The Sun Shall Not Harm you by Day?

The 15 Psalms from 120-134 are collectively called the "Psalms of Ascent" They are called this because they were typically read by pilgrims to Jerusalem during their "ascent" of Mt. Zion. They express love for Jerusalem and longing to be there. These have been the focus of my prayer over the last few months as I have prepared to make this trip to the Holy Land. This morning I woke up early and re-read all of the Psalms of Ascent in preparation for what I knew was going to be an intense day. Scheduled today was a continuation of our "orientation tour" of the Old City.

We began the morning by visiting "the Citadel", a fortress in the City Walls that has been a necessary defensive structure since King David's Time. The Particular location of this fortress is necessary because it is on the lowest approach to the City. (right next to the Jaffa Gate). So it is basically a castle. And since it was reconstructed in the late Muslim period, it is like a medieval European Castle. Today it houses a museum of the History of Jerusalem. It also provides some of the best Panoramic views of Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

After a couple of hours at the Museum, we cut across the Armenian Quarter directly into the Jewish Quarter. This was our first time in the Jewish Quarter and our objective was the Western (Wailing Wall), but we got a quick tour of many highlights of this section of the City. Among my first impressions was how quiet it was. It is the Sabbath and most Jews are at home or at Synagogue (Jews in the Old City are largely Orthodox and very observant). None of the shops in the Jewish Quarter were open. I was also impressed with how incredibly clean, open, and new it was compared to the rest of the Old City. The new is because of the large amount of destruction that was done during the Arab-Israeli Wars that necessitated the razing of old structures and the building of new. This is a sad reality, but it gave a "recently completed" feel to the whole area.

As we approached the Western Wall, I was impressed with the order and organization. On the Sabbath there are fewer pilgrims than other days, but still, large numbers gathered to pray at this sacred place. I was very moved by my first experience of the Wailing Wall. This section of the Wall is venerated because it is all that remains of the Temple precinct from the 2nd (post-Exile) Temple that was desecrated and destroyed by the Romans late in the 1st Century. The Jews say that because it is the closest thing to the Holy of Holies, that the Glory of the Lord rests there. I was struck by a sense of God's presence there today. I was one of a few men praying outside. As I approached to touch the wall, I was overwhelmed by a sense of God's presence and I was even more overwhelmed by how this place represents the peace that has evaded the Jewish people throughout so much of their history. I was moved to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. I leaned my head against the Wall and wept for a few moments. I was reminded of Jesus' weeping for his beloved city:

In Luke's Gospel we read:

As [Jesus] drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If this day you
only knew what makes for peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. For
the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against
you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to
the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon
another within you because you did not recognize the time of your
visitation."(Luke 19:41-44)

Matthew records this as Jesus' Lament over Jerusalem

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to
you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers
her young under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will
be abandoned, desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you
say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' " (Matt 23:37-39)

In a flash of seconds at the Wall, I was drawn to the Prophet Jeremiah's Lamentation over Jerusalem:

Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, Over the great
destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her
incurable wound. If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city, look! those consumed by hunger. Even the prophet and the
priest forage in a land they know not. Have you cast Judah off completely? Is
Zion loathsome to you? Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed? We
wait for peace, to no avail; for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
(Jeremiah 14:17-20)

How much destruction, violence, and hatred can one city, one people stand? My sadness and tears were only momentary, but they were profound. The Wall invoked them in me and tried to sit with them for a few moments before rejoining my companions. I will go back to this sacred place and when I do, it will be to reflect more deeply on these impressions that came today.

Jeremiah's prayer of lamentation is followed by a confession that brings hope to the readers that he has lead to despair by his Lament:

We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness, the guilt of our fathers; that we
have sinned against you. For your name's sake spurn us not, disgrace not the
throne of your glory; remember your covenant with us, and break it not. Among
the nations' idols is there any that gives rain? Or can the mere heavens send
showers? Is it not you alone, O LORD, our God, to whom we look? You alone have
done all these things. (Jeremiah 14:21-22)

The Peace that has alluded Israel for so long, robbed from Jerusalem by every passerby, will be the work of The LORD, our God and him alone.

