THURSDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT Stational Church

This church, made from two pagan temples, holds the bodies of the holy martyrs, Cosmas and Damian, who were put to death during the Diocletian persecution. The sick came in crowds to visit the tomb of these two brothers, doctors by profession, imploring them to restore their health.

The "unsalaried" physicians, Cosmas and Damian, devoted time and talents to the service of the poor and the sick, so that, by curing the infirmities of the body without renumeration, they might more easily win immortal souls for Christ.

Today, the Divine Physician will again come and refresh you. He carries with him the divine antidote, the Eucharistic medicine for the healing of our infirmities.

Let us pray: May the blessed solemnity of Thy saints, Cosmas and Damian, magnify Thee, O Lord, by which Thou hast both granted eternal glory to them and assistance to us by Thy ineffable providence. Through Christ, Our Lord.

This is one of the most interesting churches in Rome. The apse mosaic dates to around 533 AD. Despite being so old, it is in amazing condition. The mosaic depicts Sts Cosmas and Damian and the Parousia (second coming of Christ). There was quite an interest in Rome around 533 in the Parousia because it had been 500 years since the death of Our Lord. Many people became preoccupied with the apocalypse, just as people did in late 1999. Another interesting thing to note about the church is that the height of the apse is rather out of proportion to the rest of the building. This is because the church and its apse were originally 20 feet taller. Throughout the middle ages, the church was constantly flooded, so eventually in the renaissance they decided to simply raise the floor 20 feet higher to alleviate the flooding problems. If you visit this church you can look out an opening into the original vestibule, a large round room which retains the church's original height and which has a floor several yards lower than the floor of the nave.

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