.::Firmum Est::. - - My Heart is Steadfast

The Altar of St. Petronilla at St Peter Basilica is where I first served as a deacon. Here is a bit of information about the altar:

[UPDATE: In God’s providence, I was able to serve the Mass of  newly ordained friend (oil still on the hands) at the same Altar on her feast day - though we celebrated the Visitation!] 

Most visitors to St. Peter’s Basilica wonder why the candles on the altars are never lit. Early morning Mass attendees of course know that all the candles on the side altars are lit every morning from 7 to 8:30 a.m. as the individual Eucharistic celebrations are taking place.

But as the last taper is extinguished, the altars fall dark, except the one that will be used for the regular morning Masses. But on feast days of saints venerated in St. Peter’s, the altar dedicated to the saint is adorned with flowers and lit candles, standing out among all the others.

Sometimes the honoree is a well-known saint, such as St. Gregory the Great or St. Joseph, but often these little celebrations allow visitors to reacquaint themselves with long-forgotten saints and realize how important they are to Christian history and culture.

On May 31, St. Peter’s paid homage to what is today a somewhat obscure saint, St. Petronilla, but closer study reveals that some of the finest art in the basilica was dedicated to her altar.

St. Petronilla lived in Rome and was probably martyred in the first century during the early Christian persecutions. Her grave, near that of Sts. Nereo and Achilleo in the catacomb of Domitilla, was one of the most venerated tombs in the city up through the seventh century, when the catacombs were finally abandoned.

As early as the fourth century, Petronilla was already an artistic subject. A fresco in an underground crypt from 356 represents the saint assisting a woman, Veneranda, into heaven. But this was only the beginning of Petronilla’s rewarding association with the arts.

The remains of Petronilla, in a white marble sarcophagus, were transferred in 757 to the old St. Peter’s Basilica built by Constantine. The saint was laid to rest in a former imperial mausoleum situated next to the church, which was consecrated as the Chapel of Petronilla and annexed to the Basilica.

The circular building, which can be seen in old drawings of the ancient church, became the French chapel of St. Peter’s, as Petronilla became patroness of relations between the Pope and the first Holy Roman Emperors.

The inscription on the tomb, “of the golden Petronilla, the sweetest daughter,” the distinctiveness of her elegant mausoleum, and the translation of her relics to St. Peter’s gave rise to the medieval legend that the Roman martyr was the daughter of St. Peter.

The charming tale surrounding the identity of Petronilla recounted that Peter’s beautiful daughter attracted the eye of the pagan son of a high-ranking Roman official, and to protect Petronilla from unwanted advances, Peter and his daughter prayed for her to be rendered too ill to be considered for marriage.

The ruse worked for a short time, but finally the young man realized he had been duped and denounced Petronilla as a Christian. Peter prayed to have his daughter spared a harrowing martyrdom and Petronilla died in her sleep.

This story, while adding romance and famous names, nonetheless demoted Petronilla from her high status of martyr to virgin. The artwork dedicated to her, however, went from a hasty catacomb fresco to one of the greatest treasures of the basilica.

In 1498, French Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas wanted to commemorate the upcoming Jubilee Year of 1500 with a new work of art for the Petronilla chapel where he planned to be buried. He approached a relatively unknown, 23-year-old Florentine sculptor named Michelangelo Buonarroti, and asked him to sculpt a statue of the Pietà. The rest is history.

St. Petronilla still ranked high as a virgin martyr in Cesare Baronio’s Martyrology of the post Counter-Reformation era (ending in the 16th century). Antonio Bosio’s exploration of the early Christian sites ensured that Petronilla had enough clout to retain a chapel dedicated to her in the new basilica of St. Peter completed in 1612.

The Pietà was briefly placed back in her chapel, which is along the right-hand aisle against the apsidal wall of the basilica. It was soon moved to its present position, and a new work of art was commissioned for Petronilla.

Francesco Barbieri, nicknamed Guercino, star pupil of the 17th-century Carracci academy of Bologna, and Baroque painter par excellence, was hired to paint the enormous oil on canvas of “The Raising of St. Petronilla.”

The original is kept today in the Capitoline Museums, but the mosaic copy in St. Peter’s faithfully re-creates the effect of the landmark work.

This astonishing work, standing 25 feet high, drew on the medieval legend of Petronilla and represents Peter on the lower half of the canvas lowering his daughter in the tomb while the upper half shows Petronilla, adorned in beautiful silks and velvets being welcomed into heaven by Christ.

