Firstly, I must say I am having some trouble uploading photos with the mobile app, however, you can now see the pictures in the original post. They are just big. I will edit when I get home.
Secondly, before I go any further, I must tell you, this is my view at this very moment:
In fact, the view is much better than that. It looks like I could just reach out and touch the basilica. It's just that spectacular.
We've done so much the past three days but it's getting very hard to remember. That's why I feel that I have to do this blog. It also serves as my own personal journal in a sense. This is just an amazing experience to take in. I've been to Rome before, but never as a priest. It's just an amazing place to visit and pray.
Wednesday began with a Mass at the altar under which rests the remains of St. Pius X who was pope at the turn of the century and defended the faith against the modernism and relativism that was being embraced by other Christians at the time. At the same time, he was also known for being a pastoral pope who cared for and loved his people and wanted to bring them to Christ. He encouraged daily communion and lowered the age of First Holy Communion to the age of reason. This goes to show that there need not be the dichotomy between pastoral competence and orthodoxy that is often presented. I pray for the grace to posses both a zeal for truth, and a zeal for souls.
Following Mass we stood in St. Peter's Square with the crowd gathered to see Pope Francis for the Wednesday audience. We were able to get pretty close to see the Holy Father pass by twice! I could almost touch him. Pope Francis is drawing record crowds, but he likes to move among the people. It was quite an experience. I can't wait to see him again.
The Venice seminarians and I then had lunch with a priest of our diocese who is working in one of the Curia offices and studying here in Rome. On the way there, I was able to catch a brief look at the Basillica Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the oldest Churches in Rome, in what was once the Jewish section of first century Rome. The church has absolutely beautiful mosaic work.
In the afternoon, we picked up Brett and ventured out to Tre Fountani. This is the place were St. Paul was martyred. Pious legend has it that when the Apostle was beheaded, his head rolled downhill and bounced three times, a fountain springing fourth in each place. The cite also houses the pillar at which the Saint gave his life, and his prison cell.There is also a Trappist Monastery where St. Bernard of Clairvaux was abbot. There are many stories associated with this site.
But one that has fascinated me since childhood is the story of a Marian apparition. Now, many of you know that I am usually not to keen on following visionaries and apparitions. Private revelation is sketchy business. However, this story is amazing and is personal to me for so many reasons. The story is that of a man named Bruno Cornacchiola. Bruno was baptized and received his first holy communion but later became Protestant, and then eventually an Adventist. As Adventists have historically been, he was a vehement anti-Catholic. He blamed the pope for all the problems In the world,and had even brought a dagger with which he intended to kill the Pope. On his way to this park near Tre Fontani, he wrote graffiti on a statue of Our Lady staying "you are neither Virgin nor Mother". He was known to be foul mouthed and abusive to his wife and children. Basically, Our Lady knocked his socks off. Upon going into a small cave (there were many there used for immoral ends) The Blessed Mother appeared to him holding the scriptures. He had a conversion instantly. There, of course, is more to the story, you should looking up. I bought a statue of Our Lady of Revelation to come home with me. Here is the statue that stands in the grotto today.
Yesterday began with the famous Scavi tour which takes you through the ancient burial grounds underneath the basilica. This is the tour of a nine (1940-1949) year excavation done under the basilica under the reign of Pius XII to confirm what we had known all along, that the tomb of St. Peter is under the main altar in the basilica. There are ancient tombs, a whole necropolis, a city of the dead with both Christian and pagan tombs. We were able to see the other side of the wall which we faced for Mass on Tuesday and see the actual bones of St. Peter. Again, I was able to pray for my parish who calls on his patronage and all of you who asked for my prayers.
We then visited the Cathedral of Rome. Unlike many think, this is not St. Peter's, St. Peter's is not a Cathedral. The Pope's cathedral is St. John Lateran. This is where his chair, his cathedra rests. There are many ancient relics contained here including a table contained in the altar where it is believed Peter and several of the first popes celebrated Mass and major relics of Ss. Peter and Paul (portions of their skulls). On of my favorite features of the Basilica are the huge, I mean colossal statue statues of the twelve apostles that line the nave. Here is one of St. . Pictures cannot do any of this justice as you just cannot grasp there size of this. We were able to spend quite a bit of time here in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Next to the Basilica is a chapel containing the Holy Stairs. These are stairs that are believed to have been moved from Pilate's Praetorium in Jerusalem to Rome by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine. The custom is to climb these on your knees. There are 28 of them. This was painful, but moving.
Meditating on the experience of Our Lord's Passion confined as we ventured to the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. In this Church is contained what is believed to be the finger of St. Thomas that probed the words of Christ, the sign that hung above Jesus on the Cross, two of the nails from the Crucifixion, and a piece of the cross of St. Dismas (the good thief), among others. I sat in this chapel for a while recalling the passion of the Lord, I also prayed, of course for all who have asked for my prayers, in particular a friend who's patron is St. Dismas.
Meditating on the experience of Our Lord's Passion continued as we ventured to the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. In this Church is contained what is believed to be the finger of St. Thomas that probed the words of Christ, the sign that hung above Jesus on the Cross, two of the nails from the Crucifixion, and a piece of the cross of St. Dismas (the good thief), among others. I sat in this chapel for a while recalling the passion of the Lord, I also prayed, of course for all who have asked for my prayers, in particular a friend who's patron is St. Dismas.
Today were were able to the basilica of San Clemente. This site dates to 64 A.D. The current basilica was built in 1120, but it stands over an older Church built in the forth century, connected to that is a. Domus Ecclesiae a home which was rendered secretly for Christian worship prior to Constantine's edict of tolerance. Beyond that, are the remains of a pagan temple. We prayed here for a bit, I reflected on St. Clements Letter to the Corinthians. St. Ignatius of Antioch s said to be buried in this Church as well.
One thing this visit has done is to remind me not only of the Rock on which the Church was built, but on the blood of the martyrs that went before us. As St. Tertullian said: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians." We praise Christ because others have died to hand this faith to us. I pray that I may always persevere in this.
Reflecting on martyrdom, we moved to the Colosseum a place beloved by some, yet debated among historians to be the place of many Christian Martyrs. This is still where the Holy Father does the Way of the Cross every Good Friday. Whether it was Christians who died for their faith or simply those whom we know died for entertainment. It stands as a reminder of humaniy's need for salvation.
After this, Brett and I were able to take a long walk through Rome to meet up with the Venice Seminarians for Dinner (which, by the way, was an amazing pizza with Gorgonzola, pairs and walnuts) as we prepared to cross the Tiber, we came across another historic Church San Giovanni Battista which houses a relic of t he foot St. Mary Magdaline. We were able to stop here and pray for a brief moment.
Well folks, theses are just the highlights. I can't fit it all here. The good the laughs, the art, the amazing foos, those are here too. But among all of this, stands the faith and the saints who gave themselves to it. It's amazing to be chatting and laughing, and then...Boom a historic Church, let's pray. This is an amazing pilgrimage. Know of my prayers for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment