On our first day of the pilgrimage, we took off from Athens and headed down the road to Corinth. Corinth was an important port in the days of St Paul because it was where ships passed from the Aegean to the Ionian seas. Because of its strategic location in the middle of the Mediterrean, Corinth became a major shipping channel. The main temple of Corinth was built for Zeus’ son, Apollo. Here we are walking up the main road to the city. This ancient road was excavated by American archeologists in the 1950s. It was a rainy day. My Mass in Corinth among these ruins of the ancient city, was celebrated in the most primitive conditions imaginable. If you ask who I am wearing as I stroll down the ancient red carpet leading into the old city, the answer is “Trash bag chic.”

From Corinth, we headed back to Athens and trudged up the Arcropolis which towers over the city. The rain had stopped by the time we got back to Athens, so I was able to shed my makeshift “raincoat” for a picture with Heloise who is the vicar for Religious in the archdiocese of Houston. We are standing at a corner of the famous Parthenon. I was thrilled to see all the restoration work that has been going on in this magnificent building since my last visit in the ‘80s.

Our final stop at the acropolis was Mars hill. I am standing on the old steps which Paul probably used to ascend this natural “pulpit” of rock from which he delivered his famous speech from the Book of Acts, “Men of Athens.” The entire speech is written out in the original Greek there on a plaque.

The day ended with a wonderful dinner on the 8^th floor of our hotel, which a view out the window of the acropolis. That light in the middle of the horizon is the Parthenon. Tomorrow we head for the island of Mykonos, and then onto Rhodes.