ROME 23/05 – Day 06: Falling apart and weird vegetables

The skies were brightening already over Rome when the sun broke the horizon at 05:58. It will set at 20:16.  The Ave Maria Bell is in the 20:30 cycle.

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It is the Feast of, as the Romans say, “San Giovanni sott’olio… St. John under oil”, which makes him sound rather more like a slab of tuna than an Apostle, Evangelist and mighty saint that he is.  There’s a story behind this which I’ll post elsewhere.

After Mass today I chatted for awhile with a long-time reader and one of the daily Mass viewers when I streaming them.   Then some breakfast at a nearby shop.  The Roman cornetto.

Be advised.  The cornetto is NOT a croissant!  And there is a Roman thing: cornetti di notte, when you’ve been out and around… late.  You can also get a maritozzo or a bomba.

Or, if you are at Campo de’ Fiori in the morning you can get one of these… cabbages?  They are next to the alien radicchio from Exomoon LV-426 (I still can’t believe no one bit on that).   No, they are not spattered with paint.  This is a kind of radicchio, I think.

The Antico Forno, where Nancy Silverton’s life changed.  That’s Diana behind the counter back there.  This morning I stopped for two slices of pizza bianca, one for caprese and one probably for a sandwich of some kind.

Just a nice view from the sacristy.  A wall full of birettas should make any Catholic happy.

I used this for Mass this morning.   There’s a detail…

The pieces are pretty worn, fraying.  The edges of the burse are going.  The maniple has a pretty big hole now.  The chasuble… meh.

It hurts just to look at that.

I had a thought while divesting.  I had already spoken to the priests here about anything they might need for a potential project for us all… donations, etc.  They need a good solemn set in white.  More on that as I wait for an estimate and complete plan.   However, how about something in the interim?  How about replacing this poor, tired old soldier of a red vestment with something new from Gammarelli, perhaps with my coat-of-arms on it (so the priests who come and go and use it will remember me at Mass).  Self-serving?  Sure.  But, it would also be a nice gesture.  And its concrete.  It’s going to get used.  Drop me a note if this is something you might be interested in doing.  HERE  Put “New Vestment” in the subject line.  And we wouldn’t have to stop at red, of course.  You should see the rough shape the black are in.

My guess is that a pianeta Romana in synthetic fabric (with arms) would be about €350 and in better damask fabric about €800.

Here is an object lesson.  A while ago I posted a photo of the pastor sweeping the floor of the sacristy.   That’s how things get done.   You see something that needs attention and, rather than grumble, you do it.   You start with small things and then see what else can be done.  For example.  I remember how the sacristy was many years ago.  It was pretty sad.  Hard even to know where to start, there was so much to do everywhere.   However, again the same pastor saw a little thing that could be done, did it, and it made a huge difference.

Behold!

Cabinet locks on the cupboards.   Before, they were dark and corroded.  The pastor got out a screwdriver, took them all off, had them gilded and put them back on.  They look great!  It looks like someone cares.

Everyone took notice.  From that point, other little projects were found and people stepped up to take care of them.

For example, this old door.  It had been hanging there all rickety and awful for years.  There is an 18th writer who described churches and their appointments called Xavier Barbier de Montault,  He describes doors like this in sacristies, with the cushioning and little pompoms.   Therefore… RESTORE!   It was done.

This is how we get things done, my friends.  Brick by brick.  A little by little.  Many hands making light work, as Sam’s ol’ gaffer used to say.   That’s how I got here in Rome: many helping hands.  For my part I can have your backs spiritually and provide a bit of daily amusement, for what it’s worth.

“Therefore, RESTORE!”

Here’s some amusement….

White to move.  Rook is hanging.   Better find something fast.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

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