The brilliant blues and rich reds catch the viewer’s eye from afar and impart a sense of preciousness to the work, but the most surprising effect can only be seen by those attending Mass. As Peter grasps the ropes to lower his daughter’s body into the grave, the corpse of Petronilla seems to hover above the altar. From the lowest border of the work only two outstretched hands reaching upward can be seen.

One might think that the hands belong to a gravedigger ready to receive the body and lay it in the ground, but those hands also recall the supplication of Veneranda, who relied on Petronilla’s intercession for her salvation. The medieval tale blends with the ancient martyrdom.

St. Petronilla’s life in both history and art recall that the examples of the saints are more than just pretty pictures to be admired in church, but also indications of how we too can be part of the great communion of the elect in heaven.

Today was the Seven Church Walk! Check out pictures from two years ago [here]

Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595) used to lead excursions to the four Major and three Minor basilicas of Rome, often with music and a picnic along the way as a cheerful means of instructing his penitents. In 1559, his famous “Pilgrimage to the Seven Churches” brought censure from Pope Paul IV (1555-1559) and a temporary suspension of all St. Philip’s works. In the same year, however, Pope Pius IV (1559-1565) restored him to favor. Today, friends of San Felipo gather to make the Seven-Church Walk in honor of the “Apostle of Rome” (customarily on Wednesday of Holy Week, “Spy Wednesday”.)

Today is a very special day for the North American College. For today, February 7th, is the Feast Day of Francis Joseph Parater, Servant of God and Seminarian (1897-1920).

