Solemnity of St. Joseph Audio Post

Update 2012:

These audio files are no longer available.

For more about Michael Dubruiel's best selling book, The How To Book of the Mass, go here.

For more about Michael Dubruiel's book, The Power of the Cross, including a free download of the book (.pdf file) - go here.

Divine Mercy Image (Rome March 4th)

Please check out Michael Dubruiel's books on the Catholic Mass 

I took this picture on March 4th at St. Peter's in Chains (in Rome, not Cincinnati as someone thought). It looks as though there is fire emitting from the rays of Divine Mercy (that wasn't why I took the photo, but it's the way it turned out on my digital camera): Click on image to enlarge.



I was in Rome on pilgrimage. If you read what happened earlier in the day under the post "Mass with Cardinal Ruini" I wonder if this were not a sign? The anniversary of Pope John Paul's last nine days are coming up this week. Last year on Good Friday the live Vatican feed showed the Pope watching the Via Dolorossa from his private chapel, this would have been the day that the Novena of Divine Mercy began...nine days later he died just as the novena concluded and as Evening Prayer I for the Feast of Divine Mercy was beginning. May all who see this image, confess their sins and spend the remainder of this Lenten Season learning about the great Mercy of Jesus Christ!

Let me also recommend the book Mercy Minutes: Daily Gems from the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalski which gives a few lines of St. Faustina's diary for meditation for everyday (edited by Father George Kosicki)

From Bones to Chains (March 4th Rome)

The first stop was the Capuchin Crypt in the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione de Cappuccini. A rather macabre collection of the bones of friars arranged in various postures to, well attract tourists and deliver a message read in the last of the five or six rooms, "where you are, we once were, where we are you, you soon will be." After our visit here, we did walk into the Church above. The body of St Felix of Cantalice lies under one of the altars and it didn't strike me at the time, but does now this is the very St. Felix for which St. Felix Friary in Huntington, IN was named after. This Friary is where a very young Albert Groeschel came and received the name Benedict (after Benedict Joseph Labre) and as a novice witnessed the ecstasy of one Venerable Solanus Casey. The Friary was sold some years ago, but the building remains and I often walk its grounds. This past December I was blessed to take Father Groeschel back to the friary of his novice year and to walk the halls and hear fantastic stories of what he witnessed while there. Today I prayed at the tomb of the St. Felix!
We next stepped into the church of Sant'Isidoro for a brief look around. I believe that we also stopped into a store for some snacks as I don't believe anyone had eaten breakfast on this particular morning.
Next we crossed the street to Santa Maria della Vittoriawhere the famous "St. Teresa in ecstasy" (a theme going here with Solanus) by Bernini. This church once housed a miraculous image of the nativity, but it was destroyed by a fire and a replica now replaces the original but enshrined in a "gloria" similar to the enshrinement of the Chair of St. Peter in the Basilica of St. Peter's. I include pictures here of this "replacement image" as well as evidence that Amy, Katie and half of Joseph saw "St. Teresa" (Michael the baby on my back and I were taking the picture).

