JoAnn Saccato

Mindful Impressions

  • Home
  • Events
    • Ongoing
    • Free Workshops
    • Mindful Resilience Course
    • A six week introductory course in mindfulness
    • Half Day Retreats
    • Full Day Retreats
    • Self-paced opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Working with JoAnn
  • Blog
  • About
  • Books
  • Donate
  • Tambo Elephant Fund
  • About Mindfulness
  • Contact

1/17/2020

Insights from Italy: Stay Open to the Blessing (Pt. II)

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
Caroli Crivelli's Madonna and Child painting, 1482. Vatican Museum, Vatican City. December 23, 2019.

The Vatican museums contain some 70,000+ objects of which only 20,000 are on display. That's an immense amount of treasures! We chose to visit the museum on the same day we retrieved our tickets for the Christmas Eve mass and needless to say, we were overwhelmed!

If the museums are, as the official website notes, to evangelize through art, then they far surpass this task. The intention with art, according to their site, is to promote not only the beauty of a spiritual life, but also the stories. Through time not all could read, but all could be moved by depictions of stories whether through paint or sculpture.

Great works of all sorts were commissioned to 'spread the news' to all walks of life, particularly the poor and illiterate.

In Papa Francesco's* terms, "...the poor are at the centre of the Gospel, which is the greatest thing we have; they are the privileged recipients of divine mercy. If we remove the poor from the Gospel, it no longer makes sense."(1)

____________________


So, on another note, I have a confession to make...


"...the poor are at the centre of the Gospel, which is the greatest thing we have; they are the privileged recipients of divine mercy. If we remove the poor from the Gospel, it no longer makes sense." ~ Papa Francesco (Pope Francis)

*Papa Francesco is the term used to refer to the current pope, Pope Francis.

(1) http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/musei-del-papa/missione.html
I have a confession to make. I have, on occasion, taken communion during mass without having gone through the formal process of confessing to a priest and doing acts of contrition or penance, as is laid down in the rules of the Catholic tradition.

In 12-step recovery, we are asked to admit to God, ourselves and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. This I have done, and continue to do as wrongs are revealed. I have an intimate, ongoing relationship with this "power greater than myself which some call God."

The few times I had taken communion without the formality of confession to a priest, I knew in my heart I had a clean slate with God and was ready to receive the holy nature of Christ into my being, as is the belief for the communion ritual.

I chose to take part in my first 'formal' confession in St. Peter's Cathedral, prior to the Lord's Christmas service on Christmas Eve. I was somewhat nonchalant about it, feeling it was a perfectly natural and yet an important thing to do.

In the larger cathedrals that are usually filled with tourists with their jaws dropped at the stunning art, there are usually side chapels reserved for Catholics to perform their prayers and rituals undisturbed. These areas are sometimes cordoned off and overseen to keep the area sanctified for prayer and practice.

While in the cathedral, Jim and I sat in silent prayer and meditation in a side chapel and then I went into the closed off section where numerous ornate confessionals were arranged.
Picture
Confessional. Note the sign which denotes the schedule and languages available. Also note the astounding sculptures just beyond. St. Peter's Basilica, December 13, 2019.
'I was somewhat nonchalant about it, feeling it was a perfectly natural and yet an important thing to do.'
Picture
Designed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the baldachin at St. Peter's Cathedral is directly under the dome of the basilica. In its Baroque magnificence, it was intended to mark the place of Saint Peter's tomb underneath. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. December 12, 2019.

It's humbling just walking through the Cathedral, even with thousands of others viewing the invaluable treasures with me. It's even more humbling walking through a near empty section without a guide learning for the first time how the confession process works in a country where I don't even speak the language.

As I peaked around the first confessional, I noticed a schedule that included the language spoken as well as the days and times it was 'open'. I found one that could accommodate the English language and was open and found my way to the kneeler. As I knelt down I gave the sign of the cross with my rosary in hand (a rosary that my brother  brought back from his last visit to the Vatican) as is custom, and took a mindfulness moment before speaking the familiar phrase, "Forgive me Father for I have sinned."

"Yes, go on."

"While I have spoke many times directly with God," I hesitated and stuttered, "I have a close relationship with the divine, but this is my first formal confession."

I could hear the priest choke back a bit, "Your first? Oh, uh, well here is a brochure to help you." And through the privacy screen I was handed "The Sacrament of Confession: A guide for adults" pamphlet in English.

"Oh, thank you." I offered, and not feeling comfortable reading it while in the confessional with him, I went on to speak my truth about the things that were currently troubling with my behavior, "I feel I don't always prioritize the relationship with the sacred and God in my life." I continued on including the challenges I have with our current president in the U.S. and the difficulty with his followers.


"I see. Do you wish them harm?"

"No, no. I just wish the harm in our name would stop and he would be removed from power so the damage he is creating could stop."

I hadn't realized how much this situation had been weighing on my heart, but really, a lot of my time since his election has been spent in despair and anger.

After a while of heartfelt disclosure, I ended with, "and of course I'd like to be prepared to take communion during the Christmas Eve mass."

