The Good Shepherd portrayed in this fresco on the walls of the Catacombs of Priscilla
A visit to any of the catacombs of Rome is always interesting if you want to get a glimpse of the life of early Christians. Contrary to some assumptions, these were not secret places of worship during various persecutions, although there may have been occasions for Mass. They also adorned the walls of these catacombs with symbols of the teachings of their faith in the form of frescoes. The catacombs are perhaps the earliest example of these, since the religion was not practiced openly before the 4th Century.
More likely any Mass here was a funeral Mass because the catacombs is where Christians…and for that matter the pagans as well…buried their dead. Unlike the pagans, however, the Christians believed in the Resurrection of the dead. Death was not the end, but the beginning. A difficult concept for most Romans to grasp I would think.
One of these Catacombs, the Catacombs of Priscilla, have what is believed to be the earliest known image of the Blessed Virgin Mary nursing the child Jesus that is believed to date from around 230 AD. This depiction of Mary nursing Jesus was common as a symbolism for the way Jesus nourishes his church. Although there are many later examples of this image in Catholic art, this appears to be one of the first.
Benedictine nuns are in charge of the Catacombs and offer the visitor guided tours.
The Catacombs of Priscilla are under the care of Benedictine Nuns who offer guided tours of the Catacombs. We suggest you consider a visit on your next trip to Rome. There is a fee, but that is the case for all of the catacombs of Rome.
Those familiar with Medjugorje have surely heard about the recent letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje that states in part: “clerics and the faithful are not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such ‘apparitions’ would be taken for granted“. This letter was delivered by the Papal Nuncio to the U.S. and sent to all U.S. Bishops.
Medjugorje Visionary Ivan
Dragicevic
Such talks by visionaries from Medjugorje are something that has been going on in the U.S. and other countries for many years. Most notable among the visionaries who travel giving talks is Ivan Dragicevic. Ivan lives in Medjugore during the summer but lives in the U.S. during the winter months and normally has a full speaking schedule at various parishes and locations during that time. During most of those talks he also allegedly has apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To those who oppose the reported apparitions in Medjugorje, this seems a great victory. To those who believe in the apparitions in Medjugorje, this seems like a severe defeat.
Actually, it is neither, in our opinion. It is a prudent move on the part of Holy Mother Church to avoid scandal by appearing to approve an apparition that is still under investigation.
This brings up the often-asked question: can individuals still travel to Medjugorje and be loyal to the Magisterium of The Church? The answer is yes! The latest directive does not deal with this issue at all.
Saint James Church, Medjugorje
As has been the case for many years, pilgrimages are not allowed to be organized at the Parish or Diocesan level, but priests are encouraged to accompany such groups to provide spiritual guidance so long as they do not assume official approval. And, of course, individuals can travel their on their own.
To add to the confusion is the fact that many Priests, Bishops and Archbishops continue to visit Medjugorje and concelebrate Mass in the church.
Since so many priests have reportedly found their vocations in Medjugorje and the fruits seem widespread, we encourage you to find out for yourself, if you feel called to travel there.
The Church will probably put out some kind of ruling in the future, but what that will be is anyone’s guess. It will possibly not be outright approval of the apparitions, since they are still on-going, but rather might be approval of Medjugorje as a place of pilgrimage.
When we mention barge, most of us have an image that is certainly not likely to make us hop on one and float away. But the kind of barge we are talking about….more properly called “hotel barges” is nothing like you might think.
True, these were once used for hauling lumber and other commodities along the rivers of Europe. The rivers were the main means of transport back then and so a series of canals and locks were built to help expedite the shipment of goods.
The barge Anjodi.
Nowadays many of those barges have been converted to floating hotels that offer every modern convenience. They offer a chance to really slow down and enjoy the scenery. Most of these are in the U.K. or Europe from the Netherlands all the way south to Venice, so there are bound to be Catholic churches, cathedrals and other places of interest to Catholics.
