Pope Francis and Santa Maria Maggiore

Pope Francis passed away this morning. One of his signature moves was that, in choosing in advance where he wanted to be buried, he chose his beloved Santa Maria Maggiore, a papal basilica in Rome, instead of St. Peter's Basilica. Santa Maria Maggiore was originally constructed in the 5th century, a miraculous response to a woman and her husband praying that the woman would become a mother. This is an astonishing nod to the laity and motherhood tracing all the way back to the early Church. 

Francis asked to be buried in a side chapel under one of the most famous icons in the world called "Salus Populi Romani" which means "The Salvation of the Roman People." 

By a complete coincidence, I have spent many, many hours in this basilica in recent months. Here is the icon under which Francis will be buried:      

This is the Pauline Chapel with the icon above the altar, where I regularly attend daily Mass:

This is the main altar of the basilica with the baldacchino over it:

Here are relics from the crib in Bethlehem below the main altar: 

Here is the Ave Regina Pacis, which was important as a sign to bring about the end of the World War II:

Pope Francis had a special place in his heart for women, and wrote eloquently about mothers. May the Church hear and emulate him in that dignifying esteem. 

Lastly, here is a video of what it is like to walk through the Holy Doors, which is a key element to the Jubilee year, a year of mercy and hope. Thank you, Pope Francis, for this Jubilee!

https://youtu.be/8gc5grA0WDc

Stations of the Cross: Text by Pope Francis

This Good Friday, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Stations of the Cross led by our church community here in Frattochie, Italy. The event consisted in a procession on the streets of the town. It was at night, and we carried a large crucifix with candle-bearers on each side. Two priests and two women read the prayers and meditations for all 14 stations, as we stopped 14 times along the street of the church. It was like nothing I have ever seen. 

Pope Francis wrote the meditations for the Stations again this year. Here is one meditation that stood out as particularly beautiful to me:

8th Station

Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

From the Gospel according to Luke (23:27-31)

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us;’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

In women, Lord, you always saw a special likeness to the heart of God. That is why, amid the great crowd of people who turned around and followed you that day, you immediately caught sight of the women and once again felt their closeness.  A city is a different place when women care for those around them, when we see mothers holding their children and nursing them; then we look beyond power and profit, and sense the things that really matter. The wailing women find their hearts moved at the sight of your suffering. For the heart is where things connect, and thoughts and decisions are born. “Do not weep for me.” God’s heart throbs with love for his people; he creates a new city: “Weep for yourselves and for your children.” There is a kind of weeping, indeed, which can bring forth a new birth. It brings forth tears of regret, unabashed and unrestrained. Lord, our broken world, and the hurts and offences that tear our human family apart, call for tears that are heartfelt and not merely perfunctory. Otherwise, the apocalyptic visions will all come true: we will no longer generate life, and everything around us will collapse. Faith, on the other hand, can move mountains. The mountains and the hills will not crash down upon us, but a path will open up in their midst. It is your path, Jesus: an uphill path, a path on which the apostles abandoned you, while the faithful women — the mothers of the Church — continued to follow you.

Let us pray, saying: Jesus, grant us a maternal heart! 

You filled the Church’s history with holy women:

Jesus, grant us a maternal heart!

You disdained arrogance and domination:

Jesus, grant us a maternal heart!

You embraced and consoled the tears of mothers:

Jesus, grant us a maternal heart!

You made women the messengers of the resurrection:

Jesus, grant us a maternal heart!

You inspire new charisms and missions in the Church: 

Jesus, grant us a maternal heart!

Robin's Egg

Charlie was with us almost 10 years and was raised with Sebastian (also 10) who did not know life without him. Sebastian regularly called Charlie his "best friend." Charlie sent Sebastian off to school with an encouraging look every morning and greeted him when Sebastian returned as though he had not seen him in weeks. To say that Sebastian leaned on Charlie through our move to Italy is an understatement. Charlie is, in fact, how I learned the importance of dogs in the lives of people and see them as gift from God deliberately crafted and generously given. We lost Charlie on the Feast of St. Sebastian--it seemed like a message from God: "Charlie loves you, Sebastian!" 

Sebastian tried to stay steady. He didn't even tell his teachers or classmates that his dog had died when they asked him what was wrong. But under that courageous exterior, the boy was in pain. Ron took charge. He coached him, listened to him, encouraged him, consoled him. Ron has been magnificent, maintaining a firm, guiding hand while supporting him, planning camping trips, hiking adventures, and--you guessed it--getting a new puppy. 

