In the morning we visited the Basilica Papale San Paolo (St Pauls outside the walls) having been here many times, I’m still always blown away by the scale of the place.
This Basilica was founded by the Emperor Constantine I and consecrated all the way back in 324 by Pope Sylvester.
It was eventually enlarged by several popes over hundreds of years, it even witnessed severe damage by Saracens in the 9th century who had been ravishing the Italian coast for some time.
It was damaged again in 1823 by a carless worker who started a fire, thankfully it wasn’t an earlier incarnation of what happened to the great cathedral of Notre Dame.
Of course, we stopped in the centre of the cathedral were St Pauls relics are held, we prayed for his intercession, he would have chastised many of the current crop of Cardinals with a ferocity they are surely in need of.
While passing the small chapels we noticed in the chapel of St Benedict a service in Chinese was taking place, made me think of what I had been discussing that day with friends in regards to the atrocious betrayal of the Chinese church by the Vatican, in a deal which has signed the death warrant of the Roman church in China, a deal the disgraced McCarrick is rumoured to have played a large role in.
I would ask that everyone remembers our brothers and sisters in China, who right now keeping to the faith face persecution on a scale that wouldn’t be unfamiliar to the Christians of Rome in the early days of the church. The deal with the Vatican has allowed for the banning of children in church, the removal of all imagery of Christ as well as surveillance of all services which will lead to the imprisonment and death of countless Christians.
We had coffee with some friends also here for various conferences surrounding the Synod and then lunch with another group, it is very heartening to see the dedication that so many Catholic laity have. As one lady said to me, “this will most likely be the generation of the laity” not a generation pridefully taking over from the clergy as the modernists would encourage, of self-aggrandisement but of sacrifice by the laity in support of the few brave clergy willing to do Gods will, we will have to defend the church as so many great members of the laity have done before. Look to the example of St Thomas More who went to his death with such honour and love of Christ he inspired thousands more to resist.
We finished the evening with a Rosary in the church of our lady of victory fitting as it was her feast day. The amount of beautiful churches in Rome never ceases to amaze me. How the faithful could loose there way I don’t know, all I can think is that the noise, confusion and dumbing down of the education system must have seeped its way in here in Italy I wouldn’t say to the same degree as the UK as Italians have the Catholic culture alive to greater degree. None the less even though we Catholics are a small group we must not loose hope, the Catholics of the early church started out small they resisted the empire and eventually the change it, eventually taking over, I would say humanely we are past the point of no return, but with God all is possible, with prayers, a love of Christ burning in our heart and the Holy Ghost anything is possible.
Have hope we know from holy scripture that nothing will assail the church.
St Peter & St Paul Pray for us
God Love you
CC