Wednesday of the First Week of Lent at St Mary Major

The basilica began to be known as St. Mary Major, as the principal church in Rome dedicated to our Lady, in the seventh century, the same period in which the relics believed to be from the manger of Christ at Bethlehem were enshrined here.  The confessio before the high altar was built between 1861 and 1864 to house the relics of the manger.  Despite a long history of renovations and renewals, the interior of the basilica still preserves its original spirit.

Standing in the square before the basilica today, a couple of things draw our interest before we enter the church itself.  The first of these is the Marian Column in the center of the square.  The column is originally from the Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum.  This is the inspiration for the many Marian columns which can be found in various cities throughout Europe.  The second point of interest here are the mosaics on the old façade of the basilica, currently protected behind the columns of the eighteenth century loggia.  They depict Christ attended by angels, in the heavenly liturgy, and scenes from the legend of the basilica’s foundation.  These mosaics served as the apse for liturgies celebrated in the piazza.

Collect: 

Look kindly, Lord, we pray, 

on the devotion of your people, 

that those who by self-denial are restrained 

in body may by the fruit of good 

works be renewed in mind. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in 

the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Clear morning sky in front of the basilica waiting for the doors to be opened

Mosaics in the loggia

Central nave

Celing decorated with gold donated by the King and Queen of Spain. The first gold brought by Colombus from the New World. 

Main altar above the confessio

Relics of the manger from Bethlehem

Column in front of the basilica

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent at S.t Anastasia

We have little knowledge about the story of St. Anastasia. We know, however, that she was martyrized in Serbia. Her cult arrived in Rome towards the end of the V century from Constantinople. This church dedicated to her memory is a neighbor of one of the great symbols of the Roman Empire, the Circus Maximus. It is now ruins, while the faith it strove to crush by the execution of martyrs like St. Anastasia is still here.

Another saint associated with this church is St. Jerome.  There is a tradition that when staying in Rome he would often celebrate Mass here, possibly because he came from the same region as St. Anastasia.  As the practice of stational Masses during Lent developed, this was assigned as the collectum for the procession to St. Sabina, and as a result, the processional crosses used for the stational processions were kept here when not in use. 

 Collect: 

Look upon your family, Lord, 

that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline, 

our minds may be radiant in your presence 

with the strength of our yearning for you. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of 

the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Pilgrims from the College arriving for the early Mass.

Main door with the title ADOREMUS. St Anastasia has perpetual  Eucharistic Adoration

Central nave

Relics of the saint

Mosaic above the altar

Monday of the First Week of Lent at St Peter in Chains

St. Peter in Chains is probably one of the first parish churches of Rome. According to the more likely hypothesis on the archeological history of this church, the first place of Christian worship on this site dates from the late fourth or early fifth century, being completed by Pope Sixtus III.  Around the year 450 the chains from St. Peter’s imprisonment in Jerusalem were given to the church; when these were placed with the chains from St. Peter’s imprisonment in Rome, the two fused together.  In the year 519, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian wanted to bring the chains to Constantinople, but was rebuffed.  Towards the end of that century, the church was rededicated at the same time that the relics of the Maccabee brothers were brought here. 

One of the artistic treasures here is the incomplete tomb of pope  Julius II, including the famous Moses, by Michelangelo in 1545. 

Collect: 

Convert us, O God our Savior, 

and instruct our minds by heavenly teaching, 

that we may benefit from the works of Lent. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Entrance to the church

General view

Relics of the chains

Main altar under a beautiful baldochino 

Fresco in the sanctuary depicting the freedom of Peter by the angel. 

Michelangelo's Moses

First Sunset: The Temptation

We pray with Jesus in psalm 61: Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer! From the ends of the earth I call; my heart grows faint. And St Augustine comments: “What is the reason for this cry? A heart that grows faint. Who cries like this shows that is everywhere not with great glory but with serious temptations.” But if Jesus would have fallen into temptation, what would be of me? A poor unredeemed sinner. The greatness of the temptations is that Jesus could say yes to them. Just like the sunset seeks the night, temptation seeks my darkness. We should see Jesus very human, like us, in all of these sunsets. And in Him, we can truly say not to temptation. However, we are alone and very much us as in temptation as in death. The joy is that with my no to temptation, I experience my humanity with that of Jesus and I become much like him that I want to be more of him.

