Underwater Discovery in Sicily

A few of the hundreds of amphoraes found in Sicily

Italian divers have discovered a 2,100-year old wreck of a Roman ship off the coast of Sicily, piled with hundreds of well-preserved amphorae, which were likely used to transport wine. The wreck is considered as one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years. The exact locality is three miles off the coast of Mazaro del Vallo, some 46 meters below the surface. Mazara del Vallo is in the south-west of  Sicily, around 50 miles south of Palermo. It is just incredible how these amphorae have survived over 2000 years without being broken, and some of them still carrying wine, obviously well-sealed. Who knows how many storms and fierce windstorms have hit the coast of Sicily throughout all these years, without damaging the amphorae. These photos show just a few of them, underwater where they were discovered by fishermen, and on display after they’ve been cleaned out.

Amphoraes displayed in a Sicilian museum

All Souls

The celebration of All Souls follows that of All Saints. Today thousands of people visit cemeteries to pay their last respects towards their loved ones. In Malta, families decorate tombstones with flowers, candles and photos. This photo shows an overview of a section of the cemetery, which, as you can see, is very crowded. Let us pray especially today for those who have left us this year, and let us also pray for their loved ones. Someone once said that for an elderly person, death is a friend to be greeted; for a middle aged person, death is a fact to be faced, and for a young person, death is an enemy to be feared. As we see so many of our friends depart from us, sometimes suddenly and unexpectedly, but let us remember some important values that we should treasure and pass on to our children... Focus on what is good, pleasing and perfect.....Be sincere in your love.....detest what is evil and cling to what is good....love one another.....show respect towards each other and rejoice in hope....be patient under trial.....persevere in prayer.....be generous in offering hospitality.....forgive or at least ignore your persecutors....rejoice with those who rejoice....weep with those who weep.....put away ambitious thoughts and associate yourself with the humble....see that your conduct is honorable.....never repay injury for injury....live at peace with everyone. Eternal rest grant unto them o Lord, and let the perpetual light shine on them.

All Saints

As we celebrate the feast of All Saints, I introduce you today to the beautiful tapestries by John Nava in the Cathedral of Los Angeles. In 1999, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles commissioned from the artist John Nava (born 1947) three cycles of tapestries for the walls of its new Cathedral, which was dedicated in 2002.They include 25 monumental tapestries representing a procession of saints of today and yesterday, famous and little-known. The resulting cortege that descends into the nave of the Cathedral is a veritable masterpiece.  John Nava includes no less than 136 saints, each one of whom he manages to render as vibrantly alive amid the faithful as they are in the company of angels in heaven. Their faces, as though woven from the complex strands of their condition as saved sinners, are striking in their human realism - so much so that, in each, the viewer feels he recognizes an acquaintance, a neighbor, a friend, a brother, a sister. (Click to enlarge these photos)

One of the aisles of the Los Angeles Cathedral