This is the first year in almost 20 years.

I've not been able to take pilgrims to Rome because of COVID, of course.

But one of the things I love to do when I take pilgrims there

is to teach them how to read a church.

How to read a church, you see, you don't just walk into a church, you

walk in and you encounter something, you experience something, especially these spectacular

churches in Rome and you have to know something about the symbolism and the architecture and the

colors and why it's designed this way and

there's so much in these churches that lifts up our hearts and our spirits to think

about Jesus or Mary or Joseph or the

or the heroes of the Bible, the great saints, whatever is true and good and beautiful.

You know, for example, if you go to a church like St.

Prosetis in Rome, it's a small little church, not as well known, but in this church behind the main

altar there's a spectacular mosaic and it's a depiction from revelation chapter 4 and 5, an image of the heavenly

liturgy and as image of Jesus on a throne with

the Lamb, he's the Lamb and he's worshipped by the four living creatures and there's a 24

elders symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles, and they're all

worshipping the Lamb, Jesus Christ in heaven. What an amazing image to have

before your mind, to be thinking about that's what we're destined for, the heavenly

liturgy, and not just for heaven, but right there,

imagine going to this church and you go to mass.

And if you get a little distracted at mass and you look at that, that helps you focus,

...