Frank Parater
From Roman Echoes, 1939
By Josiah G. Chatham

“So you’re from Richmond, eh?” asked a bespectacled young man in cassock and red cincture. “Sure, and Parater’s my name” came the reply from the other, young and bespectacled too, but with a heavy summer tan on his cheek that his new acquaintance could not match. The door of the College had just closed upon the Via dell-Umilta and the carrozza driver had coaxed his steed down the alley and back to the station where he had picked up young Parater, fresh from America. Suddenly there were flying feet on the stairs as Frank Byrne rushed to the scene to be the first to meet his new and only diocesan. Without ceremony, Frank was ushered up the stairs to the famous green door to be officially welcomed to Rome by Monsignor O’Hern, the Rector. The Rector received the lad very kindly, welcomed him to the Eternal City, only to conclude the interview with the announcement that Frank had arrived just in time to attend the afternoon lectures at the Propaganda. So that no sooner had the young Virginian been introduced to his new home than he found himself in the street again, one of the many, trooping in some kind of an indefinite group formation through the back alleys on one of the many short cuts that make Roman student life memorable. It might be mentioned that the year was 1919, the month November. The war had only been over a short time and the American College experienced the effects as had many institutions more venerable. The few years preceding had seen each graduating class return to the “Beautiful Shore” without sending recruits to fill the ranks. Hence, the enrollment on Via dell’Umilta had fallen off to a few more than a score. But 1919 was to be a banner year; fresh blood came thick and fast. Already the new men in the house were about as numerous as the war veterans and one could almost see and feel that there was going to be a question - the question of just how to teach so many new men the “old consuetudes.” This was the problem of that day of a closed Mezzanine, an empty Stables, an epidemic-filled infirmary on the Vice Rector’s corridor. But it was to be a pleasant question and everybody felt that on Frank Parater’s first afternoon in Rome as they picked their way under dripping laundry and between fish carts.
Three months later another procession emerged from the portals of Via dell’Umilta 30. Young Parater had died; and his companions, who had been so gay only a few days ago, walked silently behind the horse-drawn hearse and out the long way to lay the young body close to the tomb of Saint Lawrence.
Today a bronze plaque in the Benedictine High School at Richmond, Virginia reads:Frank Joseph Parater, born October 10, 1897. Died February 7, 1920. …Died in Rome while pursuing his studies for the Holy Priesthood, leaving behind him a tradition of Courage, Purity and Integrity of life.
Frank Parater was born in Richmond, October 10, 1897, of pious Catholic parents. He received his early education under the Xaverian Brothers and later under the Benedictine Fathers at Benedictine High School in Richmond. Frank was not an athletic lad, but in spite of this he became interested, at an early age, in Scouting. He was quick to see the possibilities of a movement which in recent years has received such generous support from the American Hierarchy, and with his goal in mind he set to work. The young Scout studied and worked and lived in the woods and did his good turn daily and he was so successful that later his companions were to marvel at his strength and he was to become a leader in the Scout Movement in Richmond and director of the Scout camp though still only a boy. And then Frank decided to be a priest. There were those who tried to turn him from his purpose; many of his associates couldn’t understand how a youngster, so full of life and cheerfulness and so in love with the woods could ever settle down to the life of a “minister.” But Frank saw his way clear and his only answer was: “It’s what I ought to do, and I am going to do it.” So Frank went to Belmont Abbey. He did not forget his Scouts however, and every summer found him with the boys around the campfire. His last summer in America found him director of the camp in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and there as ever he threw his heart into the work that was so dear to him. Later he was to confess that he had to bite his lip that last night around the campfire; for he had received word that he was to go to Rome
Frank liked Rome and the College at once. In glowing terms he described his first day on Via dell’Umilta, his meeting with the Rector, the afternoon class and the reception he received that afternoon when the boys returned from Propaganda. He wrote that seventy odd fellows were all laughing “and trying to shake hands with me at the same time and shouting our battle cry: ‘Prosit;’ for it was a grand and glorious feeling. But when the whole crowd began to sing a song… and wish me ‘ad multos annos’ I felt… just like I did the day camp closed… They are some men here, regular scouts.” And then he goes on to say that he is “decorating his room” and wants some photographs.
Frank’s cheerful demeanor and smiling countenance made him immediately the friend of everyone at the College. For an out-of-doors man, the books are not the most agreeable occupation in the world, and Frank had his troubles and his dislikes, but from his outward demeanor none would ever have suspected it. He was a good conversationalist, and usually the center of a group in the cortile where he spoke with enthusiasm of his life and work with the boys at home.
The former camp director took things Roman in regular stride: classes, walks, and study. Those were memorable days in the Via dell’Umilta when the new men outnumbered the old; when there were only three men (from the Emerald Isle all three) in Third Theology; when the First Prefect was a Second Theologian, and second Theology no doubt felt something like a religious obligation to see that the dignity of the veterans and veneration for ancient tradition were observed by the new bloods who hadn’t had to take the knocks. New men probably had to watch their step pretty closely, unless they were the kind who knew how not to watch it. But Frank had no trouble. “In the new men’s mix on Christmas night,” writes a member of his camerata, “he received the Bean in his cake and was consequently King of the feast in the Rector’s sala. We all thought at the time that it was a great joke for Parater to be the King and that he would make a buffoon out of himself. To the surprise of all he was superb. He showed that night, to me at least, that he had the qualities of great leadership… We remained to admire.” But there was never anything showy about