Daily Rome (not) Shot – 509 – a prayer request

The first phase of the Italian Sojourn is wrapping up.  Tomorrow I head south, first to Florence for a couple of days to visit a friend, then to Rome for the Roman phase (hence the wavvy flag).  I’ll be on my own again.

The Heartbeat members are dispersing and the Floriani guys are gone.  The group is shrinking and we are in relax mode for the last full day.

I ask the readership to stop, now, and say a prayer for a couple of our group who were scheduled to fly home tomorrow but who came down with COVID a couple days ago.  They tested positive again today.  As you can imagine, they will be really anxious about what to do, how long they will be stuck, how to get back to the States.   These are fantastic people, doing God’s work in saving the unborn across the globe.  So, I ask your prayers for them and a swift, perfect recovery.

Speaking of relaxing, I would very much like to relax driving this 1967 Ferrari southward, but I’ll be on a train, instead.

The lovely church in Portofino.

There was a “rehearsal” for 1st Communion going on.   I have to wonder.  If kids have been going to Mass week in and week out, how much of a rehearsal should they need?   But, no.  This was ginned up almost like an “ordination”, with calling them by name, making them stand up and say “Present!”, etc.

Mass will be, of course, on the picnic table in front of this altar. And you can bet that Communion will be obligatory on the hand.

On a happier note.  Here’s a vegetable stand.  I like vegetable stands.  Vegetable stands make me happy.

Who in the world won’t be cheered up by this sight?

Meanwhile, some Scialatielli con moscardini also makes me happy.

Last evening for the main, we had a huge bass done in salt.  It served about 20. This is a great option for whole fish of any size.  If you do this yourself, I warmly… nay, rather, hotly suggest that you have superb, strong ventilation in your place of cooking: the egg whites and salt can deliver an unpleasant odor in the baking process.

Sweet and delicate.   Counter intuitive, but true.

Tonight, everything comes out of my bags and I repack for the southern descent.

___

Help the Benedictine monks of Norcia and get great beer!

Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance.

US HERE – UK HERE

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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3 Comments

  1. Speaking of the smell of fish preparation, I made my first batch of fish broth a few weeks ago using salmon heads. The cookbooks recommend against using salmon because it is an oily fish, but it’s what the fishmonger had. It did rather stink up the house in the cooking and, after chilling, required multiple runs through strainers and cheese cloth to get rid of all the tiny beads of oil. But, despite the unsavory smell that it had in the stockpot, the end product had a rather mild flavor, and it made an excellent base for the most heavenly New England clam chowder I have ever eaten.

    Also, filled with all the good things God packs into fish heads for the benefit of our health, this fish broth dramatically and visibly improved my eczema, which was already much assuaged by the beef bone broth I have been making. I can’t recommend it enough.

  2. TonyO says:

    Praying for your friends. And for you.

  3. Andreas says:

    Italy houses a treasury of great works of art; one of which is this gorgeous Ferrari. Still, Father Z., from your posts of some years back, I seem to recall that you are at heart a Bugatti man. Whatever the mode of transport, wishing you Godspeed on this next leg of your travels, Father.

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