Jesus always retreats himself to pray as the night approaches. This is to say that after the sunset and without light, the only remedy to go through the bitter darkness is only seeking God. The orange color of the sky announces the closeness of darkness. We prepare a defense with bulbs, candles and lamps. They all pretend to supplant the great star. But that orange color in the sky makes me sight with nostalgia of heaven, nostalgia of God. We don’t want to close our eyes before such phenomenon. Contemplation envelopes us and transports us to the night not only armed with lamps, but empty of any trivial security.  

What makes me fear the loss of the day? The certainty of not have finished the begun labor, not have loved the offering, have despised the offended. O great sunset that rubs my guilt on my face and does not allow me to touch the night without repentance. The sun falls, yes! So I do as well tired and afflicted. The day is gone and doesn’t come back. I continue forth with the following. I say then not to my temptation because it takes me to seek my God than wants me like him.

Sunsets

I had the privilege to expend part of the school Christmas break with the Trappist monks of Frattocchie, suburb of Rome. Those days will remain in my memory for ever as days of profound reflection. I found there a beautiful biography, in its original Italian, of my dear hermano San Rafael Arnaiz, a Trappist novice who died very young in his native Spain in 1938.

I met hermano Rafael through another friend of mine: father Damian of Molokai. I didn’t know anything about Rafael until the very day of his canonization. Rafael and Damian were canonized together with other three saints in the same ceremony by Pope Benedict XVI. It was my first time in Rome. Hermano Rafael did not need to say a word to me before he called my attention. His image transmitted the peace and serenity that only someone who has God within can give. He inspired me right away to say to myself: I want to be like him.

The book I found there seems to have been written in the very same place I was at. After reading the first pages of the introductory chapter, I realized that I already had read the English translation of it, sometime after the canonization. I got that book in a quick stop I made by the New Melleray Abbey in Dubuque IA.  It is, by the way, a place very dear to my heart. It was there where I made the decision to become a priest for my providential archdiocese of Chicago. I read it again anyway. It is like s’mores melting on your mouth!

The truth is that during those days with the monks and reading Rafael, I realized how much Rafael and I share in common: men of flesh and bone, passionate for God and our Lady and lazy to wake up early in the morning. Not that I am a saint yet, but I am talking about when Rafael was more like me. This gives me hope!

Sunrises and sunsets are my favorite moments of the day because those are moments of great transcendence that claim contemplation and invite to praise the Lord. But because I have seen more sunsets than sunrises, I prefer for now sunsets until I learn how to wake up to watch the sun rise. However, I have a great difficulty with sunsets: they seek the night and as consequence allow the day to be overcome by darkness. But I turned on a camera and took pictures of sunsets in the monastery during the last week of 2011. I would like to take the opportunity of Lent to share some with you along with reflections about sunsets. I would like to invite you to let yourself be impregnated by them during Lent, which is like a long sunset seeking the night of death, overcome after, once and for ever by the great light of the Great Sunday. I hope that by then, I will have enough courage to wake up to contemplate the sunrise.

So alternatively with the stational churches, I will post a new sunset each Sunday of Lent to meditate upon. 

Fourth Station: Saturday after Ash Wednesday at St Augustine

Coming from the busy streets near Piazza Navona, we find ourselves a quiet square before the graceful façade of today’s station.  Originally the liturgy of today was celebrated in the church of St. Tryphon.  This was an older church which once stood near here but was demolished to make room for the adjacent Augustinian convent, which was later confiscated by the Italian government after the invasion of Rome in 1870.  The church of St. Augustine, under the patronage of the great pastor and author of the fourth and fifth centuries, dates back to the medieval period, with the first church begun in 1296 and construction continuing over the following two centuries, finishing in 1446. (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC)

One of the special things of this church is that St Monica’ tomb, Augustine’s mother, is here. She gives us example of endurance, perseverance and confidence in prayer. When you pray and see there is nothing happening, pray more. If nothing happens yet, pray, pray and pray.

Let us Pray

Almighty ever-living God,

Look with compassion on our weakness

And ensure us your protection

By stretching forth the right hand of your majesty.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever. (Collect from Mass). 

The interior of this church is an honest testimoy to the Renaissance period. 

St Monica's tomb. We take a moment to reflect upon this woman , whose steadfast faith and constant prayers would win for God the great saint after whom this church is named. 

Chapel of  St Nicholas of Tolentine. Underneath this altar are his relics. 

