Florence

We arrived in Florence to a beautiful, sunny and much cooler day.  We are at a hotel that could have been in the movie "A Room With a View" (the view part--not the room!)--we walk out the door and the Baptistry (covered in scaffolding for restoration work) is RIGHT THERE!

We validated our Firenze cards (great value!) and started walking.....

Santa Croce is one of the churches that I have most wanted to see----it houses the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, and Michiavelli-----THAT Machiavelli.

The most beautiful part of the church is on the walls----so many frescos by Giotto, Gaddi......and one of the most famous and beautiful frescos is "The Death of St. Francis"----on a side wall, in the Francis chapel to the right of the main altar.  Santa Croce doesn't get as much traffic as some of the other churches----but it should.

Of course, we went around to all of the really big museums--the Accademia, San Marco, the Bargello, the Uffizi.  My favorite is San Marco----the monastery where Fra Angelico lived and fresco-ed everything in the house.  The monk's cells each had a fresco.  The biggest cell/s had belonged to Savonarola--the Dominican preacher who was condemned as a heretic and executed---but the monks at San Marco consider him as a martyr.

The most beautiful fresco at San Marco is Fra Angelico's "Annunciation"---breathtaking.

I feel like I have completely gorged on world famous art......and I can't show much of it to you because they don't allow photos at most of the places we went.....

Photos:

1.  Ponte Vecchio

2.  Fun in the Uffizi bookshop

3.  Facade--Florence Duomo

4.  David

5.  Fra Angelico "Annunciation"

6.  Fra Angelico  "Sermon on the Mount"

7. Plaque that commemorates Savonarola's execution

8.  Santa Croce facade

9.  Michelangelo's tomb

10.  Giotto  "The Death of St. Francis"

Vatican Museums

The museums, like everything else in Rome, are loaded....

The Vatican Museums house the most vast collection of art one could imagine.  We spent and entire afternoon, and still didn't see everything, but there is a point when one goes on overload, and you have to get away from the crush of people.  The Sistine Chapel is the highlight for everyone----I would love to go there when hardly anyone is there, but I have no clue as to when that might be.  

It was a great blessing, to be in the same chapel where the papal conclaves are held---and it was also jarring and, at times, hilarious.  One is supposed to be silent in the Sistine chapel.  But no one is.  

There is a microphone at each end of the chapel, and one is for the guy who yells at you in every possible language to be silent.  It works for about 30 seconds.  Then the noise builds and builds and builds until he yells at everyone to be silent again.  And on and on and on.  I think that I would hate this particular job.  

And there is more.... immediately after the guy yells at everyone to be silent, the guy on the other microphone yells at everyone to not take photos.  Of course, no one obeys him either (see below).  It's rather like Vespers---where one side of the church reads their part of the psalm, and then the other side reads theirs.  I think they should just give up----it would be less jarring.

But, it's good to imagine the cardinals all sitting there, talking about whatever they talk about, casting their ballots, and electing the pope.  If walls could speak.....

Photos:

1.  Ceiling of Constantine chapel

2.  "Crucifixion"--Salvador Dali

3.  Sistine Chapel ceiling

Churches and more Churches--+ the Capuchin Zombie Apocalypse

It has been the week to visit churches, for sure.  Pilgrims and tourists mix together--and so the more popular churches tend to be crowded and chaotic, but there are places to hide out if you want to, oh, actually pray...

It is a gift to be here to not only see these houses of worship and to pray in them, but to sense the spirits of all those who are entombed, celebrated, or present in other ways.  

Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri is beautiful----and has an unassuming facade.  You do not know what is there until you go inside. It is the last church that Michelangelo designed.  It has a wondrous meridian line----the church is built over the ruins of the baths of Diocletian.  Read about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli_e_dei_Martiri

One of the most beautiful churches to visit is the minor basilica of Santa Prassede --one of the oldest churches in Rome, with some of the most beautiful, ancient and amazing mosaics:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Prassede

To see the chains that bound St Paul at St Paul Outside the Walls, and to pray before his tomb was powerful.  To see the chains that bound St. Peter at San Pietro in Vincoli was powerful as well.  

We just missed the Pope at Santa Maria Maggiore----we saw that there was a small crowd, with their cameras out, on the side of the church, and when we went inside, a cardinal came in with a policeman----we left and only found out two days later that the Pope had come to pray there prior to leaving for the Holy Land.  We haven't been following the news, so there you are.  Oh well.

