Dec. 1, 2014 FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTION TO THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Today, I would like to share with you the promises of our Lord to those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart given to St. Margaret Mary. They are the following:

1.  I will give them all the graces necessary in their  state of life.
2.  Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
3.  I will establish peace in their homes.
4.  I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
5.  I will be their secure refuge during life, and all in death.
6.  I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
7.  Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
8.  Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
9.  I will bless every place in which an image of  My Heart is exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out, nor without receiving their Sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their refuge.   
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those  who receive Holy Communion the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final  penitence; they shall not die in my disgrace.

On the first Friday of the month,  we remember to pray the special First Friday devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In my blog last June, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart, I related my visit to Paray-le-Monial, France where our Lord Jesus appeared to a nun who has become St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

My mother was a devotee of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus so that it naturally followed that her children developed such love and esteem, too. We always had the icon of Jesus pointing to His Heart in a place of honor in our home, in fact, right at the entryway. It was the first thing that any visitor saw in our place. 
During my growing-up years, I did not know that by having our icon of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus exposed and honored in our home fulfilled one of His Promises. I even doubt whether my mother ever knew of Jesus' Promises. I think she just wanted to manifest her love for Jesus as well as to share that love with others. In my first home and in the succeeding ones, the image of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus had a special place of honor since both Rey, my husband, and I were devotees, too. In fact, his favorite prayer was one addressed to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. And do you know something? My husband died on May 2, 2003, a First Friday. Coincidence? No! I believe that Jesus welcomed him home on a day special to both of them!



              Prayer to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Oh, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee
Whatever may befall me, Lord, though dark the 
       hour may be
In all my joys, in all my woes, though naught but
        grief I see
Oh, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee.

When those I love have passed away and I am
       sore distressed
Oh, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I fly to Thee for rest
In all my trials, great or small, my confidence shall be
Unshaken as I cry, "Dear Lord, I place my 
        trust on Thee."

This is my own sweet prayer, dear Lord, my faith,
        my trust, my love
But most of all in that last hour when death points 
        up above
Ah, then, sweet Savior, may Thy face smile on
        my soul set free
Oh, may I cry with rapturous love, "I have placed
        my trust in Thee."

Nov. 30, 2014 COLOSSEUM OF ROME

The Colosseum is the iconic symbol of Rome, Italy just as the Eiffel Tower is of Paris, France, Big Ben is of London,  England, the White House is of Washington D.C., United States of America and The Golden Gate Bridge is of San Francisco. The elliptical building was built by Emperor Vespasian in 70 A.D. and finished in 80 A.D. by his son Titus. The  Colosseum was the first structure to use "arches" as a Roman engineering phenomenon for strength and beauty. There was the "hypogeum" which were the underground passageways, tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before the contests began. The base area of the arena was equal to 6 acres. It was so constructed that it could hold 50,000 to 80,000 spectators but could be vacated in 8 minutes flat. It was inaugurated by a series of shows, admittance free, which included gladiatorial contests and mock sea battles that lasted for 100 days. The Colosseum served to satisfy the insatiable desire for entertainment of the people of Ancient Rome. This seeming un-quenchable thirst to be lifted up from their mundane everyday existence was somehow capitalized by emperors in their scheme to subdew their subjects so they would regard them as deities or gods.


At the height of the persecution of Christians in the early centuries, the arena became  the hallowed ground for the blood of the martyrs of "The Way" who were fed to lions, tigers and trained gladiators amid the incomprehensible shouts of joy and triumph of the emperor, his court and his people.

The Catholic Encyclopedia records that St. Ignatuis of Antioch (Syria), a disciple of St. John, the Beloved was condemned to the beasts at the Colosseum by Emperor Trajan in 107 A.D. The Church calendar has October 17 as the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV declared the Colosseum sacred site having been sanctified by early Christians who were martyred. He dedicated it to the Passion of Christ and installed the 14 Stations of the Cross which by now are gone having been taken by bounty hunters. Nonetheless, a large Cross has been erected at the Colosseum where the yearly celebration, "Good Friday Stations of the Cross Procession" is held with the Pope as principal celebrant.

Having had the opportunity of visiting the Colosseum before, I decided to stay by "The Cross" while Bobby, Carla, Michael and Christian went around and up to the second and third tiers of the amphitheater considered the largest in the world. In addition, the Colosseum has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and as of 2007, officially listed as one of the "New Seven Wonders Of The World."

After some time devoted to prayer, my attention got caught by the variety of visitors around who must have come from four to five continents of the world. Tour groups came in succession with commentaries in different languages of various tour guides holding their short sticks with an identifying banner. Chit-chats of admiring/puzzled visitors and feeble cries for food or rest of tired three or five-yr. old children filled the air. Then there was the temptation to look at the shorty-shorts and outrageous low cleavage of wearing apparel of those who gave justice to them and those who justly "hurt" the eyes of onlookers due to factors as heavy body mass or clearly defined chronological age. I surveyed my surroundings  and the people, like us who are on a Roman Holiday and smiled at the thought that "freedom of choice" was the norm of the day! True to its essence, "freedom"gives every  person unspeakable joy....to the extent that one's freedom does not encroach upon another's right or property.