Such hotel barges hold only 6-20 passengers, so there is obviously a closeness that develops among passengers. An in many cases you can charter the whole barge and have a private hotel barge cruise.
Biking and Barging go together
The cruises almost always include a chef on board and 3 or more crew members as well. And normally almost everything is included in the price (even bicycles), so you don’t have to worry about those hidden extras that can sneak up on you and ruin you budget. As you can see, the atmosphere is definitely relaxing.
Ground hog day started again with the bacon and eggs and cappuccino’s. Today we were supposed to leave for Vetirbo and we changed plans. I love this place and I even conquered the very small shower. I have learned to drop water on my legs before I get in and then rub with body wash and then squeeze sideways into the box as the water is running and this works until I drop the soap and Susan has to come in to get it for me. With the right attitude you can get used to anything.
The car or as we call now the UFO (Carmine named it that when he was with us at night and I locked it…..and 42 lights blinked all over the car, not to mention the new feature I found that jabs you in the butt as you drive if you cross the center line) it is filthy and I think I don’t care. For what they charged they should come to America and wash mine at home.
Mass in the Sanctuary of Divine Love
Today was beautiful as we visited 2 apparitions from Our Lady in the outskirts of Rome. Both were wonderful in their own way and we had mass and prayed and walked most of the grounds. Our Lady of Divine Love and the three fountains. There are actually two places known as Tre Fontane in this area.
On Sunday we will return to Our Lady of Divine Love where we will leave all of the petitions we have received and carried for you and invoke the Blessed Mother to answer you in some way or another. It is always a very emotional day for us as we re-read all of your needs and hope that we all remember that it is the will of God that we need to accept.
The Basilica of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls
Before heading back we went to St. Paul of the Cross outside the walls. We had been here before and remembered it all like yesterday. There are plenty of explanations in the photos, so you are on your own, we are beat and plan to go back and have leftovers and snuggle up together and watch a good movie. We will see who falls asleep first!
I guess we can say see you soon since tomorrow is our last full day of adventures before we leave on Mon. 6:15 AM—ugh. Sunday night we will definitely be in bed early. We hope you have enjoyed our journey and in some way were filled with the grace of Our Lord and His blessed Mother, Our Mother too.
I ended up on the sofa (we were watching TV) since I fell asleep and when I woke up to go to bed Susan was pretty much sprawled on both sides. I didn’t want to wake her so back to the sofa I went and it wasn’t bad. I figured I had better get used to it since today was going to be a doozy.
Another exciting drive…not sure how much more of this excitement we can take!
The morning routine didn’t change and we headed out to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace, Mentorella or better known as the Ment, where we “meant” to go. It was a little cloudy and traffic was a bear. We headed up the mountain and Susan moans and groans were pretty bad. I was laughing almost the whole way as she would lean into the turns one way and her lips would go the other. Soon she was laughing but still leaning pretty hard.
One of us definitely needs to yield the right of way….maybe it should be us!
The ride was stunning as we came in a different way and as long as you didn’t look down. There are lots of photos as there were 3 days ago. When we got back to the little town we were at before we still had 10 miles to go, up and down and up and down. We were stopped a couple of times by horses and cows in the road and we hardly saw a car on the whole journey.
The turn into the shrine area is rather dramatic and scary as hell. Right before the last turn into the shrine there was a sign saying don’t enter, so we parked in the rest area right there and walked the last 1/2 mile to the shrine. I should have known better, when we got there there was a big parking lot and lots of room since we were the only pilgrims there. The lot also served as the heli-pad and we were glad we drove.
The sun was still in and out and we should have walked the grounds and taken pictures of the vistas before we went into the shrine, since not long after the clouds closed in over the mountain and the rains came. When we went in we fell into a graceful peace and immediately knelt and prayed. Jesus was present and over Him on the altar was a beautiful carved statue of Mother and Child. After our prayers for the indulgence we took ever so much time looking at every inch of this marvelous church. This was Blessed John Paul’s II favorite place and now we knew why.