One of the greatest treasures of this church is this fresco of Isaiah by Raphael. Below there is a sculpture of St Anne, the Blessed Virgin, and Our Lord. While Isaiah foretold the Messiah in his inspired writings, St. Anne was the woman who bore naturally the Blessed Virign, who would bear the Son of God supernaturally. 

This is the main altar, a work by Bernini.

In the last chapel is the artistic highlight of this church: Caravaggio's Madonna of the Pilgrims .

This painting is executed in Caravaggio's characteristic style. It first attracted attention for its portrayal of the worn and dirty pilgrims before the Blessed Virgin, which was seen as scandalous by some. However, with the eye of faith it is only too fitting that it is here. It helps us to reflect on how, just like St Monica aided her son to find Christ, so does Christ's mother aid us through her intercession, so that, stained though, we may be from our journey through this world, we may be received into the presence of her Son.

Third Station: Friday after Ash Wednesday at Ss John and Paul

Passing under arches, we come around the side of this ancient church, built over several Roman ruins.  Among these is the house in which the patrons of this church witnessed to their faith with their lives.  Ss. John and Paul were soldiers who were chosen to serve as functionaries in the Imperial household in the middle of the fourth century.  Although the Imperial family was often in heresy with regard to many of the theological disputes of this time, these two saints were able to continue in their offices while holding to the orthodox faith.  However, when Julian the Apostate ascended to the throne in 360, they were forced with the decision either to embrace the renewed pagan religion or face death.  They refused to cooperate with the Emperor’s demands, and so were executed in their home on this site and buried nearby.  Although such an execution within the city walls was illegal, it is thought that the emperor sought to be as discreet as possible about this matter because of the unpopularity of his command. After the death of Julian in 363, work began to perpetuate the memory of the saints. 

The church would be renovated several times between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, with the current interior dating largely from a renovation from 1715-18.  In the late 1850s, the sacristy was added, as well as a large chapel dedicated to St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionist order which serves the basilica.  In the late nineteenth century, archeological excavations and studies of the Roman ruins beneath the house began, with the results being open to the public as a museum today.  From 1948 to 1950, a restoration/renovation was carried out by the Cardinal Spellman of New York, who held the title to this church at that time.  During this time the façade was returned to its medieval appearance.  The interior was also restored; among the additions were chandeliers that had previously hung in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York.  Therefore, the basilica today is a palimpsest of architectural history, from the Roman ruins that make up the foundations, to the modern chandeliers hanging in the nave. (From: Procedamus in Pacem: a Guide to the Station Churches of Rome, PNAC).

Let us Pray

Show gracious favor, O Lord, we pray,

To the works of penance we have begun,

That we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity

The bodily observances we undertake.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy spirit,

One God, for ever and ever. (collect from Mass)

Priests from Casa Santa Maria on their early morning pilgrim to today's stational church

Facade of SS John and Paul's Basilica. Passionist Father's headquaters 

Main altar contenining the relics of SS John and Paul

Tomb of St Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists. 

Detail in the cealing of the church depicting ss. John and Paul.

SS. John and Paul basilica is the titular church of Cardinal Egan, former Archbishop of New York and originally a priest from Chicago. Here is his coat of arms.

Archs by the side street of the church

And on our back to home, the best way is to go by the Arch of Constantine and the  Coliseum. 

Second Station: Thursday after Ash Wednesday at St George

Surrounded by the ruins of the empire that put its patron to death, the humble church of St. George in the Velabrum is a continuing reminder of the faith and sacrifice of that great saint.  As we head away from the river in the direction of the church, we see the Arch of Janus (late third/early fourth century after Christ) with its many niches, marking the site of the Forum Boarium, the cattle market of the ancient city.  While very little of his actual story has come down to us, it can be known for certain that he suffered near the current location of Lod, Israel, most likely in the late third or early fourth century.  While many of the stories about St George are largely fictional, they seem to indicate that he was a soldier, possibly of Cappadocian descent, and also that he suffered many tortures before his death.  He later became a popular patron of soldiers, who looked to him as a model for strength in the spiritual life.  His cult became especially popular in Europe when it was brought back with the returning Crusaders.

