Day 13 Assisi : Breakthrough! How a Zealot Is Born; The Grace of St. Clare; St. Francis’ Love in the Stones; The Canticle of the Sun.

 This is part of an ongoing story; if you are just joining the journey, you may want to start at the beginning. 


Day 13 – Assisi

I am making up for my produce deprivation of the night before with muesli (it has some amazing dried fruit, including dried orange), apricot yogurt (ah European dairy products… mmm), and an orange. Oh, and dark, thick espresso mixed with hot chocolate (that has nothing to do with produce, just ecstasy inducing.) Even though I rarely drink coffee at home, I love drinking coffee in Europe.

After breakfast, our first journey is a relatively short walk to St. Peter’s Basilica. This is one of the first churches St. Francis restored after hearing the call from God, “"Go, Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin," which he at first took literally.  In front of this beautiful ancient church, our tour guide gives yet another rah-rah Catholic speech, so heavy with dogma that it becomes depressing.  I discreetly walk to the back of the group where I will not disturb the other pilgrims’ concentration on the lecture, and occupy myself by stretching and taking photos of gorgeous Assisi. 

Throughout our trip I have been enjoying how the altars are decorated for Easter.  I love the spring flowers!  The inside of the church is quite dark and austere in a way, and the bright sunny flowers offer an interesting contrast. It echoes for me St. Francis’ focus on the beauty of nature and the de-emphasis of human wealth.  It’s quite a contrast compared to the other basilicas we’ve seen.

Next, we hike up a long hill to the main attraction –

St. Francis Basilica
I’m so bummed we can’t take photos in here. It’s the absolute opposite of St. Peter’s; there’s not a surface that isn’t covered with some form of artistic majesty. I am enjoying the beauty without losing sight of the irony that the church collected an enormous amount of money to build a basilica in honor of a man devoted to “Lady Poverty.” There is some confusion with our mass time, and with our schedule all changed around we get an unexpected bonus – a tour with an English-speaking art historian.  He takes us through the upper basilica, where he shows us how the architects were inviting us to look up, to gaze up into heaven.  Then we descend down into the lower basilica which houses St. Francis’ tomb, and he explains how the architecture and icons focus on the energy of death and deeper contemplation.  I love that he points out how the artists who painted the basilica inserted St. Francis at different events of Jesus’ life in order to convey St. Francis’ devotion to living like Christ.  His teachings are fascinating and I would like to put him in my pocket and take him to all the other places we’ve been so he can teach me to look at art in new ways.

Later, we get some quiet time to sit and pray in front of St. Francis' tomb. Quite suddenly, through St. Francis’ experience and presence, I begin to understand something about zealotry.  I realize that if someone feels God through the structure and container of the church, as St. Francis’ did, he/she may only be able to associate God with the tradition and rituals, rather than seeing the essence that is independent of religious practices. From what I’m learning about St. Francis’ life, it seems that the Catholic practices were intricately woven together with his experience of God in everything; perhaps he did not separate them. I am feeling greater sympathy for how some people simply cannot dissociate the Divine Essence from the structure that took them to it. From that perspective, it’s easy for me to understand how something with a beautiful and pure intent can transform over time into the rigid ideology that causes conflicts and wars. I feel something settle inside me; some small but significant piece of confusion around the darkness and lightness in the Church has just been answered. 

*** 
Walking out of the basilica, we are greeted with beautiful gardens and a view of Assisi. 

We dreamily wander up the hill from St. Francis’ Basilica, towards St. Clare’s Basilica.  Of course, on the way we must have lunch.  I continue to satisfy my produce craving with a green mixed salad, a bit of cooked spinach and zucchini, cannoli with spinach, and some of my favorite cerignola green olives (which may have been worth the whole meal).

After lunch we briefly stop in for prayers at the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva that was once a temple to the Roman Goddess Minerva (known as Athena in Ancient Greece).  I am awed by the history of the church.  I always have a deep appreciation for the pagan symbols and mythologies that have been incorporated into the Christian Church.  Our next stop is to see St. Francis’ friend from childhood, St. Clare.