There was a caretaker around and he told me that the don’t close at 12:30 as other shrines and told us to visit the Grotto of St. Benedict and the holy stairs to heaven (100 of them), as it seemed to us, when we looked up and the clouds covered it and were shining with light. You felt like you could walk up and never return, with the rain we decided to stay below.( balk, balk balk!) From that point you can get the best photos of the valleys below but today you could hardly see 50 feet ahead (balk, balk, balk).
Entrance to the Grotto of Saint Benedict at the Mont
It is a tight fit going in to the Grotto of St. Benedict, but well worth it. We went to the cave and that was a beautiful experience, although a tight fit. When you entered the lights came on automatically and after a while they would go off, good thing no one could hear us scream when they went off. It was hard to imagine that St Benedict lived in this cave for 2 years while discerning his future, and we think it’s rough when the lights go out in a storm and we have no A/C.
Back at the shrine we went to the side altar, as there was another couple who were there praying, and began our rosary on these very hard kneelers. After beginning the First part of the rosary we went to the back of the altar and sat in front of the memorial to Blessed John Paul and a beautiful icon of the Mother and child. We finished the final prayers back on our knees at the side of the Madonna. I went back to Blessed John Paul’s memorial to take the time to thank him and Our Mother for the gift of speech for Karina and asked that he continue to help her to be fully cured, knowing well that these afflictions are sometimes a blessing from God and his reason is beyond our comprehension.
This is a place for prayer and as close to God and heaven as you will ever come, and as Blessed John Paul said when he was here so well:
After lighting candles for all your intentions and our we went into the dining room used by all who stay here and on the walls were photos of the visit by our last 2 popes. ( Pope Francis came an hour later to meet up with us in his helicopter). Some of the photos you will see are pictures of the vistas that we couldn’t share with you today because of the weather. The others are in fond memory of Blessed John Paul.
We bid the Ricardo, the caretaker ( he could have been the priest) goodbye and mad our way back to the car for another joyous ride, as Susan would put it, down the mountain. It took Sue awhile to organize herself and get buckled in after trying to fasten herself with her pocketbook. The ride down was harry to say the least, since at time we could only see about 10 feet in front of ourselves. There were a lot more moans and groans and I think I even gave a few.
The miraculous image in Frascati.
We headed for Frascati and Our Lady of Capocroce. Frascati is an ancient city with an icon of the Virgin and Son. The icon was in the church when it was bombed in the second world war but survived and was found in the rubble after the liberation.
When we got there the church was closed and we decided to have a coffee and share a brandy to warm up and wait till 4 and see if they opened. The couple that owned the bar told us that the church we went to wasn’t the right one and to go around the corner and after our break we did and it wasn’t 50 feet away and open, well almost, there is an iron gate that keeps you from getting into the church proper and you are stuck in the entry. It didn’t matter as we knelt and prayed and I took some beautiful photos of this miraculous icon. As we were praying it started to rain again so very hard the roof sounded as if it would cave in and as we stood there the sun light came in and brilliantly lit up the altar. We both went to our knees and prayed a little more. We looked for a window outside the church and couldn’t find one and didn’t care because the subtle thank you’s are wonderful and they remain with you forever.
Once outside, the rain had stopped and we walked to the car. Our car was parked at the other church and it was open and we went in and were quite surprised at the history it contained. Most of this area was bombed in 1944 and rescued by the Americans. Almost all the churches were destroyed except for this one and only the icon in the last. It turned into quite a day full of love, prayer, thanksgiving and time with the Divine.
The ride home was ugly with traffic and we stopped at our favorite restaurant, the supermarket, (this trip has not been a gourmet delight) and for 20 Euro’s I got us diner that I would prepare at the hotel. It was fun to cook and we have a romantic meal, candlelight and all.
The wishbone determines who washes dishes. But I helped…I am not a hopeless cad.
