Rome: how sweet thou art!

I was going to title this entry: "So after sleeping with 400 people I did not know....,"* but decided against it since such a name may cause scandal. Anyways, after almost 15 hours of travel I have safely returned to Rome for my third year of theology studies. It is actually quite a significant year, since I will be completing my first degree in theology and above all since it is just over a year (one year and 25 days to be exact) until I am ordained a deacon in Rome.

Interior of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, my favorite church for prayer in Rome.

Arriving on Thursday I did not pack right away, but had my priorities in order and paid my first visit to Saint Peter's to pray at the tomb of John Paul II and to attend Mass. Crossing seven time zones in 15 hours leads to a bit of jet lag, and sad to say my "active and attentive participation" at Mass conisisted at attempting to remain awake as best I could. The evening was spent out at a local trattoria, to enjoy the long missed pizza. There is nothing quite like pizza in Rome.

This morning (Saturday) I took a walk to re-aquaint myself with the old friend that the city of Rome has become. It is the eternal city, and I can say that not much has changed. I enjoyed the same cream taste of a cafe macchiato at one of my favorite coffee bars, and spent a significant time in prayer at my favorite church in the city: Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

An old view of the interior of the Pantheon

On the walk back I also stopped at one of the most popular sites in the city, the Pantheon. It is almost 2,000 years old and it is quite amazing that it has survived for so long -- part of that survival has been that it was consecrated as a church to Saint Mary and all the Martyrs 1400 years ago. Some revisionists would say that the Christians "stole" the pantheon, but in reality, it was saved and glorified by its conversion into a church.

*In reference to sleeping on the plane of course! What else would you be thinking?