One of my favorite churches is Santa Maria della Vittoria---the small church that houses Bernini's statue called "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa."  Fans of Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" will recognize this church from that book---although he moved it from where it really is to someplace that it isn't so that it would work better for the book.  Literary license, I suppose.  Don't use his book as a map!

No visit to Rome is complete without a visit to the Capuchin Crypt----not as creepy as I expected it to be but strange just the same.  You can see and read about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_Crypt

They don't allow photos, so that is the best I can do!  They now have a new museum that precedes the crypt--with a lot of historical information, and relics of Padre Pio, among others.  They have a very attentive hall monitor who makes sure that you don't even THINK about taking a photo---along with surveillance video to be extra sure.  As we were viewing the last of the "chambers" I jokingly asked Terri if she thought they had a gift shop----it turns out that they do!  No, I did not buy any of the skull earrings or other memorabilia--it seems a little goth to me, but our little experience of the Capuchin Zombie Apocalypse was interesting, and bizarre.

PS  Please be sure to click on the photos to see them in their entirety----the ones that are in landscape mode don't show properly unless you do!

Photos:

1.  Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri (meridian line)

2.  The Ecstasy of St. Teresa at Santa Maria della Vittoria

3.  Michelangelo's vault in Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri 

4.  Mosaics in the St. Zeno chapel in Santa Prassede

5. The chains that bound St. Peter at San Pietro in Vincoli

6.  The altar before the tomb of St. Paul---the illuminated area above holds the chains that bound him

7.  A homeless man finding sanctuary in Santa Maria Maggiore

8.  St. Paul's Outside the Walls facade

Wed. May 21

The day started early---4:55 AM.  Left the Villa at 6:30 to head for Vatican City.  Looked up to the right as we walked out the door and realized that we can see the statues on top of the Lateran Basilica.  We got in the line for security at 7:10---and marveled at the number of people from other countries/cultures who think that it's ok to cut the line....that's all I'm gonna say......had Idina Menzel playing in my head...."let it go, let it go.."

They opened security a bit early, and we found seats up front by 8:10AM-----and settled in for a morning of people watching while we waited.  Turns out that we didn't have to wait long, because they start the audience early when it's hot outside.  It was, and they did.

It started with a bishop arriving on stage to announce many of the groups in attendance----lots of screaming and yelling and cheering.  And then....

They have huge video screens in the square, so that you can see and hear everything....and at 9:48, the screen showed Pope Francis standing up in the Popemobile, waving excitedly at everyone who was waiting for him to drive out.  He was sort of "backstage"--on the left side of the Basilica---but the people who were behind the security lines could see him and they started waving wildly at him, and he waved back.  It seemed like he was thinking that they couldn't get him out there soon enough----he seemed just as excited to see everyone as we were to see him.  Then they drove him out into the square, and the place went wild. Absolutely wild. We were within maybe 20 yards of the barricade, so I watched him drive by the front of the crowd, zoomed in and waited---and there he was!

They stopped the car in front of us so that he could greet people, and then he was off again.  They kept the cameras on throughout his entire journey around the square----probably 25 min or so.  He kissed babies, greeted a developmentally disabled young man who burst into tears when Pope Francis jumped off to hug him.  And that's how it went.  We had great seats for the Pope's Wed. morning party, and it was a good one.

His whole demeanor was amazing---he was like a little boy on Christmas morning---so excited to see people.  It was not at all like "hey, look at me, I'm the Pope!'----it was "Hey, look....the square is full of people who love Jesus, and I get to go meet them---isn't that just the BEST?"  His energy rippled across the square like a flood---and there were people as far as you could see.  He is full of love and loaded with joy, and it is beyond contagious.  He drives his security detail crazy, and it isn't hard to see why.

He finally got back to the stage and things settled down for the formal part of the audience.  The pope spoke----very low key----but he gets very animated when he goes off-script, which he does a lot---he received greetings from groups, several bishops spoke......they talked longer than he did.  

My dose of reality:  I was sitting in the midst of a group of teens from a parish in Italy-----and right next to two young women who spent the entire audience texting and and talking on their  iphones, but mostly texting.  Seriously.  It's a good thing I don't speak Italian.  That is all.  

