The wonder of it all.......

There was so much to see and so much to do in Rome! As I wrote yesterday, we spent the first day riding buses and walking to get a good overview of the city. 

When we were still in the planning stages, Tony had set up a guided tour of the Vatican Museum for Monday morning. Then we had planned on seeing the other basilicas afterwards. 

Tony was aware that June 2 (Tuesday) was going to be the day that Italy celebrates Republic Day (the day when Italians voted to abolish the monarchy in 1946 so their country could become a republic), and learned that many of the things we would want to visit might not be accessible. So we decided that we would take our Vatican tour as planned, but also try to squeeze in the Colosseum, Forum, and the Pantheon as time permitted as well. 

We did manage to get to the Colosseum and glance at the Forum, but the Pantheon was closed, as it has restricted hours. We were fortunate to be able to see the Pantheon after the Wednesday Audience, though. 

It was a very long day, but one I would not have given up for anything! We started at 7:30 in the morning and we finished our dinner at 9:00 that evening. We were finally in bed at around 11:00 that night.

The Vatican Tour was fabulous and breathtaking! The beauty of the halls, the ceilings, the statues—EVERYTHING—is beyond description. The best way to describe them is through some of the pictures we took.

Entrance to the Vatican Museum

Vatican Gardens

Lily wanted to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING!

One of the highlights of the tour was the famous Sistine Chapel. I have heard stories of how it is so crowded that one can't truly enjoy the experience. I didn't find that to be true. We had plenty of room to move around and marvel at the masterpiece. There was a lot of chatter however, despite efforts by Museum docents to maintain silence in the sacred chamber. But really, can you blame people for being awed beyond belief?

After the Sistine Chapel, it was on to St. Peter's Basilica. The moment I entered through the doors, I felt my eyes welling up with such emotion! I was actually in the midst of hundreds of popes, many of them saints; and shrines and altars and mosaics and blessed artifacts dating anywhere from 200-1900 years ago! I silently said a prayer of thankgiving to God for his blessings on me and my family. I would describe the “highlights” of the basilica, but there were too many! The most memorable were the Pieta, the tombs of the hundreds of former popes (most notably St. John-Paul II and St. John XXIII). I had never seen a cathedral or basilica or church as huge as St. Peter's. Just when I thought my brain was on overload, along came something else to increase my amazement!

We were blessed to be able to see the Pope’s Secretary of State (Archbishop Pietro Parolin) up close as he recessed out of a Mass at the main altar he had said that morning. Our tour guide said it was a really rare sight to see.

Yes, I'm crying at the wonder of it all!  

We were told that there was a stairway that led to the top of the dome of St. Peter's and the the rest of the family wanted to try and see it. I don't do well with stairs, so I spent a good ½ hour—at Marilyn’s suggestion (God bless her!)—in Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at one of the side chapels inside St. Peter’s. I prayed for every one of my family and relatives and friends and their intentions. There are no words capable of explaining how overwhelming that experience was but I’ve never been more confident or hopeful in my prayers as I was during that ½ hour. I think I got the better end of the deal actually, because the family decided the wait was too long and the weather too hot to climb those stairs after all. I like to think that although it was Marilyn's suggestion that I spend time in Adoration, it was arranged by the Holy Spirit so that I could pray for all of you! He knew how much it would mean to me to be alone with Jesus amid all the crowds and noise happening outside that chapel.

After leaving the basilica, we caught a couple of cabs to take us over to the other side of town for lunch at a pizzaria Tony had read or heard about. It was really delicious, but no seating! And after all that walking on the tour, I could have used a seat. I survived however, and we made our way over to the Colosseum.

I think this is plenty for today. Tomorrow I'll finish up Day 2; the Colossem, some more churches, and Lily's favorite thing to do in Rome—“lighting candles for the poor”.