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Basilica of St. Francis--'no photo'

4/11/2018

     So much to do, so little time, even while embracing silence, solitude, and simplicity here in Assisi. We pilgrims, tourists, nuns, and monks pass each other by, and honor the peace that this Umbrian hill town begs us to embrace.
     Energy is hard to describe or explain, but when it is intense, be it positive or negative, we can say, “Yes, I feel it.” So true in Assisi. The spirit of THE GOOD is palpable.
    It starts right at the Basilica of San Francis. No photography allowed: not in the upper church with Giotto’s frescoes of the life of St. Francis’s, nor in the lower church with the works of Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, Cimabue and Giotto, nor in the crypt where people sit and pray in front of Saint Francis’s tomb.
     We become pilgrims as we cross the threshold, and although I have no pictures to post, I am very grateful for the gift of peace that the sign ‘no photo’ offers me.
     Instead, please enjoy with me some views of the basilica from my guesthouse window

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Pope Francis in Assisi~

10/4/2013

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A few days ago I posted about Assisi but I have more to say because today, October 4th is the Feast Day of St. Francis and this year Pope Francis, the first pope to have chosen that name, is there to celebrate. The citizens of Assisi must be particularly elated as plans were made, satisfying hopes and dreams.

I was in Assisi in 2004 on the very day that Pope Benedict was elected. It was early evening and my friend and I stepped into a bar to see if the white smoke had risen from the Sistine Chapel. Indeed it had, and the TV was just announcing that Cardinal Ratzinger, a German, was the new pope. The owners of the bar, husband and wife, looked disgusted, turned off the TV, and went about closing up for the night. On the street outside a little nun, all by herself in the middle of the street, clasped her hands in gratitude. She had a ‘papa’.

Although my daughter and I only spent twenty-four hours in Assisi, I find that with each visit I feel a closer affinity to this little town on the hill, this hometown of St. Francis, this town that calls out to us to care for the earth, the animals, the poor. I sense that everyone who visits here, everyone who lives here, loves St. Francis. Many are Roman Catholic and of course one sees many Franciscan monks and nuns. But there are also the rest of us who, with our own thoughts about saints, know that St. Francis energy can only benefit us and the world. It’s already affected Pope Francis.

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S. Damiano in the rain~

9/30/2013

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I said goodbye to Florence yesterday and now I am saying goodbye to Assisi. We had a magical twenty-four hours in this little Umbrian hill town. You have walk the streets and look out at the vista to feel the magic. Best I can do is offer a few photographs. Suffice to say, I’m dreaming of returning.

     I love the energy in Assisi. Alive but peaceful. For one reason or another everyone is bustling up and down the steep streets and stairways because of St. Francis. To add to the energy, October 4th is St. Francis’ Feast Day, and yes, Pope Francis, the first pope to claim the name Francis, is coming to celebrate.

     Yesterday we walked beyond the city gates and down the hill to the Convent of S. Damiano, founded by St. Clare and where she lived for twenty-five years after the death of her soul mate St. Francis. S. Damiano is also where St. Francis heard the voice of God to ‘mend my church’ and where he wrote the Canticle of the Creatures.

       It was a lovely stroll as thunder clouds formed, and we felt the first drop of rain just as we reached the portico. It poured and thundered for a good hour as we wandered through the convent before sitting in the cloister waiting for it to clear. The monks and nuns offered us umbrellas. A lovely moment. When the rain abated, we headed up the hill, feeling the last drop just as we reached the Church of St. Clair.

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Sunday in Florence and Fiesole~

9/8/2013

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This Sunday morning I visited my favorite cathedral and favorite monastery church and all before 11 o’clock. Up early to Santa Maria dei Fiori for Mass. I’ve learned through the years that one way to enter these huge cathedrals before they become crowded with tourists is to go to early mass. And so I did. Outside a side entrance I encountered a friendly, optimistic old priest, cane-in-hand, waiting for security to open the doors for 7:30 Mass. “I’m a priest here….Oh, I love Boston… I’ve been to Worcester. And New York…Poughkeepsie.

