Faithful Rome

Rome seems to be the capital of Christian and Catholic history, which as a Catholic I think it is a pretty big deal. I get pumped every time we go to visit a new Church or site that has Catholic roots and history. To me it makes my faith have more depth and the more I learn about the history of my faith and the ways it has changed allows my faith to grow in different ways.

To me learning about the past has helped support my faith. I think that Catholics have come a long way from what they used to be. One of the things that Catholics have come a long way on would be the pope who used to want to be basically an emperor or king rather than the leader of our faith like he is supposed to be.

When visiting the San Giovanni and Scala Santa (which are two big deals to those going on pilgrimages) the other day I felt like a big part of something inside of me had changed. These places are such big deals to a lot of people and so have been some of the other churches and sites I have been to, but yet I treated all of the past sites I have visited in the past couple of weeks just as sites and parts of class. However, with the San Giovanni and Scala Santa I just felt different when inside them and learning about them. I went up the Scala Santa which is also known as Holy Staircase. Yes, I actually went up stairs that Jesus is said to have gone up on before His trial with Pontius Pilate. How mind blown I was to be going up these stairs (notice I don’t say walking because in order to go up the stairs one must be on their knees and be praying on each of the 28 stairs). That in itself was a life changing experience.

To those who don’t have a Catholic or Christian faith can still appreciate these sites but just not in exactly the same way. There is so much history and beauty to be looked at and adored. In the San Giovanni there is a beautiful door where many go to touch St.Peters foot (which actually changed colors from so many people touching it over the years), that alone is enough for the nonChristian to appreciate. However, if they aren’t too fond of the door there was the whole inside to appreciate. From the floor to the walls to the ceiling the art and beauty just never ends. The ceiling looks like a never ending treasure chest of gold and some colors including red and green painted up there making the viewer never want to put their head down. The statues and painting that are on the walls could be stared at for days to just take in all of the details.