Next we crossed the street to the Paulist and American Church of Santa Susanna. Amy recognized that pastor as someone she had met as a seminarian many years ago. It was kind of neat being in the American church and seeing everything inside aimed at us but one of the most interesting things inside the Church that I could have easily missed had I not been so nosy was The Cistercian Monastery of Santa Susanna, I purchased an Agnus Dei at their store (Agnus Dei: A sacred wax object blessed with a prayer of exorcism. Wear it in faith to protect yourself from evil). They also had water that the Sister said you could drink (the one working on the day I was there spoke almost no English) and I don't see any reference to it on the web site (I didn't drink it).
Next it was on to the Diocletian Baths and what now is the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. by now the transfer of the baby had taken place.
I think we missed out on some good stuff in this church, but as I learned too late there really isn't a good tour book when it comes to churches. The links that I've provided throughout this commentary would have been invaluable in book form (now there is a thought(and I probably should go back and check the accuracy).
From here on to the Termini to catch the B Train to St. Paul's Outside of the Wall. We had been on this train back on Thursday and it had been packed, today it wasn't that bad, in fact it was very roomy and there were small family bands entertaining and passing the cup which made the trip to St. Paul's very enjoyable. Being preoccupied with preventing pick pockets I didn't take a picture of them which is too bad. At the end when the youngest child was passing the cup he said "gratzie" to everyone who donated until he got to me, he said "thank you." I got this treatment throughout my time in Rome save on one day in St. Peter's square while waiting for Amy and Katie to return from the scavi tour when I was approached by a photographer who came at me speaking rapidly in Italian. When I told him I did not speak, he pointed at my unshaven face (one of the few days that I didn't shave) and he said in English "you look very Italian"...I think by then the sun had also darkened my very white Northern Indiana face a bit.
Arriving at San Paolo fuori le murawe were a little disappointed to find that there appeared to be no place to eat anywhere nearby (it was well past noon by now). The outside courtyard of St. Paul's was very nice and had a tropical feel about it with palm trees centered by a large statue of St. Paul with a sword. There was a Spanish group playing a guitar and singing as processed around the courtyard and then into the Church. Under the entrance was another large statue of St. Paul, again with a sword (and when blogger's picture thing starts working again I'll post a picture of Joseph standing near the statue so you can see how large it was).

There was another Holy Door (sealed off course). What I remember most about the inside of the Church besides how large it was, were the images of the popes (lots and lots that gave the impression that they were running out of room). It took awhile to find Benedict, but not too long because his image was the only one illuminated. Another very memorable site was the large Easter candle holder and its many images. In the Blessed Sacrament chapel we saw the mosaic that Ignatius and his companions first took vows before when the Jesuits were in their infancy. We saw the cloister through the door and visited the gift shop where I inquired about the whereabouts of a Trappist monastery, which after hearing where it was decided that would have to wait for some future trip.
Back to the train station and some moments of disorientation as to what direction we were headed in--but the right train finally came and we were entertained by a different family band and got off at the Coliseum. Here checking the time and realizing that San Clemente (our next stop) was closed for the afternoon siesta we headed in that direction and ate lunch.

Here there was a young child that was both entertained and entertained Michael Jacob and Joseph. There was also a fish tank in the window of the restaurant (we ate outside) that entertained both for a bit when only bread was forthcoming.
This was one of those typical Roman days when the weather seemed to turn abruptly colder for awhile, but thankfully once the food came it seemed to warm up again. Enough time had passed that we made our way up the street to San Clemente. This was another one of those church's that many had told me was a "must see" and I can understand why...this church gave the perfect perspective on what Rome and the history of Christianity is all about. Built on what originally was a pagan Temple Mithras, in San Clemente you can still see it by traveling through the layers of history.
A beggar was begging at the door where St. Servulus once begged and Gregory the Great preached a homily about it:

For I remember that, in my Homilies upon the Gospel, I told how in that porch which is in the way to St. Clement's Church, there lay a certain man called Servulus, whom I doubt not but you also do remember: who, as he was poor in wealth, so rich in merits. This man had long been afflicted with sickness: for from the first time that I knew him, to the very last hour of his life, never can I remember but that he was sick of the palsy, and that |195 so pitifully, that he could not stand, nor sit up in his bed: neither was he ever able to put his hand unto his mouth, or to turn from one side to the other. His mother and brethren did serve and attend him, and what he got in alms, that by their hands he bestowed upon other poor people. Read he could not, yet did he buy the holy scriptures, which very carefully he caused such religious men as he entertained to read unto him: by means whereof, according to his capacity, though, as I said, he knew not a letter of the book, yet did he fully learn the holy scripture. Very careful he was in his sickness always to give God thanks, and day and night to praise his holy name.
When the time was come, in which God determined to reward this his great patience: the pain of his body strook inwardly to his heart, which he feeling, and knowing as his last hour was not far off, called for all such strangers as lodged in his house, desiring them to sing hymns with him, for his last farewell and departure out of this life: and as he was himself singing with them, all on a sudden he cried out aloud, and bad them be silent, saying: "Do ye not hear the great and wonderful music which is in heaven?" and so whiles he lay giving of ear within himself to that divine harmony, his holy soul departed this mortal life: at which time, all that were there present felt a most pleasant and fragrant smell, whereby they perceived how true it was that Servulus said. A monk of mine, who yet liveth, was then present, and with many tears useth to tell us, that the sweetness of that smell never went away, but that they felt it continually until the time of his burial.

