What happened to 2007?

Just pretend like 2007 never existed.  Then it only looks like I neglected to update this for a month or two.  Ha!

Well, with the beginning of Lent, I thought I'd make a renewed effort to keep this thing going.  Plus, since I'm going to be doing something that others might find interesting, I figured this might be a good way to let others know what I'm up to.

What am I "up to"?  Well, the first item is the Lenten Station Church pilgrimage tradition.  From the early centuries of the church in Rome, the Bishop would travel from parish to parish ("parish" used in a very loose sense) and celebrate Mass with the people who would gather there.  The tradition continues to the present day, only instead of the Bishop of Rome going from church to church each day, Masses are offered by various groups in each of the churches on their proper day.  For example, on Ash Wednesday, Mass is always held in the church of St. Sabina.  The next day, Mass is at St. George, then SS. John and Paul.

So far I've made it to all three Station Church Masses, but I'll tell you now -- I won't make it to all of them this Lent.  However, I thought I'd include little tidbits about some of the churches, just to keep you interested and entertained.

St. Sabina is the oldest surviving example of what we could call a parish church.  It presently belongs to (or rather, is entrusted to the care of) the Dominican Order.  It is their "headquarters," so to speak.  The church was built in the early 400's, on the site of a home where Christians would meet to pray and worship together.  This is the one place where the Pope celebrates the Station Church Mass (on Ash Wednesday).

Thursday after Ash Wednesday is when we go to the church of St. George, also from the 5th century.  The saint's skull is kept in a reliquary underneath the altar.  In 1993, a bomb exploded near the church (not an attack on the Church, per se -- the church was just an "innocent bystander" in the midst of some political unrest).  The church has been restored, however, to its simple, yet elegant form.

Today, Friday, Mass was at the church of Saints John and Paul, but not John the Evangelist nor John the Baptist, and not Paul the Apostle.  Rather, these are the Saints John and Paul that are mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayer, right before Cosmas and Damian.  They were officers in the imperial army who would not renounce their faith in Christ, so they were martyred.  This church is under the care of the order of Passionists, whose founder, St. Paul of the Cross, is entombed in one of the side chapels.

So that gets us updated for the first three days of Lent.  Tomorrow, I'm not going to celebrate the Station Church Mass, since I will be at the rooms of St. Ignatius of Loyola for Mass later in the day (with a group of students from the Teresianum).  So the Station Church Masses will resume next week.

The other thing I'm "up to" is beginning the process of working on my "tesina" ("little thesis").  I've got about three months to get it finished, and with only three classes each week (total of six hours), I should have a good chunk of time each week to work on it.  Still, prayers in this regard would be appreciated....  I'll keep you posted (theoretically, anyway) about the progress I make.