After Our time of prayer and a wonderful lunch in the Muslim Quarter, we headed across to the Mount of Olives to visit some of the Christian Holy Sites there. We visited the Tomb of the Blessed Virgin on the Mount of Olives, from which she is said to have been assumed body and soul into heaven. We visited the Garden of Gethsemani and the Church of All Nations which commemorates the Agony in the Garden. [This Church is called the "Church of All Nations" because donations from Catholics in 12 countries, including the United States, funded its construction. There are 12 domes in the church commemorating those nations. On the inside of each dome is a symbol recognizing the nation - the US's dome bears the Eagle Coat of Arms of he United States of America).]

From there we walked along the Kidron Valley - Fr. Gregory pointed out other holy sites we would want to visit in our free time. We stopped by the excavation site at the "City of David" where King David's Palace is being excavated now. By this time, the afternoon had worn into evening and we made our way through the Dung Gate and back across the Old City headed for home. We stopped at a rooftop restaurant in the Muristan Market for a quick beer and a little rest.

Psalm 121, a Psalm of Ascent speaks of the LORD as the Guardian of his people, especially those on pilgrimage: "The LORD will guard your life, the LORD will guard your goings and your comings..." Verses 5 and 6 say "The Lord is your shade...With Him beside you at your right hand, the sun shall not harm you by day nor the moon by night..."

Good promise for pilgrims in these sun-intense months. But I must be doing something wrong, because the Lord did not protect me form the harm of the sun. I did not reapply sun screen quickly enough in the afternoon and ended up with a little sunburn. Oy vey! The sun will not harm you by day, if you do not forget to reapply your SPF 50 sunscreen occasionally. :)

Be sure to check out the additional pictures I uploaded today at Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/Jerusalem2009

1st Day of Class

Today we had our first day of classroom work engaging the text of the Gospels. The course is set up seminar style so there is a free-flowing discussion based on the work that each of us has done with the texts prior to class. So it moves pretty fast and ranges all over the place. A text about John the Baptist may lead to a discussion about St. Paul or it may lead to a discussion about 1st Century Jewish Customs. We had long discussions today about geography (tribes, Samaritans, exiles, Galillee, Judea). By the end of three hours, my head was spinning. But it is sooooo exciting to be engaging the texts at this level!

I went for two walks today, one right after lunch through the markets around our house. We live in a Muslim district so many of hte shops were closed today for the Muslim sabbath, but that just occasions the setting up of impromptu flea markets on every street. One of my first impressions of Jerusalem is that evey street is a souk (market).

I spent much of the afternoon reading. Then in the late afternoon I took another walk - this time into the old city where Jews were making final preparations for the sabbath. (A funny story: we had been told to pay close attention if we hear hte sound of loud sirens. At about sundown today, a loud siren went off and sqealed for about 2 minutes. The whole time I was wondering if soemthing bad had happened. Well no - it's the way Jews mark the official beginning of the Sabbath). It was a good walk. Afterwards, I came back to S. Etienne and took a lot of photos in the Basilica, which I have uploaded to Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/Jerusalem2009.

First Jerusalem Photos

This beautiful white dove greeted us today, our first day in the Old City of Jerusalem. He was perched on the stones of the Damascus Gate, the Old City Gate closest to St. Etienne, the monastery whre I am living in old East Jerusalem. While I tend not to think this way, I thought his presence there was an "auspicious sign." I posted a large number of photos today from my first day in Jerusalem. We tried to take Psalm 48 seriously. It says:

Go about Zion, walk all around it,

note the number of its towers.

Consider the ramparts, examine its citadels,

that you may tell future generations:

"Yes, so mighty is God,

our God who leads us always!"

--------------------------------Psalms 48:12-14

Jerusalem Photos can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/Jerusalem2009

And a reminder that I have posted the last of my pictures from Rome. They can all be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/Rome2009.

Now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem...finally

So I arrived in Jerusalem this afternoon. Early in the day, it seemed that things were goingt o conspire to keep me in Rome. When I had packed and turned in my keys to the guest master at the Angelicum, I walked out of the building and closed the door behind me. Only then did I realize that I had no means of opening the outside gate to let myself out of the Angelicum property. Nor did I have a was to reopen the Angelicum doors and find someone to let me out. My cell phone did not work there and besides, I knew no one's phone number. I was literally trapped it the area between the building and the gate. Who knew how long it would be until someone came to let me out. I was panicking a little because El Al is very specific about checking in 3 hours before your flight.

