ROME 25/5– Day 40: Pure joy

At 5:43 the sun rose upon Rome. It will set at 20:31.

Were the Ave Maria Bell to ring, it would do so for the Curia at 20:45.

Welcome registrant:

SPLisa

Today is the Feast of St Aurea of Ostia, martyr.

It is also the Feast of St. Bernardin of Siena (+1444), the most dynamic speaker of his era.  He was deeply devoted to the Most Holy Name.  Bernardin was a fierce preacher against the sin of sodomy.  For example:

“No sin in the world grips the soul as the accursed sodomy; this sin has always been detested by all those who live according to God.… Deviant passion is close to madness; this vice disturbs the intellect, destroys elevation and generosity of soul, brings the mind down from great thoughts to the lowliest, makes the person slothful, irascible, obstinate and obdurate, servile and soft and incapable of anything; furthermore, agitated by an insatiable craving for pleasure, the person follows not reason but frenzy.… They become blind and, when their thoughts should soar to high and great things, they are broken down and reduced to vile and useless and putrid things, which could never make them happy…. Just as people participate in the glory of God in different degrees, so also in hell some suffer more than others. He who lived with this vice of sodomy suffers more than another, for this is the greatest sin.”  (Prediche volgari s. 39)

A while back I mentioned the bar/cafe on the Campo de Fiori where I often meet people for a pre-prandial and the owner’s dog.  At a certain point fido goes into the piazza, turns and starts barking back the bar.  Then, out comes the pink flamingo toy which conveys this furry critter into paroxysms of joy.   Today, I was walking past the place just as the ecstasy had begun.

These are the tiny strawberries, fragoline, from Nemi south of Rome.  Here I’ve prepared them with lemon and sugar.  This is the best time of the season for fragoline.  The traditional pinnacle is the Feast of St. Phili Neri.

The classic ways of serving these little berries is with lemon or balsamic vinegar or white wine.

White to move and mate in 4. HERE

Yes, there is also a daily puzzle in addition to what is above.  The one above to too instructive not to share.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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

  1. White to move and mate in 4.

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

  2. Boniface says:

    That’s one happy, Roman dog.

    Now, if only that vile nearby statue of Bruno was a chew-toy she could reduce to a pulp…

  3. tzabiega says:

    The fragoline are known in English as Alpine Strawberries. They are the best strawberries and actually taste different and better than the regular strawberries. I fell in love with them in Poland where my grandmother grew them in her garden, but cannot find them in the U.S. I am jealous!

  4. Kathleen10 says:

    Dogs are one of the sweetest parts of life. Love the wagging tail, and hes begging someone to try to take that toy for a good tug o war. The berries look yum! Simple pleasures are truly best.

  5. misternaser says:

    Praise be to God for His saint Bernardin.

  6. Gregg the Obscure says:

    oh that dear little pup at the campo di fiori looks like my late Leon.

  7. grateful says:

    Now we know why the streets are so clean, the pink flamingo street sweeper dog. She must be hot (or she just likes to have her belly rubbed).
    God had to be smiling when he gave humans dogs…
    (and cats).

  8. amenamen says:

    Re8e+, Bc8.
    Rxc8+, Kxc8
    Ne6+, Kb8
    Rd8#

  9. Grabski says:

    Yes – poziomki from the dzialka

    Tiny strawberries from the garden

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