We had an email requesting to know (from one of our first posts) what it means when someone in early art has a square halo. Thanks for asking the question! It means that when the piece of art was completed, the person was still alive.

On the Far left, his halo is square, meaning he was still alive when the mosaic was made. This is St. Clement's Church.

Our Group with Father Bechina. He is a member of  Das Werk (The Work) and has been with us this week.

We just completed our days with Father Bechina. One common theme (there were a few) he stressed was the importance of seeing, in faith, how God is working and present especially in situations that seem devoid of God. He underlined the importance of living our lives joyfully in faith and love. In this way we will make Christ present in the world and will attract others to Him. 

He gave us so much that it is hard to condense it here. Overall he passed on a strong sense of joy, faith and hope. He also possesses a strong commitment to live in unity, which is part of the charism of Das Werk. 

If you are interested in looking up his community, here is a link: 

http://www.thework-fso.org/english/index.php

Our time with him was an experience of the complimentarity between the Ordained Ministry and the Religious Life. We are grateful for his zeal and generosity.  

Tomorrow we have a free day. See you at the end of it!

We started the day with Mass celebrating the Feast of St. James.  In his homily, Father Bechina focused on the question asked by the mother of the Sons of Zebedee, asking Jesus that her two sons sit at His right and His left in the kingdom.  Father pointed out that her request might not have been one for prestige or power, but a request of love--because when you love someone, you want to be close to them.

When we went to the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, we were struck by the holy water font (pictured above).  One of the Sisters is rereading Story of a Soul and was struck by this quote of St. Therese which seemed to describe it perfectly: "Our Lord [showed] me that a soul in the state of grace has nothing to fear from the devil, who is a coward, and will even fly from the gaze of a little child."

This evening we had the great privilege of visiting S. Paolo Alla Regola in which is the room where Paul was held under house arrest for two years.  We spent an hour in prayer there and read from Acts 28:16-31 which describes Paul's arrival there, his preaching to the Jews, testifying to them from morning to evening.  It is likely that Paul wrote his letters to the Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians and Philippians while he was there.

The marble slab on the left reads: ". . . it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain" (Acts 28.20).  (Notice in the mosaic above, Paul's left arm is chained.) On the right it reads: ". . . but the Word of God is not chained" (2 Tim 2.9).  Amen!

Our time together in Rome has taken a different pace. We began our day with Mass at 7:15am with Father Bechina here at the Domus. After that the Sisters were on their own. Some stayed home and completed various projects and others went and explored the city. Many of us returned to places we had visited with Father Landry and then also visited new sites.

A couple of us visited Santi Apostli, which is where St. Philip and St. James are buried. We then walked to the Trevi Fountain and tried to get into Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio e Trevi (Saints Vincent and Anastasius at Trevi) where the embalmed hearts of 25 popes are preserved (from Sixtus V to Leo XIII). Unfortunately, the Church was not open.

Father Bechina arrive at the Domus around 3:30pm to hear confessions. At 4:30pm we had a conference on the Sacrament of Penance followed by holy hour and dinner. He will return tomorrow morning for Mass and to hear confessions in the evening.

In his conference, Father spoke about confession being a dialogue with God. After confessing our sins there should be a dim light or a morning star. It should bring joy. He said that an exaggerated sense of guilt lacks a personal, loving relationship with God.
He also said that the Sacrament of confession re-establishes communion among all of us. He spoke about some misunderstandings regarding the Sacrament of confession. Oftentimes we may formulate our sins in such a way that we actually disguise our sins, we may give long justifications, or be "psychological" about them. Confession must be done in faith. However, even if we have this kind of attitude, our sins are still forgiven! 

Trevi Fountain

Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio e Trevi. You can see that it is facing the Trevi Fountain. 

Today, Tuesday, July 23rd, we began our day with Holy Mass at the chapel of La Madonna del Parto (Our Lady of Childbirth) in the crypt of St.  Peter's Basilica.  Father Bechina was our celebrant who gave us a beautiful homily on the Holy Family, reminding us that we are all members of this "holy family" called the Church.  We then ate a quick breakfast at a nearby café, after which we proceeded to the Congregation for Education where Father Bechina holds the position of Undersecretary for the Congregation. 