In truth, this new puppy is about the sweetest little dog I have ever seen. He is absolutely precious. Ron found golden retrievers in Tuscany, and we went twice to see the puppies. We chose one little boy and brought him home just a week or so ago. Be still my heart! 

We named him "Nilo" after San Nilo, one of our favorite churches in Italy. It was, rather incredibly, built only 50 years before the Great Schism between the East and West, and remained steady as a Catholic Church (because it is in Rome) with a Byzantine rite (because it serves a Greek population) and never endured change due to the Schism. It is a symbol of unity of the East and West, and we simply adore its heavenly liturgy. Annie even sings in their choir!  

This puppy can never replace Charlie's place in our hearts. But Sebastian is getting stronger. Yesterday morning, Sebastian and I took Nilo out, and fed him along with our bunnies. 

[Here is Annie with our bunnies]

We spent an hour outside as the sun rose. Sebastian got ready for school and then we were off. As he approached the school, Sebastian pulled a robin's egg out of his pocket that he had found that morning and wanted to show his classmates. Seeing Sebastian with that little, delicate blue egg in his cupped hand, feeling so tender toward the idea of a baby bird, my heart melted. A wave of hope washed over me. Thank God for grieving, for healing, for spring time, and for new beginnings. 

My Talk at the GIVEN Gathering in Dallas, TX

What a joy to be invited by Sr. Mary Gabriel of GIVEN to give a talk at their conference in February. I was asked to speak on "giving the gift only you can give." We had a wonderful turnout. I was filled to the brim with love for the women there--some of my closest friends, as well as a huge smattering of my favorite people, and a host of new faces. Here is the talk!

https://youtu.be/KtgZjZpUso4 

Giving Thanks

"Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. . . Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Col 3)

 

Jubilee

This is the jubilee year in the Catholic Church, the year of cancelling of debts and forgiving sins. I am praying a lot about that. I have walked through the Holy Doors at Santa Maria Maggiore multiple times and offered the jubilee indulgence (going to Mass, Confession, and saying some beautiful prayers) for my loved ones who have gone before me. I have done that for those whose birthdays have occurred so far this year. I will continue to do it all year long for all my deceased loved ones. And perhaps the one most helped and transformed by the end of it will be me. Lord, send your Spirit! 

 

Part-Y!

Thank you, Jacob and Gabrielle, for hosting a Super Bowl party--and I was in town and able to join you. I love this wonderful group!  

Can You Believe?

 Can you believe that my own daughter gave me these GORGEOUS flowers?

I wish everyone had a daughter as wonderful as my Mary!

Love you, Mary!

Question for You

I have one question for you: Do you have confidence that we can find the prettiest wedding dress in Rome? I hope you do! 

With the addition of Aunt Melia hopping over from Athens and spending a shopping day with us, we were SURE to succeed. 

I won't spoil it here, but after the big day, I'll come back and post pics of all the contenders plus the BIG WINNER! 

Mary Lucinda, you are SO BEAUTIFUL!

Christmas Extravaganza

What an incredible 2 weeks: Christmas in Rome, a baby's first Christmas, an engagement, 2 birthdays, a trip to the Alps, New Years, and a first wedding anniversary. 

On December 18th, Ron, Leigh, Annie, Sebastian and I warmly received Clare and her boyfriend Liam in Rome as soon as they finished their semester at the University of Dallas (and Liam completed his Bachelor's degree--happy graduation, Liam!). Then on December 22, we welcomed Jacob, Gabrielle, and their new baby, Cecilia (good job, Cecilia, for enduring your first trans-Atlantic flight!), Mary and her boyfriend Nando, and his parents, Edna and Fernando, and his twin sister, Valeria (welcome, Davila family!). We were a happy party of 15 in our home on the Due Santi campus of the University of Dallas just outside of Rome. 

On the 23rd, Nando surprised Mary with an official proposal (even though we were already calling Nando Mary's fiancé because of their commitment to marry) and he really pulled off an incredible scene at a beautiful overlook on Lake Albano with both of their families there to witness it. It was Nando's father's birthday, so we were all going out for a meal to celebrate--Mary did not suspect a proposal at Nando's dad's birthday celebration. But that speaks volumes about Nando--family-focused and drawing loved ones together, not to mention surprising Mary when a genuine surprise was next to impossible.   

