Assisi in word
Yesterday Dorothy Brooker, Anne Moody and I (all having been at IPTOC) travelled from London through Rome to Assisi.
Once we arrived at the guest house of St. Anthony, we wandered down to the Basilica of St. Chiara (Clare). The crucifix that Francis and Clare prayed before, and which so shaped their lives is in one of the side chapels in the Basilica. It was a profound thing to pray before it as well. We then enjoyed the jazz being played, the café lifestyle, and finding places that Dorothy and I had been to on previous trips, like Casa Papa Giovanni Guest House. After and early night, we had a good night sleep.
So good I failed to hear my alarm this morning, and so ran out of time to do much online. Hence the pictures alone on the last posting. I barely got those up.
Today we went to the Basilica of St. Francis. This was an interesting experience for me. To cope with the number of pilgrims coming to be near the remains of the saint, Brother Elias, at the Popes instruction, built two basilicas shortly after Francis’ death, one on top of the other, in different styles. The Lower Basilica is much darker; lower roofed, and moved me greatly last time. It was not as cave like as I remembered it, and it was not quite as breath taking away. What did move me this time was the chapel built around the stone coffin of Francis, set in the wall above and behind the altar. To be so close to his remains somehow takes you back to Francis and all that he lived for. I found that evocative and challenging. Several of his closest companions were also buried around the outside wall. It was like being with them somehow, which was very humbling. The relic’s chapel has “the” first rule that Francis wrote and the Pope signed, and the blessing he gave Brother Leo. It also has the trumpet horn that the Sultan gave Francis as a gift during his visit.
The upper basilica moved me in ways it did not last time. I did not like it then, but this time enjoyed the more Gothic style, and the airiness that gives the place. I also really enjoyed Giotto’s frescoes, and the story they tell of Francis life.
There are some outstanding frescoes in both basilicas which tell both the story of Francis’ life, but also and more importantly the gospel story. The frescoes of Francis are designed to invite us into the gospel through the life of Francis, to make it more real somehow. In the Lower basilica they act as train tracks, Francis on one side, Jesus on the other, which take you to the altar (built over Francis’ coffin) on which the resurrected Jesus is met in the bread and the wine.
There is much about these places that makes me struggle. The devotion to Mary and the pictures that evokes are not my thing. The fact that there is a Papal palace built behind, and the richness of some of the icons and relics makes you wonder what Francis would make of it all. Not much I fear. But rather than getting steamed, it is so much more life giving to go and experience God there as the designers hoped, and to be inspired and invited into a more profound way of understanding the gospel, and what that might mean for my life. I lit some candles as I left, praying that all those who enter these basilicas would know God’s peace, and would work to bring God’s peace into the world.
May all those that read this get that opportunity one day.
Once we arrived at the guest house of St. Anthony, we wandered down to the Basilica of St. Chiara (Clare). The crucifix that Francis and Clare prayed before, and which so shaped their lives is in one of the side chapels in the Basilica. It was a profound thing to pray before it as well. We then enjoyed the jazz being played, the café lifestyle, and finding places that Dorothy and I had been to on previous trips, like Casa Papa Giovanni Guest House. After and early night, we had a good night sleep.
So good I failed to hear my alarm this morning, and so ran out of time to do much online. Hence the pictures alone on the last posting. I barely got those up.
Today we went to the Basilica of St. Francis. This was an interesting experience for me. To cope with the number of pilgrims coming to be near the remains of the saint, Brother Elias, at the Popes instruction, built two basilicas shortly after Francis’ death, one on top of the other, in different styles. The Lower Basilica is much darker; lower roofed, and moved me greatly last time. It was not as cave like as I remembered it, and it was not quite as breath taking away. What did move me this time was the chapel built around the stone coffin of Francis, set in the wall above and behind the altar. To be so close to his remains somehow takes you back to Francis and all that he lived for. I found that evocative and challenging. Several of his closest companions were also buried around the outside wall. It was like being with them somehow, which was very humbling. The relic’s chapel has “the” first rule that Francis wrote and the Pope signed, and the blessing he gave Brother Leo. It also has the trumpet horn that the Sultan gave Francis as a gift during his visit.
The upper basilica moved me in ways it did not last time. I did not like it then, but this time enjoyed the more Gothic style, and the airiness that gives the place. I also really enjoyed Giotto’s frescoes, and the story they tell of Francis life.
There are some outstanding frescoes in both basilicas which tell both the story of Francis’ life, but also and more importantly the gospel story. The frescoes of Francis are designed to invite us into the gospel through the life of Francis, to make it more real somehow. In the Lower basilica they act as train tracks, Francis on one side, Jesus on the other, which take you to the altar (built over Francis’ coffin) on which the resurrected Jesus is met in the bread and the wine.
There is much about these places that makes me struggle. The devotion to Mary and the pictures that evokes are not my thing. The fact that there is a Papal palace built behind, and the richness of some of the icons and relics makes you wonder what Francis would make of it all. Not much I fear. But rather than getting steamed, it is so much more life giving to go and experience God there as the designers hoped, and to be inspired and invited into a more profound way of understanding the gospel, and what that might mean for my life. I lit some candles as I left, praying that all those who enter these basilicas would know God’s peace, and would work to bring God’s peace into the world.
May all those that read this get that opportunity one day.
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