The priest responded simply, "Of course. Of course. Well, stay open to receive the blessing of Papa Francesco. Just stay open to receive the blessing during the service."

"Oh. Okay," I stuttered taken aback. Surely next I was going to receive a litany of 'Hail Marys' and other prayers to recite for penance.

"Do you know the Lord's Prayer?"

"Yes."

"Say one Lord's Prayer."

"Oh, okay, thank you. Thank you."

I went on to recite the prayer and then just sat for a while outside the confessional, near the grand baldachin drinking it all in.
'Stay open to receive the blessing of Papa Francesco. Just stay open to receive the blessing during the service.'

"What?! You got only one Lord's Prayer?!" Jim said incredulously.

I kinda laughed, "Yeah, why?"

Having received confirmation and being well versed in the usual acts of contrition, which included reciting the rosary or other prayers numerous times depending on the severity of the sin, Jim was astounded that was all I had to do.

"Oh," I said sheepishly shrugging my shoulders.

We both laughed our way onto the next task which was to retrieve our tickets for the Holy Mass.

(To be continued.)
Picture
JoAnn Saccato, MA, is a certified teacher with the Mindfulness Training Institute, life coach, author and consultant. She is the author of Companioning the Sacred Journey: A Guide to Creating a Compassionate Container for Your Spiritual Practice and Mindful and Intentional Living: A Path to Peace Clarity and Freedom.

Mindfulness is an umbrella term used for a large body of popular health and wellness practices based on purposefully bringing a curious, kind and non-judgmental attention to moment by moment experience. It is a scientifically proven approach that helps reduce stress and stress-related illnesses, increase focus and attention, decrease incidences of and relapses with depression, reduce anxiety, reduce relapses in addiction, and aids in sleep and digestive disorders. It has also been shown to increase well being, life satisfaction and happiness, as well as improved social relationships.

You can reach JoAnn at [email protected]. To follow her visit: www.MindfulAndIntentionalLiving.com

Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to Mindful Enews

    * indicates required

     Subscribe in a reader

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All
    3 Rs
    Alan Watts
    Amygdala
    Anger
    Anxiety
    Appreciation
    Asia
    Attention
    Autumn
    Backpacking
    Bear Encounters
    Bill Phillips
    Black Lives Matter
    Boggs Demonstration Forest
    Breath Awareness
    Buddha
    Buddhism
    Buddhist
    California
    California H.O.P.E.
    Carl Stewart
    Change
    Cobb
    Cobb Mountain
    Commitment
    Community
    Community Resiliency
    Companion Circle
    Compassion
    Compassionate Container
    Compassion Based Mindfulness
    Compassion-based Mindfulness
    Compassion-based Practices
    Death
    Democracy
    Depression
    Detox
    Disaster Resiliency
    Disaster Response
    Divine Mystery
    Dr. Rick Hanson
    Elephant Nature Park
    Elephants
    Elephant Valley Thailand
    Equanimity
    Fight
    Fire
    Flight Or Freeze
    Generosity
    Gratitude
    Greta Mae
    Happiness
    Home
    Hot Springs
    Humility
    Inner Peace
    Intention
    Intention Vs. Expectation
    Italy
    #JerusalemFire
    Jim Leonardis
    JoAnn Saccato
    John Muir Trail
    Kelly McGonigal
    Kindness
    Lake County
    Lake Family Resource Center's California HOPE Project
    Layna Joy
    Lek Chailert
    Life
    Loss
    Lost Coast
    Loving Kindness
    Meditation
    Meditator Of Convenience
    Mendocino Complex Fire
    Millennials
    Mindful And Intentional Living
    Mindful Eating
    Mindfulness
    Myanmar
    Nathan DeHart
    Negativity Bias
    Neuroscience
    Oxytocin
    Pacific Crest Trail
    Passion
    Peace
    Philosophy
    Poetry
    Politics
    Pre-frontal Cortex
    Raven's Haven
    Reflection
    Resiliency
    #RockyFire
    Sacred
    Sacredness
    Sangita Iyer
    Setting Intention
    Shylila Lassie Moon
    Sleep
    Sleep Difficulties
    Soothing Touch
    Stress
    Stress-related Illness
    Stress Response
    TED Talks
    Thailand
    Thai Massage
    The Wisdom Of Insecurity
    Touch
    Travel
    Tree
    Tri Uplifting
    Trust
    #ValleyFire
    Valley Fire
    Vicki Crystal
    Violence
    Vision Statements
    Voice For Asian Elephants Society
    Walter Robinson
    Women
    World Peace
    Yosemite

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Events
    • Ongoing
    • Free Workshops
    • Mindful Resilience Course
    • A six week introductory course in mindfulness
    • Half Day Retreats
    • Full Day Retreats
    • Self-paced opportunities
    • Scholarships
  • Working with JoAnn
  • Blog
  • About
  • Books
  • Donate
  • Tambo Elephant Fund
  • About Mindfulness
  • Contact