Well, I haven't been good about keeping up with the postings...The days have been filled and the in the evenings I generally have to make profound decisions like...go for gelato or blog...go for gelato or blog...gelato seems to win out...of course, it's all in the interest of connecting with the rest of the pilgrims! Don't want to seem rude or stand-off-ish.
There have been SO many events this week. Will just try to touch on the highlights. Earlier in the week we had a prayer service at dusk. We gathered near the site where Clare's family home would have been and we slowly made our way through the town to the gate that she used the night that she left her family and met Francis and the brothers at the Portiuncula. We stopped several times along the way to reflect on all that she was leaving behind...family...friends...social standing...security - what a leap of faith! You hear the stories so often, but it's fascinating to put the pieces together when it comes to location. The gate that Clare used to leave the town isn't far from the bishop's residence. She would have needed someone to help her get out without alarming the town guard. Was Bishop Guido part of the plan?
By the time we got to the gate it was dark. Clare would have still had quite a distance to cover through wooded roads to get to the Portiuncula - an intimidating journey.
A few days later we headed to Bastia, which is the site of the Benedictine monastery where Clare stayed for a brief time. Here she invoked the right of sanctuary when her uncle and relatives came to drag her back home. The ruins of the original altar are still there. It seems to strange to connect 'physically' with these events that took place almost 800 years ago. It makes you ask yourself, "Where do we find 'sanctuary' and security from those that don't understand our choices in life?
The taxi ride back from Bastia was an interesting 'reality check'. Having spent so many days as a pedestrian dodging the cars on these tiny, narrow streets...it was odd being on the other side. I felt like I was in some type of action movie with people scurrying to get away from the run-away car!
Finally (for now)...we took some time in the cathedral church of San Rufino. Among the many time historical and spiritual notes of the town, one side chapel contains a memorial marking honoring the bishop of Assisi during WWII who helped to hide and conduct to safety the many Jewish refugees that were fleeing persecution. Another little shop contains the printing press that was used by one of the local merchants to print false documents for the refugees (the family still owns the shop). And people tell the story of Valentin Mueller, a german physician in charge of the hospitals in Assisi during WWII. He 'ignored' all that was going on and convinced the germans to declare this a 'hospital city' so that it was saved from bombing. Not all the heroes of this town lived in the 13th century.
The photo below is the dormitory at the Monastery of San Damiano, where Clare eventually 'settled'. Can you picture 40-50 sisters sleeping on the floor in this one room? It's about the size of a classroom (so much for 'personal space'!) After her death, the sisters who lived with her told of how she would get up in the middle of the night to tend to the sick sisters and to make sure they were all covered and warm.