I decided that I would try Mass again under this magnificent dome. It would be my third time. The other two were rather upsetting; I must have exuded guilt that I was a non-Roman Catholic taking Communion. The first time, easily more than fifteen years, I was reprimanded by the priest. I came forward with open hands, only to have him shake a finger in my face and with a loud “NO” place the wafer in my mouth. I figured he was speaking out against Vatican II, but it sure shook me up—I’m not accustomed to being yelled at by men (or women). A few years later I tried again, but this time the priest called me back, and then said, “Va bene,” and I returned to my seat. It seems that he hadn’t see me eat the wafer and was concerned that I was saving it. (To sell? To save? To give to someone?) I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, but clearly I didn’t know the rules.
So, with trepidation I decided to try again, and this time all went well. There was my friendly priest who loves Boston helping me on my way.

Next on to the Church of St. Francis, a hefty climb from the piazza in Fiesole where Bus 7 from the Piazza San Marco in Florence had left me at the central square. A twenty minute ride through the suburbs of Florence and then up the winding ‘Fiesole hills’ with magnificent views of Florence and the Duomo below. A magical spot.

The Franciscan complex, situated on the top of a hill, is a simple, working monastery. The section open to the public includes a small church with some minor early Renaissance paintings, two miniscule cloisters, and a winding staircase leading to six cells of the early monks.

Ah, if I were a privileged monk I’d have two cells; one here in Fiesole, and another in Florence at the Convent of San Marco. What arrogance; I have a long way to go!!!!

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Hopeful and Popeful~

3/14/2013

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I just have to mention the new pope, Pope Francis. I’m not Roman Catholic but I am hopeful that Pope Francis will be able to manifest some love out there in the world. I don’t think that his name sake was a solitary type, but Saint Francis sure got it right about feeding the poor, caring for the earth and rebuilding a broken church.

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Feast Day of St. Francis

10/4/2012

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Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis. I am posting this prayer because I believe that it speaks for all faith traditions and for all of us who want to eradicate the violence and hate in the world.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

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Welcome to Assisi~

6/5/2012

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Here I am with the valley behind me..

      I am on the train on my way to Assisi, one of the most prayerful spots in Italy. St. Francis will be a welcome change from the papal presence in Rome, which is an extremely masculine place, with its excessive Roman/male statuary, baroque churches and motorcycles. Assisi, on the other hand, is a gentle, feminine town set in a hill overlooking the valley. Francis was all about nature and his friends, his male companions and his female companion Clare, and of course the birds.

  The town is very walkable. At the northern end is the Basillica di St. Francesco, built soon after Francis’ death. Although it is a medieval church, it is bursting forth with Giotto’s frescoes, foreshadowing the humanism of the Renaissance and even our twenty-first century call to take care of the earth. At the southern end of Assisi, down in the valley is the Convent of San Domino, home of the Poor Clares.

     This is a place that exudes silence, solitude and simplicity. A sign along the road from the train station to the town says, "The City of Peace".

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St. Francis, Brother Sun, Sister Moon

1/18/2012

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This morning I sat on the deck and read Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures (reimagined by Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Pamela Dalton), a 2011 rendition of St. Francis’ ‘Canticle of the Sun’.

       It’s a book worth enjoying, but what I want to share with you is how I took my time, with what I might call, “praying the book”. Slooooooowly I read the words out loud; meticulously I examined the pictures (eventually realizing that they were paper cutting creations).

       “Slow down, be in the moment,” I kept telling myself. “Remember, this is a picture book.” My years as a teacher of five and six year olds has left me the reading the words, not the pictures. In fact, even when my students, and later my grandchildren, read to me, I would keep my eyes staring at the text.

     This slowing down, this attention to details can happen when we have time to practice, and when we take the time. Solitude and silence help, but simplicity feels like the essential ingredient for this one. There i something about doing things slowly that eliminates both mental and physical clutter, and that is definitely simplicity.

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Basilica of St. Francis--'no photo'

Pope Francis in Assisi~

S. Damiano in the rain~

Sunday in Florence and Fiesole~

Hopeful and Popeful~

Feast Day of St. Francis

Welcome to Assisi~

St. Francis, Brother Sun, Sister Moon

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