Today's Carpe Diem Snapshot:
What a day! Rome is a grace-filled city, full of contrasts and contradictions, spirituality and sin, filth and beauty. It is impossible for anyone, apart from those who are truly blind in a spiritual sense, to not pick up on this. Wandering and wondering through Rome without a map is perhaps the most enjoyable method to encounter the providential lessons that inevitably come our way in such a place. As I made my way through the centro storico to visit Blessed Fra Angelico on his feast day, providence provided me with several unexpected encounters- colorful scenes in Campo dei Fiori market, a quiet, majestic courtyard at the Cancelleria, a sober Mass at San Lorenzo in Damaso, the discovery of the miniscule church of Sts. Benedict and Scholastica of Nursia and the archconfraternity there (who gave me a very warm reception and introduction to their activities), sun-dried tomato and burrata pizza, and, finally, the magnificent Gothic basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. And that was just the morning. In the evening, we enjoyed our Sunday gelato treat, attended Mass at the basilica of San Pancrazio, and then hosted Christopher Baker of Altum L'Alto to tell our students about The Western Pilgrimage semester happening next Fall!
Liturgical: First Sunday of Lent. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
Fr. Plant's Homily SO MUCH is explained in this 30 minute video!!
Bishop Barron's Homily The struggle between the body and the soul
Today's Station Church: St. John Lateran
Sanctoral: Bernadette Soubirous, France +1879 Marian visionary, partially incorrupt body still on display today; Blessed Fra Angelico, Italy +1455 Patron of Catholic Artists. Short biography
Human: 1516- Birth of Mary I of England; 1861- Jefferson Davis inaugurated as the provisional president of the Confederate States
Natural: Sunny Sundays bring Romans out in droves for cultural site-seeing in the city and playing in the park all day.
Quote: "A masterpiece is not just a work of art, but a reflection of the artist's soul." -Beato Fra Angelico
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