Shucks. I love Rome. It reminds me of a central part of this Universal Ancient Faith.  That it is Universal, That it is ancient, That it is more about a person than an Idea. But it is time to get back to the parish, Back to the Work, back to struggle against those who seek an evangelical protestant expression of our Faith.

The day began at 2:00 am.  The Taxi was coming at 3:00 am. Although the Domus had assured me that there would be someone to check me out at that hour, the place was dark and no one was apparent. Ok, what was that snoring?  There he was strteched out on two chairs, and he was not easy to wake up and it took him a looooooong time to get focused. We finally got everything squared away, and the taxi was early. 

The Car loaded and we were on the way to the airport.  It was raining pretty heavily, and with delight he took aright turn heading up the main street toward St. Peter for one last loving look. Even though it was pouring. 

It was a very quiet airport.  I had a Delta flight number, but was told to check into KLM. KLM was nowhere to be found.  Everything was AlItalia. and I wondered if I was in the right terminal. Luckily there was an airport officer who spoke English and he assured me I was in the right place and he let me know where to go. It was an AlItalia desk. My carry on was too heavy so I was required to check it which cost an extra 70 Euro. 

So it was a Delta flight, checked into AlItalia, boarding pass stamped by Air France, and it wass an KLM plane. 


It was an uneventful flight. Those are the best kind. 

I left my heart in the City of San Francesco. That would be Assisi. What a Lovely place. I miss it already. It is a little piece of Heaven. 

This morning, though, I woke up in Rome.  Mass and Breakfast are always first.

Then I decided to go to St. Mary Major. Oh, Did I forget to mention that it was raining. 

Because of the rain there were not as many people or cars out and even the Basilica was a bit quieter. One of the side chapels that is never open was very open and so I was able to go and see and pray at the tomb of St. Pius V.

Down in the crypt there is a large reliquary which contains a relic of the manger that Jesus was laid in when he was born. 

Probably the most impressive  thing in this basilica is the tomb of Bernini.  Bernini was probably one of that ages most famous artists. He is responsible for much of the art and statuary in St.Peter Basilica.  But there he is in St.Mary Major, just to the right of the main sanctuary, in the simplest tomb possible, just a step into the sanctuary.

Well, the rain got worse,and at one moment,getting out of a cab, I got drenched. It will then be a night spent inside.  Iam almost finished packing.  Tomorrow morning the Cab picks me up at 3;00 am and I will be heading to the airport.

The day started quietly, Mass and then the trek across the city for breakfast.  Ah, but it was raining.  It wasn't raining so hard and I did not get wet on the walk, but the city was very quiet.  And the Cafe was closed.  Apparently when it rains places open later or do not open at all. Still, I found a place for a croissant, OJ and a Cafe Latte.  

Then it was back to the convent, paid my bill, and then headed off to the train station. 

Got to Rome a little after 2:00 pm.I dropped my bags at the Domus and headed out to get a bite to eat.  A plate of past and a little wine seemed to satisfy the hunger.  Then headed over to a favorite wine bar to meet a friend.  We had crossed paths at several liturgical events at St. Peter but had never gotten a chance to chat. 

The at 6:30 it was time to meet Fr. Brandon Macadaeg and his friends for Cena.  We went over to a very nice and famous Italian Restaurant that is frequented by many Italians and we had a delightful Fish dinner.  They roasted the fish and then brought it to the table where they relieved it of all its bones, covered it with home made potato chips and we were off to the feast.

That brought a conclusion to the day. Brandon and his friends leave for home this morning.  And I will begin my travel home early tomorrow. 

Last full day in Assisi. And it was overcast.

Started, as usual, with Mass and breakfast.

After Breakfast I did some climbing up to the Basilica of San Rufino. San Rufino was Bishop of the area and is a third century Martyr. He is buried in the Cathedral.  To visit this place was to visit several centuries.  In the 13th Century this was a place where St. Francis came to pray. 

So Pictures of my visit to San Rufino and its crypt now follow:

A Visit to a farmers market

Today was a great feast day in Italy, St. Charles Borromeo.  It was high holiday:

I found a little butcher shop that also served pranzo:

So now it is back to packing.  I have a 11:26 amtrain to Rome tomorrow and and the taxi will pick me up here at 10:30am. Mass will be at 8:00am followed by breakfast, and then to be ready for the train.

Today was a Monday and all the crowds have gone. It was a very quiet and lazy day. It was productive too.  I was able to read several chapters of a book I had brought with me. I brought this book with me because I knew that I was going to have dinner with him in Rome and I was able to get the book autographed.

The Day started with Mass for some English speaking pilgrims.  That was followed by breakfast. At the other end of Assisi is a little cafe we discovered on our trip in 2007.  I have visited it every year since and the owner recognizes me. 

After breakfast I went exploring. I wanted to find San Stefano Church. San Stefano would have been a church present during the time of St.Francis and he is know to have prayed there. 

Some oof the other exploring today was in shops dedicated to selling Vestments and other items that priests would use. I did not buy anything today but a few years ago I purchased a handmade alb here.

About three hours today was dedicated to lunch and sever chapters of the book:

Later in the day I stayed outside so I could photograph a marvelous sunset.

Read the article HERE.

After their departure,I took the better part of the morning walking up to the Rocco Maggiore, the fortress like ruins at the top of the hill on which the city of Assisi sits. From this vista you can get great views of the city and the valley.

Last year I got more spectacular shots because the weather was acting up to make things more beautiful.

After the strenuous workof the morning,I had a lovely pranzo. Lacking companions, I took a book, The Heresy of Formlessness, by Martin Bosebach.After Pranzo I took a short nap and then went out for a walk. Cena was at 7:00pm and then I headed home to retire. 

We did a lot of walking again today, a lot of it uphill.

First we started with Mass.  Sister tried to explain to me that the Vestment was hand embroidered and was more than 600 years old.

After Mass we walked across the city to a little Cafe.   This cafe had an abundance of breakfast pastries, fresh squeezed Orange juice,and the best cafe lattes.

After breakfast we took a taxi downhill to the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.  In this Basilica is housed the little church that St.Francis helped to rebuild,the Potziuncula, or the Little Portion. Our visit to the basilica was made difficult because of the many masses they were having.  The Mass was held at the High Altar.Those whose views of the Mass were blocked by the Portziuncula were able to see what was taking place on a large Video Screen.

The Basilica:

Inside the Portziuncula:

After our visit to the Basilica, we went over to the train station to purchase our return tickets to Rome, and then headed back to Assisi to have lunch with Fr. Brandon Macadaeg and his friends who were making a day trip to Assisi.After Lunch wemade a long hike downhill to San Damiano. 

The cloister at San Damiano

Well, it was a restful day, but I think we wore ourselves out with all this walking.  We started the day with a visit to the Tomb of St. Francis.  It was very quiet as the tourists had yet to arrive for the day.  Then we walked to the other end of the city to visit the tomb of St.Clare. 

There is an oil and wine festival in the region and we spent some time visiting the various stalls and tasting their wares. 

We had a lovely pranzo at one of the finest pizzerias and then headed home for a nap

We celebrated Mass about 5:00pm and then went out for Cena.  It is great being in Assisi where the nuttiness of Halloween doesn't seem to reach.