Our time with Father at this meeting was very informative. He explained the history behind and the distinction between the Holy See and the Vatican States. The Holy See is wherever the Holy Father is. For example, when he was in Avignon, that is where the Holy See was. Vatican City is the geographical entity where governmental business takes place.  All diplomatic relations are between the Holy See and the particular nation.

As Father completed this historical presentation, he described those who assist the Pope.  In addition to the Secretary of State, there are nine congregations that help the Pope fulfill his mission of serving the Church by strengthening unity and faith among Her members. The head (or prefect) of each congregation is a Cardinal, under him is the secretary, the undersecretary, and then other departments according to language and offices.  In addition to the congregations there are eleven councils. 

While discussing Catholic Education in the United States, Father discussed with us the importance of strengthening the people of faith in universities since we cannot change or force wills. He spoke about how ONE person of faith in difficult situations can have an amazing effect. The Saints are good examples of this.

The rest of the day we were on our own. We met together for our daily holy hour at 4 p.m. followed by cena. Discussions at cena are inspiring and uplifting.  The sharing that is done among us truly "strengthens the brethren."

This morning we met with Cardinal Stafford at the Pontifical Council for the Laity at Palazzo San Calisto.  From there we went to Santa Maria della Scala, and ended the day at Santa Maria in Trastevere.  

This morning, Cardinal Stafford spoke to us about the spirituality of St. John of the Cross, and his assent to faith.  He spoke to us of suffering for the love of Christ, which reminded us of Msgr. Osborne who first gave us the idea that suffering is the only road to Heaven.  Each of us took our own thoughts and graces from this talk.  What you now read is from the heart of one of us.  Cardinal Stafford spoke of the need for beauty to inundate our lives, in order to find God, and he challenged us to find the meaning of faith in our everyday experiences.  

At Santa Maria della Scala, we were escorted into a small chapel where we celebrated mass.  This chapel contained the relic of the right foot of St. Teresa of Avila!!  Cardinal Van Thuan is also buried there.  

We enjoyed Pranzo with the Cardinal at the Domus where we talked about Religious Life and the Church in the United States.

In the evening, we began our conferences with Fr. Bechina, who is a member of Das Werk and works at the Congregation for Education.  He gave us an excellent talk, and again, you are at the mercy of two writers!  Father reminded us that when we love someone, we are sensitive to them.  This means that we should be sensitive to the way Our Lord communicates and reveals Himself to us in the day to day.  We have expectations of how we want Him to reveal Himself to us, yet, it is better for us to learn to find Him in the daily visitations of His will revealed in the ordinary circumstances of life.  

Tomorrow we will meet with you at the Vatican crypt for Mass.  See you there as the Body of Christ together at the altar of God.  

Sunday, July 21st, Day 9 in Rome--

Today we had Holy Mass in English at a church dedicated to the Holy Spirit just one block from St. Peter's Basilica.  In this church there is an altar dedicated to Blessed John Paul II with the relic of his blood procured from a nurse who worked at the hospital where he was treated.  Also, there is an altar dedicated to St. Faustina with her relics there as well.  Following Mass we walked over to St. Peter's where we awaited Pope Francis' appearance and Angelus message on this 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  It was a very inspiring experience to be at St. Peter's with thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. 

We had a wonderful Sunday dinner of veal, carrots and Italian pasta.   At 5 p.m. we gathered in a small room off the chapel and had our first official spiritual conference given by Father Cassian Folsom, OSB.  Father is the prior of a Benedictine monastery in Norcia, birthplace of St. Benedict (If you are interested, here is the website to their monastery: http://osbnorcia.org/).  Father spoke for one hour on private or personal prayer and liturgical prayer addressed to Christ, to God as Father, to the Holy Spirit and to the Triune God.  In summary, when one of the Sisters asked what Person or Persons of the Trinity would be the most perfect form of prayer, Father Cassian responded that the more perfect prayer is the one we do our best to pray.  A holy hour followed Father's conference and the day ended with a light supper and preparations for our time with His Eminence James Cardinal Stafford, who will be with us tomorrow.

Father Cassian Folsom, OSB and Sister Mary Patrice, RSM

Angelus with the Holy Father