ROME 23/04 – Day 08: Holy Saturday – Friday Sights, Sounds, & Plumbing

On this Holy Saturday, the Station should be at St. John Lateran, where centuries in and centuries out the aspiring catechumens were brought into the fold in the mysterious rites of the Vigil.

Roman sunrise was at 6:40 and the sunset will be at 19:45.

I will participate in the Vigil tonight at my adoptive parish of Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini, which begins at 2000.

The Ave Maria bell is still ringing at 2000. The Moon has entered into its 3rd quarter.

Yesterday was astounding from the point of view of the participation of the faithful in the Via Crucis, the Solemn Liturgy of the “Mass of the Pre-Sanctified” and then Tenebrae.

I have very few photos of the rites.  I’ll try to get some from others.

Meanwhile, a few sights and sounds.

Here are a couple of sound clips.

From Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Gloria.

Here is the end of the singing – alas polyphonic – the Miserere at the end of Tenebrae last night, followed by the “earthquake”.  You hear drunk kids outside the church in the background.

Meanwhile,…

Black to move. Black is down, so you better force!

There are several lines here, some of them leading to disaster for black.  Get it right, and black will have the advantage.  Not the easiest puzzle.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

I’m a chess.com and House of Staunton affiliate.

Also, please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance.  US HERE – UK HERE

Chess news.   I’ve been behind in watching what’s up in chess and other news, what with the Triduum.  However, Magnus lost to Hikaru the other day via a mouse-slip.  He was unhappy.

In happier news, one of you readers sent a story about a High School chess team in Detroit.  HERE

And, news from my house sitter back home.  Apparently there was a leak of water (happily clean) that wound up flooding the Two Trinities Chapel.  A plumber was called and various investigations were were undertaken to see where the water originated.

An amusing bit from my house sitter.

Plumber guys are here. – I think they’ve seen it all. Squirrel in toilets – they have a lot of stories.

…

They don’t seem completely alarmed, so that’s good. They are going to do an ” outside clean out”.

…

A largish lizard jumped on Eric from the roof.

…

Happily, two things… there was someone more than competent at the house who found it and, importantly, it had not been raining.

This means… plumber bills.  I don’t yet know the damage.   I will hold my biretta upturned as I take my leave.  [UPDATE: Several of you dropped some cash in the biretta for this plumbing bill. Thanks! Hopefully, those donations were enough to cover this particular expense. On the other hand… if you want to feed a few priests in Rome during the Easter Octave….]