We took the wishbone from the chicken and Susan lost the break, the dishes were hers, but I helped. Planning our day tomorrow is not easy since there are so many places to go and Susan is working hard on the Itinerary since tomorrow we weren’t supposed to be here. I’m sure we will have another glorious day. Good night all.
God Bless,
Susan and Tom
Mary, Mother of God my mother, Queen of Peace, ask your Son Jesus to give me the gift of peace. Pray for me for peace; peace in my heart, peace of mind and of soul, peace in my family, peace with all whom I meet, the peace of Jesus.
Jesus, my Lord and Savior, my Brother, King of Peace, I come to you.
When we got up this morning it was really dark and really raining and really early. I spent half of the night getting up thinking it was time…..I hate that, the wake up call came just as I entered a deep sleep. We dressed and Susan went down and managed to get us a double espresso with a little steamed milk and that got the heart going.
Our plan was to be at Termini station to meet our friend Marilyn at 6:30 am and go together to the Vatican. Marilyn was early and we were late because we had to go back to the room for the tickets. Once together, we made it to the Vatican, albeit with umbrellas in hand, since the rain still persisted. I was afraid that this was not going to be fun and my fears were confirmed later.
Attending the Weekly Papal Audience…a sea of umbrellas
Seeing the Pope is always special and we sat and waited for 3 hours for that chance and as soon as he was about to get to the high altar were we were seated the rains came again and we were engulfed in a sea of umbrellas, I could hardly see Sue and she was next to me let alone trying to see the Pope, and we had good seats, not a 100 feet away.
Pope Francis speaking at the Papal Audience
The rain subsided for awhile and we got to watch as the Pope gave his address and it was then partially translated into other languages by different priest. It was difficult to hear, and even more difficult to see with all the umbrellas, but the atmosphere is so exciting that none of us seemed to mind.
Pope Francis likes to get out there and greet the folks!
The Holy Father is calming and gracious as was evident after the blessing he went down to the handicapped and shook hands and blessed them. He then made his way back up and walked around greeting newlyweds, dignitaries and others that had the front row seats.
We sat in front of a priest from Pennsylvania with his mom and dad and had a great time with them. We met another priest from Milwaukee and talked to him for almost an hour. Fr Jason is in Rome to study for 2 years. We had given up our seats when the umbrella’s had come up again and went and stood behind the pope. That’s where we met Fr Jason.
I was real proud of Sue today, I was sure she was going to be upset that her seat wasn’t near the Popes and she wouldn’t get to meet him, but she gave up her quest as she saw the multitude of sick and handicapped and knew the Pope would go to them as it should be. No mountains today! It was a thrill just to be there and to get a blessing from the Holy Father and knowing it was also for all of you. We had planned to meet Marilyn at the Pieta in the Vatican but didn’t re-open until 2 so we search her out to no avail. We would have to reschedule our lunch.
Hopping the subway back to our car.
The crowds were very heavy and the rains came again so Susan and I went to metro and headed back for the car. We were going to find a rest nearer to our hotel and gave that up because of the weather so we went to the grocery store and pick up a couple of pizzas, which are very good after I doctor them up.
It was already a 10 hour day so even though the sun came out as we ate our pizza we decided to stay in and test the sleeper sofa and watch a movie. The sofa was comfortable and I never made the movie.
We decided to stay at this hotel until we leave and not make the long drive to Offidia and Veterbo. There are so many shrines in the area to see and I am done packing and unpacking the car. This will give us a little rest before we head home Monday and back to a crazy work week starting Tuesday.
Have a Great
God Bless
Susan and Tom
Holy Mary,
help those in need, give strength to the weak, comfort the sorrowful, pray for God’s people, assist the clergy,
>> intercede for religious.
>> Mary all who seek your help
>> experience your unfailing protection.
>> Amen.
We were so relaxed we stayed up to after midnight….are we nuts! We slept well and we were still awake by 7:30…can’t miss breakfast and that was a good thing, they had fried eggs, bacon and other goodies we haven’t seen too often. Susan had 2 helpings, it was good to see her eating again.
