It's Been Awhile...

 As the title would suggest, it's been a wee bit since my last update, but hey, that's what happens when you're kept busy, right? So, I'll just do a brief rundown of last week, which had a couple interesting things to talk about.

The nave (looking at the back) of Sant'Agostino.

Last Wednesday, February 23, I stopped by Sant'Agostino for Dr. Lev's homework assignment, but I would have been very disappointed had I not stopped in to see it, even if it had not been for homework.  It is very ornate, with beautiful frescoes depicting scenes in the life of Mary, and represents the Renaissance construction in Rome at its finest--a building made to look literally monumental, as the Ancient Romans would have done.  Unfortunately, a restoration project has consumed half of the church, so I guess that I may have to stop by later in the semester to check it out.  What is really cool is that the remains of St. Monica, St. Augustine's mother, are in a coffin in the left side chapel--I mean, how often can you see such a famous saint within just feet of you?

Thursday, Nolan talked Me, Peter, and Minh into doing this P90-X workout, which, while strenuous, was great because I had been itching to do some sort of exercise other than walking--although it did contribute to me not getting out of bed until 1:15 pm or so the next day.  Afterward, the Moosbruggers, Tim, and I played Monopoli, the Italian version of Monopoly, and it was more than a little interesting, as we tried to translate the cards; funny enough we played with lire (which tells you a little about the age).  Also, their pieces also carved wooden figures of Italian items (chianti, mushroom, etc.).

On Saturday, we all went up to Siena on a three hour or so bus ride with Fr. Carola, three transitional deacons from the North American College, and several sisters from Apostles of the Interior Life.  To say that the day was amazing would be a severe understatement, and I think that most of us could have spent at least a weekend there.  There is not much to see there, but what you do experience is great--fresh air (fewer smokers), no sirens, and fantastic views if you can get high enough.  We went to the Basilica di San Domenico, which houses the incorruptible head of St. Catherine of Siena (unfortunately we were all told "no photo" within minutes of taking some pictures, so I was unable to get a picture of that).  This basilica, however, is the one that she would go to for Mass every day, and there are several paintings of her around the area in which she prayed every day.

Next, we moved to the Basilica of St. Francis, which houses the 223 consecrated hosts of the Eucharistic miracle in Siena.  Long story short, these hosts have been preserved for over two and a half centuries, and every scientific test done has confirmed that they are as fresh and new today as they were back then.  Here's the whole story if you're interested: http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/siena.html.  After this truly life-changing experience, we went to Piazza del Campo for lunch, and just sitting on the warm cobblestones, under the warm sun--it was nearly heavenly.  Afterward, eight of us climbed to the top of the clock tower, connected to the town hall, and from here you can see over Siena, the Tuscan countryside, and the mountains in the distance.  It was easily worth the eight euro it took to go up, but once you're at the top, you can't help but be inspired, or at least in sheer awe of the beauty of God's lands.  It was almost comical how cramped the stairwell was.  There were maybe--MAYBE--two feet of width most of the way up, and the ceilings were so low at some points that you really had to duck just to get through.  Right before we went down, the bells chimed--luckily it was only two o'clock, or we would have been in trouble.  Anyway, we went down around then and met up with the rest of the group in front of il Duomo di Siena.  But, since Mass is in 30 minutes and I'm still in gym shorts, and this post has gone on long enough, I'll talk about the rest of the day in my next post.

Ciao da Roma