While the church is currently named for St. George, it has traditionally also been linked with the martyr St. Sebastian.  This is due to the church’s proximity to the location where the battered corpse of the saint was thrown into the Cloaca Maxima, the ancient sewer running underneath the site which still functions today.  The first Christian structure on this site was a diaconia (deaconry), thought to have been established here in the late fifth century.  This was a social services center of the early Roman church, including a distribution center with supplies for the needy, as well as a small chapel.  This may have been placed under the patronage of St. George by the first half of the seventh century, when mention of such was made.  (From: Procedamus in Pacem: a Guide to the Station Churches of Rome, PNAC)

Let us Pray

Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord,

And further them with your constant help,

That all we do may always begin from you

And by you be brought to completion.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever. (Collect from Mass)

Arch of Janus and the church of St George behind it

Front of the church. Splendid bright morning. who said only Chicago has a mild winter?

Central nave. I like the cibourium upon de altar. Take a close look to the columns. They were recycled from ancient pagan  temples. 

First Station: Ash Wednesday at St Sabina

Ascending the Aventine Hill, we leave the noise of the Lungotevere behind us and continue up the small road that leads past stuccoed walls and grassy parks. The Basilica of St. Sabina is soon seen on the right among the pine trees which surround it.  This church provides an appropriate place to transition into Lent for it itself is a witness to the time of transition in which it was built, during the last days of the Western Roman Empire.  This location is traditionally believed to be near the house of the Roman matron St. Sabina, a widow who was converted to the faith by her slave, Seraphia.  Around the year 126, both Seraphia and Sabina were condemned for being Christians and put to death.  Some remains of earlier buildings have been found next to the church which would be of the correct age to have been either the house of St. Sabina, which some traditions place on this site, or the meeting place of an early Christian community. (From: Procedamus in Pacem: a Guide to the Station Churches of Rome, PNAC)

Let us Pray

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting

This campaign of Christian service,

So that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,

We may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever. (Collect from Mass)

Front entrance to the Basilica of St Sabina

Interior. Central nave of St Sabina. The choir is in front of the altar. 

Create a Pure Heart for me, O God

Friends the holy Season of Lent is upon us. May it be what it is, a season of spiritual renewal for all of us. As we all await the great feast of Easter, we prepare to celebrate it with the joy of minds made pure through prayer, almsgiving and penance. Yes, the ever ancient wisdom of our Church gives witness to it. It is the only way to purify ourselves and make all the room for God in our lives. And please notice, it does not say through prayer OR almsgiving OR penance. It says through all three: PRAYER, ALMSGIVING, PENANCE! America more than ever needs faithful Christians.

Here in Rome the experience of Lent is promised to be one of the spiritual highlights of the year. We are in daily contact to faithful Christians that have preceded us giving up their lives pouring out their blood for our faith. They are the holy martyrs. And during lent, this closeness is clearer with the celebration of the stational Masses around the city.

The stational masses in Rome have its roots as back as the Second Century. Originally it was the practice of the bishop of Rome to say masses in the different churches of the city. Often the churches were associated to the celebration of the day. For example, Good Friday came to be at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Christmas at St. Mary Major. After the legalization of Christianity in A.D. 313, the celebration of these masses in other particular churches took an additional significance as the places that held the relics of the martyrs and the memory of the early history of the Church in the city of Rome.

I would like to clarify that stational Masses are just regular Masses celebrated in the Catholic Roman rite, i.e., the same Masses we celebrate anywhere. The use of the term station came to be applied to the place where the Mass was said after a short procession with the pope on fast days. The Christians in those early centuries made a comparison of their fasting and prayer during Lent wit he guard duty of soldiers, seeing their actions as something to be approached with a similar seriousness of purpose.

While other cities such as Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Milan once had similar stational liturgies, Rome is the only city in which these continue in some regular form. Therefore, just like the writings of the fathers and the art of the early Christian era, the stational cycle comes down to us as a monument of the early Church. It is a living connection to those days when the witness of the martyrs was still fresh.

Although today the pope does not go to the stational masses anymore, the tradition, as a Lenten devotion of Romans, still is a popular one to which we gracefully join. The North American College has leaded it for the English speaking community in the city for a long time now. I would like to invite you (and pass the word around to others), to follow me during this Lent in this space as we go from church to church praying, giving alms, and making acts of self-abnegation.

I will post every day a little story of the church, pictures and the collect prayer for Mass. May we enter into the spirit of the prayers that permeate these walls, and join with our predecessors in the praise of the common Lord.