Today we made our way outside of the city wall of Rome to the Catacombs of S. Callisto (description also from Wikipedia), S. Callisto being Saint Callixtus. The catacombs (meaning "near the hollow," as in hollowed-out ground) are an ancient underground burial structure for early century Christians. Lost for centuries, they were re-discovered by Giovanni Battista de Rossi in the mid-1800s. There are many, many, many (now empty) tombs in these catacombs, along with miles of walking paths. I'm sure this would have been an impressive sight in its full glory. The tombs would have been sealed with stone slabs with engravings of the name (if known) of the deceased along with some other description, almost assuredly including a reference to the deceased's Christian faith. Along with air shafts (to remove dirt and provide a source of air), there would have been sweet-smelling oils to not only combat the stench of death but to remind the living visitors of the fragrant odor of Christ's victory over death.
We celebrated the Eucharist in one of the larger rooms with tombs. Dn. Marcus Milless preached on the stench of death -- palpable in the catacombs' heyday -- and paralleled that with the stench of sin, and the sweet-smelling oils and paralleled that with the fragrance of Christian charity rooted in the Trinitarian love revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
No pictures are available of the catacombs, as photographs were not allowed, but you can find some online if you search for them.
Tomorrow we are privileged to pray Vespers (evening prayer) with the Pope! We will be at S. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, fitting, since we are far removed from the walls of S. Paul, Minn.
Post by Dn. Grant Gerlach.
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