Sitting on the belvedere of Santa Sabina, watching the sun go down over the Vatican, sharing a glass of Amaro with an old Dominican friend, Mike O'Rourke. As we watch the beauty of the scene unfold, our conversation revolves around computers, network routers, and database programming; but there is still time to talk about life, mission, ministry, meaning, and how all that is shaping up for each of us, for the Dominicans, and for the church. A lot to talk about. Good thing a glass of Amaro lasts a long time, as does a Roman sunset.
In this photo the sun had set but the city had not noticed yet. Street lights had yet to come on, leaving the city in deepening darkness as the sky glowed orange. As the city turned into a two dimensional shadow, the dome of the Vatican became an arrow pointing to the sky and the beauty of the sunset.
It occurred to me that this is the church at her best. Not a magnificent basilica, nor even a sheltering dome protecting the faithful, but a pointer to God's presence in the world.
Santa Sabina is our medieval monastery given to St. Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, as our international headquarters by Pope Honorius III in 1218. It is across the Tiber from the Vatican, on one of the ancient seven hill of Rome, the Aventine, just up from the Circus Maximus. "Nice Location" doesn't quite capture it. The belvedere is a balcony, in this case hovering over the Tiber with a commanding view of the city of Rome.