Can I get an alleluia?!

First of all, HAPPY EASTER! It has been such a beautiful and fulfilling week here. It was jam packed with awesome liturgies and opportunities to grow deeper in my faith. I am exhausted though, after a wonderful day with mass and time with the Goerdt's, it seems fitting that my 'Easter dinner' consisted of potato chips and fanta in my bed. 

Something I learned about myself:

Some lessons are tougher than others. . .Remember that time I wrote about how I spilt coffee in my bed?  One would think that I learned my lesson about trying to do semi-difficult activities in the comfort of one’s bed, BUT apparently not. As I was harmlessly trying to paint my nails while laying in bed, all the sudden I saw my life flash before my eyes. Well, that might be a bit overdramatic, but I spilt an embarrassing amount of nail polish down the middle of my brand new dress. After I screamed rather loudly, I went in to survival mode (which is of course what one does when something of this magnitude happens) and came up with a solution. I cracked out my sewing kit for the first time this semester, sewed part of the front of it together, and averted any major crisis.

Can you even tell? 

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Polpettone. So darn good. Ellie and the Goerdt’s are saints and in some miraculous way weren’t sick of me after my wonderful weekend visiting them in Holland a few weeks ago and stayed in Rome for a few days before they went off on their Easter break trip. We were able to spend some wonderful time together and lots of delicious meals, which I’m grateful for. Anyways. Our Easter lunch was a sheer delight, made all the better by my delicious polpettone. Polpettone is basically Italian meatloaf, but more delicious. And this is coming from the girl who hardly EVER orders meat by choice. I also tried octopus for the first time. But I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it. . .

YUM.

An Adventure I Went On:

One of the things that I am in awe of every day while in this city is its rich tradition. *Cue Fiddler on the Roof Music here* For this year’s Holy Week festivities, there were so many opportunities to not only further enter into the unifying events of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, but further immerse myself in some of the cities richest traditions.  After Holy Thursday mass at the Venerable English College (yes, mass is so much better with a british accent), a group of us set off on one of the city’s oldest traditions of visiting seven different altars of repose. These are the special altars in each Church where the consecrated hosts are reserved for mass the next day. For several hours after mass, one has the opportunity to visit this altar and pray in a special way. Or, if you’re lucky enough to be in Rome, you can go visit several different altars of repose in different churches throughout the city. It was such a beautiful opportunity to be in community with others throughout the city that were participating in the same way, and truly something I won’t forget. This proved to be only slightly more entertaining than Saturday evening’s Easter Vigil at the British Seminary where the night ended with prosecco, cake, and me asking a British priest if I could use their pool.

Not nearly as beautiful as the Altars of Repose,
but it will have to do. 

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

If I could write a book called “Crazy People and Things That You See at the Vatican”, I would. It would be a best-seller right up their with “Crazy Things That People Will do for a Seat”. I mean, come ON people!! Some highlights of the weekend include:

1.     1. Homegirl dropping the f-bomb in St. Peter’s Basilica because someone tried to take her seat. It took EVERY ounce of strength I had to not run up to her.

2.     2. This guy that was clearly nervous about missing an opportunity to take some pictures. . .

I've gotta commend him for his ingenuity. 

3.     3. Never have I ever thought I would appreciate normal, black clerics as much as I do now. Because every once in a while, you see priests dressed like this. Whhaaaaa.

I mean have you ever seen anything like this??

Most importantly, the Easter Mass with Pope Benedict this morning ended with him giving a blessing 'to the city and to the world'. There were explicit announcements before the blessing that the Holy Father's blessing contains a plenary indulgence for all who participate with him, including those who view it through 'new media'. How cool is that? I know it is in Latin, but if you would like, pray on!