ROME 23/10 – Day 03: Consolations and lots of tomatoes

In the Eternal City today, where there are many wonders and many woes, the sun rose after my egress to church at 07:07 and it will set, upon even more woes, as 18:53. The Ave Maria bell, in a well ordered Vatican should ring at 19:00… but it won’t.

Half destroyed by the trip over the last couple of days, I hit the rack really early and rose punctually at 0400.   With a couple of hours before even thinking about heading to church I got some office said and wrote the post about the Dubia that Card. Duka submitted about Communion for the divorced and remarried.

Heading off for Mass.

It’s going to be pretty dark by the time I get to the end of my time here.

I can’t easily express what a consolation it was to be back in my familiar place, in this good rhythm and with these wonderful people.  At a certain point in Mass, the “Memento of the Living” at which I remembered all my Roman donors in particular, my throat sort of closed up, and it wasn’t in anaphylactic shock.

It was especially poignant because it is the Feast in the Vetus Ordo calendar of St. Thérèse de Lisieux, who has over the decades been so good to me at key moments.

After Mass and more office, I stopped at a side altar and prayed this in regard to the circus about to begin in Rome.

Breakfast with a friend.

In the Campo there’s always so much to please the eye.   I bought some things at my regular stand.  It’s nice that after all this time we are familiar enough that they can pull my leg a bit.  (This isn’t my regular stand, by the way.)

For you who sent donations mentioning flowers I went to Pippo and got some tulips last night and a white rose this morning in honor of St. Thérèse.

If you earmark a donation for flowers, I’ll use it on flowers or, in absence of empty vases (few) on groceries.

I suspect St. Thérèse might be working on me right now which is both comforting and concerning.   Last August, when I was in Lacrosse for a conference at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I ordered a reproduction of the altar painting of St. Thérèse in the Basilica.  I have already those of Miguel Pro and Maria Goretti.   The last I will get will be St. Gianna Molla.  Anyway, it didn’t come and didn’t come and so I called and inquired.   It had to be made and sent from the maker.   It didn’t come and didn’t come.  It arrived the night before I started the first leg of this trip.  Now, my first full day and a beautiful one at that, is her feast.   I stopped thinking that these sorts of “coincidences” were coincidences a long time ago.

St. Thérèse, please intercede for all the priests who will read this today and in days to come.  Thank you for your interventions in times past.  Thank you for what you may be up to now, whatever it is. Keep it up. I need it.

Perhaps more Rome stuff later.

Meanwhile, white to move and mate in 2.

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

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UPDATE:

Welcome new registrant!

Joseph Meynier