Church and Rain
Sunday morning.
Even with the double glazed windows and shutters I can hear the church bells ringing. I have promised to take Clara to church today so I pop out of bed, leave my boys sleeping, put on a nice dress and take all three girls down the street to the nearest church, which, being Rome, is not very far away.
Of course it is a catholic church, and the mass is in Latin and Italian, but somehow we manage to get the gist of the service and have a few moments of pure spirituality. It's hard not to, with the amazing paintings all around us and the centuries of prayers having been offered here. I don't even know the name of this church, but it is very beautiful. Eighteenth century I would say. Amazing painted ceilings and gold leafed statues. Liana has come with, even though she HATES anything "religious"... It is good for her to experience something like this and I hope with some exposure she can accept that there is a Divine aspect to this universe. I won't make her choose her religion, but I want her to be aware of it.
The church winds up, and we file out with the rest of the faithful just as the rain starts to fall. We find a close by cafe and have some coffee for me and chocolate for the girls. It's a great time to talk about the different types of religions. We've spent a good deal of this trip in Muslim countries to date, so we can compare the differences in the mosque vs the catholic church vs the Baptist church we went to in NZ before the trip. It's also a good chance to talk about the Divine and how it can inhabit all places of worship, no matter what title they give themselves.
We get back to the apartment to find that Randall is not feeling well and Liam had tried to follow us to church - only to be apprehended by a little old lady and returned safely to our apartment.
I make a Sunday brunch and put Randall back to bed.
It's still raining and the kids are getting ancy so we unearth our rain jackets from the suitcase and make some plans.
Liam has wanted to see the Mouth of Truth ever since he got his "'Not For Parents" book about Rome so I decide to take them there. We create a "Team Family" mission and they help with the planning of our expedition. Looking at the map we have to cross most of Rome, but that's good as these guys need a good hike to get the restless energy out.
It takes a good hour, Juliet stomps in every puddle she sees. Clara stomps in only half. Liana and Liam are not quite sure about who is going to take up the other side of our "formation", since it is only me with the four of them, and the number two in command position is quite coveted. We work it out and manage to get to the Bocca Della Verita without a single glitch.....
The Mouth of Truth (Bocca Della Verita) is an ancient Roman carving that legend says will bite the hand off of any liar who sticks his hand in it's mouth. Liam wanted to see it, but has some reservations about actually sticking his hand in. Funny that.
We have to wait in line to see the statue, a switch from when I was a kid and we just walked right in, but the kids don't mind. When we finally get up there Liam makes a deal with me to put our hands in at the same time (little monkey!) so we do. We come out with our hands in tact. Then Liana puts her hand in no worries. (She's too big to be scared by a carving!) But both Clara and Juliet chicken out. Not surprising. They are still at the lovely age where they believe these things.
We enter the ancient church afterwards. It is an Orthodox church from the 12th century so a bit different from the one we were in this morning. We light candles at the alter. I send my prayers to my Uncle Terry (my dad's brother who is fighting cancer) and the kids each light a candle and I tell them to attach a good thought when they light the candle. Juliet says that she asked to have her Grandma and Grandpa come back alive. Oh, if only it worked that way!
The skull of St. Valentine is preserved in the church and the kids all get a good look. I am pretty sure I will get a few questions about the concept of relics in the coming days. Not sure if I completely understand the practise since I am pretty sure it says in the bible that is is wrong to worship idols, but then I am no authority!
The rest of the day is pretty cruisy. Lot's of puddle splashing and of course a big pizza at the end. Randall and I decide that it's time to limit the kids to pizza at only one meal per day instead of three. At least switch it up to spaghetti every other meal!!!
Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and we have saved our two special tours for the day. It should be very fun......
Sunday morning.
 |
| Now that's a hot chocolate! |
Of course it is a catholic church, and the mass is in Latin and Italian, but somehow we manage to get the gist of the service and have a few moments of pure spirituality. It's hard not to, with the amazing paintings all around us and the centuries of prayers having been offered here. I don't even know the name of this church, but it is very beautiful. Eighteenth century I would say. Amazing painted ceilings and gold leafed statues. Liana has come with, even though she HATES anything "religious"... It is good for her to experience something like this and I hope with some exposure she can accept that there is a Divine aspect to this universe. I won't make her choose her religion, but I want her to be aware of it.
 |
| Clara and Juliet on the Spanish Steps |
We get back to the apartment to find that Randall is not feeling well and Liam had tried to follow us to church - only to be apprehended by a little old lady and returned safely to our apartment.
I make a Sunday brunch and put Randall back to bed.
It's still raining and the kids are getting ancy so we unearth our rain jackets from the suitcase and make some plans.
Liam has wanted to see the Mouth of Truth ever since he got his "'Not For Parents" book about Rome so I decide to take them there. We create a "Team Family" mission and they help with the planning of our expedition. Looking at the map we have to cross most of Rome, but that's good as these guys need a good hike to get the restless energy out.
 |
| Liam and I put our hands in together.... |
The Mouth of Truth (Bocca Della Verita) is an ancient Roman carving that legend says will bite the hand off of any liar who sticks his hand in it's mouth. Liam wanted to see it, but has some reservations about actually sticking his hand in. Funny that.
 |
| Liam pretends to have his hand bitten off, making sure his sisters do not put their hands in.... My little comedian! |
We have to wait in line to see the statue, a switch from when I was a kid and we just walked right in, but the kids don't mind. When we finally get up there Liam makes a deal with me to put our hands in at the same time (little monkey!) so we do. We come out with our hands in tact. Then Liana puts her hand in no worries. (She's too big to be scared by a carving!) But both Clara and Juliet chicken out. Not surprising. They are still at the lovely age where they believe these things. We enter the ancient church afterwards. It is an Orthodox church from the 12th century so a bit different from the one we were in this morning. We light candles at the alter. I send my prayers to my Uncle Terry (my dad's brother who is fighting cancer) and the kids each light a candle and I tell them to attach a good thought when they light the candle. Juliet says that she asked to have her Grandma and Grandpa come back alive. Oh, if only it worked that way!
The skull of St. Valentine is preserved in the church and the kids all get a good look. I am pretty sure I will get a few questions about the concept of relics in the coming days. Not sure if I completely understand the practise since I am pretty sure it says in the bible that is is wrong to worship idols, but then I am no authority!
 |
| Inside the Orthodox Church |
Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and we have saved our two special tours for the day. It should be very fun......
 |
| Liam lights a candle in front of the skull of St. Valentine |
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