Liturgical: 1 Jn 3:11-21; PS 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5; Jn 1:43-51
Sanctoral:
Human: Twelfth Night
Natural: 62 AD Mount Vesuvius erupts
Quote: "It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest the soul of another." -George McDonald
A Carpe Diem Snapshot: It was a grey and gloomy morning. I was unable to get out and greet the sunrise anyway, so fortunately I didn't miss much (though I still looked for the sun through the thick clouds at the appointed time). By sunset it was raining. Fortunately, between these two celestial events the little girls and I got out for a Roman adventure, chronicled in part on IG. We stopped at the nearby church of Santa Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci, run by the Trinitarian order.
We stopped to offer prayers of thanks for the healing of Cordelia Anne-Marie Assaf's year-long illness (lab results arrived today!) then went in search of celebratory gelato. Strolling down Borgo Pio, we decided more sustenance was necessary so stopped in at a most satisfactory pizza al taglio spot where the ingredients were fresh and the pizzaiola an experienced Italian grandmother. Still in pursuit of gelato, we proceeded to Hedera Gelateria a block or two down the street, but were persuaded by the weather to order cioccolato caldo con panna instead.
The piazza San Pietro was absolutely packed with tourists, as it might be during high season, with an enormous group of pilgrims all wearing red and white striped "Where's Waldo?" scarves. I later saw on the news that they were part of an Italian charitable organization who met with the Pope to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary.
As we went through the underpass linking Vatican City with our street, we bought two chalk paintings from a homeless man who lives there in a small tent- an image of Mary and an image of an elderly couple strolling in the park. The girls were impressed by his talent and creative use of such limited art supplies.
Upon our return to Villa Magnolia, the girls then spent several hours "recovering" from this inordinate amount of fresh air exercise to which I had subjected them today.
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