A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Today's Art and Architecture class "refreshed my heart in Christ," taking my cue from today's Mass readings. We went to three exquisite places of worship-- two with a strong Marian identity, and the third a home of two courageous sisters who were heroines of the early Church. The first, pictured above, was the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where the most widely venerated icon of Mary is housed. The church was built in the romantic Neo-Gothic style, which is rare for Rome. The second church we visited was that of Santa Prassede and Pudenziana, two wealthy, noble sisters (the daughters of St. Pudens) who gave shelter to St. Peter, and later to Christians persecuted under Nero. The existence of the church in such a crowded part of the city is a miracle in itself, as it survived nearly two millennia without destruction by fire or invasion. It boasts fifth century mosaics that are the oldest in Christendom. I can't say enough about this treasure of a church, you will just have to watch some more of these explanatory videos to better understand its importance. Finally, we went to the most major Marian church in the world- aptly named St. Mary Major. The church began its history on this, the summit of the Esquiline hill, on the morning of August 5, 352 A.D. Three different people had had a dream the night before of the Virgin Mary, who told them to build a church in her honor on the site where snow would fall in the heat of summer in Rome. When a blanket of snow was discovered on this spot that morning, the basilica was built, and the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows was born.
"Refresh my heart in Christ."
Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today.
Sanctoral: Gertrude the Great, Germany +1302
Gertrude, a Benedictine nun in Helfta, Saxony, was one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher Saint Mechtild, she practiced a spirituality called “nuptial mysticism,” that is, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ. Her spiritual life was a deeply personal union with Jesus and his Sacred Heart, leading her into the very life of the Trinity.
But this was no individualistic piety. Gertrude lived the rhythm of the liturgy, where she found Christ. In the liturgy and in Scripture she found the themes and images to enrich and express her piety. There was no clash between her personal prayer life and the liturgy.
Saint Gertrude’s life is another reminder that the heart of the Christian life is prayer: private and liturgical, ordinary or mystical, but always personal.
Human: Birthday of Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Longstocking, and much more) – 1907; Birthday of King Charles (Philip Arthur George) III of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth Realms- 1948
The Writer's Almanac today.
Natural: 1994 First public trains run through the Channel Tunnel, linking England and France under the English Channel
Italian: Abbuffarsi (to stuff oneself)
Quote: “A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy.” ― Astrid Lindgren
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