A Carpe Diem Snapshot : Carpe Coziness! Welcome, December! What began as a posed photo shoot of Jay by the decorations he put up, ended with a real life cozy Carpe Diem moment when Cordelia arrived on the scene. Wise Jay remarked, "In the imitation of true art, we create art itself." Pre-illumination, but it's a start! A happy December to you, friends.

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Tempus! Seize the Season! Happy New Year, Friends! Today we begin a new liturgical year in the Catholic church with the season of Advent. As you will read below, Advent is a beautiful time of year in which we can begin something new to go deeper into our understanding of the Faith. Many beloved traditions have grown up in different cultures to commemorate this season of anticipation, from the penitential to the celebratory. The Roman rite is a com

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Patronum Sanctum! Thanks to Jay, the patron saint of the Villa Magnolia has been rescued from the creeping vines and brought back to the light. This lovely bronze relief of St. Anthony of Padua graces the wall near the entrance ramp, greeting all who enter. Our patron, so famous for helping those who pray for his intercession to find lost things, is one of the elements of the genius loci of the villa, along with the snails, the pets, the bonfire,

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Civitas! Seize Community! One of the best parts of a Villa Magnolia Thanksgiving is never knowing who is going to be part of the community- the civitas - for this traditional American feast. We had around 50 dinner guests last night (I actually didn't take a head count but there was plenty of food for everyone). Another tradition we've begun is sharing something we are grateful for from this last semester in Rome. It's one of the tear-jerker momen

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe gallopavum! Seize the turkey! A beloved Thanksgiving morning tradition for Americans here in Rome is the 5K Turkey Trot around Vatican City, organized by the Pontifical North American College. After successfully completing it with my new friend Carlos from Arizona here, we captured a selfie with the Turkeyman to commemorate the day. And all before sunrise! Liturgical: Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time; Opt. Mem. of Thanksgiving

A Carpe Diem Snapshot : Carpe Crustulum! Seize the Pie! Of all the traditional dishes associated with Thanksgiving, pie tops the charts in my book. With over 50 dinner guests this year, the pie preparations began yesterday with many hands on deck. We are making the classics, apple and pumpkin, but there are other worthy options. Drool over this list her e. Liturgical : Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time By your endurance you will gain your souls. Luke 21:12-19 San

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Christum! For our final on-site Art and Architecture class, we paid our respects to the Apostle of Rome, St. Philip Neri, at the church he built, the "Chiesa Nuova," originally named Santa Maria in Vallicella , where the traditions Neri began are alive and well. Next, we venerated the relic of Mantua at the Basilica of San Salvatore in Lauro, where it is on display for the first time in history only until the end of the day. This church, too, is

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Claustrum! This quiet, graceful 13th c. cloister can be found at the basilica of St. John Lateran. When the ladies and I visited not so long ago, I was struck by its similarity to the more famous cloister at St. Paul-outside-the-walls . It was unsurprising, then, to discover that the same sculptor-architect (Vassalletto) created both, in addition to the cloister at San Lorenzo al Verano. What is very surprising, however, is that they all still exi

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Christum Regum! The feast day reminded me of this image of two very different faces of Christ from St. Paul-outside-the-walls. The first, in the center of the triumphal arch, is the Christ of judgement with the little colored clouds symbolizing the sunset of earthly time. This is the one Hannah has nicknamed "Grumpy Jesus". Once we pass through judgement and under the arch, we meet the "Handsome Jesus" at the center of the apse, warm and welcoming

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe nix! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! It began hailing on our way home from choir last night, but it was all gone in a matter of minutes. Not so for the Apennine mountains that provide the backdrop for Rome. This is the earliest snowfall on the mountains that I've seen in my 20+ years here. Perhaps this will finally be there year that we venture out into it beyond the city walls, to the delight of my snow-loving children. Liturgical: Saturd

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Angelum! Crossing Bernini's "Angel Bridge" the other day, I was only slightly surprised to find this angel posing against a backdrop of the setting sun. In these days of elaborate social media photo shoots by "normal people", it is not uncommon to happen upon all kinds of costumed individuals taking selfies or being followed by their own hired paparazzi at scenic sites in Rome. It's like Halloween or Carnival every day around here! While dressing

A Carpe Diem Snapshot : Carpe Musivum! Seize the mosaic! We were able to do just that this morning, thanks to Paolo, the director of the Vatican Mosaic Studio, who gave us a private tour of the studio that creates all the artwork in the basilica. It was a perfect follow-up from our tour of the Basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-walls on Tuesday, where we saw the 276 medallions of all the Roman Pontiffs. The studio is currently at work on the 277th, the portrait of Pope Leo

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: What a memento mori! This once famous scholar's wall tomb inscription at San Pietro in Montorio has been entirely lost to history. Only a few images to represent his accomplishments remain-- a disorderly collection of books, an inkwell, and an hourglass. The year 1568 appears to be scratched onto the cover of the book on the far right. His bust is flanked by two chubby winged cherubs and above his head is a plaque commemorating the Spanish monarch Alph

A Carpe Diem Snapshot : Buona Festa! Before the clock struck 9, our intrepid group had already been to Mass in the crypt of St. Peter's and begun class at St. Paul's! Liturgical : Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Today is the Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul. The whole Church celebrates the dedication of the two great Roman basilicas of St. Peter at the Vatican and of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls. The Basilica of St

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: The relic of Mantua has arrived! Come venerate it at San Salvatore in Lauro until the 25th of this month. Liturgical: Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”   Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God. Luke 18:35-43 Sanctoral: The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231), religi

A Carpe Diem Snapshot : Carpe Venerabilis Collegium Anglicum! This morning we went to the Venerable English College for Sunday Mass and were privileged to witness there an induction of an instituted acolyte by an archbishop! The English really have enduring style and know how to keep the beauty of liturgical tradition alive, as you can see from this photo. Plus, they have great accents. Please say a prayer for Barnabus (speaking of traditional things, how about that name

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: "...and night in its swift course was now half gone..." The end is drawing near, good reader. With an early end to the liturgical year in 2025, on November 29, and the new liturgical year beginning on the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle on November 30, Mother Church is drawing us home. Quite literally, as we approach the Winter Solstice next month, we lose a minute of daylight each day, which gives us long, dark, chilly evenings spent at home. It's no c

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe sarcophagum! Today I wandered into one of my favorite churches in Rome, San Salvatore in Lauro, where this empty coffin, draped in black velvet, was symbolically placed before the altar. November is the month during which the Universal Church prays together for the dead. It is a beautiful and dramatic memento mori addition to the church's already dramatic Baroque style. Behind the coffin, on the front of the altar, is a mother pelican carved in g

A Carpe Diem Snapshot: Carpe Constantine! He may not be a saint in the Roman rite, but he is still given a place of honor in the portico of the basilica he originally built, today referred to as St. John Lateran. The ladies of the Art and Architecture of Rome class got an earful about Constantine's complicated family relationships that influenced the course of history. Following the Lateran, we went over to Constantine's mom's place, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, the ultim

A Carpe Diem Snapshot : Carpe Ardea Cinerea! This morning Tony and I made the wise decision to take the dog for a walk in the park, where I spotted this tree aflame in autumnal glory, and this Grey Heron, soaking up the morning sunshine. In ancient Rome, this bird was a symbol of divination, its call used by the augers to foretell events. My Rome Nature Study Club is currently making a list of the flora and fauna thriving in this habitat, which is a little paradise at the