Today’s plan was to visit two shrines not far from here, about 1 ¼ hours drive to the first and 30 minutes to the second. Susan had no idea we were headed back to the mountains and she was not a happy camper on the first leg, wait ’till she sees the next one. I hope the sleeper sofa is comfortable!
Entrance to the city of Genazzaro..it was quite a drive up here, but well worthwhile.
Our first stop was Genazzano and we arrived easily and we parked right in front of the gate to this very old walled city. As we made our way up and up and up to the shrine we couldn’t help but laugh as there was parking everywhere, even in front of this Shrine to Our Lady.
The image of Our Lady of Good Counsel
The church was beautiful but paled in comparison to the fresco of the Mother and Son that has a wonderful unique history. Sorry…..you have to read the story.
We made our way back to the car and we were glad we parked below. This town is so old and each corner produced a new insight as to the way of life here in pagan times. We drove away feeling very uplifted and made our way to the next shrine.
As we rounded a corner Susan saw this structure about 2 miles up at the top of the mountain and just looked at me in disbelief. You have got to be kidding she said, and I think that was when the sleeper sofa came into play. This road up had it’s own attributes compared to others, the main was the fact that there was an S-turn every couple hundred feet. It was marvelous except for the girls. The views were indescribable and I hoped Susan had the camera on as she bravely attempted to take pictures. A couple of times I stopped the car and took a couple myself not wanting you to miss the vistas. When we arrived at the shrine Susan was busy looking in her purse and I asked what she needed and she said her sunglasses and I started laughing and told her she had them on. LOL.We spent most of our time in front of this beautiful, miraculous picture that came from heaven. We prayed there for the indulgences and also said our rosary in front of the shrine for your intentions. We didn’t want to leave but the 12 noon lunch hour was approaching and we wanted to leave with dignity instead of getting thrown out. LOL
The sad part of this story was that we hadn’t arrived at the main shrine we were going to visit. We meant to go to Mentorello and we ended up in Montrello, which is very close to Mentorello but was meant to be a stop on our journey. Apparently it was and Our Blessed Mother laughed the whole time knowing we ended at the Mont instead of the Ment. You think you are confused! When we get back we have even a better story but to tell, so you will have to wait and it’s LOL.
We walked the city going up and up again and finally ended up in this beautiful church. It was again very old and full of treasures to enjoy and we thought we were in the Ment. There were many relics and beautiful paintings from Michelangelo (we think, or they could have been from Montoangelo) and we were alone in the presence of Jesus and we didn’t care because this was a place that people would never see, except for all of you. This was a church dedicated to Mary Magdellana.
We went back to the car and stopped at the pizzeria that was open and before sitting down asked if we could get pizza and once again we were told NO, only at night. DUH As we left the rains started and we saw the sign to get to the Ment., where we wanted to go. The rain had started and the road wasn’t appealling, so we decided to head back.
The village was…you guessed it….at the top of a long and winding road.
As we went down the mountain another way we saw the Ment and almost turned around. It was spectacular and only 10 miles away, up and up and Susan was going to have none of that. We were Ment to leave. We looked for a pizza joint along the way but we ended back at the hotel before we found one, so we went to the supermarket and bought our own as well as other goodies to stuff our refrigerator for the next few days.
Back at the hotel we cooked the pizza as well as enjoyed a bottle of wine as we answered e-mails and typed this report. the only problem was that we didn’t get 2. Tomorrow in Rome we will have pizza at our favorite place near the Piazza Navona. Eat your hearts out.
Tomorrow begins the unknown part of this trip. We have no set plans except to go to Rome tomorrow and get our tickets for the Papal Audience on Wed. We hope for a chance to meet the Holy Father and Susan has been sending him Notes on Twitter and now Facebook even describing the clothes we will wear. May be he will take us to the Ment in his helicopter. If not we will try and go back before we leave and Susan’s nerve returns.
