We started our Sunday in Rome with prayer, we spent some time at the Vatican, watching the comings and goings, as to be expected there was a considerable amount of clergy in attendance, having been to Vatican city dozens of times, its fairly rare to see so many Bishops.
I spent the rest of the morning visiting two of my favourite churches in the old part of the city.
I started off in Chiesa Di San Marcello Al Corso (The church of Saint Pope Marcellus I) this beautiful church dates back to the 1500s, it for me represents the classic Roman style of its era.
Although having attended mass long ago here and really not being impressed with the liturgy, it’s still a wonderful place to pray, it features shrines to our lady of Knots, St Michael the Archangel and St Joseph, St Padre Pio among others all very important intercessors for us faithful laity in this time, as well as this the church is dedicated to a true man of God Saint Marcellus I, this Pope was banished by Emperor Maxentius the emperor who Constantine the great would defeat and usher in the start of the conversion of the empire to Christianity. He was exiled because of the penances he imposed on those that lapsed to pagan worship under last great persecution.
How different are the times now, we live in an age where you are persecuted, shunned by the church as unclean people if you don’t get involved with pagan idolatry.
I found these prayer cards within the church after praying for his intercession for the church in front of his relics which are under the alter you can see below.
I also found these prayers cards which people might like to use in there prayers.
The next church I visited was Santa Maria in Via, this church has truly ornate imagery, at Christmas they also do the most wonderful nativity here. But the main purpose of the visit was to visit our Lady’s shrine dedicated the healing graces that comes from the well.
The History is that on the night of the 26th of September 1256, the water in the well of the stable belonging to Cardinal Pietro Capocci suddenly came up to the brim and overflowed. Floating on the top was a piece of stone with an image of the Virgin Mary painted on it. The Cardinal rescued it and the water receded to its usual level. A canonical process gave approval to the miracle and Pope Alexander IV had it placed for the veneration of the faithful in a chapel built over the well where it had been found. Since then, our Lady of the Well has been obtaining graces and cures for those who even today drink the water from it with devotion or take it to the sick.
The church is normally a wonderful place to pray, so I started my Rosary, it was about the 3rd mystery when I heard the sermon of the priest, it was in Spanish and it went on in a very informal manner with a lot hysterics, then I heard it, the guitar strings, the silly songs, I tried to go on, but knew it would be a losing battle somehow its hard to imagine the presentation in the temple with guitar music and bad evangelical worship songs in the background! I asked someone what was going on as I never seen this kind of service here, I was informed they were the Ecuadorian contingent I shall say no more!
As a friend to me on my retelling of this incident, “nothing says continuity like guitar music in a 12th century church”.
This Church is beautiful and would still recommend a visit, you can also get a pretty bottle of the water from the well just by asking the polite steward behind the alter for one, so you can take it home to sick relatives etc.
Of course it was Sunday so we attended evening mass at the SS. Trinita Dei Pellegrini, I was surprised by how well attended it was with 90 to 100 people present, it was a very nice place to receive the bread of life, the church is truly stunning, although quite hidden away in the back streets.
I won’t go into too much detail about the synod today, its Sunday and I will simply say pray, do acts of penance tomorrow, St Michael pray for us, St Joseph pray for us, St Marcellus pray for us, Our lady of knots please untie this web of knots are church has found its self in.
God love you
CC