After about 20 minutes of trying every door and wondering, I finally decided to try and contact Filip who was still asleep inside. First I tried throwing stones at the second floor windoe of his room. Not being able to get astone even close to his window, I finally resorted to simply shouting his name in the direction of the window. Bingo, it worked. He came down and let me out. I took a bus to the train station and caught the train for the airport. At the airport, poor signage meant that I ended up in the wrong building. htat was resolved quickly and I found the shuttle to take me to the right building. I know it was poor signage because I heard several other complaining that they had made the same mistake.

Check in at El AL is differnt than every other airline. First step is the interview. They ask very detailed questions about why I am going to Israel, how long I will be there, where i will be staying. They want to know why I am going from Rome and not home. They want to kn ow who my associations are at home, in ROme, in Israel - especially interested if I have extended contacts with Palestinians, Jordanians, Syrians, Iranians, Egyptians. Who had packed my bags, when? They wanted to make sure that I am not transporting something for anyone else - "even the simplest letter could contain a bomb..."

After the 10 minute interview, they tagged my passport with a security tag and sent me to have my bags checked. They rummaged throught the contents of all my bags and checked them all for explosive residue. Satisfied that I had no contraband, the sent me to check-in for my flight. Then I went through the metal detector and headed for my gate. THe process took a good hour and a half.

The flight was on time, the plane was not crowded, the movie (12 Rounds) was not great and the food was kosher. We landed in Tel Aviv a few minutes late and I met Carl and Steven at Passport Control. Baggage claim went smoothly and Fr. Gregory met us in the arrival terminal. We took the 30 minute car ride back to The Ecole Biblique, arrivng about 4:00 PM. We were checked into our rooms and given a tour of "the Compound" as they keep calling it and an orientaiton to our program of studies.

In our rooms were orientation packets with syllabus, schedule, map and some readings. We were provided with some souvenirs including a burial shroud and a face clothe (as in St. VEronica) We are also provided with head coverings both a Kippah (yarmulke) and a Palestinian keffiyah which we will wear in certain circumstances later on.

Today is Fr. Carl Schlichte's birthday and we went out to a nice steak dinner to celebrate. After dinner, we went to the Legacy Hotel for drinks and dessert on the patio of their 5th floor bar with a great view of the Damascus Gate.

Tomorrow the real adventure begins as we begin with a walk around the tops of the Walls of the Old City and a visit to the Citadel. It is sooooooo exciting to be here at last!

I rejoiced when they said to me,

"Let us go to the house of the LORD."

And now our feet are standing

within your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, built as a city,

walled round about.

Here the tribes have come,

the tribes of the LORD,

As it was decreed for Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

Here are the thrones of justice,

the thrones of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:

"May those who love you prosper!

May peace be within your ramparts,

prosperity within your towers."

For family and friends I say,

"May peace be yours."

For the house of the LORD, our God, I pray, "May blessings be yours."

--------Psalms 122:1-9 (NAB)

Layers

Archeologists work in layers. So do Scripture Scholars. This is shaping up to be an important theme for this summer for me. Archeologists can discover evidence of a church built on top of a a previous church, built over a house, built over a pagan temple. Meticulously, the archeologist carefully peels back each layer to see what treasures of knowledge (or material) each previous generation has for us. Based on other evidence, the archeologust my have suspicions about what he will find, but the real joy is in the completely unexpected, the new, the surprising.

A Scripture scholar's task is similar. Recognizing that texts have layers of meaning: literal, historical, moral, dramatic, comic. The scholar open-mindedly wades from layer to layer, never really expecting to exaust the possible layers, the possible meanings that the text holds. Each succesive reading of the text provides new insights, new nuances that contribute to a deeper understanding of the text in its original context, or in today's world. Like the archeologist, the scripture scholar finds great joy in the surprising, the new, the unexpected.

My time in Rome, ostensibly vacation, has been a time of looking at one level. I have had fun playing tour guide for others just like someone showed me Rome in one of my past trips. I have had great fun watching otehrs discover. But I also have been lead to the new, the unexpected, the surprising. Here in Rome, that has happened as I have been led to deeper archeological levels - seen the layers upon layers that reveal the distant past and give context to the present. I have discovered new treasures: the tomb and relics of St. Peter, the church of Santa Pudenziana and I have rejoiced in old friends: the Papal Basilicas.

