The Lovely Little Things of Today

+JMJ+
Today was a day full of lovely little things which I desire to share with you in list form.  The order of the list shall correspond with the order of events, from the beginning of the day to the end:

1.  After class today, Monsignor led us in praying the Stations of the Cross.  We walked along a path outside as we prayed each station, meditation on the passion of Christ.

2.  I left halfway through praying the Stations of the Cross so that I could make it to Mass at 4pm.  There, the funniest thing happened to me.  At the church in our neighborhood, daily Mass is celebrated in a little side chapel.  There are usually just around 5-7 other people there.  Today, there were only four other people, three elderly women and one elderly man.  I was kneeling and praying in the second pew before Mass started when the woman in front of me, a tiny old Italian woman, turned to me and said something very quickly in Italian.  I gave her a confused smile and shrugged, saying "Inglese" (which means "English").  She said something else to me and I just smiled and shrugged again, and we both went on with our lives...or so I thought.  Mass began.  When the time came when the first reading was supposed to be read, the lady who had spoken to me before Mass turned around and looked at me.  I just smiled back at her, like "What?"  Then, I saw Father was also looking at me with an expectant look, complemented by gestures that said, "Well, aren't you going to come up and do the reading?"  They were expecting me to read for Mass in Italian!!  HA HA! I couldn't help but let out a little giggle, then just shook my head, looking apologetically towards Father, trying to hold in my laughter.  I couldn't (and still can't) believe they were actually expecting me to read in Italian!  I don't know what they could have been thinking; apparently, for some reason they thought I spoke Italian.  Too funny...

3.  I volunteered with the Missionaries of Charity tonight!  It was so great!  The Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's sisters) have a few houses in Rome.  I went with my RD and one other student to volunteer at the house they run for homeless men.  We helped serve dinner to the men, cleaned up the kitchen and dining areas, and talked to a couple of the men.  Being able to serve was such a gift.  The sisters were very happy to have us and asked us to come back.  I hope we do!  We probably will:)

4.  I saw the room in which St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists order, lived the last two years of his life and died.  This room is not normally open to the public, but we asked and got special permission.  Deo gratias!

The crucifix on the wall (left) is the actual crucifix St. Paul of the Cross prayed with and used

5.  I saw a pink limo.  There was a little girl in the back window (which was down) waving at us and yelling something to us.  It was adorable and pretty exciting.  I bet that limo is the biggest car I've seen since I've been in Rome, aside from busses.

6.  I went out for dinner with two classmates, my RD, and an English-speaking priest from Trinidad!  Yay!  It was so much fun.  I got this delicious pizza that had at least four different kinds of cheese on it. The priest from Trinidad shared with us about his ministry back in Trinidad.  One of the most interesting things he talked about was his parish's observance of Lent.  He has six villages and will spend six-eight hours, in one sitting, hearing confessions.  He goes from village to village, preaching.  Here's the SUPER cool part: they have a Lenten cruise in Trinidad!  1500-2000 people get on a boat that sails around the Island while a priest preaches, teaches, and all the people get to spend quality time together while being catechized!  Best plan ever!  Father also told us that in Trinidad, they make coffee and chocolate.  Sign me up!  Coffee, chocolate, Lenten cruises!  Sounds like a good path to heaven to me!  ;)

Tomorrow morning, I'm hoping to get up in time to go to the Station church for Mass.  What is a station church?  In Rome, for everyday in Lent, a Church is picked in which Mass will be celebrated throughout the day in all different languages!  Pretty spiffy!  The American Mass is at 7am, so I should get to bed.  Some of the students, myself included, are going to visit Ostia tomorrow, too!  More on that later.  Goodnight and God bless!

+JMJ+