First full day in Rome

Wow what an incredible day we have had! God is so good! After we left our Hotel we headed strait to the Catacombs. This catacomb was the first ever Christian catacomb and was a place where the Sacraments were celebrated in secret by the faithful Christians when our faith was illegal. Fr. Thielo celebrated mass in one of the chambers of the catacombs where some of our very early church fathers may have once celebrated the sacred liturgy. The presence of the saints and the martyrs burried here was felt very strongly as Fr. Thielo prayed the Roman Canon in Latin. After the catacombs we once again navigated the busses and tested our skill at dodging crazy European drivers as we made our way to St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the diocese of Rome and home to the Cathedra of the current bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI. The incredible beauty of this Church drew our eyes heavenward to contemplate the great love and blessings that our Heavenly Father has given to us especially in allowing us all to participate in this awesome pilgrimage. Some of us were able to catch the end of Eucharistic adoration in one of the side chapels and benediction. It was so beautiful to be united as one church as people from Spain, Italy, France, and the USA joined together to pray the Tantum Ergo together. After spending an hour in prayer and adoration with the aide of this beautiful Cathedral Basilica given to us by our early fathers, as well as discovering that we could communicate with each other while at different ends of the Church using the buttresses, we headed off on a walking tour of Rome to find a great place for some authentic Italian food. We all split into groups and made our way through Rome in search of the perfect place. My group found a beautiful little plaza with a gorgeous white marble faced church surrounded my many awesome little Italian restarants. We at fresh bread with some of the best olive oil I have ever had, ordered our pasta, partook in a bottle of red wine, and relaxed as music was played by local artists. As we walked back to our hotel we were guided by the amazing site of the dome of St. Peters basilica illuminated against the dark sky. The Lord is truly blessing us and we give thanks and praise to him as we prepair to begin another day in His name tomorrow! May God bless you!