Ciao everyone! I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last posted – this last week and a half has been a whirlwind of different activities and site visits. It does not seem that I have nearly enough time to see even a fraction of Rome.
The most memorable site we went to in these two days was Santa Maria Maggiore, or Saint Mary Major. It is made up of several beautiful chapels, columns, statues, and pieces of art. I truly could have stayed in that basilica for hours.
Under the altar of Santa Maria Maggiore is a reliquary holding a part of Jesus’s crib, in front of which I spent a good long while. Encased in an ornate shrine, there were two simple planks of wood – a reminder that Jesus, while fully God, was also fully man, and came from the humblest of beginnings. It was hard to believe, or even comprehend, the fact that Jesus touched the wood of that crib. There, I was put face to face with my belief and what it means to me. Is it a real relic? Does it matter if it is? But then I witnessed something awe-inspiring: a tour group, perhaps Polish, singing down into the reliquary, as if singing a lullaby to the baby Jesus. What pure faith! I only hope that, one day, I will have that strength of faith and, like a child, fully trust God and his miracles.
Before we left, I stepped into the Sforza Chapel, a space reserved for quiet prayer. I caught the tail end of a rosary and litany with the community there, and although the space was less lavishly decorated than the rest of the church, it was beautiful in its simplicity. Everything seemed to draw the eyes and spirit up – the windows letting in light at the top of the dome, the voices mingling in song above our heads, and the dedication with which those gathered prayed to Mary.
In Santa Maria Maggiore, I was humbled and in awe at its splendor, and the many artistic and architectural feats it contained. At the same time, I felt calm. Knowing that it was commissioned by the Mother Mary herself, in the fourth century, I could see the tender care that was invested in this church. Certainly, I could further develop my faith here, just as, nourished by its art and atmosphere, generations past have done.
Grisaffi Family Adventures 