Wow wow

Wow. Can I just say that today has been one of the coolest in my Dominican-loving life? My friend Marie and I decided that today was a fine day to go up to the Aventine hill, as she had never been up there before - and I of course, always love showing off my beloved Domnican church of Santa Sabina (ok, the keyhole and the pretty park are both pretty nice too). So we went up there a little afternoon, and after spending some time relaxing in the park while waiting for the church to reopen after riposo ("nap time" for the Italians I think) we visited Santa Sabina for awhile. It was great, of course, as I've said here often enough before.

So then, we go to the marvelous Dominican gift shop, where my favorite Dominican is working the shop (he's a hilarious French priest, never in habt, but nonetheless, a great chap and real friendly - Fr. Benoit. He kept saying "wow wow" all the time, thus this post title :) and after browsing for a bit we go up to pay and such. The rumor mill had tipped us that if you ask nicely of the Dominican on duty, it's possible that you can obtain Dominican relics (yes - at the "gift shop"). So, me being me, I ask. And? I now have first class relics of St. Dominic, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Peter Martyr. Wow.

It doesn't end there. (But, of course, that in itself was incredibly amazing, and I feel so blessed!) After this, Fr. asked us if we were "in a hurry" - nope, we said, why? Well, he was about to take a French couple on a tour of the cells of St. Dominic himself, and of St. Pope Pius V (who lived there)!! This, in actuality, turned out to be an entire tour of basically the whole monastery area! Dominic's orange tree, the old chapter room (now a chapel), refectory, cloister, old cells (now offices for the Master General), even the current living cells (just long enough to see the difference between the original height of the 13th century doors compared to the 15th century ones :) There is even a very cool "peep window" on the upper floor that opens out onto the inside of the basilica of Santa Sabina itself - from the upper levels, a bird's eye view!

Good news - not only were photos allowed, but encouraged (in the chapter room chapel, on the altar, was a new huge reliquary containing a large part of the skull of St. Dominic, straight from Bologna and waiting to be delivered to the nuns up at Monte Mario - Fr. Benoit was like "please, please, take photos" and moving candlesticks out of the way so as to give us a better shot - I guess they're pretty proud of this one, it was a very nice reliquary!)

It is too late for me now to put up photos tonight, and tomorrow is going to be a crazy day - but... they will appear here, I promise!

Don't forget - it's the feast day of Apostles Sts. Philip and James tomorrow (and they are both buried here in Rome at the Santi XII Apostoli church... I'll be there, praying for you all).

St. Athanasius, pray for us!
Sts. Philip and James - pray for us!
Sts. Dominic, Catherine of Siena, and Peter Martyr, pray for us!