Our walk outside the Colosseum included the Arch of Constantine which was/is a monument to his conquest of Jerusalem in 70 A.D, the Arch of Titus and the short "climb" up the Via Sacra ( Sacred Way) with its large stones, several sizes bigger than those on ordinary cobblestone streets which form the thoroughfare leading to the Forum. We decided to just take a look at the huge complex of the ruins of ancient government buildings and temples which comprise the Forum.

That was a wonderful day spent at the Colosseum of Rome!

Nov. 28, 2014 ROME'S PANTHEON

                                           

The Pantheon in Rome is a "must-see" in the itinerary of every traveler who visits Rome for the first time and also for those returning ones because of its irresistible charm. Why is this so? Because this building by its elegance, beauty and reason for being takes the beholder into the realm of wonder and awe only a chosen few among the works of human hands can lay claim to.

Firstly, the Pantheon in Rome is the best preserved in all ancient buildings in the world today. It was commissioned by Emperor Marcus Agrippa between 27 B.C. and 4 A.D. and rebuilt by Hadrian in 126 A.D. To think that it is still standing whole and upright and the object of "ohs and ahs" of everyone who sets foot in it in 2014!

Secondly, through more than 2,000 years after it was built, the dome of the Pantheon in Rome is still the world's largest "unreinforced stone dome." Engineers and architects of the domes of the Basilica of St. Peter; St. Paul's Cathedral in London; the Hagia Sophia in Istambul, Turkey; the White House and the Jefferson Memorial in the United States and others came to Rome and studied the Pantheon before undertaking their projects.

Thirdly, the Pantheon is  considered a "perfect  structure." It is a circular building with the height from the floor to the ceiling to be exactly "the same" as the diameter of the interior circle - 43.3 meters or 142 ft. If one traces an imaginary line between ceiling and sides, the building will be a sphere.

Fourthly, the Pantheon is the only ancient building in "continued use" for the purpose for which it was made - religious! It was constructed to be a "Temple of All Gods." In 609, Emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface IV who made it a Roman Catholic Church and dedicated it to "St. Mary and the Martyrs," informally known as Santa Maria Della Rotonda. Since that time up to the present, Holy Mass is celebrated at the Pantheon. The square fronting it with a grand obelisk is called Piazza Della Rotonda.

Fifthly, the 16 Corinthian granite columns on the facade of the Pantheon are the original ones which were quarried in Egypt's Eastern mountains. Each one is a "whole, uncut granite" column 39 ft. long, 5 ft. in diameter and 60 tons in weight. Special boats were made to transport them through the River Nile, then to the blue Mediterranean Sea and finally up the Tiber River. It must have been a very long journey!

Lastly, the "Oculus"which is the only opening on top of the dome continues to astound the world! It is 30 ft. across and provides the only entry for sunlight which shines at different places within the interior at certain hours of the day. At high noon, sunlight beams directly at the huge bronze entrance door.

During our visit last year, my grandchildren: Diana, Joshua, Christina, Tiffany Anne and Melanie Mary had so much fun standing by the door at high noon with lifted arms basking in the sun looking up to the Oculus. Each one had a snapshot taken to commemorate his/her visit to the Pantheon! Several people followed suit. To even the score, Michael and Christian whom I accompanied this year to a Roman Holiday, also had their pictures taken for posterity! What is more, Bobby had his commemorative photo, too! You should have seen the people who duplicated the stance!
It was interesting to hear them all commenting at the "soothing" heat of the sun on their skin.
This brought to mind several articles I have read about the exalted feeling of "peace/ serenity and space" one experiences while staying quietly for some time under the Oculus. I have desired to do just that in all of my previous visits at the Pantheon, even of this year's, but  on all occasions, it was impossible to do because of the crowd of people within its confines. Could it be that an undefinable phenomenon is happening in this enigmatic building? Do the souls of the illustrious people entombed inside - King Vittorio Emmanuelle, King Umberto I, Queen Margherita and Raphael, the famous artist who painted "The Transfiguration" have something to do with it?

Before leaving, I took a long lingering, grateful   look at the altar of our Mother Mary and the Martyrs' Church. I would have yearned to be one of its parishioners!

On the way out, Carla wanted to check the width of one 60-ton Egyptian column. Together, with Michael and Christian, they wrapped their arms around one of them in the portico. It was amusing to see them carefully positioning themselves as they "hugged" the monstrous column. We had a big laugh upon discovery that their "wraparound" fitted snuggly to a "T."

Then off we went to get our daily dose of Italian "gelato."