I gave Joseph a euro to place in the person's cup. If Joseph learned one thing during all these visits it was the joy of giving alms and of lighting candles while offering a prayer; a subtle lesson but one that probably will live long after his mother and I are gone.
It was here that we met up with a servant of God who had given me a ride from Charleston, SC to Myrtle Beach, SC last Fall where I was giving a talk. Amy is giving several talks in South Carolina next month and had been in touch with Gaurav and we knew that he was coming to Rome towards the end of our trip but never thought we would actually cross our path, but there he was in the courtyard of San Clemente. I went over and faked some Italian accent asking him if he were an American, at which he recognized me and laughed. We then hunted up Amy who was in the gift shop and took some pictures.

I spent time in prayer at the tomb of St. Cyril which is on the older level of the Church and didn't know until right now that St. Ignatius of Antioch was entombed at the main altar. The image of the cross on the apse of the Church is truly a beautiful piece of art that incorporates the image of Jesus as the Vine.
From here it was on to the great search for San Pietro in Vincoli. We walked a great deal, stopped and asked for directions. Came upon the Church of San Martino ai Monti (I think..somehow this is the right location, but it seemed like it was a different church). Going on a bit further we came to a street where looking left we saw Santa Maria Maggiore, much to our horror. We took out the maps again and tried to figure out where we were or more specifically where San Pietro in Vincoli was (there came a point where we were just kind of goofy--I look at the maps now and it all seems so clear but trying to find street names and asking directions sometimes seems of little use when actually in Rome). We headed back in the direction we had just came, followed a sign and then panicked again because we were almost at the Coliseum and still no San Pietro in Vincoli. We headed in another direction, no signs but just a hunch and finally there it was with a fairly good crowd around. I think Mass was going on in a side chapel, so we were still able to go in and look around to see the chains in the reliquary and Michelangelo's Moses.

Once outside of St. Peter in Chains we walked down a descending stairway and to the Metro Station Cavour where we boarded the train back to the Termini, there we caught a bus that we took back as far as Piazza Navona to see the French Church San Luigi dei Francesi where the altar of Saint Matthew is decorated entirely with three very famous Caravaggio paintings--including one that graces the cover of my favorite commentary on Matthew's Gospel by Frederick Dale Bruner. But first since we were in Piazza Navona and there was a church that we hadn't noticed before we stepped into the Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore. Then on to San Luigi dei Francesi which we had been to on Thursday (but it was closed), tonight there was a fairly good crowd, mostly around the Caravaggio section. Someone had to put in an euro in order to keep the images illuminated but there seemed to be no shortage of generous souls present.
Almost as soon as we exited I spotted a taxi, which I hailed and we piled in. He started animatedly speaking to me in broken English something about the feet and an extra charge. Finally I discerned that he want the baby out of the carrier and into Amy's arms and I'm not sure if Joseph had put his feet up on the seat too, but anyway we spent most of the short drive with him reiterating his anxiety over a dirty taxi--I was glad to be let out at St. Peters and not charged extra (no tip for you!).
I'm sure we grabbed something to eat, but I have absolute no memory of it now.
Evening came, the Eighth Day!