Frank. He was never any more ostentatious in his devotions that the other students. He did pray devoutly whenever the boys visited a shrine, but not to the point of being singular about it. He just followed the regular life and resolved “to hit that old Latin and Italian a terrific punch so I can return to old Virginia in five years - no, in just four-and-a-half years.” That was his purpose in life, to return to his diocese and work for the conversion of those who are not of the faith. For the time, like most generous young seminarians, he hesitated as to whether he should give himself to God as a member of one of the Church’s religious orders, but finally decided that the needs of the Church in the South had the first claim on him. Later he was to write: “I have offered my all for the conversions to God of non-Catholics in Virginia. This is what I live for and, in the case of death, what I die for.” Frank confided to his fellow diocesan just how he hoped to tackle his job when he returned to the States: - “His chief ambition was to help boys, to work among them, to write stories for them which would inculcate into their souls high, noble, Christian ideals… He spoke, too, of the many friends outside the fold and of how he would like to help the Good Shepherd bring them back to the unity of the one flock.” But all the while that Frank was working, and finding difficulty in his studies, and trying to prepare himself for the life of an apostle, there was a thought that lurked in the back of his head. It seems that he just could not resign himself to the thought of putting aside the things of a child. “Occasionally he would speak with reverent enthusiasm of the memories of early Christian Rome, and inevitably he would remark how glorious it would be to die and be buried in its sacred soil, hallowed by the blood of the martyrs.” With Francis Thompson, Frank wanted to be looked for not among the patriarchs, but in the nurseries of heaven. This was the thought that was in his mind when he sat down on December 5th, 1919, and wrote his last will… just three days before he assisted, with the whole College, at the Mass of the Holy Father and received Holy Communion from his hand on the feast of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.
A few weeks later Virginia’s new man took sick. “Returning from class one morning he complained of a persistent pain in his right shoulder. We persuaded him to go to bed and called the doctor. Remedies were applied, but the pain spread, and Frank grew steadily worse,” thus his friend, Father Byrne, describes the beginning of the end. In a few days the lad’s condition had grown worse and he was removed to the hospital, suffering severe pain from something like inflammatory rheumatism. The pain was so intense and finally it became so bad that his body was torn with the torture; the boy lost consciousness and his companions had to take turns holding him when his suffering was most acute.
For several days he remained in this condition at the English Hospital. A nun who was there at the time tells how he used to preach one sermon after the other when he was in a state of delirium. Finally, it was evident that the end was drawing near. Frank was to realize his one ambition of seeing God as a boy face to face. Father Mahoney, the Spiritual Director and now Bishop of Sioux Falls, was called from his room in the Vice Rector’s corridor where he attended the lads who had fallen prey to the “flu” to administer the last rites of Holy Mother the Church. Frank insisted that he get up and out of bed to receive Our Blessed Lord and it was only persistence that finally prevailed upon him to be content to kneel in bed. And so he did. Father asked him if he realized how serious his condition was, and he smilingly told him that he did, but that he was not afraid. And so, unafraid, he died.
“The news of his death brought sorrow and gloom to the hearts of his schoolmates at the American College. Even the students of the other colleges which attended Propaganda… were visibly affected; for they had grown to like this young American, who had always a smile and a cheerful word for everybody.” So Frank’s friend describes the effect of his death upon his College companions.
The body was laid in state in the Chapel and a guard was kept. Monsignor O’Hern sang the Mass of Requiem and a saddened silent group walked out in true Roman style behind the bier to see their friend laid where he had longed to be, next to Stephen and Lawrence, among the saints. But still the gloom remained in Via dell-Umilta, the spirit was gone out of the place. And then Frank Byrne found the “will.” It was taken to the Rector who called the boys to the chapel almost immediately to read to them the simple, remarkable words “that were not to be read except in the event of Frank’s death in Rome.”
I have nothing to leave or give but my life, and this I have consecrated to the Sacred Heart to be used as He wills. I have offered my all for conversions to God of non-Catholics in Virginia. This is what I live for and, in the case of death, what I die for.
Death is not unpleasant to me, but the most beautiful and welcome event of life. Death is the messenger of God come to tell us that our novitiate is ended and to welcome us to the real life.
Melancholic or morbid sentimentality is not the cause of my writing this, for I love my life here, the College, the men and Rome itself. But I have desired to die and be buried with the saints. I dare not ask God to take me lest I should be ungrateful or be trying to shirk the higher responsibilities of life; but I shall never have less to answer for - perhaps never be better ready to meet my Maker, my God, my All.
“Since I was a child I have desired to die for the love of God and for my fellow-man. Whether or not I shall receive that favor I know not but if I live, it is for the same purpose; every action of my life here is offered to God for the spread and success of the Catholic Church in Virginia. I have always desired to be only a little child, that I may enter the kingdom of God. In the general resurrection I wish to always be a boy and to be permitted to accompany Saints John Berchmans, Aloysius and Stanislaus as their servant and friend. Do we serve God and man less worthily by our prayers in heaven than by our actions on earth? Surely it is not selfish to desire to be with Him Who has loved us so well.
“I shall not leave my dear ones. I will always be near them and be able to help them more than I can here below. I shall be of more service to my diocese in heaven than I could ever be on earth.
“If it is God’s holy will, I will join Him on Good Friday, 1920, and never leave Him more - but not my will, Father, but Thine be done!
Rome, December 5th, 1919.”[Signed] Frank Parater