We prayed The Lord's Prayer in Latin, he blessed us (and all our families, friends and stuff), and it was over.  He stayed to greet a number of people, dignitaries, newly married couples, all kinds of folks. 

And I noticed that his demeanor changed when the audience ended.  He had seemed tired and subdued (except when he went off-script) during the audience---but the minute it was over and he could greet people again, he was exuberant.

I think he would be happiest if the audience allowed more time for driving through the crowds in the square, and less time with speeches.

That said---an inspiring moment, to be sure.  We are so blessed to have him as our Pope.

Photos:

1. Statues on top of the Lateran Basilica at sunrise--somehow that seemed significant

2. In front of St Peter's Basilica---the view from our seats (the Pope speaks from under the canopy up on the stairs, and you can also see the huge video screen to the right)

3, 4, 5  Working the crowd

6. Going off-script

7. Blessing

Rome

Rome is, well, Rome.  Even with jet lag, I know that I'm in a place like no other.  Rome is beautiful and ancient, new and graffiti-covered, rude and welcoming--all sorts of paradox material.  I love it.  I have never been here before, and there is much to learn.

Romans are welcoming and rude---they give you a great deal on dinner, and overcharge you for cappucino.  They will speak English if you try to speak Italian, or if you ask first, instead of just walking up to people and starting to babble at them in English and expect them to understand.  I have found people to be very kind, helpful, and loud.  In that order.

I'm in "pinch me" mode.  Ohh, we are driving by the Colosseo---pinch me.  We are driving by the Forum. Pinch me. The first glimpse of Michelangelo's dome over St Peter's Basilica.  Pinch me.  Walking into St Peter's for the first time and feeling very, very small.  Pinch me.  I can't believe I am here.  Pinch me.

And so on.  I am bruised from all the pinching.

It will get worse from here.

Photos:

1.  Lateran Basilica---the offical cathedral for the Rome diocese. And this is the 'seat'--the pope's cathedra when he is there.

2.  Lateran Basilica--way up at the top are statues that are said to hold the relics of the heads of St Peter and Paul.  Cant't verify...

3.  Swiss Guard at the Bronze doors

4.  Statue of St. Peter in the Basilica---everyone rubs his feet, whch are nearly worn down completely.

5.  Holy Spirit window--St Peter's

6.  Looking up into the dome...

7. Tickets for the papal audience!

Please note--I didn't have my real camera with me--these were all taken with my phone...

26/Ord/C  Luke 16: 19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus

I spent a couple of weeks with my sisters and niece in England this past summer----at the end of our time together, they flew home and I stayed on for a few days to visit friends. It was my last day in London, and because it was Sunday, I headed out for mass----there was a terrible traffic jam all over the city because of a bike race, so the Tube was very crowded---which made me arrive later to church than I wanted to---I slid into a pew right as mass was beginning.  That’s late for me.  I ended up sitting next to a little old man who was obviously homeless.  He nodded at me as I sat down.  For a brief second, I thought about moving, because he smelled so bad, but there was nowhere that I could go.  So, I took a deep breath, and stayed put.  The little old man was also obviously Catholic---he knew all the prayers by heart.  The music was not the best, and the homily was not memorable, and I didn’t know anyone---all of which made me homesick for the preaching, music and community that is here.  When it came time for the collection, I dug in my purse for some money to put into the collection.  It’s always interesting to me to see how other Catholic parishes do things---the ushers had collection bags, which they did NOT pass down the pew. No……they came and stood in front of you and held the bag for you and glared until you put something in it. I looked up from my purse to see the usher standing right in front of me with the collection bag held out to me---I put some bills in and then he stepped over to the man who was sitting next to me and held the bag in front of him.  The man looked up at the usher with tears in his eyes and said in a strained voice, “I got nothing.”  My heart broke.  I forgot that he smelled bad and was kicking myself for even noticing that, because now I realized that I was sitting next to Lazarus in the flesh.  Mass continued as usual, but I was horribly distracted by what had just happened.  The man went to communion, but didn’t step back into what was now ‘our’ pew—he stood in the aisle.  When I looked up after the period of silent prayer, he was gone.  So as mass ended, I ran out the door to see if I could find him to ask if he needed something to eat.  I finally spotted him a block away, but with traffic and the crowds, he soon disappeared.  It was too late.  He has been haunting my prayer ever since.

