Ash Wednesday in Roma!

Kerry and I headed out to Ash Wednesday Service that the school had arranged for us with a church nearby school, St. Dorothy’s. We got there pretty early and the priest opened the door and ushered us in. We were the first ones there and he asked us if we would be willing to do the readings. I have to admit I was a little shocked but we agreed and he explained in the English he knew. He was so happy that we were there, and ecstatic about the Lenten season. It was different to see, I think the excitement may have been because we were American students and he got to use English. I don’t know I just don’t think I have ever seen a priest that excited to do a service. We took our seats and more students began to trickle in as it got closer to 1:30. The service began and we did our readings and then it came time to receive the ashes. We stood up and processed to the front. I received mine and it was different than the U.S. He sprinkled the ashes over our head and said the words completely different. He said something to the just of Let the gospel guide you through the Lenten season. It was pretty confusing. We sat back down and the rest of the service went as normal. At the end the priest dismissed us and gave Kerry and I a warm handshake as we returned the readings to him. It was an amazing experience. Who would have thought that I would have lectured at a church in Rome! We left and headed back home and decided to stop at Café della Arance. We always see people with huge blood-orange drinks so we sat down to have one. It was literally the BEST fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever had. We looked at our lives and decided this was it, pretty much on top of the mountain as good as it gets. We were sitting in Piazza Santa Maria, one of the famous churches of Rome, drinking blood-orange juice and had just lectured at Ash Wednesday mass. It was a pretty impressive day. We asked for the check and were shocked when we learned that each drink cost us 7 Euro. I wasn’t too upset though. It had been worth it just to enjoy our time in the sun and the beautiful Rome weather. We paid the bill and headed back to the apartment.