Mass with Cardinal Ruini ( March 4th)

I had bought an alarm clock about four days into our trip to insure that I would get up and make it over to St. Peter's in the morning when it opened up. On Saturday morning I was up bright and early and made it over to be one of the first in line. "The line" was for us commoners, there were always people and priests already in St. Peter's that obviously entered from another place, another "gate" if you would.
This morning I headed right for the grottoes as they had become my favorite places to pray the morning office and attend Mass if possible. I passed a number of Masses being said already in several of the chapels, none in English. Then I arrived at the Clementine and there was a small group following me there: several older Italian women, two priest vested in purple and a cardinal. They went into the Clementine Chapel--so I followed them in, when the cardinal turned around to begin the Mass I recognized him right away, it was Cardinal Ruini, the vicar of Rome (in some way the de facto bishop of Rome). I decided to stay. The Mass was said in Italian and I could follow most of it, even make out the Gospel reading and that it was the Feast of St. Casmir (a saintly king of Poland). I was struck by the humility of the cardinal who when he preached kept his eyes closed for almost the entire homily. He mentioned Pope John Paul (I presume in connection with the day's feast). It was a very reverential and spiritual Mass. At the conclusion the cardinal accompanied by the two priests paused and the tomb of Pope Pius XII (in a direct line with the Clementine Chapel and said a short prayer, then they went out the way we had come in, I went in the other direction. When I emerged at the tomb of Pope John Paul II, I found that Cardinal Ruini along with the other two priests were there on their knees. Cardinal Ruini with hand to his eyes seemed be sobbing. They stayed there for some time before getting up and exiting the grottoes. I stood with the group that always seems to be present there,praying the rosary.
This morning the Basilica was even less crowded than usual for this time of the morning and I found that there was no Mass being said at the Chair of Peter, so I settled into one of the pews to pray the office. I think I had reached the First Reading in the Office of Readings when a Basilica aid told me that I couldn't pray there (this is only for Mass). I tried to protest, but he spoke no English and I decided to go to the Blessed Sacrament chapel. On my way I stopped at the tomb of Blessed John XXIII and sat in a pew there. When I finished, since there was no Mass being said I went up and prayed close to the glass tomb and peered in at the face of Blessed John, I was somewhat still marveling at the face of St. Joseph Maria Tomasi who has a visible beard on his face even though he's been lying in rest since 1713. Blessed John had on beard (I guess the pope's have better razors).
Back at the apartment, Amy was waiting on another filming apointment which was suppose to happen at 9:00 a.m this time at our apartment. It was 9:15 when we decided to go (given that we were down to our final two full days in Rome). We had reached the end of the Borgo Pio when the film crew spotted us from the Porta San Ann. They took Amy from us and we resorted to visiting gift shops and then going into the Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri (said a prayer for my sister Ann)(the link will tell you this church--the parish church of Vatican City isn't open to the public--I went into it at least five times while I was there and it seemed very open to me), just in Vatican City and saying a few prayers. When we came out Amy was heading back to us--we made our way to the tram, and then to the Metro for another heavy day of pilgrimage stops.

Aventine (March 3rd)

Amy and Katie went shopping after we returned from St. Peter's and the brothers and I rested. At some point we set out again for a taxi, this time to take us to Santa Sabina where the Pope had said Mass on Ash Wednesday. The driver (the only one like this) was very anti-Vatican and almost immediately launched into an attack on the Church's money etc.--all in broken English.
First we made our way to Santa Sabina, which was right where the cab driver let us out. We saw the orange tree planted by St. Dominic through the hole in the door.
Next we visited Sant'Alessio all'Aventino, I'll have pictures of some of these places as soon as blogger's picture poster thing starts working again.The shrine of St. Alex under the staircase was very interesting. There were several young women gathered at the doorway of the Priory of the Knights of Malta, we waited our turn then looked through the keyhole at St. Peter's Basilica--very impressive. There were also parks and gardens that we walked through in this area before heading to Sant' Anselmo all'Aventino the Benedictine monastery. There was a wedding going on in the Church, so we weren't really able to see much there, but did spend some time in the gift shop which had an interesting collection of all things Benedictine from different monasteries around Europe. The monk in charge wasn't too keen on children being in the store though.
We then walked down the beautiful path Clivo D. Rocca Savella toward Santa Maria in Cosmedin. We stopped at a convent of the Daughter's of Charity to ask directions from the porteress, which she happily gave. Unfortunately the Church was closed when we arrived, but a crowd was gathered to view the Bocca della Verità, 'Mouth of Truth'.
From here we caught a cab and returned to St. Peter's where Monsignor Stephen Bosso had said he would meet us for dinner at the obelisk. We met up and went to a place where we had eaten on the previous Sunday evening. Amy and the kids left the meal when they finished and Steve and I caught up for a few hours more.
Evening came the Seventh Day.