So the Rector read Frank’s last will to his fellow students. “Then for the first time since his death the atmosphere cleared,” writes one of Frank’s camerata mates; “a load seemed lifted from our hearts. We actually rejoiced because we felt a saint had been in our midst but we didn’t know it…”

“Remember, the Sacred Heart never fails those who love Him.”

If you would like to report any favors granted by Frank’s intercession, please contact the Diocese of Richmond.

A milestone in the cause for sainthood of El Paso native Archbishop Fulton Sheen comes Sunday, with a special mass of thanksgiving at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Peoria. It is part the “postrema session,” which ends the Peoria Diocese’s role in Sheen’s path to sainthood. During the mass, documents collected over the past few years will be officially packed, sealed and notarized. Sheen was a diocesan priest who later became famous worldwide as a radio and television personality, author and orator. He died in 1979. The documentation for sainthood includes about 100 testimonies of 15- to 30 pages each; reviews of each of Sheen’s nearly 70 books from the diocese’s Theological Commission; and about 1,500 pages of historical/archival materials, said Monsignor Richard Soseman, the diocese’s judicial vicar. There is some open seating for the public, but any reserved seats that remain unoccupied by 10:15 a.m. will be opened to the public. Bishop Daniel R. Jenky will lead the mass, which will be broadcast internationally through the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) starting at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The broadcast will include interviews with Sheen experts. The ceremony is the culmination of thousands of hours of gathering documents, books and personal testimonies. Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, a specially trained theologian, will carry them to the Vatican, said Soseman. The items will be examined by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, which will review the documents as well as those describing a reported miraculous healing of a Champaign woman, said the diocese in a statement. If the congregation concurs a miracle occurred, the group will recommend the Pope declare Sheen as “blessed.” More review and the possible response of the Holy Father could take another two to five years or more. Another process follows beatification, including evidence of another miracle, before Sheen could be canonized as a saint, the diocese statement said. Part of the early materials came from the El-Paso based Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation, a museum inside the Freight House Exchange. The foundation donated a set of his books along with personal testimonies, said Karen Fulte, a key volunteer. Sheen was born in El Paso on May 8, 1895. The foundation received hundreds of letters attesting to Sheen’s virtues, along with communications crediting him with miraculous intervention in people’s lives. “We’re vessels of clay — an instrument,” said Fulte, who said the experience has been “overwhelming and awesome.”

As part of the celebrations of the weekend, Deacon Ralf’s Mass of Thanksgiving was in the Crypt of the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. I was honored to join them for the celebrations. The celebration of the Holy Family was also at the Altar of the Holy Crib. Below is an article about the relics and their degradation.

The relics venerated as the crib the baby Jesus used in a Bethlehem grotto are in an alarming state of degradation, some church officials said.

The remains have become so fragile that officials at Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, where the crib is located, decided to suspend this year’s annual Christmas Eve tradition when the relics are carried from the crypt beneath the main altar in a procession around the basilica and displayed in front of the altar all Christmas Day.

Two of the five wooden slats are showing signs of “troublesome deterioration,” Msgr. Emilio Silvestrini, a priest at the basilica has said.

He said Dec. 28 that “for years” they had noticed the crib’s fragile condition had worsened.

The small wooden boards are protected inside an elegant silver and glass cradle-shaped reliquary in a little chapel under the basilica’s main altar.

The relics were brought to Rome from Palestine after Pope Theodore I was elected pontiff in 642, said Bishop Franco Gualdrini, prefect of the basilica’s sacristy, in an interview with Vatican Radio Dec. 28.

The bishop said the pope sent the relics to be housed in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, which was called St. Mary of the Crib after it obtained the relics.

Bishop Gualdrini said that early next year they will set up “a commission of experts to take a look at the crib, examine it and say what the appropriate thing to do” will be.

He said the crib and the 19th-century reliquary need “urgent restoration.”

In a Dec. 28 interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Bishop Gualdrini said it is too early to tell if the damage is being caused by woodworms or other parasites, but that “there seems to be fine wood dust near the relics.”

Msgr. Granito Tavanti, another priest at the basilica, said Dec. 28 they are waiting to hear from the Vatican, which oversees the crib and will suggest which “competent experts” can best preserve the relics.

Made from the wood of a sycamore tree, two of the crib’s planks are nearly a yard long. According to Catholic encyclopedias, studies suggest the wood planks were supports for the manger which may have been made out of clay or limestone.

Msgr. Silvestrini said they need “a new way to preserve the relic and for carrying it (so they will) be able to display it again next Christmas.”

This past weekend, I was honored to participate in the Diaconate Ordination of two brothers from the Religious Family of the Missionaries of Charity. Brother Ralf and Brother Jacob are now Deacon Ralf and Deacon Jacob. The weekend was full of joy and celebration of the gift of these two men to the Christ, to his Church and to the poorest of the poor.

I thought it would be proper share a poem of Mother and her message of Love.

Poem by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see in the final analysis. it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

This afternoon, with some of the University Study Abroad students, we made a pilgrimage to some of the saints in the heart of Rome. I believe that the saints are the heart of Rome. We visited the Pantheon - formerly the Temple to All the Gods. Just in case the Romans forgot someone up there they didn’t want them to get angry. So they covered their bases in the Pantheon. The Church now is called ” ”

I prayed for all my former teachers and Dominican friends at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with St Catherine of Sienna and Blessed Fra Angelico.

I prayed for my Mom at San Agostino where there are the relics of St Monica, the Mother of St Augustine.

