Virginia at the catacombs

Today on our honeymoon we visited the catacombs in Rome. I have a short video telling about the catacombs below, but first just a few comments.

The early Catholics decorated the walls of the catacombs with paintings and prayers. What is one painting we saw several of? Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

Do you remember the favorite Psalm of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton? It was Psalm 23, the “Lord is my Shepherd” Psalm. It was her favorite Psalm because it helped her to trust Jesus and not be afraid. I think the Catholics who had to hide their Faith from the Romans who often persecuted them probably repeated this Psalm a lot for that reason, too.

Moms: This is a great Psalm to comfort children! It is very short and easy to memorize, even for little children, especially if you download these coloring pages to help them learn it. They are from the coloring book for the “Be Children of the Church!” Glory Story about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (download 32 coloring pages here or get the printed coloring book here). (Oh: here’s the link to the audio CD Glory Story here!)

We visited the catacombs of Saint Callixtus (here’s a link to a short guide from the Vatican). Many Popes of the 3rd century were buried there. Here’s another link that even has a picture of a Good Shepherd fresco from the 200’s AD.

One of the most interesting things is that is where Saint Cecilia was originally buried! She is the patron saint of musicians and had a very exciting story. In 1599 they opened up her crypt and she was incorrupt, looking just as she had when she was killed over 1,000 years before. Today we saw the very famous statue of her as they found her then.

My dad made the “Saint of the Catacombs” Glory Story of Saint Cecilia a special $2.99 download>>you can get it here and listen & learn all about her and the catacombs today! Or click on the image to the right to get the audio CD which has not only her story but also includes: (a) “I want to be a Christian!” the story of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and (b) a bonus track interview my sisters, Clara and Margaret, did with Jake Finkbonner and his mother about his miraculous cure which was the miracle that made Saint Kateri a saint!

So, I hope I’ve whetted your appetite to learn about the catacombs and stories of the early Catholics! Now watch the short video below.

Next stop: Fatima!!

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Virginia

Virginia has her M.A. in Counseling and currently works as a therapist at a Catholic counseling agency, specializing in working with children (and their parents), teenage girls, and mothers. She also gets some very "hands-on" experience parenting her two young children - who have become Holy Heroes fans! As the eldest of the "Adventure Guides," she has played a big part in developing so many Holy Heroes products and adventures. She wrote the scripts for lots of "Adventure" videos, as well as writing and directing the first "Inside the Sacraments" video (The Holy Eucharist). She wrote Glory Stories Volume 8, "Best-loved Catholic Prayers and Prayers of the Mass," and Volume 13, "Secrets from Heaven - The Story of the Children of Fatima" (her favorite!). Most recently, she co-created the Holy Heroes Spiritual Adoption Adventure with her former college roommate. She continues to enjoy blogging for Holy Heroes.