During the Last Supper, Jesus offered his disciples bread and wine, celebrating therefore the first Eucharist. Bread becomes body, wine becomes blood, in a solemn ritual that transcends every human understanding, but which has been renewed every day for thousands of years, throughout the world, in the name of infinite love: a promise of hope, salvation and freedom from sins for all men. Beyond the theological and indisputable dogma which this statement is based on, there are some lovely human curiosities we would like to explore with you.

For instance, what wine is used for Mass?

A natural wine, produced according to Article 924 of the Code of Canon Law. It can be produced by a convent or by a laic business: the important thing is that it has received permission from the curia, and meets the chemical requirements. Wine can be either white or red. For example we suggest Martinez’s mass wine, a sweet and liqueur wine produced by the historic Martinez company under the supervision of the Vicar of Fornae, with the Bishop’s permission, or the Morreale’s mass wine, also produced according to the applicable Canon Law and with The bishop of Mazara del Vallo’s permission. The choice of liqueur wines is because they’re easier to preserve.

Is it correct to mix wine and water?

Absolutely yes. In addition to the fact that it was normal to dilute the wine with water at the time of Jesus, there is also a symbolic reason. Water symbolizes the human nature of Jesus mixed with the divine one, represented by the altar wine. Furthermore, mixing water and wine reminds of Jesus who, by taking our sins on him, erases them.

Bread and wine have the same importance in the Eucharist?

Yes. The Priest is obliged to consecrate both and consume them during the celebration. If he’s a non-drinker, it can be limited to a minimum quantity of wine, or even just dip the consecrated host. Instead, the priest can decide whether to give the faithful only one of the two elements or both, since Jesus is present in both bread and wine. The choice in this case depends on the priest.

What to do if the wine falls

Consecrated wine is, in all respects, the blood of Christ, and as such sacred. It can’t be poured in vain, it absolutely can’t be thrown away, and punishment is excommunication. If there’s wine left in the cup, the celebrant must drink it. Throughout the rite, wine must be covered by a small veil, because no external body can contaminate it. If it falls accidentally, it is necessary to wash the area with water which will then be poured into the sacristy of the sacristy.

And what if a non-priest drinks wine outside the Mass?

Well, it’s wine, which could be more or less nice. What makes it special is not the taste, but its consecration. If, however, it’s drunk outside the Mass with a blasphemous purpose, the punishment is excommunication.

The wedding day is a very important, precious, and unique moment. It definitely is so for those who get married and see their dream of love coming to life with the person they chose to be their companion or partner for life. It is also for relatives and friends who are invited to take part in the celebration and party that seals this union of love.

Like every celebrations, marriage is also characterized by the presence of gifts. Gifts for the spouses, who often choose to make a wedding list, to receive help from the one who love them to furnish and decorate their new home; but not everyone follows this path, leaving friends with the task of finding the right gift for the occasion.

Gift ideas for a wedding can be of many kinds, but always need to be really special. You can opt for jewels like rings, bracelets, pendants, crosses, crucifixes. There are also wonderful religious statues depicting happy couples, porcelain or silver bas-reliefs that can adorn the house of the newlyweds with solemn and valuable icons. However, even a simple greeting card if chosen correctly and written with love, can be a precious and welcome gift suitable for all pockets.

There are also the gifts that the bride and groom offer to their guests like the bonbonnieres, memories, small items, but that will leave a precious and imperishable memory. There are all kinds and materials, for all tastes and pockets, in a square shape to hang or lean, or in the shape of a heart, drop, or leaf. Gift ideas for the wedding day can be made with metallic and silver decorations, Murano glass, silver foil or crystal inserts. Even in this case, creativity and ‘feeling‘ always win: a card or a cardboard with words of poetry or a particularly significant song for the bride will have even more value than a precious metal object. In the end and from both sides, the important thing is to put our heart on it.

The cult of Divine Mercy started rather late. It was a cult started by Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

A member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Virgin Mary of Mercy, Sister Faustina showed mystical qualities since very young age. Her diary contains many dialogues that took place over the years between her and God. Thanks to this this connection with the Lord, in addition to graces, revelations, visions, stigmata and numerous other gifts to raise her to the role of Saint.

The cult of Divine Mercy started from a vision Sister Faustina had in 1931: Jesus appeared in his cell dressed in white, with one hand raised in blessing and the other resting on his chest, from which two protruding shining rays: one pale and the other red.

Jesus explained that the pale ray represented the Water which represents the souls, and the red the blood, which is life.

The Lord ordered her to paint Him in this way and make sure the image was revered around the world. He also said that the celebration during which the image was to be blessed should take place on the first Sunday after Easter. Pope John Paul II canonized Faustina, and decreed that the Feast of Divine Mercy was to be celebrated every year on that date.

In another appearance, Jesus dictated Sister Faustina the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a devotional prayer that gives special favors to those reciting it, in particular the promise of a peaceful death. Even the worst sinners reciting once the Chaplet of Divine Mercy can find in it the last lifeline and the forgiveness of all sins. The prayer of the Divine Mercy is a heartfelt plea to Jesus, a merciful Father, ready to welcome at any time in His embrace the suffering children, ready to pick up and comfort all their troubles.

