Author: Maria

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St. Maria del Popolo

A friend brought me this pretty prayer card with a lovely medal from the Basilica di S. Maria del Popolo in Rome. St. Mary of the People!

I visited Rome when I was in college, and while I saw quite a bit of the city, I missed out on having a truly Catholic experience there. I hope to one day return and visit all the churches and sites that would be meaningful to me. I think visiting this basilica would be a meaningful experience. Of course, the artwork would be a huge draw with pieces by Raphael, Bernini, and Caravaggio. But I discovered that the church has another aspect that really speaks to my desire for pilgrimage.

It’s history, or rather, legend, is pretty interesting. Apparently, at one of the primary entrances to the city was a walnut tree possessed by demons that made life impossible for travelers trying to enter Rome. It was so awful that Pope Paschal II performed an exorcism at the tree in 1009. Then he struck the root which toppled the tree and revealed the remains of Emperor Nero. They threw the remains in the Tiber and built a church on the spot where the tree was destroyed. Over time the basilica was built.

I’d like to make my pilgrimage to Rome and enter the city there, like so many pilgrims before me. Have you been to S. Maria del Popolo?

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Cracker Jack nostalgia

cracker jack prizeI used to love Cracker Jack when I was a kid. I liked the sweet popcorn, of course, but I looked forward to the prize at the bottom of the box. If I was lucky, it would be a ring or some little plastic animal that I could add to my collection.

Sometimes I’d get one of those transfer tattoos. You’d have to get the paper wet and leave it on your hand for a minute. The transfer was terrible and I usually ended up with a pink smudge on my hand for all my effort.

It was the coolest thing ever!

One of my kids left some snacks here at the house after a visit, and I helped myself to a bag of Cracker Jacks. What happened to the cardboard box? I wasn’t too disappointed, though. It tasted just like I remembered! Better, even, since I usually eat air-popped low sodium (read: bland) popcorn these days, Yummy! And there was a prize!this isn't a prize

Now you can cue the disappointment: there was no plastic prize. No ring. No little green dinosaur. I shook the bottom of the bag to loosen up the crumbs and spied a little square paper. Yes, I thought, there’s a kitschy tattoo for me! I wonder if I’ll have better luck applying it now that I’m older and have a steadier hand.

Nope. Welcome to the 21st century. It was a game to play on an app. I won — but it’s not the same.

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today’s saint: Margaret of Antioch

By https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/eb/c2/87714704108220698090c8ea3ff9.jpgGallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0033510.htmlWellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-02): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ugy4qcfd CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36610129

Today is the feast of St. Margaret of Antioch. She’s one of my favorite saints, featured in My Badass Book of Saints because, well…she’s a badass.

I love this story. Margaret was a martyr who was driven away from her home when her father discovered she was a Christian. She was arrested by the authorities and while being held, the devil came to her in the guise of a dragon. The legends states he swallowed her up, but Margaret, having a cross, used it to slay the dragon and escape her fate.

I like the idea of a dragon-slaying saint!

There were many attempts to execute her, including drowning and fire, but she survived. Finally, she was beheaded.

Interesting fact: St. Margaret was one of the saints who came to St. Joan of Arc (also in the book).

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