The Lord's Lanterns in Assisi

Today is Sunday, and we're in Assisi. We drove down the hill to a beautiful church called Saint Mary of the Angels. This church was built on the site where St. Francis died, and a small "porzuincola" (little house) is erected in his honor.

When we entered the church, a mass was being held for the general public. We were shown to a small chapel where we celebrated a private mass with Father Nathan presiding.

For this mass, Father Nathan chose the readings for the feast day of St. Francis (rather than the lexionary readings), and the gospel reading was the one about not hiding our light under a basket but instead being the light of Christ for all to see. That is one of Tricia's favorite readings, and it reminded her of her small faith sharing group, which is named "The Lord's Lanterns."

After mass, we drove up the hill to the town of Assisi. Approaching it from below is a thrilling sight. It's a medieval hill town that is visible from afar.

We arrived and were able to enter the church of St. Clare and then tour her tomb and see some of her clothing relics in the museum. We then walked to the Basilica of St. Francis at the opposite end of town.

We enjoyed lunch as a group at a venue that dated back to medieval times.

We were then able to enter the "lower church" at the St. Francis Basilica and descend to the tomb of St. Francis. We then toured the "upper church," which contains a fresco storybook of the life of St. Francis.

It was then time to make a decision. About half the pilgrims decided to go back to the hotel (what?), and the rest of us decided to stay in town for caffe, sweets, and shopping.

By this time, the crowds had thinned out (our tour guide said she had never seen it so crowded), and we were able to enjoy a delightful caffe break and then head out to the shops. This was a time to bask in the medieval architecture and enjoy being Assisi.

 

The weather was perfect, and the light in the town and from the hilltop view was glorious. While we found some undeniable material pleasures in our shopping, the experience was magnified by our surroundings. We returned to our hotel very gratified both corporally and spiritually.

Tomorrow, we will stop at Orvieto, the site of a eucharistic miracle, to celebrate mass, before we head for Rome, our final pilgrimage destination.