My grandmother, Paolina, who was Sicilian, started her day by having a quick breakfast, usually made of a cup of milky coffee, and then laid on the table about twenty or thirty holy cards. She read what was written on the back of the holy pictures and added a prayer for each saint depicted on the front. Of course, her prayers lasted for at least one hour, maybe more. At the end, she prayed for the souls in Purgatory and for her beloved husband, Ciccino, who had died at the age of 68.
It looked like she was playing solitaire with all those holy cards.
Fifty years have elapsed since then, and now I do the same thing she did, only the mode has changed. She played solitaire with holy cards, I play solitaire with books. On my desk are stacked about ten books. Every morning, after a cup of coffee, I read one or two pages of each book. They are books on various subjects.
Deep down, there is no much of a difference between what she did at that time and what I am doing now. Our goals are the same: to elevate our spiritual selves and purify our souls.
Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
Ettore Grillo's Blog 