A Lenten Exercise: Santa Sabina

The view from the Aventine Hill toward the Vatican

Exams are finally behind us once again, and after a crazy semester, another that looks to be just as harried started on Monday. The first few days and weeks though usually aren't too overwhelming and I'm hoping to finally make good on some of my promises to get to some long-awaited and long-intended posts on the past few months. Thanks to those of you that are still reading and commenting -- I hope to be around a bit more as the second semester progresses.

Today, as you may know, is Ash Wednesday and thus the start of another season of Lent. You might remember my thoughts from last year on the season of Lent and the Roman practice of visiting various "station churches" throughout the 40 days. Each day, a different church is designated as that day's station for the inhabitants and visitors of the city as they progress toward Easter. It's an ancient practice that enjoyed popularity during the early Middle Ages and again during the days of the Reformation and counter-Reformation. The NAC community is one of the few groups who practice this collectively and we're joined most morning by various Italians and English-speaking emigrants who worship with us.

The Basilica of Santa Sabina

The apse of Santa Sabina

The Basilica of Santa Sabina is the traditional home of the Ash Wednesday liturgy. The NAC has a Mass at 7 a.m., followed shortly thereafter by the Dominicans, who are based at Santa Sabina. Finally, in the early evening, the Pope travels to Santa Sabina to celebrate Mass with guests and members of the Curia. Situated on the Aventine Hill, one of the famous "seven hills of Rome," Santa Sabina was likely built atop the home of the Roman widow Sabina, who converted to Christianity with her slave Seraphia and was martyred with her around the year 125 AD. Their relics rest beneath the main altar. The original church was built in the early 5th century though the modern church dates from the Middle Ages. The apse of the basilica features a fresco of Christ as both preacher and font of living water for the universal Church. In the wooden doors leading into the basilica is one of the oldest depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus. Martyrdom, often by crucifixion, was an imminently present reality for the early Christians, and thus such scenes were not needed or wanted in art. However, by the 5th century, Christianity was the religion of the empire and the crucifixion of Christ was seen more and more as its foundational event.

Detail of the crucifixion scene at Santa Sabina, one of the oldest in Christian art.

So that's the first of the 40 station churches. This year, I've teamed up with a few seminarian buddies and fellow bloggers to mark our progression as we make our way through the station churches and toward Easter. So, each day, we'll visit the church designated for that day, and then one of us will blog about it. The idea is to help you viewers at home get a fuller taste of what the station church practice and Lent in Rome are like. I'll try to update this blog occasionally with some of the posts that I write, but most of the daily write-ups will be on my friend Victor's blog since he came up with the idea: http://seekmeandlive.blogspot.com/. You can also check out the websites of my other friends who will be contributing: Doug (http://whatfuturedoihave.blogspot.com/); Colin (http://www.sactownseminarians.com); Dave (http://thebrotherinrome.com); Francis (http://francismarotti.blogspot.com); and Fr. Adam (http://fatherrust.blogspot.com).

I should be back soon with some details on some recent travels, visits from family, and other recent happenings. For now, enjoy the online station church guide!