4Cs = Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Clergy shopping and Caravaggio

As promised, I am going to finish off today with a quick post of mostly pictures from our unintended side trip to the Colosseum earlier this morning and then a few pics from our little excursion to the holy hardware shops this afternoon.

We didn't exactly know how to get home because we didn't take the right path to the Station Church this morning... but what difference does that make? We're in Rome after all, and it is a walking city, in the core.  So, keeping in mind that the sun was still rising in the east, it should have been relatively easy to keep our bearings and wind our way back to our residence at the College.  Not.So.Easy.  Its Rome after all and there isn't a straight street in the whole city.

As we were risking our lives crossing one intersection, I called to my friend that I thought I saw the Colosseum peaking up over the other buildings off to our left.  Sure enough, we were that far off the beaten track... but what a great opportunity to have a look around!  We had the whole morning off, no classes in Moral Theology until this afternoon so, we followed this kind providence that put the Colosseum in our path, along with the Circus Maximus which is nearby.

Picture time:
Hey! Isn't that the Colosseum??

Yes... yes it is:

I've been joking a little bit, but I grew a little more serious as we drew near to this place where not only the Games were held, but the brutal slaughter and execution of thousands of Christians.  'Games' which were really a cruel and sadistic form of entertainment at the expense of the many martyrs of the early church.

As we made several more wrong turns, we had the occasion to wander through some archaeological digs and restoration attempts of old churches right beside the Colosseum... so we had a chance to approach this grand display of Roman architectural genius from several different angles, each so very impressive... but as I said, always sobering because my brothers and sisters died there, horribly, by the thousands.  That makes it holy ground to me.

The Circus Maximus hasn't hosted any Games or chariot races since the 6th Century.  This is what it would have looked like:

This is what it looked like not so long ago.  This morning I walked along the track that once was like our NASCAR speedway.  

I strolled leisurely where chariots used to race.  There is very little left of this magnificent structure, but the ruins that you can see above on the right hand side of the photo are massive.  It is hard to imagine it, unless you're standing there.

The path to Sts. John and Paul Station Church led right along this racetrack earlier this week, but I didn't even know where I was, or why there was this vast open space in the middle of what is usually a densely packed city. Now I know.

And lastly, some clergy shopping.  Please bear in mind that this blog was originally intended for about 15 family members and a few friends... so it is somewhat 'familiar'.  I am not a blogger.  So, tune out if you like for this next part.

There is a Euroclero shop perched on the edge of St. Peter's Square (which is round).  You know that the quality and the price is going to be somewhere near the top of the market... it was.  I tried on an alb that really seemed to suit me.  I asked the price twice and finally got an answer.  670 euros.  The exchange rate is about 1.5 right now... so that is close to CDN$ 1,000.00  For an alb!

Having politely excused ourselves from that shop, we found another which was closer to the beer salary that I am working with on this trip.  So, I bought an alb, cincture, and amice.

White alb with cincture tied in knots around the hanger

Remember the biretta that I bought?  With the tassel / pom-pom still tied up? Well, its not tied up now, is it?  I went over to the TLM church Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini and sat in 'choir' for the Latin Mass on Monday night and I had the chance to take the biretta for a test drive.  It wasn't the racetrack of the Circus Maximus, but with that pom-pom... ??  I don't know if I can wear it - looking like that.

One last thing: on our way to the priest store we stopped in at a French church, St. Louis, and inside there were three (3) Caravaggio  paintings on the call of Matthew from being a tax collector to his martyrdom.  OH MY!  I said earlier in a post that the Caravaggio I saw this week was priceless. Some one told me that apparently they are valued at $20 million a piece...  but money can never be the measure of these paintings.  I won't try to put words to this observation, just to say that it was a real privilege to stand there and contemplate the story that these paintings so magnificently portray.