Murray Clan 13!!
Adventures of Aunt Betsy, Emily and John!!:)
Cousin Emily came to visit the Murray Clan last week and all of us had a great time with her. She and Claire put together a little video of the different things that they did during the week including John singing One Direction!!! Hope this bring a smile to your face, it brought many laughs among the clan:)
A Rome update...
Matthew sent us an email recently to keep us informed about his first week in Rome. I have attached the email as well as some pictures of the places he has visited (These pictures are those that were found on the web to help illustrate what Matthew described. He did not include these pictures in the email, I took the liberty to add them to message).
God has truly blessed Matthew and our family.
Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
Hey everybody, hope all is well
Even though it is about 1 in the morning, I thought I should give you guys a heads up on what it going on in Rome. I have been having a hard time getting to sleep the past few nights. Last night I think I only got about two hours of sleep. Instead of laying in bed, I decided to send you guys an email.
Despite the fact that I have been getting such little sleep, the past two days have been awesome. The day before yesterday my class went to visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope's Basilica.
There we were given a wonderful tour by a sister who focused on certain aspects of the basilica that pertained to priestly ministry. We then had Holy Mass in the Baptistery of this Basilica. Later that night, we went on a walk through Rome in search of gelatto, Italy's version of ice cream.
Yesterday, we went and visited the Catacombs of Priscilla, a wealthy early Christian who donated her land in order that Christians might be buried there.
It was in these Catacombs that St. Philomena was buried. You guys were very much in my thoughts and prayers as I asked for her intercession. We had Holy Mass down in these Catacombs. I cannot begin to describe how amazing it was to hear the First Eucharistic Prayer in the midst of the burial places of the early Christians.
Later that afternoon, we visited the church of St. Lawrence. It was here the Americans bombed Rome during World War II, destroying large parts of this Church. A monument was set up near the church in honor of Pope Pius XII, who personally went down to this church to aid and comfort the victims of the bombing.
St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, and a priest named St. Justin are buried here, along with Bl. Pope Pius IX. This church also contains the marble slab that St. Lawrence was laid upon after he was burned to death. One can still see the blood stains upon the slab.
Next to the church is an enormous, eight mile cemetery, which contains house-size monuments to the departed of Rome. It was incredible! It is here that the departed priests and seminarians of the Pontifical North American College are buried, including one young man who died of an illness only three months after he arrived in Rome and whose cause is being considered for canonization.
These have been packed and busy days and I am very grateful to God for all that He has been giving me here in Rome. Please pray that He send me a little more sleep. You are all in my prayers and I miss you very much. I love you all. I would like to skype as soon as you guys think it would be alright.
Matthew
God has truly blessed Matthew and our family.
Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
Hey everybody, hope all is well
Even though it is about 1 in the morning, I thought I should give you guys a heads up on what it going on in Rome. I have been having a hard time getting to sleep the past few nights. Last night I think I only got about two hours of sleep. Instead of laying in bed, I decided to send you guys an email.
Despite the fact that I have been getting such little sleep, the past two days have been awesome. The day before yesterday my class went to visit the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope's Basilica.
There we were given a wonderful tour by a sister who focused on certain aspects of the basilica that pertained to priestly ministry. We then had Holy Mass in the Baptistery of this Basilica. Later that night, we went on a walk through Rome in search of gelatto, Italy's version of ice cream.
Yesterday, we went and visited the Catacombs of Priscilla, a wealthy early Christian who donated her land in order that Christians might be buried there.
It was in these Catacombs that St. Philomena was buried. You guys were very much in my thoughts and prayers as I asked for her intercession. We had Holy Mass down in these Catacombs. I cannot begin to describe how amazing it was to hear the First Eucharistic Prayer in the midst of the burial places of the early Christians.
Later that afternoon, we visited the church of St. Lawrence. It was here the Americans bombed Rome during World War II, destroying large parts of this Church. A monument was set up near the church in honor of Pope Pius XII, who personally went down to this church to aid and comfort the victims of the bombing.
St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, and a priest named St. Justin are buried here, along with Bl. Pope Pius IX. This church also contains the marble slab that St. Lawrence was laid upon after he was burned to death. One can still see the blood stains upon the slab.
Next to the church is an enormous, eight mile cemetery, which contains house-size monuments to the departed of Rome. It was incredible! It is here that the departed priests and seminarians of the Pontifical North American College are buried, including one young man who died of an illness only three months after he arrived in Rome and whose cause is being considered for canonization.
These have been packed and busy days and I am very grateful to God for all that He has been giving me here in Rome. Please pray that He send me a little more sleep. You are all in my prayers and I miss you very much. I love you all. I would like to skype as soon as you guys think it would be alright.
Matthew
Matthew's Candidacy Mass
July 10, 2012 Matthew had his candidacy mass with Bishop Cordileone of the Oakland Diocese. During this special rite Matthew had the opportunity to affirm his desire to serve our Lord in His bride the Church.
We were blessed to have Fr. James Moore, Matthew's Confirmation Sponsor, concelebrate at the mass.
The Bishop has requested that Matthew continue his studies at the North American College in Rome. He will be studying at the Gregoriam. He will leave July 15th and fly to Rome and then travel to Sienna to learn Italian for the remainder of the summer. Please continue to keep Matthew in your prayers. May Matthew continue to serve our Lord in whatever may be His will.
We were blessed to have Fr. James Moore, Matthew's Confirmation Sponsor, concelebrate at the mass.
The Bishop has requested that Matthew continue his studies at the North American College in Rome. He will be studying at the Gregoriam. He will leave July 15th and fly to Rome and then travel to Sienna to learn Italian for the remainder of the summer. Please continue to keep Matthew in your prayers. May Matthew continue to serve our Lord in whatever may be His will.
4th of July trip to Mt. Tamalpais....
We enjoyed the views and walking together and spending time with each other for one of our last times as a family.
The trip back was an adventure with lots of winding roads and some car sickness.
Still, it was a wonderful memory of our time together thanking God for the many freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted in our country. May God bless America!
Our trip to Tilden Park
During summer break we have been trying to find fun things for the boys to do that are resonably priced. We went to Tilden park in orinda and road the Train and the Merry go round.
This was John's first time on the train and he enjoyed himself very much.
The exception would be when we entered the tunnel and everyone chose to start screaming.
We did enjoy our day and each others company.
It was a great day!
June Birthdays!
Happy Birthday to Stephen who turned 9 yrs. old this year!
Happy Birthday to Kieran who turned 15 this year!
Where did the time go!
Belt Promotion!!
It was a geat moment for Stephen to be a part of the group advancing. He was attentive and focussed. it was very beneficial for all of the boys to work toward a goal and achieve it with dedication and hard work.
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