ROME PILGRIMAGE 2007: FINAL REFLECTIONS
Mom was ready with passport in hand to join Barbara and me, but then she broke her arm shortly before our flight to Rome. How cheerful could she be after such a terrible disappointment? She took it all in stride with no complaints. See picture below. She joined us in spirit and prayer throughout our trip by following our itinerary each day and looking up all the sights on her computer. When we returned, we viewed her extensive research.
One year later Mom joined us on another trip celebrating her 50 years of service
to the Carmelite Monastery in Santa Clara when we visited EWTN in Alabama.
ROME 2007
A month ago (January 2007) we were in Rome beginning our pilgrimage. We have combined our pictures, journals, and mementos into two binders and now can bore everyone to death. Now it’s time to ponder what it all meant. It was especially memorable as a pilgrimage. Thanks to our tour director, Brian, it kept a pilgrimage focus throughout. Mass was offered each day and prayer was encouraged at all the stops. Some of my best memories are of Masses and prayer opportunities in various settings.
Day One: During our first pilgrimage Mass at the pensione I was having stomach cramps and Barbara could hardly kneel on her knees because of the long flight and extended walking on cobblestones. We offered our pain to the Lord in the pilgrim spirit, then things only got better.
Day Two: We were euphoric at the Papal Mass of the Epiphany the very next day, aches and pains forgotten as we were caught up in the spectacular beauty of St. Peter’s attending Mass offered by Pope Benedict and later receiving his blessing from his balcony.
Waiting for the Papal Blessing; Before the Epiphany Mass in St. Peter's
Day Three: I was especially moved by the sight of the sculpture of St. Cecilia with her head contorted by the blows of the sword; this was a time for prayer so near her place of martyrdom.
St. Cecilia's at night
Day Four: We attended Mass at the chapel of St. Helen (Basilica of the Holy Cross) where we remembered Mom who couldn’t come on the pilgrimage because of her broken arm. We were honored to be in the presence of the holy relics from Jerusalem. Later we offered prayers at Saint Mary Major’s as we marveled at the testimony to the ancient reverence and devotion to Mary.
St. Mary Major's
Then we had an opportunity to reflect on the passion of the Lord as we ascended the steps of the Scala Santa and offered Him the pain in our knees. Finally, on that day we offered prayer for Pope Benedict at the cathedral of the popes, St. John Lateran’s:
St. John Lateran's
Day Five: The Mass at the Hungarian Chapel beneath St. Peter’s near the tomb of Pope John Paul II was a tremendous start for day five.
It only got better as we made the Scavi Tour to the remains of St. Peter deep below St. Peter’s. It was another call to prayer to thank St. Peter for all he did to establish our Church and to pray for his intercession for our Church today. Later in the day we visited the grave of St. Catherine of Siena who was so courageous in bringing the papacy back to Rome. If we think the Church is having tough times now, we only need to read about the times of St. Catherine to see how terrible was the condition of the Church in her day. It was on this day too that Brian stopped our group’s parade down a narrow street to pray a Hail Mary near a fresco of Mary on the wall of an adjacent building:
Both Brian and Fr. Novokowski consistently reminded us to be prayerful pilgrims. Our last stop of that day at St. Ignatius Church was a call to remember the great Jesuit saints, Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Aloysius Gonzaga, Stanislaus Kostka, and Robert Bellermine.
Day Six: We attended the Papal audience and received the Pope’s blessing once again praying for his intentions. Barbara got a great close-up shot of Pope Benedict as he gave a little girl his blessing:
But this day quickly turned into the Carmelite day of our tour. We visited Fr. Stephen at the Generalate and were treated to original oil paintings of Carmelite saints.
With Fr. Stephen: Generalate residence behind
Then we visited Saint Mary of Victory Church where we learned about the miraculous painting of Mary that brought victory at the Battle of White Mountain, and about its bearer, Venerable P. Domenico of Jesus and Mary. Carmelite heaven was opened further when we viewed Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Theresa:
Later, we saw the Chapel of St. John of the Cross, and the painting of Therese of the Child Jesus, Saint of Roses. This was topped off by what we saw in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Balzico’s sculpture, The Virgin giving the Scapular to St. Simon Stock. At each chapel we were called to prayer to Mary and all the Carmelite saints. After our trip Fr. James from the Carmelite Monastery in San Jose asked me to write an article for the Carmelite Digest focusing on the miraculous victory of Mary at the Battle of White Mountain.
Day Seven: Fr. Novokowski first heard confessions at Saint Paul’s outside the Walls then said Mass in the Chapel of St. Stephen:
Later we found a picture of the pope, St. Telesphorus, who is a favorite of my mother’s. Then we were brought back to the time of the early Christian martyr’s as we toured the Catacombs of St. Callistus. A special bonus was seeing a statue of Mary Help of Christians as we left the grounds headed for Quo Vadis Church..
Later in the day we were moved to see St. Peter’s chains and then an ancient chapel dedicated to the memory of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
Day Eight: It was a day without Mass because Barbara and I were committed to an appointed time to see the Uffizi while the rest of our pilgrimage attended Mass in Florence.
Lunch on the terrace of the Uffizi near the Palazzo Vecchio with the Duomo in the background.
Later in the day as I entered the Duomo I saw Fr. Novokowski kneeling by himself near the main altar. I didn’t see anyone else kneeling, just gawking around, so I knelt beside him for a few moments of prayer. Barbara and I were feeling lots of aches and pains again, so we hired a horse driven carriage. Even then I felt close to God as he blessed our union together tired and aching as we were.
Day Nine: After Mass, we remembered the martyrs first at the Church of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls: St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, and Saint Tarcisius:
St. Lawrence outside the Walls
Then we remembered St. Agnes at the church built in her honor. Our final church stop was back at St. Peter’s where we first started our Roman pilgrimage.
We wanted to do a more thorough tour and take a trip up the stairs to the top of the cupola where we could get a panoramic view of the Vatican and its surroundings.
Fittingly, our last full day at St. Peter’s ended in a restaurant run by third order Carmelites where we met young men studying theology and philosophy at the Angelicum. Time for a few prayers for the missionary efforts of the third order group and for the vocations of the young men studying so hard.
Day Ten: Fr. Novokowski said a final Mass at the pensione, then on the bus cracked open the pilgrimage’s book of prayer one last time and led us in prayerful song as we headed to the airport. On the long journey home I recalled that the Georgetown nuns had given me a copy of the pamphlet, The Wonders of the Holy Name. As we flew over Spain, some serious Carmelite territory, I prayed and meditated on Fr. O’Sullivan’s wonderful insights about the Holy Name.
The pilgrimage was over. We were blessed with some wonderful meals and side trips to many of Rome’s attractions, the Trevi Fountain...
...the Spanish Steps...
...Circus Maximus...
But the deepest memories were of special prayer moments in many holy places where martyrs gave their lives for a new church, and countless other good Christians dedicated their lives to build on the sacrifices of those martyrs to bring us the Church as we know it today.