Have a great day
God Bless
Susan and Tom
Entrance to the city of Genazzaro..it was quite a drive up here, but well worthwhile.
Buena Sera
Another late night for me, I was mesmerized by the TV since I could get English channels and watched 2 movies until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I paid for it today as I almost fell asleep eating my egg. After 3 regular strong coffees I was ready. We planned to leave for Rome today around noon giving us time to walk around and be able to get to the North American College to pick up our tickets for tomorrows Papal Audience at 3:00 (I like that place, everyone speaks English).
Bought the tickets and we are off on today’s excellent adventure.
It had stormed hard this morning as I watched another movie while working on the computer and just before we had to leave it stopped and the sun came out. We drove to another city about 12 miles from here to catch the metro at it’s origination point in Laurentina. We drove in and parked right in front and bought our tickets and were on our way.
The subway here is like anywhere else when you get close to the center of Rome, a lot of pushing and shoving and swearing. We had to change lines and even in all the commotion we looked like pros. Sue was very calm, not like the last time we were here. I figured she thought it was better than the mountains and enjoyed the trip.
Our plan worked perfectly and we arrived at the college at 2:50 and had a nice conversation with another couple waiting for tickets. When we left we started back for the subway and looked for a reasonably priced restaurant. We were not leaving until we had some calamari and pizza.
The Trevi Fountain is one of the most popular….and crowded attractions in Rome
One restaurant we stopped at was so expensive I just laughed. A ½ bottle of house wine was 15 Euro, almost as much as the whole meal we had at Maria’s 2 days ago, so we opted out and finally found a beautiful little ma and pa place away from the tourist trap of the Trevi Fountain.
Editors note: Our advice is not to eat next to major tourist attractions in Rome….just wander over a couple of streets and you can find better food and much better prices.
Nice little “Ma & Pa” place near Trevi FountainThe calamari was excellent and the pizza was the best we have had. It was still pricey but you are in Rome and it was worth it.
Full and content we headed for the metro and got on the train for the ride back which took less than a ½ hour and no aggravation of driving the city and parking. Tomorrow morning we leave our hotel at 5:45 to repeat the process. At 6:30 we will meet Marilyn Olson on the platform at the Termini station where we change lines to get to the Vatican. We were told to get there around 7:00 for the best seats, we had done this before and I swore I would never do it again, but it’s Papa Francesco, and the sofa bed is not all that comfortable.
EWTN does air the Papal Audience, 4:00 am Florida time, and I’m sure you will all be up to watch as they drag Susan away as she tries to jump the barricade to get to the Pope if he doesn’t come over and say hello.
Sue let Pope Francis know we were coming!
She sent him a couple more Facebook posts and tweets, just so he knows where we are sitting and what we will be wearing. LOL LOL. Whomever reads his mail must be roaring by now with laughter from these messages she has sent. They probably have her photo in the hands of all the security people. If you don’t get a trip report tomorrow just check the 6:00 PM news. I may have to take her for a mountain trip if things don’t work out to get her mind off of it.
The greatest thing about these audiences are the blessing he give when it ends. When he imparts this blessing on us it also imparted onto those we love and pray for and for their special intention as if you where all there with us, also whatever religious objects you have with you are blessed. Pretty neat, so tomorrow all of you will get a papal blessing for yourselves and your intentions and I am sure we will read all the intentions we carry as we wait. After, we will have lunch somewhere that has room since the sisters at the college told us that there were at least 60,000 ticketed people will be there.
It’s time for bed, 5 Am comes early; Wish me luck.
Good night and God Bless,
We had breakfast, mostly coffee after last nights late dinner, and met Carmine at the foundation a little after 9. I got lost driving since most streets are one way and the 1 minute drive turned into 15, but we made it.
We went to the foundation to meet with Anna, who runs the foundation and we spent almost two hours there looking at the photos and testimonies of many people and listening. The photos were actual pictures of the Blessed Virgin and Son as they had appeared, although not as clear as actually seeing Them.