The archeological focus of this fun time in Rome has been a great precursor to my weeks in Jerusalem, for which I depart in a couple of hours. By leaving Rome and heading for Jerusalem, I am digging to the next level in both the archeological and scripture scholar senses. Much of what I see with regards to Christian Jerusalem and the text of the Gospels will be contemporary to the older levels of Rome - St. Peter will figure as prominently in Gallilee as he did in Rome. But much of what I will see will be older - the Jewish matrix out of which our faith has grown, the affects of the cultures of hte Ancient Near East on ancient Israel and the culture into which Jesus was born, lived, and died. Archeological, Israel is a great next level to dig to for a Christian Pilgrim

Similarly, I will dig deeper into scripture. Intense textual study will lead to new insights, to deeper understanding, to new ideas for preaching. I learned some new things in Rome (think Paul's mention of Pudens in his 2nd letter to Timothy or the great homily I heard in which Tobit was used to preach against superstition). But Rome was vacation, Israel will be study. Fr. Gregory, who will be guiding our studies and travels throughout Israel, has a wonderful understanding of the connection between text and archeology. He has crafted an itinerary that will allow us to dig deeper both in the archeological sense and the scripture scholar sense.

As I prepare to leave Rome and head to Israel, I am keenly aware that I am being called to go deeper, not only as a scholar of history or of Bible. I am being called to dig deeper spiritually, to be refreshed and renewed, to be open to the Spirit and to allow myself to be surprised by the treasures of grace that God wishes to share with me as I dig to deeper levels.

Catching Up

In order to get Caught up on this blog I am going to tell you about Sunday and Monday together.
I also want to say that you are invited to look at Beaucoup phots that I have uploaded to Picasa. Those of you whoa re on facebook will recognize that I am uploading to two different places (Picasa and Facebook). The Picasa site is http://picasaweb.google.com/FrBart/Rome2009.

Sunday was a lovely day. Filip and I went to St. Peter's Basilica for the 10:30 Mass. This Mass is normally in Italian and the Basilica's schoula cantorum provides the music. It is also pretty easy to concelebrate that Mass. I was surprised to learn upon my arrival that the Mass would be in French. The French hierarchy was celebrating the fact that their seminary in Rome, which had been unde the direction of the Holy Spirit Fathers for 150 years was being turned over to the French Episcopate for their administration. So many, many, many, many French clerics, bishops, seminarians, etc. were there to take part in this Mass. I was delighted in that I can concelebrate (and understand the homily) much better in French than Italian. So bonus!

After Mass, Filip had to go to the Polish embassy to vote in the European Parliment elections. I stuck around St. Peter's and prayed for a while and then made my way to a very overpriced lunch on the Via Conciliazione. I went back to the Angelicum and enjoyed a nice nap. It threatened rain all day. And while that meant it was muggy, it also meant that there was a cloud cover that kept the hot sun at bay.

Filip and I met in the afternoon and made our way over to the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalem - The site of the Basilica built at the insistence of Constantine's mom, St. Helen to house the relic of the true cross of Jesus that she brought from Jerusalem. Besides the cross, the chaple of the relics contains one of the nails and the "titulus" that bore the inscription "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in three languages (according to John's Gospel)and was hung on the cross at the order of Pontius Pilate.

After a time of prayer at that Basilica, we made our way back to the Anglicum, stopping once again at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. In the evening we met my classmate, Alejandro, and Fr. Luke Buckles and enjoyed a nice dinner with them at Abbruzzi, my favorite restaurant in Rome.

On Monday Filip and I continued our attempt to see every Church in Rome :). We went first to the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains). I am mildly interested that there is a church in Rome that claims to have the chains that could not hold St. Peter in Jail. In fact, the chains on display beneath the high altar of that Church are almost certainly from the 1st Century. But the most impressive thing in that little church that overlooks the Via Cavour is not the vincoli, but rather the tomb of Julius II that occupies the wall to the right of the high altar. Pope Julius' bones are not there and this tomb (executed by Michelangelo)is only a portion of the planned original that was intended to be in St. Peter's. (If you are a fan of Irving Wallace, you may remember the book or film called the Agony and the Ecstacy, which told of the relationshiip between Julius and Michelangelo with regards to the Sistine Chapel). The tomb is lavish, but the central figure is that of Moses. Michelangelo's Moses is well-known. One of the best things about visiting churches in Rome is you get to see great art without paying museum prices. The whole town is a museum.

