Wednesday, March 7 - Santa Cecilia

Venerated as the patron saint of musicians, St. Cecilia is one of those many Romans who held steadfast to the faith in the persecutions against the Roman Church during its early years.  She was a Roman maiden engaged to be married to a pagan named Valerian.  After their marriage, she brought him to Pope Urban I.  Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. Through prayers and good example, Saint Cecilia converted her husband, St. Valerian, and her brother-in-law, St. Tiburtius, to Christianity. As a result, all three were condemned to death (230). They tried unsuccessfully to suffocate St. Cecilia in her own bath by steaming her alive. Witnesses heard her singing songs to God throughout the ordeal (that is why she is the patron saint of music). They then tried to behead her. By Roman law, the executioner only had three attempts to severe the head.
The executioner, unsuccessful, ran away leaving her to slowly bleed to death. During the next few days, many were converted by her preaching. She died in a pool of her own blood, her fingers outstretched to proclaim her faith in the Triune God.

The bodies of this holy family were transferred to this church in 821 by Pope Paschal I (817-824). (See the mosaic depicting Paschal (with square nibus) giving the church to St. Cecilia who introduces him to St. Paul. Jesus in the center and next to him is Ss. Peter, Valerian, and Agatha. Below are the 12 lambs approaching Christ the Lamb of God from Bethlehem and Jerusalem.) In 1599, her tomb was opened and her body was found to be incorruptible. The sculptor Moderno was there, drew what he saw, and later made the famed statue (see photo). It' is located below the main altar.

Missing in Action???? No just Spring Break

I appreciate the emails I have received -- especially the ones expressing concern over the lack of activity on the blog the past few days.   I want to assure every one that I am not responsible for any international incidents, nor have I joined a cloistered monastery.   We are on Spring break and like most students, that means travel time.  And how easy it is to do in Europe with discount airlines, hotels and the common currency, the Euro.  Fr. Andy Prachar is here for the week so we are making the best of it.  The institute offered a trip to the Holy Land, but you may recall we did a parish trip there in 2009,  so I opted a not to go.  Instead, I would see some places that I had always wanted to visit. We left Rome last Friday for Amsterdam.  Andy had some friends to visit.  Spent most of the days sightseeing lots of museums and the various districts.  Our hotel was located at Museum Square, a little off the beaten track, but easy access by tram.  And much quieter than some of the more tourist areas. We then flew to Berlin, a city still under transition from the fall of the Wall, but certainly has come along way since its reunification.  To see so much of what was studied in World History in high school.  While most of the wall is gone, it's location is marked by a simple double row of bricks in the road and I must admit that walking 'through the wall' did evoke feelings of amazement, anger and history.  We toured the city by bus, and it is utterly amazing how far they have come in 20 years.  What was East Berlin is now a booming area of commerce, industry and homes. Visited Checkpoint Charlie one of the last remaining reminders of the Cold War, along with its museum and timeline.  How easy it is to forget some of the history of our lifetime. All over the city, there are photographs of what it looked like before, during and now after World War II.  Reminders of man's cruelty to man and the danger we all face when the power of evil is allowed to take root.  Hopefully, we will always remember the lessons learned and at what a price. We are ending the week with a trip back to Barcelona.  I went there earlier in the sabbatical and I am looking forward to spending more time exploring some of the things we did not get to see last time.  We return to Rome on Friday to be there to celebrate the high holyday (St. Patrick's Day) on Saturday with dinner and a show at the Irish College (seminary). Andy leaves on Sunday.  The program resumes on Monday. Need to mention that Fr. Clatton was a big help arranging all these flights/hotels.  The parishioners reading this will remember him from his two summers with us.  He is awaiting the date of the defense of his dissertation and the will return to India about the same time Fr. Grace will be returning in May.  He sends his regards to everyone.