing times we have had over the past year, as well as how much closer in faith towards God and love towards each other, has helped me to realize just how lucky and blessed I am to have Maria in my life.
 
 

 
Happy Anniversary sweetie.  We really have bonded well over the past year in ways that are so unbelievable.  You truly bring me closer to God in ways that no one else has, and you genuinely care for me and love me, as I you.  I thank God every day for you being in my life.  Thank you Maria for everything.