Tarrying Tuesday

Now there is an old word, "Tarry".   It means to delay or stay longer.  Today I tarried.  It was a slow day. We had a class on Priestly spirituality.  In the afternoon I had to help another priest with a computer issue and proof read an article he was writing for his Diocesan Newspaper.  He was on a deadline.  I also did mundane things like clean my cell, bathroom and do the laundry.  In the evening I went with a priest over to the Casa Santa Maria where we had dinner with two priests from Trenton who are studying there and then the four of us went for a stroll annnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddd a Gelato---Of Course.  I LOVE hazelnut Gelato.  For those who know me well, you know I am not an ice cream eater but Gelato is a whole different experience.  Soft, Sensual, Creamy, lightly sweet, unusual flavors and oh so refreshing. We went to a Groms on the Piazza Navona.  Then the two of us hiked it home.

The Ben and Jerry's of Italy

After a stellar run of professors you do expect to hit a dud once in a while.  Our Class today was not all that captivating, if you get my meaning.   That was a charitable way of putting it, don't you think?  There was this nugget though, a quote from Catherine of Siena.  She had a vision of Jesus where he told her, "It is not the nails that kept me fixed to the Cross but the love I have for you".  Beautiful!  Catherine once said, "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire"  Very similar to what St. Francis De Sales admonished, "Be who you are and be that perfectly well".

St. Catherine of Siena

 I bet you did not know I was a Rose expert did you?  Well I am, an amateur one.  I used to give Rose talks for the Master Gardeners Association. A little trivia.  Well the Roman's loved Roses.  They called the Rose the "Queen of the Flowers".  Where ever the Roman Legions went they carried with them Rose Bushes.  The City of Rome was once covered in Rose bushes in antiquity.  They also brought back to Rome any Rose they found and cultivate as well as hybridized them.  Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, knew this and when the Emperor came to Egypt it is said she filled her chamber to half full with Rose petals.  Here are some lovely Roman Roses still blooming strong in October.  It is still quite warm here (78-85 degrees) and of course humid!