It was great art that determined the next destination on Church-tour 2009. We were headed to Santa Maria della Vittoria rto see Bernini's "St. Theresa in Ecstasy" As we made our way in the a direction, we stumbled upon a church near Santa Maria Maggiore called Santa Pudenziana. And we dropped in. Here was the surprise of the day. The church looked rather inconsequential (as far as Roman churches go. It was clear that it is quite old, perhaps 4th or 5th Century. Classical Basilica - a nice mosaic in the apse. As Filip and I were discussing the vaulted ceiling (both of us have become experts in Basilicas - we immediately knew that this ceiling was a later addition or renovation), a young man asked us if we spoke English and if we were interested in seeing the Marian Oratory behind the Apse. He was a tour guide and was waiting for a group. Another man had asked to see the oratory and he happened to be an English speaker, so we lucked into a tour.

As we walked outside, the young man explained that this 4th Century (I knew it!) Church was built on the site of the home of a Christian Senator named Pudens. It would have been quite unusual, but the house had a private thermal bath. The guide showed us the typical brick pattern from a first century bath and the collection of fragments of amphora that had been used in the bath. Between the wall of the basilica and the remaining wall of the bath, there were buttresses, several of which were incorporated into a stairwell that lead to this small chapel behind and above the apse of the Basilica. It is called the "Marian Oratory" because of the beautiful and beautifully preserved 4th Century fresco over the small altar in this chapel, which depicts madonna and child flanked by the two daughters of Pudens. To the right of that is a later (10th century) fresco depicting a crucifix -equally well preserved. To the left of the altar, there is a series of frescoes, some well-preserved, others badly damaged whihc show St. Paul ordaining TImothy and converting the famoly of this Rmoan Senator, Pudens. Our guide pointed out to us that this Pudens is mentioned by nmae among those who especially asked to be remembered to Timothy in Paul's second letter to his young protogé.

WOW! We were standing in a church built over the house of a Roman Senator, who not only knew Paul, but had been converted to the faith by him and is mentioned int he Bible! WOW! This house had likely served as a house churhc in the 1st Century and Paul had probably been here! There may as well have been a neon sign that read "St. Paul slecpt here!" This incredible place was not part of our planned day. It was the Holy Spirit's surprise for us on Monday.

The guide then showed us a series of brick fragments, each of whihc bore the "trademark" of a builder. In Roman times, builder would palce these special "trademark" bricks throughout a wall to "sign" their work. Such markings are very important to archeologists because the often bore the name of the emperor who reigned whrn the building was built. They act like a "date time" stamp helping to date buildings accurately. The house and bath beneaht this church was definitely 1st Century.

But the surprises kept coming! The guide then opened a door off the Oratory and said "let's get a closer look at the apsidal mosaic..." We stepped out into the organ loft of the basilica and were at eye level witht he apsidal mosaic. I gotta tell you - closer is better! We could see every piece of glass in the mosaic. The beautifu image of Jesus and the Apostles at the Parousia- the bejeweled cross, the buildings representing the new and eternal Jerusalem. Jesus dressed as an emperor adn the apostles as senators - so Roman, so beautiful. Our guide told us that his was the oldest (4th century) apsidal mosaic in all of Rome. Wow! He walked us through detail be detail explainging the significance of every symbol and pointing out the difference between original mosaic work and restoration. I rejoiced in the fact that we belong to a Church that believes so profoundly in documenting everything and representing religious truths with beautiful art. I am so grateful to be Catholic and to share in the richness of this 2000 year old preaching of the Word in word, sign, music, art and beauty. All fo the greater glory of God. And I am grateful for that young tour guide who invited us to tag along. I never even got his name, but on Monday, he was the angel of God showing me the beauty of our faith!

Santa Susannah (the American National Church) and Santa Maria della Vittoria were a little anti-climatic after the experience of Santa Pedenziana. It is always great to see St. Theresa in Ecstasy (even if I hate the confined sapce it occupies - to me it seems to take one of the most dynamic pieces of Renaissance art and turn it into a very static peice. She gets a lot of visitor's these days thanks to Dan Brown. (By the way - if you go to see my picasa sight, there are three pictures int hat album directly taken from Angels and Demons, St. Theresa is one, can you pick out the other two?" )

From there we made our way back to the Piazza Navona so Filip scould see inside Saint Agnes. Once again, we were foiled, it is closed on Monday.

Dominicana Continued

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder reverberating through the halls of this Medieval building. THen the sound of a driving, pouring rain. It was glorious, but I was grateful that we would not be headed out into the Roman Streets until a little later in the morning.