Then we had a huge Christmas Eve, with loads of ravioli and lamb, music and passing around the Adorable Cecilia Rombs--gorgeous smile, alert, engaging, and always ready to coo and bat her eyelashes at you. 

 While some went to Midnight Mass at our nearby church, another cluster of us went to celebrate Midnight Mass in Trastevere, Rome, at the Basilica of Santa Cecilia, in honor of our little girl. It turned out to be a three-hour monastic version of the Mass, with the nuns of St. Cecilia singing Psalms for 1.5 hours before the liturgical celebration actually started. Baby Cecilia Rombs was the only baby there, and at the end of the three hours, the priest actually extended his special welcome to her and the whole congregation clapped! Not knowing us at all, they were just amazed that a baby and her brave parents endured the very intense, reverent, solemn Mass into the wee hours of the morning. The whole congregation of nuns gathered around her to get a glimpse at 3am. 

    Christmas morning, we woke up to Santa's gifts and had a lovely family time with coffee in hand. Then some friends, the Dunikoskis from the U.S. joined us, and we were a party of 22 for the whole day and evening. 

   One of my favorite parts was Edna teaching me to make homemade Mexican salsa, using Italian ingredients. Her recipes had not translated for me in Italy (for example, there are no jalapeno peppers in Italy) and so she experimented with the Italian ingredients I provided her in my kitchen until she arrived at a mimic of the true Mexican-Texan deal. After trying for 5 years to make genuine Mexican salsa, you cannot imagine my relief at working out this recipe! We all enjoyed Mexican chips and homemade salsa for a mid-afternoon snack. For Christmas dinner, we made risotto (Roman styled cacio e pepe), fillet, grilled sausages, pomegranate salad, roasted vegetables, and more desserts than we could eat. 

We also celebrated Leigh's 18th birthday! She is a Christmas Day baby, which makes her extra special (sharing a birthday with the Christchild)! Leigh is a superstar, going to a Swiss highschool all taught in German and Italian (she is fluent in both). We had a birthday celebration for her and had yet another cake--tiramisu-panatone cake, if you can believe that. She looked so beautiful and I could not be more proud of her. 

   We are now in Merano in the Alps, where Jacob proposed to Gabrielle 2 short years ago (how much has happened in 2 years). 

 We will spend a week together, resting, going to the natural mineral hot springs, skiing, and having a little gluhwein and goulash as we walk through the Christmas markets along the riverwalk. We will celebrate Jacob and Gabrielle's anniversary and New Year's together (and praying birthday prayers for Aunt June! Happy 80th!!)

We are so blessed to have such a robust and loving family. Honestly, the fact that they are all faithful Catholic Christians and can resolve difficulties that come up are the two greatest gifts of my life as a mother. I love these guys so much! 

St. Thomas Aquinas

It was a joy getting to visit the church and monastery where St. Thomas Aquinas was for so many years in Naples. It's funny to think of him with a Neapolitan accent!

My Little Polyglot

My little polyglot is growing up! 

Little Leigh, fourth child who will always seem young in our family, is actually a towering intellect and exemplar of Christian faith and virtue. 

She is taking pre-calculus. . auf deutsch (in German). . . and her German math teacher had explained a certain (very challenging) mathematical process. Then he tested the class, giving a much harder question on the test than he had explained in class. How did Leigh do? She ditched the entire process that he had taught in class (since she could not see how it extended to this particular problem), and started afresh with her own method. She told me it made perfect sense to her, but she had never really seen anything like it. To my amazement, when she got her test back, the teacher had written, "Genial!" (Awesome!) in the margin. He then explained to the whole class how he would have done it, but that there was also another way. . . and he proceeded to show the class Leigh's way. Wink at Leigh! What a superstar! 

Leigh had a group presentation in German literature. When the other students were using Chat GBT, cutting and pasting onto slides, Leigh was researching, reading, talking with other classmates, writing her own slides. The teacher chose her to give one of the presentations and she nailed it. 

Leigh speaks Italian with her friends like it is her mother tongue; she is about to take the C2 exam in  German even though she only started learning it 3.5 years ago (Is that humanly possible?????) and French. It's her English that falters a little sometimes! Is she on her way to Freiburg? The U.S? She has 1.5 years left with me, and I am making the most of every moment.