The Catacombs

Thursday (2/7)
After class and shopping around a little bit, our "Church and Culture" class met to take the bus over to the Catacombs of Priscilla.  The public transportation alone was an adventure in itself!  Only half of our group fit on the bus, and we were literally squished standing with a person up on every inch of you.  In fact, we were so squished up against the door that when the bus stopped and the door opened, we broke one of the doors because we couldn't move out of the way; and yet, 2 italian men thought they would still try to squeeze in!  The teacher wasn't with us because she was with the other half of the group, so we had to guess which stop to get off on and wait for the rest of the group.  As soon as we met up, we had to get on another  bus to make it the rest of the way!  The catacombs themselves were dark and damp and really cool.  You could see the dugouts in the wall where they placed the bodies, and even some tiny bone fragments.  We also saw original frescos that artists would paint down there that told the story of salvation and life.  The most transformative painting was the first ever recorded painting of the Madonna and Child painted next to one of the tombs, thousands of years old.  We were left to fend for ourselves to get back to Bernardi and lone behold, we took the tram going the wrong direction, the group got split up, and we had to get off at an unknown location.  But we all worked together and made it back safely to campus!  The girls met with the Sisters for our weekly formation.  We talked about being flexible and open to the new life God is giving you here.  I received a card that said, "Learn from St. Therese to depend on God alone and serve him with a wholly pure and detached heart.  Then, like her, you will be able to say: 'I do not regret that I have given myself up to love.'" ~St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.  To continue the girls night, we went out to dinner, grabbed some gelato, and started a much-needed massage train in our hallway :)