GodFamilyCrafts

On Wednesday, we went to an audience with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.   The auditorium, Paul VI Hall, was very large and very full.  Pope Benedict’s talk was in Italian, I believe, so until I find in it English on the internet, I cannot reflect on it. He did mention San Paulo many times, presumably tying in to the  Holy Year.

The true excitement for me was when each of the traveling groups of pilgrims was announced, and all cheered and many  did a short performance by way of love and greeting for the Holy Father. A contingent of Italian nuns sang a song…a Mexican group played musical instruments to the tune of a traditional, recognizable Mexican song.

The crowd really cheered and enjoyed when a group of  circus performers went on stage and an juggled, solo and jointly.  At the end of their performance, another circus person of their group came on stage holding a lion. Pope Benedict arose from his seat and went to meet the fellow carrying the lion.He seemed pleased! (the lion was neither a cub, not full grown, sort of a teenager, I guess!)

For me, this showed the love of the People of God for the Holy Father — Papa –Pope. It was a different feeling than I expected to come away with, certainly on much less formal than I expected. It was refreshing, and encouraging.

Peace to all, and today we visit St. Mary Major, where Holy Mass has been celebrated every day  since the 5th cenury, the Church of St. Clement, where the layers of the building can followed downward to the very early (2nd century AD), as the city of rome built up around it.

Blessings and prayers to you.

Ann

Today, God gave us a grace that was so totally unexpected, we are still surprised ourselves.  We were heading to the Roman Forum, the place that was the center of Roman public life in the centuries around the time of Christ. We glanced to the side of the roadway where we were looking for the Forum entrance and saw a sign which we then spent a few minutes interpreting.  It was the prison where Sts. Peter and Paul were imprisoned and from there they wrote to the early Christians. We were able to descend the steps (created in modern times) to enter the actual prison cell where they were held captive, where Paul was freed by an angel and so much more.

We were both moved to believe that this was perhaps our most grace filled opportunity for prayer and we seized the chance to pray heartily for our family and friends.

Wishing you the Grace and Peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

Love ann

PS We also saw an wonderful Picasso exhibit and the Colosseum where the blood of the martyrs watered the seeds of the early Christian church