Rome trip

Last October I went to Rome for a week, it was a terrific holiday and I really loved Rome. If you haven't been do go - I recommend the Pantheon.

Anyway, this is by way of background to what I actually wanted to say. The first few days we went around several of the large Basilicas, and I became increasingly disconsolate about them. They were very ornate and impressive, but I felt very little sense of the holy in them, they were like museums and tourist attractions rather than places of worship.

As part of my reason for going to Rome was to re-charge my spiritual batteries, you can imagine that this was a bit of a let down.

Towards the end of the week we went to St Peter's itself, and I didn't expect anything different, I walked into the Church and at first felt nothing, but then I found my way into a side chapel where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. Lots of people were praying, and I joined them. I spent half an hour there talking to Jesus and it was so wonderful, it made all the difference, when I came out of the side chapel and started looking around the rest of the Basilica it was with very different eyes. To feel God's peace and grace and love is a powerful thing, of course it doesn't last, we have to come down the mountain, but while we're up there... There's nothing like it.