In Umbris Sancti Petri

This post really falls far from my recent and more philosophical ones, but I had the coolest experience today. Rome is full of surprises, and I was the recipient of a couple all in the course of a few short minutes.

I was on my way over to St. Peter's today to visit the basilica (something I definitely don't put enough time into on a regular basis), and I happened to pass a girl and her little son sitting in the tunnel to the parking garage, begging for money. It's not really that unusual to see, and I've taken to trying to start a little conversation with most of them, if I can, instead of just simply walking by them. As a seminarian, I don't have much money to give, but I do have a few months of Italian at my disposal, so taking a minute to talk is something I can do.

Anyway, I asked if I could sit down and talk and she said, "sure." So, for a few minutes I talked with her and her little boy, who I found out was about a year-and-a-half old. While I was sitting there talking, another man walked by and offered the girl a bag of "cheese curls," which she accepted gratefully. It must have been providence because Mario, her son, was getting a little restless and obviously needed a snack. So, she opened the bag and gave him a few. Well, no sooner had he eaten one or two than he was offering me some of his cheese curls! Imagine my surprise when the poor little boy, whose mother dragged him out into the streets everyday to beg for money, was offering me some of his beloved snack.

I suppose I can't really say much to describe what I'm trying to convey here; I was profoundly humbled by the selfless love of a little boy and his mother, themselves intensely humbled by begging in the parking garage day in and day out. Mother Teresa's words came to mind while writing this post: God desires us not to "do great things, but to do little things with great love." Mario definitely showed me that today.