Sistine Chapel--(Friday March 3)

I didn't take any pictures, because first I didn't bring my camera along with me on this day (because I didn't think you could take pictures inside the Vatican Museums--while you can't in the Sistine Chapel, you can in the rest of the complex). However there are plenty of images online, so I'll make use of them--including this one of the Prophet Jonah (of Whale and Nineveh fame) who is hangs over the front panel of The Last Judgment of Micheangelo in the Sistine Chapel. More on that later.
We walked past the long, long lines waiting to get into the Vatican museums (past the gate that recently opened into Vatican City that bears the present Pope's name over it. Every work done in the Vatican always has the pope who was reigning at the time's name attached to it--P. JPII is everywhere--a lot of work was done in his twenty six years!
Unlike the poor souls waiting, we didn't have to, thanks to the generousity of Elizabeth Lev who had told Amy the night before that she could give us a tour of the Sistine Chapel (and also wanted to interview Amy for Zenit--for that interview click here).
Once we were inside what I remember first was the Gallery of Tapestries (although this wasn't the first thing we saw, but I believe it was the first time we stopped on our way to the Sistine Chapel). Here was a hallway lined with floor to ceiling tapestries. I believe it was here that we encountered the tapestry of the resurrection where the stone felled by the emergence of Jesus from the tomb followed you in whatever direction you were at the time.
Next through the Gallery of Maps (which were mainly large maps of regions of Italy). Next I think anyways(kind of like when you are being driven somewhere and you don't remember the exact route--so too when you are being led by someone who knows where they are going)after going down a flight of stairs we found ourselves in the Sistine Chapel pretty much alone. Wow!
I'm sure the Sistine Chapel evokes a number of memories for many people. For people older than me, my guess is that they immediately think of Rex Harrison as Pope Julian barking orders up at Charleton Heston as Michangelo in The Agony and the Ectasy. This wasn't my thought...my thoughts were less than a year old when the television cameras for the first time positioned within the Sistine Chapel showed the cardinals walking in procession to the chanting of the Veni Creator Spiritus entered the conclave that would elect Pope Benedict XVI--I thought if these walls could speak!
Of course the walls do speak, the thousands of words that art tells us. Elisabeth told us that Italian artists always positioned paintings in such a way that what was on one wall was speaking to the other. I found myself intrigued by one of the paintings on the wall done by Botticelli The Punishment of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Why this image?
One of the key phrases to come out of the Second Vatican Council was the Biblical image of the Church as "the People of God." A recent interview says that this image can be traced back to Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Now, anyone who has had first hand dealings with "the People of God" since the Second Vatican Council knows how that image and term is often used, specifically to pit the populace against the institutional Church. I can imagine in the last conclave the cardinals looking up at that image during a break in the proceedings and asking some of the more Biblically savy to explain the story behind the painting, which I now present to you from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible:

Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abi'ram the sons of Eli'ab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,took men; and they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You have gone too far! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them; why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" When Moses heard it, he fell on his face;and he said to Korah and all his company, "In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him; him whom he will choose he will cause to come near to him.Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company;put fire in them and put incense upon them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!"And Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;and that he has brought you near him, and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together; what is Aaron that you murmur against him?" And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abi'ram the sons of Eli'ab; and they said, "We will not come up.Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us?Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up."And Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, "Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one ass from them, and I have not harmed one of them."And Moses said to Korah, "Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow;and let every one of you take his censer, and put incense upon it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer."So every man took his censer, and they put fire in them and laid incense upon them, and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.And the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron, "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment."And they fell on their faces, and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be angry with all the congregation?"And the LORD said to Moses,"Say to the congregation, Get away from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abi'ram." Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abi'ram; and the elders of Israel followed him.And he said to the congregation, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins." So they got away from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abi'ram; and Dathan and Abi'ram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.And Moses said, "Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.If these men die the common death of all men, or if they are visited by the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD."And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split asunder;and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men that belonged to Korah and all their goods.So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. (Numbers 16)

