Healthy again Post-COVID

Dear Friends and Family,

Blessed First Sunday of Advent! I don't have any photos to post today since I've been in quarantine in my room for the past 2 weeks, but I do have some good news: I'm once again healthy and allowed to stop outside and breath the fresh air!

I had symptoms in many ways identical to a strong flu virus, except that for about 4 days I lost my sense of taste and smell, which has never happened to me before, and I felt more drained than usual, at one point sleeping for almost 36 hours straight. But as of a few days ago, the illness seemed to leave me, Deo Gratias et Mariae.

Perhaps due to the many demands on the health care system in Rome at the moment, it took quite a while for the nurses to come by the monastery to test all of us (per government regulations) for COVID. The test was done Friday morning, and Friday evening they said all of the test results came back negative, except that no one called myself and one other cleric to give us our test results. We're expecting someone will call us tomorrow morning to say that our results were negative, because if they had been positive (anyone's results in the monastery) they were supposed to inform the superior that everyone had to be in quarantine for another 21 days. So we can't imagine the results not being negative since no one has called.

Thanks be to God that we have dodged the bullet of another 21 days in quarantine. Which leads me to my next piece of news. Due to some government regulations and a decision by a local authority here, I am now required to head back to the US in order to renew my study visa for the coming year. While the decision does not seem logical, it is a blessing in disguise because it will permit me to spend some weeks with my parents and family, whom I have not been able to see for 18 months. Really looking forward to the time with my family. Due to the requirements of the apostolate or of religious life, and the fact I have had assignments the past 24 years far from Ohio, I have not been home for Christmas in 24 years. So, really looking forward to a white Christmas in Ohio!

And, I'll have the wonderful blessing while there of baptizing a new nephew: little John Patrick. God willing I will be writing you next Sunday from Ohio.

Until then, may you have a blessed beginning of Advent! And for those who join me for the daily rosary, I was just informed that there was a technical difficulty with today's rosary but that it should be live in a few minutes. Thank you for your patience.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Pillari