Last drinks gentlemen please
September 22, 2008
We are now in the last week of our Marist Places Pilgrimage and the dawning of its end was made even more manifest as this is the last day on our journey that we have the pleasure of Edwin McCallion’s company. He leaves us tomorrow morning to make some preparations for a 3 month renewal programme based in Wales which includes a 30 day retreat and a pilgrimage in the way of St Ignatius. As they say, all roads lead to Rome and part of this pilgrimage will bring him back to Rome in a month or so time. Safe journey Edwin, thanks, and we’re glad that we’ve shared this time with you. Sláinte.
Saying, as it were, goodbye to Edwin highlighted the nuts and bolts issue that this was the only opportunity for us to have our final group photograph. The truth be known it would only be our second such photo, and it was taken in the Church of St Stephano, after Mass at Assisi.
We’ve done quite a number of day trips so we were fairly experienced. For some getting up early, despite the setting of their alarms means a disturbed nights sleep, the threat of missing in this case the taxis to the train station, weighing on their minds. Not that it mattered that much, least that seems to have been the evidence as the moving train soon facilitated the need for any catchup that was required.
Just as an even more sideline than normal. In setting out from the General House, we ordered three taxis to take us to the train station. All from the same company, all traveling to the same destination and at the same time of day, but none of the prices were the same. All came in under the 20 Euro mark. The cheapest was 15 Euro, the most expensive 18 Euro.
Once we got to Assisi, whether any of us were “in” to St Francis or not kind of became immaterial because the place was swimming in people. From there on in the sheer momentum carried the day. The energy and the devotion was very impressive and somewhat stunned a number of us, who while grateful for the opportunity to visit Assisi never expected the place to be so populated with people who’d made such an effort to travel the distance.
If the number of people on a Monday at Assisi was didn’t make a clear statement about the impact of this man, it was clear from overheard conversations and the way people acted in the Churches, that these were not all pious Catholics getting a devotional kick, rather they were people from all walks of life and beliefs.
St Francis certainly had a way about him and although dying in 13th Century, obviously still has wide appeal, his message of simplicity and peace reaching beyond the man-made boundaries of faith, even today.
Is it any wonder then that Pope John Paul II hosted a meeting of Church leaders at the nearby St Mary of the Angels church where St Francis died.
As well as the devotional aspects of visiting St Mary of the Angels church in Assisi, and the church inside a church, another “feature” is the garden and more particularly the two doves that nest inside on St Francis’ statue. Unfortunately the doves were down the corridor today and didn’t seem to want to come back. In our most un-St Francis like way and in the name of a photo a couple of us tried, indeed on two occasions, to encourage the doves back to their nest, however they had minds of their own and weren’t particularly media friendly.
Losing Marcel for about 20 minutes was really the only hitch of the day. Marcel got distracted courtesy of Matt’s iPod, and I believe the Bee Gees. (If his momentary high pitched singing was interpreted correctly.) If you were going to get lost in Assisi in something other than Francis it’s hard to better the Bee Gees. It wasn’t as though St Francis had started a joke, nor that we weren’t trying to get a message to Marcel, it was just that for a little while it seemed like were were just islands in the stream of people and our days lonely. Averting a tragedy, Marcel returned, guilty, but very much stayin’ alive.
Actually there was another small hitch, very inconsequential as it turned out, and totally in keeping with Marist on pilgrimage, there was no room at the Inn for lunch. Assisi being such a popular place we had to settle for “second best” in a packed restaurant, three tables all with spectacular unimpeded views over the plains. Life’s tough.
Home in time for dinner courtesy of the Route 75 bus, and credit where credit is due. Sometimes we seem to have a long wait at the bottom of the hill for this bus and the route gets “bad wraps”, however tonight it was as though it liked us and knew we were coming.
The title of this journal entry is “last drinks gentlemen please.” It’s not “time, gentlement please,” but getting close. Tomorrow we have a free day, so there won’t be an entry and after that we’re pretty much on the home straight. Am just signalling that there will be at least one, if not two more journal entries, however all the notes associated with the respective places that we’ve visiting will begin to appear shortly.
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