We we did venture out, our orientation to Dominican Rome continued when we toured the Church of St. Clement, the home of the Irish Dominicans in Rome. Traditionally, it is thought that this beautiful 11th Century Basilica sits on the site of the house Church of Saint Clement, the third successor of St. Peter as the Bishop of Rome. The most beautiful features of the current basilica are the apsidal mosaic which shows the crucified Christ surrounded by both doves and sheep representing his disciple; and the mosaiced Paschal Candle stand mounted on the Schuola Cantorum. (these two pictures were downloaded from the internet as we were not allowed to take photos inside San Clemente.

To me, the most exciting part of a tour of San Clemente is the excavations beneath the Bsilica which go down two levels. On the first level, you see, almost entirely intact, the 4th Century Church which occupied this site prior to the current Church. That has beautiful frescoes and offer a great insight into the worship of the 4th Century Church. On that level is also the tomb of St. Cyril, the missionary monk who brought the Gospel to the Slavic people (along with his brother Methodius). There is a symmetry to Cyril's entombment in a Church that would come to be occupied by the Order of Preachers. Cyril was so much a man of the Word that he had to help the Slavs become a people of the Word by divising an alphabet for them (using Greek letters and symbols to represent Slavic sounds). To this day, the alphabet of the Russian, Ukrainian, Serbain, and other Eastern European Slavic peoples, is called the "Cyrillic" alphabet, after this saint). Dominicans are also called to be that committed to spreading the Gospel, using all means at our disposal to do so.

The lowest level of the excavation has two structures from the 1st Cetury AD. The first is a mithraic temple - a place of worship of a syncretistic mystery cult often associated (or confused) with the earliest Christians. The other structure is the house of a Roman nobleman, perhaps the house occupied by San Clemente himself, the house from which the fourth Bishop of Rome was dragged and lead to martyrdom during the persecutions of Trajan.

I came across this great website that has a wonderful interactive tour of the Basilica: http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/

After our time at San Clemente, Filip and I made our way across Central Rome to the area of the Pantheon. On a piazza behind the Pantheon sits the only Gothic Church in all of Rome (if you are not a fan of hte Baroque, do not bother with this town!). That Church is the Dominican Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. That means "over Minerva" - signifying that that this 13th Century Church was built on a site that had at one time, been sacred to the Roman goddess, Minerva.

This is a theme that has come up already a number of times in these blogs. Early Christians were really good at taking over sites that had been considered sacred by previous generations and "converting" them to Christianity. - Think the Necropolis on Vatican Hill. The Mithreum near Saint Clement's house, and now a temple of Minerva. That's not just true with geographic locations, we did the same thing with sacred festivals and celebrations as well.

I have been to the "Church of the Minerva" many times on previous visits. I am attracted by numerous things: I love Gothic Architecture and the lapis lazuli color of the Gothic Vaulting of this Church is exquisite. I love rose windows, there are a few here. St. Catherine of Siena and Blessed Fra Angelico are entombed in this Church and I have a particular devotion to both. (At least most of St. Catherine is here - her head is in the Dominican Basilica in Siena...)

What I had not been aware of before this visit is that is possible to visit the room that was occupied by St. Catherine during her Roman sojournes. Like the Cell of St. Dominic or St. Pius V, it has been converted into a chapel. It is behind the sacristy adn you have to request access. I did just that for Filip and me. Once I identified myself as a Dominican Priest, they willingly opened the door and gave us as much privacy as we would like. I took this time to pray for Sr. Diane and her family in light of the loss of her brotehr this week.

Once again, it is the new experiences, the unexpected expreiences in which God is most at work in me on a trip like this one. I love being surprised by the Grace of God, this time in the form of a simple chapel dedicated to Sta. Catarina, our Dominican Sister and Doctor of the Church.

When we returned to the Angelicum, the Church of Ss. Dominic and Sixtus (the Angelicum Church) was open for a wedding. Filip and I were able to enjoy the numerous works of art there as well and to see another piece of Roman Dominicana.

On Saturday evening, our continued introduction of Filip to Dominican Rome took the form of a wonderful BBQ hosted by the Dominicans at the Angelicum for friars from the other Roman Convents. It was a wonderful evening of frternity and Filip met numerous other Dominicans, including some from Poland and others from our Province.