3/5/14 -- Running around ROME

I can’t remember the last time I sat down today.  That basically sums up the day.  But since I am in Rome and should probably elaborate I guess I will.

The day began with a breakfast of fancy pastries.  Because why start the day any other way?  We then visited Santa Maria in Vittoria to see a famous Michelangelo sculpture (at this point I have seen a bunch of those and am getting confused as to what was in which church). 

Santa Maria Vittoria

The beautiful sculpture

Inside the church

Outside the church

Near there we visited the baptistery of Constantine.  Constantine wasn’t actually baptized until his death bed, but he had this baptistery built.

The baptistery of Constantine

A painting on the wall showing Constantine's "conversion" to
Christianity.  He saw a sign from YHWH, and vowed to follow the
Christian God if his army was successful in battle, which it was.

Inside the chapel

My guess is this lower section in the center is
where the baptisms would happen...
Psalm 42:1
"As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you, O God."

After that we took a train to the Scala Sancta.  These are the stairs that were in Pontius Pilate’s palace, the stairs that Jesus climbed many times in the days leading to his crucifixion.  The stairs are now considered sacred, and pilgrims travel to them to ascend the stairs on their knees.  Since I am in Rome, I decided to do the same.  The marble stairs have been encased in wood to protect them, though there are places where the original steps are still visible.  It was really cool to move up the steps with people from all around the world on Ash Wednesday.  A fresco of Jesus’ crucifixion was positioned at the top, to give a focal point to my eyes, mind, and heart through the ascension.  Honestly, it was kind of painful, climbing the stairs on my knees, which served as a powerful reminder to the pain Christ must have felt as He was beaten, mocked, betrayed, and crucified at our hands.

Outside the church (there were no pictures allowed inside)

After the stairs I walked across the street to the church where the Papacy was positioned before it was moved to St. Peter’s.  In this church there were giant sculptures of the apostles of Christ.  These larger than life statues were one of the methods the early church used to try to convert people to Christianity from Rome’s ancient religions.  The large sized sculptures serve to glorify the characters much in the same way that the previous Roman gods such as Zeus and Hercules were glorified with statues of large size and prominence.

Giant sculpture of Matthew

Inside the church

In the afternoon we went back to St. Peter’s, where we had reservations to tour the Scavi.  This below ground tour included viewing of the necropolis, catacombs, and the grave of St. Peter himself.  At the grave of Peter, our guide read the passage from Matthew where Peter affirms his faith and Christ’s identity.

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’  And they said, ‘Some say Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’  He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’  And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’  Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”

            ~ Matthew 16: 13 – 20

It was incredibly powerful to hear those words, as we stood beside the bones of Peter, with the massive St. Peter’s Basilica and the heart of the Catholic Church towering above us.

After an exhausting day, we took a much needed power nap before venturing out again.  We stayed close to the hotel for dinner and I had ravioli.  After dinner we stopped for Tiramisu for dessert and then called it a night.

Dinner

Dessert