Father Morelli was in the sanctuary praying when Genet walked in. She stopped, not wanting to disturb him and waited. Twenty minutes later, he turned and saw her standing there. He slipped the Rosary into the pocket of his cassock. “Hello,” he said.
She walked over to him. “Hello. You were praying.”
“Yes. I was praying the Rosary.”
“How long does that take?”
“About 15 to 25 minutes.”
“How does it work?”
“First, you begin with the sign of the Cross. Then, holding the crucifix, say the Apostle’s Creed. On the first bead, pray an Our Father. On each of the next three beads, pray a Hail Mary. On the next bead, pray a Glory Be.”
“Glory Be? How does that go?”
“Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. After that, you pray the first decade.” He took out the Rosary and showed her the large bead. “On this bead, we announce the mystery and then say an Our Father. On each of the 10 small beads, say a Hail Mary while continuing to meditate on the mystery. At the end of the decade, say the Glory Be. Then say the Fatima Prayer: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy. Amen. Repeat this pattern for the remaining decades. After the 5 decades, we finish with the Hail Holy Queen. Then, we close with the concluding prayer and then end with the sign of the Cross.”
“What’s a decade?”
“A decade means a group of ten. Each decade is preceded by one Our Father and followed by one Glory Be to the Father.”
“What is the mystery you meditate on?”
“It is the First Glorious Mystery which is the Resurrection of Jesus.”
“Oh. How often do you pray the Rosary?”
“I try to do it everyday.”
“What does it do for you?”
“Well, it has it benefits.”
“What are those benefits?”
“I’ll list a few. Praying the Rosary, gives me time to meditate on the major events of Jesus’ life. It fulfills the scripture, ‘All generations will call me blessed.’ It guarantees that I’m taking at least 20 minutes daily to pray, giving God His due. Our Lady of Fatima asks us to pray it and says it’s important. And there are the 15 promises of the Rosary. Most times, I pray the Rosary in the mornings or sometimes in the afternoons and very rarely in the evenings.”
“I usually pray in the mornings as soon as I get up. It’s the best time and best way to start the day.”
“Is there a particular prayer you say like the Our Father?”
“No. My prayers are different each time. I say what’s in my heart. Sometimes, I use Scripture, like psalms.”
“The Our Father is my favorite prayer.”
“Mine too because it’s the one Jesus taught His disciples and us.”
“Do you have devotions that you read everyday?”
“Yes. Each day I get a daily devotional for Women from iBelieve sent to my personal email. What about you?”
“Yes, I have a daily devotional I’m reading. It’s the 365 Devotions for Catholics: Daily Moments with God Paperback. My mother gave it to me last year Christmas. She’ll probably give me another one this year for next year.”
“How is your mother doing?”
“She’s fine. As a matter of fact, she asked about you the other day when I spoke to her.”
“Oh, that’s nice. The next time you speak to her, please say hello for me.”
“I will. She asked about Fabrizio and you.” Fabrizio was Father Morelli’s cousin on his mother’s side.
“What did she want to know about Fabrizio and me?”
“If you and he were still dating.”
“Oh.”
“Are you?”
“No. We broke up.”
“Why did you and he break up?”
“I guess he got tired of me telling him that I wanted to wait until I was married before I had sex.”
“I think it’s good that you want to have sex within marriage and he should respect that.”
“Well, he doesn’t seem to think that there’s anything wrong with premarital sex. Anyway, we decided that it would be best for us to go our separate ways.”
“I think it’s for the best.”
“So, do I. How was your relationship with Carla before you decided to become a priest?”
“We wanted different things. She wanted marriage but I didn’t. I thought it was because I just wasn’t ready to settle down but I couldn’t shake the restlessness I was feeling. Then, I felt a conviction that God wanted me to serve Him as a priest. I should have mentioned it to Carla but I didn’t and I should have ended our relationship when I knew that my life would take a completely different path from hers.”
“When did you tell finally her that you were going to be a priest?”
“I didn’t exactly tell her but I showed up at her place, dressed like this.”
“Well, that was a very effective way of letting her know.”
“As I mentioned before, she was very shocked but I’m sure that in time, she will get over it. Somewhere out there is the right man for her, I’m sure of it.”
“And somewhere out there is the right man for me.”
“Yes,” he agreed quietly.
“Are you busy tomorrow evening at 6?”
“No, why?”
“How would you like to experience Shakespeare’s famous play, Macbeth in the beautiful, open-air Gigi Proietti Globe Theatre?”
“I would like that very much.”
“Good. I’ll buy the tickets now.”
“How much do they cost?”
“Don’t worry, they aren’t expensive at all. Give me a couple of minutes.” She took out her cell and she bought them. She downloaded them and saved them to PDF to print them when she got home. “It looks like we got seats in the lower balcony.”
“That’s good. Afterwards, we can stop by my family’s restaurant which within walking distance from the theatre.”
“Yes. It would be nice to see your parents.”
“My father won’t be there. He’s in Naples visiting his sister and her family and won’t be back until next week Friday.”
“Have you ever been to Naples?”
“Yes, several times because of my aunt and her family.”
“What’s it like?”
“It’s dirty with bins overflowing with trash. Walls and some of the statues have graffiti on them. The buildings looked run down. Tourists are targeted by pickpockets, bag-snatchers and muggers. Despite all this, I love Naples. It has Naples natural beauties such as Posillipo, Phlegraean Fields, Nisida and Vesuvius. And it’s where pizza originated from. The locals are warm, friendly and generous.”
“Isn’t Sophia Loren from Naples?”
“No, she was born here in Rome but grew up in poverty in a war-torn suburb of Naples.”
“And then, she became a famous movie actress, admired by many men and boys.”
Father Morelli smiled. “I was one of those boys,” he admitted. “I had pictures of her from magazines plastered on my bedroom walls. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“You and about half the male population. Well, I have to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll meet you outside of the theater.”
“All right.”
“Ciao, padre.”
“È Roberto quando siamo soli.”
“Ciao, Roberto.”
“Ciao, Genet.”
She smiled, waved at him and then, walked out of the sanctuary. He remained in the sanctuary for a while longer and then, he made his way to the parish rectory to have dinner, followed by some personal time before going to bed.
Sources: Hallow; Marquette University; Wikipedia; Reverent Catholic Mass; Up Journey; Talitha Kum; Time Travel Turtle; Wikipedia; Kids Britannica
Notes to Women 