I prayed for my teachers and Jesuit friends at San Ignazio with St Aloysius Gonzaga and St Robert Bellarmine.

I prayed for my Dad and all Franciscans at Ss. Apostoli, where Philip and James the Lesser are found. James is my father’s name and my middle name. The O.F.M Conv. are the custodians of this Church.

It was a blessed afternoon with many good conversations and prayers along the way. Just a mini-pilgrimage around the city. Nothing like a good afternoon with the saints to keep me away from the books. Now they want me to get back to the books - in preparation for a presentation on Monday Afternoon.

Dio vi benedica!

Wow! What a great day to be in Rome - the City of the Saints - for the Feast of All Saints! All the religious holidays are ‘national holidays’ in Italy, so the whole city shut down, including the schools.

The day began with a true American breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Cinnamon Rolls, French Toast. The seminary is such a big building that we divide ourselves into corridors for more personal events. The corridor of “Third Convent” (because the wing is near the convent on the property) is about 25 guys from North Dakota to Australia, Wyoming to Brooklyn. But gathering together, we usually don’t remember all the things that had once seperated us - we remember that we are now brothers in Christ.

That which unifies the most is the celebration of the Eucharist. Yesterdays, Mass was very prayerful and beautiful. A side altar in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception held relics from the 12 Apostles and to the Patron Saint of Parish Priests, St Jean Marie Vianney. I was able to share my relic of St Jean Vianney, who is accompanied by a relic of St Thomas Aquinas. These were a gift of a good friend for my ordination to the Diaconate. In the sanctuary, Bishop-Elect Callahan, was vested. He had returned that morning from his visit to the states where he was announced new aux. Bishop of Milwaukee. It was a joyful return for all of us. We will enjoy his presence here in the house for about another month - then he will return to the US for his ordination and his ministry.

The afternoon brought rain and football practice. Not European ‘football,’ but real American football. The “Old-Men” were practicing for our Thanksgiving Day game - Not the Turkey Bowl but the Spaghetti Bowl - against the “New-Men.” It was a blast but my legs are a bit sore. I’m not used to the squatted lineman stance.

The day was capped off with Evening Prayer, our first solemn celebration of the year. What more can I say, except it was beautiful. The Choir, though very young and with a new director, is doing exceptionally well. They create a proper prayer filled environment. It reminded me of the glory that the angels and saint give to the Holy Trinity in Heaven. Having just visited Venice this past weekend, I leave you with a painting of all the Saint worshiping in Paradise.

By Tintoretto:

From the Vocations Office in DC: 
In remembrance of the 10^th anniversary of the passing of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, we are especially pleased to have Father Mark Smith, Assistant Director of Priest Vocations, leading our fall morning of reflection as he gives a reflection on “Our Lady, Her Surrender in Prayer”.

Please set the date: Saturday, September 15, 2007

St. Stephen Martyr Church
25^th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Metro: Foggy Bottom

9:30 A.M.    Coffee
10:00 A.M.  Reflection
11:00 A.M.  Holy Hour
12:00 P.M.  Rosary
12:10 P.M.  Mass

As we continue to pray for more young people to follow the Lord and to serve Him, I ask that you set aside September 15 for your own spiritual renewal to begin the Fall season.

We remember how Blessed Teresa so exemplified Our Lady’s surrender to Our Lord by her trust in His plan when she founded the Missionaries of Charity. Her life of surrender in service and prayer is inspirational to all of us as we seek to surrender to God’s holy will in our own state in life

Whenever you put a shovel into the ground in the city of Rome you are going to hit something old. No - I’m not putting my theological studies on hold to pursue sacred archaeology, but I did participate in the festivities of the 150th anniversary of the archaeological excavations - ’scavi’ - of San Clemente near the Colosseum.

The church has been home to the Irish Dominicans for centuries. In 1857, the rector Father Joseph Mulloohy discovered that under the current 12th century basilica was a basilica from the 4th century. The latter was destroyed in 1084 during one of the many ’sacks of Rome.’ Ten years of further excavations resulted in unvocering buildings that reached back to the time fo Pope St. Clement himself.

Though little is knows about this saint, we do have a letter he wrote to the church of Corinth in 96 AD. In this letter has addressed the turmoil and divisions of the community. It is one of the earliest witnesses to the authority of the Church in Rome. His relics, along with another early martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, are contained in the high altar.

Overall, this scavi is one of the most impressive ones. It is a must see when visiting Rome. It was an honor for me to be a part of the celebration of the anniversary.