CMSWR Summer in Rome 2013

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!