Now, what is the image that this painting depicting the rebellion of Korah speak to? Christ's Charge to St. Peter by Perugino. Amazing how the papacy has survived through countless forms of governments ruling the nations of the earth--and one might counter how those who have broken away have often been swallowed up not so much by the earth but by the culture they exist in to the point that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is lost in the process. It is an ever present tempation for the people of God to think that they don't need the structure that God has put in place. This was one thought, again obviously affected by the thought of how this Chapel is used when it isn't a museum piece.
What struck me about the familiar images of the Sistine Chapel. Several things:

1. Of the Ceiling images, Michelangelo's interpretation of the "Creation of the Heavens and Earth" surprised me and in trying to search for the image online I can see why. I can't find the other half of the image--the one that shows God's rearend (as if God were mooning the crowd below). This was a surprise.
2. The second was how Michelangelo uses the prophets and has Jonah (pictured at the head of this post) as the prophet that comes closest to Christ and suspends right over the image of Jesus in the Final Judgment. This is another 3-D image where Jonah's feet literally seem to be hanging over the edge.
3. The whole panarama of revelation from sin to restoration, from first creation to new creation. One could present the entire teaching of the Catholic Church by viewing the images on these walls and ceiling.
   

While we were viewing and listening to Elizabeth explain various elements of the art we were experiencing several Vatican workers were shuffling in Chalices and other Mass vessels that she explained were for the Pope's private chapel-they get a very good polishing job.
We left the Chapel and headed back to the beginning of the Vatican Museums where we retired to the Museum cafeteria where Elizabeth conducted her interview with Amy and I chased the baby around until I tired and then Katie chased him around. After the interview we made our way back to the beginning minus Elizabeth. We first went to the Pinacoteca gallery then to the Pio-Christian museum (I think Joseph and I were the only one's to venture to the end and witness the ancient image of Christ as the Good Shepherd). Then we made our way with the mass of humanity through the Sobieski Room, Raphael's Stanze, Sala dei Chiaroscuri, Raphael's Logge the Borgia Apartment and then back into the Sistine Chapel which was packed with people. We worked our way through the crowd and exited the door toward St. Peter's which put us on the staircase leading away from the Apostolic Palace and out along St. Peter's Basilica where there was a very good gift shop with some items that I hadn't seen anywhere else in Rome. We made several purchases here before heading down the side steps of St. Peter's and through a different exit that was opened for that day. This took us right over the spot on St. Peter's Square where there is a red pophry rock marking the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot. Jeff Kirby had told us about it, but we hadn't been able to find it on any of the previous days, now we were stooped on the ground looking at it (the original stone had drops of blood and was removed, while this stone was put in its place as a marker). When we arose, there was Greg Burke and the Fox News crew getting ready to film a spot about the Italian Parliament's proclamation blaming the Soviet Union for the attach on the late Pontiff's life. "How did you know about that?" Greg asked us. "Thanks to Jeff Kirby."
Amy exchanged plesantries with Mario the Fox producer and also the producer of Rome Reports whom she had been working with through the week. We then set out for lunch.

Go here for a compilation of all of Michael Dubruiel's Rome posts.

Pope John Paul II's Way of Prayer

From his Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way:

I simply pray for everybody everyday. When I meet man, I start praying for him and it always helps in making contact (...) I accept everyone as a person sent by Christ – as the person he gave me and, at the same time, assigned.

Check out the website devoted to his cause.

On Amazon you can buy the book for a penny!