Watching a video in Oliveto Citra
We watched a DVD of the miracles of the sun and the red cloud that was seen by all within 6 miles, as well as testimonies from the parish priest and others who were touched by these events. Carmine and Anna then told the whole story as it first happened in 1985.
Anna’s two children were both part of the twelve that saw her. It was incredible. We also heard of the latest apparitions and miracles that have happened here, all as we stood looking at the shrine of Our Lady of the Castle.
Carmine gave us a great history of the castle, that goes back many centuries.
Carmine then gave us a tour of the former castle and the museum and we learned of the history dating 1000 years before Christ. The valley is rich in history which includes ancient stories of Spartacus and Hannibal, as well as some Greek influence.
At one point he stopped and paced then went to his knees told us that this was the spot were he saw the Blessed Mother the second time, when there were only 4 of them. Susan asked where she was standing and he said where Tom is standing and I almost jumped out of my shoes and moved to the side.
This was all very special just as much as the next hour we spent at the site of the first apparition where we went at noon to pray the Angelus, which is part of the whole days events. It started to rain and I got our 2 umbrellas from the car and we went to the site of the first apparition just past the gate, which Anna opened.
Our group grew as we stayed and prayed the rosary and heard everyone’s testimonies. It is awe-inspiring to hear the stories as to how people came to be here.
As we stood there and were beginning to pray other pilgrims joined us and before we knew it there were 12 of us, all in deep prayer. We each took turns to say a prayer or give testimony of the reason we were there. Carmine translated and we were in awe at what we heard. After each testimony of faith or a miracle we prayed holding hands and finished with the Angelus. It was beautiful and peaceful and we all felt such a close bond to each other as we all departed.
Carmine was off to a wedding and we told Anna that we would be back at 3 for the rosary (if it’s raining they usually forgo the rest of the day and the procession).
The rain moved in and we could not even see the nearby buildings.
We went back to our hotel and watched the rain come down so hard and the clouds move in so at times we couldn’t even see in front of the hotel let alone the castle. So here we sit hopping for a break in the weather to continue our pilgrimage and as Susan so eloquently said during the prayer service that we come here to pray for those whose intentions we have carried with us.
Susan wasn’t feeling well again so she laid down and I decided to go out to try to get something to eat. I think it was around 5 – 5:30 and as I got down to the lobby the rain stopped.
As I went to the car the sun came out and before I got in I looked up and got the thrill of my life as I stared at the sun and watched it almost dance in the sky. I couldn’t take my eyes off it and it pulsated and pulsated like it was going to explode. It then became calm and I could almost make out a face and then it started pulsating again and then the face again appeared again on the sun but I couldn’t make it out except for the eyes and mouth were very distinct. I don’t know long I stood there until it all stopped and the sun returned to a normal ball with a pale yellow hue and gently disappeared behind a cloud. If I had the camera I don’t even know if I could have taken pictures.
It was awesome and as I drove to the store I just didn’t know what to think. I don’t know of anything that could make that happen even though I tried to reason that the clouds did it but there were no clouds to be seen when it happened. I will just remember it forever and I thanked Our Mother because I believe she did that for me. I was sad that I was alone and Susan missed it and I didn’t tell her until today as I prayed last night for guidance.
Susan slept most of the night even though the rain stopped I know she didn’t want to get sick again and we stayed in. I got a call from a friend of Anna, who spoke some English, and was so excited as she told me that Our Lady blessed them with her presence or that the rain stopped, I wasn’t sure exactly what happened, and she asked if we could come, I told her we would try. Sue told me to go but I didn’t want to leave her and I had already been blessed a couple times today. I know Our Lady, if she was there, wasn’t going to hang around for me, since she is with me always and if I were humble and blessed enough to see her that could happen at home. I still felt a guilty, since that was the reason for being here, and reluctantly went to bed.
Good night, May the peace of Christ fill your hearts and soul.