St. Clare’s Basilica.  When St. Francis made his declaration to devote his life to God, St. Clare followed him, also against her parents’ wishes.  She abandoned her fine clothing for sackcloth and cut off her beautiful hair. She started a new order of nuns which came to be known as the Poor Clares. She was known for her incredible selflessness, humility, and devotion.  As soon as I step foot into her sunlit square, I realize you can feel these qualities of her through the stones and trees of the palazzo around St. Clare’s Basilica.  It’s like experiencing the feminine side of the sweetness and peace of Assisi.  Compared to St. Francis’ Basilica, this Basilica is more appropriately simple but still beautiful.

San Damiano – the original convent of the Poor Clares.   From St. Clare’s, we descend through the high city of Assissi, through the lush silvery-green olive groves, to San Damiano.  St. Francis built a chapel here and gave it to St. Clare for her order of nuns.  It exudes even more of the sweetness that seems to be everywhere in Assisi, and I am particularly touched by the strong energy of the Poor Clares who lived a pure life of hard work and devotion. I feel St. Francis’ love in the stones that he placed there with his own hands.  As with many things in Assisi, the quality of sincerity and love creates an effect of magic.  Here's just a taste - a photo of the courtyard.

We recite together St. Francis’ prayer Canticle of the Sun, which I love.  This is my greatest resonance with St. Francis; he recognized and celebrated God in nature.  I’ll quote a small section here:

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.


Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.




Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
and clouds and storms, and all the weather,
through which you give your creatures sustenance.


Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.


Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

***

We make the long hike back up hill to do some shopping.  I feel rushed to buy our last souvenirs, and overwhelmed by the accumulated intensity of this trip.  I desperately wish I had more time in Assisi.  By the time we get back to our hotel, I melt into a puddle on the couch in the lobby.  Getting up for dinner seems like an extraordinary feat.  Maybe I’d better pray for a miracle.

Fortunately, the miracle is my stomach, which always loves more food.  I’m happy to report that dinner on this evening actually had cooked vegetables with the bean and barley soup and turkey with mashed potatoes. Extra bonus – it was followed by a salad and fruit for dessert!  Delicioso.  Not only is the food good, but I enjoy the company at my table.  We sit with the “tour-guide-in-training,” Laura, and her cousin, Wendy.  We have a surprisingly honest conversation about this pilgrimage.  Laura loves humor and she and Wendy agree that Gus’ (our main tour guide) very serious religious style can be oppressive.  They are very compassionate towards Gus and speak to his strengths also.  I respect their balanced and honest view.  Laura then shares that she is questioning whether or not she’s a “good fit” for the tour company because her style is so opposite of Gus.  I jumped on the opportunity to support her to not only follow her true calling but also to affirm what an incredible relief her humor has been for many of us. She has been a bright light of levity throughout the trip. 

At that point, some other pilgrims (some of my favorites) join us (with another bottle of wine, Lord help me).  We begin a rousing discussion about prayer.  Wendy reflects about her discomfort with Gus’ way of praying; she feels like she is forced to pray his way when she prefers her own authentic conversations with God.  Everyone agrees that there has been too much prayer on this trip (it’s pretty much constant on the bus).  Two others counter their complaint by saying how much they have learned from the intensity. The conversation turns to concerns about the driving pace of the trip; everyone agreed there was not enough time to reflect and integrate.  I absolutely love hearing all of these different, honest reflections. Though I’ve had some very sweet interactions one-on-one with some pilgrims, this is the first time I’ve been with a group of them and experienced this kind of honesty and authentic meeting, and it is feeding me.

As I walk up the four flights of stairs to our room, I feel lighter and happier, and I don’t think it was just the wine. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights! Post a comment here or email Sonya@illuminatedwisdom.com.

Coming Monday: Day 14  Assisi to Turin: Crying in the Rain; Eating in a Gas Station -- twice; Surprise! -- The Real Shroud of Turin. Plus Day 15  Turin to Milan to the US: Reading Scientific American; The Church and Science and Our Filters; Coming Home.