Simply recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to find relief from worries and a new intimate and profound joy to face life with.

The Council of Trento was one of the largest assemblies of bishops in history. It lasted from 1545 to 1563, its main purpose: to evaluate the impact that the Protestant Reformation was having on the Catholic Church, and discuss that. The result of this meeting was the so-called Counter-Reformation: the Catholic response to Calvinism and Lutheranism.

The arts were not spared from the consequences of this new era, especially in Southern Italy. Painters, sculptors, architects used all their skills and talent to outshine the Protestant figurative art, ultimately offering with devotion the cult of sacred images, so dear to Catholicism. The late Baroque art, which reached its highest peaks in Southern Italy, led to the production of a considerable amount of artworks, in particular of statues of the Madonna and polychrome wood sculptures of saints.

The objective of these works was to emphasize the excellence of the Roman Church, the papacy, and mostly the constant presence of these devotional figures in the life of the believers.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries we see the proliferation of timber’s sculpture, mostly depicting Mary.

Only a name among those of the artists who contributed to this artistic renaissance is worth mentioning: Giuseppe Picano, famous for the Veiled Christ in the Sansevero Chapel, which was also the author of some breathtaking woods of Immaculate Conceptions, which have been preserved to this day.

The Immaculate Conception was a favorite subject, together with the depiction of Madonnas and Child.

Ancient sources record a number of shops operating in the Kingdom of Naples in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, specialized in this type of wooden sculptures.

Frequent exchanges with Spain and the rest of Mediterranean led to the spread of these statues even outside the Italian territory. Many of these works have come down to us.

The wooden sculptures were often placed in churches, chapels, places of worship, and carried in procession during large religious demonstrations, whose opulence and splendor were almost theatrical. These processions contributed greatly to the spread of counter-reformed Catholic orthodoxy in all countries of the Christian West.

The Christ-Light axiom is one of the most recurring in the Catholic religion. From the origins of the Liturgy, light from lamps and candles was used as symbol of light of the Resurrection of Jesus: a light, which can dissipate the darkness of the darkest night.

Firstly, God created light, and throughout the Bible, this is considered as a sign of God’s presence, and manifestation of His greatness.

But it was with Jesus that the symbolic value of light obtained its most important role.

Jesus speaks of himself as the true light, and of his disciples as the light of the world, which must “shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.“ (Mt 5:16).

In particular, the great Paschal candle lit on the Easter Vigil, placed in the baptistery and brought in solemn procession, has itself a strong symbolic value.

In the darkness that characterizes the Easter Vigil, the Paschal candle is lit by the priest in order to enlighten the dark abyss where men wander, deprived of light and hope for new life. This weak flame is needed to revive the hope to the faithful ones. In the glow of the blessed candle, the faithful ones recognize themselves as the children of light, in communion with God and with their brothers. The light from these candles, and in particular the one from the Paschal candle, affects everyone present with the splendor of Christ rising from the darkness of death and defeating the evil.

The night, no longer dark but illuminated by the presence of Christ, is filled with songs of joy and hope. Every guilt is washed, every sin forgiven, in this common rebirth.

The Paschal candle should be at the center of all celebrations for the fifty days of Easter. It will be consumed, just as Jesus was “consumed” before God, by the love for men, sacrificing himself completely. His sacrifice is renewed every year by the burning of this symbol of salvation and redemption;  the smoke, going up to the sky, reminds the rise of the One who came back from the dead, to bring light and peace to men until the end of time.

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the highest and most evocative points within the Catholic Christian religion. Its symbolic and spiritual value is immense, as is the exact moment in which God held out his hand to men and gave them a second chance with the miraculous incarnation of his Son in the pure and virgin womb of Mary.

The announcement is in fact led by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary about her pregnancy. It is reported in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew (in which the Annunciation is addressed to Joseph, husband of Mary, and takes place in a dream).

That is how the adventure of Jesus among men begins, his mission of love and hope of salvation for those who will welcome his message. It is the first time in the history of religions, that a God deliberately chooses to become man, to take upon himself the burden of the flesh, and all this for a gesture of pure, absolute love.

Annunciation to Mary fulfils the alliance, as promised to the prophets in the Old Testament. The date on which we celebrate the Annunciation, March 25, was a symbolic date for Christianity and many other festivals were celebrated on this day. The dialogue between the Angel and Mary became the Hail Mary, one of the most important prayers and spread of Christianity, matched only by Our Father.

The Annunciation is not just a Marian Holiday, although over time countless works of art have been created to celebrate it. Paintings of immortal masters and Madonna statues tell the world of this miraculous moment when the Word was made flesh, and did so through a young woman of Galilee. Some of the Madonna statues depict the exact moment of Annunciation and Incarnation. They represent Mary in a humble, devoted attitude, her hands clasped in her lap or chest, while pronouncing the “fiat”, with which she will accept her destiny and will mark the destiny of all men from that moment onwards.