All Categories - A Cottage by the Sea

Praying for everyone in every church in Rome

9/15/2019

Three more churches yesterday morning, and the count was up to ten. Sant’ Agnese fuori le Mura and Santa Costanza are in the same complex outside the walls. Outside the walls because Sant’ Agnese has as a catacomb, where early Christians were buried. Rome had a policy that no one could be buried inside the city. Then to gaze at Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria. I’m glad I had my bus pass. In the afternoon I found myself praying for me in seven more churches. As of last night the count is up to twenty.
     My intention to pray for peace in churches has me aware of all the people I pass along the streets. The sheer numbers, the multiple skin colors, body sizes, ages, languages. I am not other; I am one of them. Our uniqueness makes us one.
      And then there are the obviously loving people, most likely parents, who accompany their children with special needs. At the altar at the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano a mom was supporting her adult son who was draped on her. As he drooled, she wiped his mouth. Then they walked on, arm in arm.
     As I sit in this little park in the early morning it comes over me that regardless of what praying for peace means to each of us, when we think peace we become aware of the equanimity between all people. In wanting peace for myself, I have to want it for everyone.

Cloister of San Giovanni in Laterano

9/13/2019

My getting-to-Rome plan went well--first cappuccino, bus pass and bus ride. So far I’ve prayed for peace in eight churches and today isn’t even over. However, I’ve ditched my goal to visit 100 of them. Most likely it would be impossible, and it would definitely be nonsensical. I’d just be rushing in and out, snapping a picture and adding the name to my list.
In order to reach my 100 church goal, I would have missed visiting the cloister at San Giovanni in Laterano, the official papal church, and before the ceremony was moved to St. Peter’s in the mid 1800s, where popes were inaugurated.
Another change of plans. I’m not lighting a candle in every church. I always say a prayer and sometimes give to someone in need waiting near the entrance. I know some of these people are homeless because their bedding is set up right there (I don’t take photos).

First cappuccino

9/13/2019

First churches of the trip. Visited five yesterday. Off now to my favorite, San Clemente.

Off to Italy

9/11/2019

I fly to Rome tonight. I’ve flown on 9/11 before and have never considered the date when making the reservation. I don’t give it much attention today, at least not in any worrisome kind of way. I lead my life as best I can; I try to be cautious and sensible. That’s it.
As I write this I smile. There’s a good chance there will be no crowds; I will walk through the check-in and security lines with ease. And the ease will continue.
Here’s my plan, which I love anticipating. I have a direct flight to Rome. I know how to maneuver through the Fiumicino Airport to catch the train to Rome Termini where I will grab my first cappuccino of the trip. I’ll purchase a week-long bus pass and either take a bus or taxi to my hotel that is on a major bus line right in the center of everything. I’ll check in, take a forty minute nap, and out I’ll go. I’ll stop at the first church I come to and light a candle for world peace. My goal is to light a candle for peace in at least 100 of Rome’s 900 churches. Very grateful.

Getting ready to get away

9/5/2019

I haven’t had much silence, solitude or simplicity in my life lately. Well, that not really true, but it feels like that. Maybe it is they eye drop regiment to heal my eyes after the two cataract surgeries? Maybe it was meeting my daughter for a get-away-night? Maybe it was anticipation of my solitary trip to Italy next week?
Things feel calmer today as I begin to check a few things off my mental list--people to contact and visit, meals to leave in the freezer for my husband, and of course, packing. No question, preparing for any vacation is physically, emotionally and mentally time consuming. But it’s worth it. For two weeks I won’t have to answer to anyone other than an email response.

Very grateful for cataract surgery

8/30/2019

Cataract surgery is complete; right and left eyes done. The world is bright, each leaf has a distinctive shape, and I can read and work on a jigsaw puzzle without glasses. This means no glasses for driving; thankfully my license agrees. In the evening I need a stronger reading light, but I can fine one around the house.
I am very grateful that Medicare pays for this and that I can afford the extra for the corrective lens. I am very grateful that I live in a country and state with state-of-the-art medical technology and doctors. I am very grateful that some of these doctors join Doctors Without Borders and perform cataract surgery for people around the world.

Solitude in Italy--again

8/27/2019

My need for an extensive period of solitude is emerging just at the right time. I make my Italy plans at least four months before I think I’ll be ready for the change of pace, and then as the departure date looms, I always say, “Yes, it is time.”
    Don’t get me wrong. My wonderful life is full of solitude. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: one of the reasons I love getting off for two weeks of solitary travel is that I have good things in place in my life--friends and family, health, and church community. For many, the amount of solitude I have at home would be enough. But for some reason, I love the day after day of truly being alone.
     “You must meet interesting people when you travel,” a friend commented.
      “No, I don’t. Maybe once or twice I chat with someone at the table next to me at a restaurant, and every fall I spend one day either in Rome or Florence with long time friends. That’s about it.
      Off I go on September 11; six nights in Rome, and eight in Florence. Home on the 26th. Very grateful.

Staying out of organization

8/24/2019

Every so often I have to remind myself to ‘stay out of organization.’ I came up with that phrase when I retired from teaching, and although I still stand by it, there are times when I get too involved in everyday life, and bingo, I am reminded again.
Every morning last week I helped out at the Vacation Bible School (the theme was Please won’t you be my neighbor?) at church by participating in a skit about the Bible story of the day. By Friday I knew that the daily routine had trust me into organization and depleted me from the morning solitude that centers and balances me. I’m glad I was involved, and I’m glad I was reminded to be attentive: I may step into organization from time to time, but that is not my chosen modus operandi these days, and I can always step out.

Solitude at Lake Dunmore

8/19/2019

We spend the weekend at a cottage-by-the-lake, not a cottage-by-the-sea. I’m drawn more to the ocean than to inland water, but I must be very grateful to have opportunities to enjoy silence, solitude, and simplicity at both. Here’s a second-hand opportunity to sit by Lake Dunmore in Vermont.

My ten year old blog

8/14/2019

The other day I received an email from a women who had randomly come across my blog. She asked if there was a way to follow it through a link that would let her know when I had posted. My short answer was no.
    But that got me thinking about the nuances involved in keeping up a blog. I started this blog in 2009 during one of my first days at the cottage by the sea. This fall will be the blog’s tenth anniversary. I’ve been quite consistent in posting, and feel it is still vibrant, well, as vibrant as I want it to be.
    I used to offer a daily quote, but that feature now appears every other day. I post every few days, sometimes less often, and usually every day when I’m traveling. I’ve added “Compassionate Reading,” “Secrets of an Old Woman,” and “A Solitary Traveler.”
     The blog is what I want it to be; I feel very little pressure to post. Rather, I post because I have something to say, and I trust that my thoughts support others. I say trust, because I don’t often hear from my readers, as I did Susan. I deeply appreciated the affirmation, but what keeps me going is deeply knowing that my readers and I are benefitting from the silence, solitude, and simplicity that we are experiencing together. I don’t know who most of you are, but I am given the statistic that last week I had 1,798 ‘unique visitors’—whatever than precisely means!!