Last Sunday's gospel warned us that we shouldn’t make money into a god---this week's gospel shows us what happens when we do.  When money, or possessions, or other stuff become more important to us than anything else----we become less than we are called to be.  What do the rich man and Lazarus have in common?  Not much, except for this-----both of them die.  Death is the great equalizer.  It’s only when the rich man dies that he starts to clue in to what he missed in life.  Too little, too late.

We all know this story, and we know that it doesn’t end well for the rich man---but not because he was rich. It’s because he was oblivious to the poor man who was right by his door, just as I was mostly oblivious to the poverty of the man who was sitting next to me in church that Sunday.  I love the part where the rich man tries to order Abraham and Lazarus around.  “Tell Lazarus to get me a drink.” “Send Lazarus to my family.”  It makes me want to jump into the story and say “Sir, it needs to occur to you that you are in hell. This, of course means that you don’t get to do things the way you are used to doing---and you aren’t giving the orders either.”  Or something like that.  Not that I’ve ever been to hell, but I’m reasonably sure that it doesn’t operate that way. 

It's not about what the rich man DID---it's about what he didn't do. In the Confiteor, we admit our sinfulness, “in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.”  The sin is in the “what I have failed to do” part.  The rich man didn’t attack or abuse Lazarus----he didn’t do anything at all to Lazarus.  He could have justifiably said “Hey, I didn’t do anything.”  And God would say…..’exactly.’ He had the money, the power, and ability to help someone who desperately needed it.  He did nothing.  And before he realized his mistake, time ran out.

There is still time for us.

Lazarus walks among us every day—do we see him?  For the last month, he has been across the street staying at St Margaret’s---and for 12 days, over 100 volunteers from this faith community fed and cared for him.  He lives at St Martin de Porres Shelter on the waterfront.  He stands by the side of the road with a sign that says “Homeless Vet. Anything helps.”  He is the little old man that I sat next to at mass at Our Lady of Mt Carmel and St Simon Stock parish in Kensington.  He is everywhere, and we mostly don’t see him until it’s too late.  I think that sometimes we are afraid----Lazarus can be scary and smelly.  If we stop to notice, something will be required of us, and we are afraid of what it might be.  If you follow the news, or even Facebook, you will notice that it has become very clear that one person who isn’t afraid of Lazarus is Pope Francis.  Much to the chagrin of his security detail, Francis plunges into crowds of people and is most often pictured hugging or blessing the sick, the disabled.  Lazarus.  I saw the photos of the Pope’s visit to Sardinia last Sunday----they brought the sick, and I mean really sick--people on gurneys, people with oxygen tanks--- to the Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria ---it looked like a hospital and reminded me of Pope Francis’ words the previous week when he spoke of the Church as a ‘field hospital after battle.” People in need, people who suffer---they are frightening to us—it’s easier to ignore them.  We Catholics have, as a role model, a leader who isn’t afraid to jump into the midst of suffering and be there within it.  His tender care and visible love for the ‘least of these’ is tangible and something that we should all take to heart. 

Today’s Gospel invites us to remember that we really are called to take care of each other---and it starts by noticing that there is someone there, someone in need, someone who is Lazarus walking among us, someone who is Jesus in disguise.

The British Museum

The British Museum basically houses the history of civilization....or most of it.  Whether or not Britain SHOULD have all this stuff is another discussion entirely----but the British Museum is huge, amazing, and free.

And now, the photos!

British museum:

1.  The Rosetta Stone.  Yup.  This is it.

2.  The Parthenon Marbles.  These were chipped and sawed away from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin and carried off to England nearly 200 years ago. Greece would like to have them back, if you please.

3.  Ramesses II....this is the Pharoah that they think was in charge when Moses was doing his thing.  

To paraphrase.....

Moses:  "Let my people go!"

Ramesses II:  "No way"

Moses:  "This won't go well for you"

Ramesse II:  "Bring it."

It did not, as predicted, go well for Ramesses II.  That is all.

4.  Cleopatra---or what's left of her.  I'm guessing that Egypt would like Ramesses and Cleopatra, along with all the other mummies back as well.

5.  The Tree of Life:  This is really powerful---it's in the Africa exhibit.  It was created by artists in Mozambique who crafted it from weapons that were turned in.  Sort of like turning swords into plowshares.  You can read more about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Life_(Kester)

6.  This is the Hinton St. Mary Mosaic---it is thought to be the earliest image of Christ.  Read about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinton_St_Mary_Mosaic