Thurs and Fri, 26 27, September

Thursday 26 September

This morning was an early breakfast and taxis at 8.00 for Porziuncola. Everyone was on time, in place and no hiccups. Praise the Lord! We had Mass almost as soon as we arrived, a little ahead of schedule but that pleases the sisters in the sacristy who then have ten minutes or so in hand if something gets out of schedule later on. There did not seem to be as many people as some years which meant a nice peaceful Mass with Andre's excellent homily about our Lady, one of his best. After Mass, they have a historical visit with Murray and Andre and I went off to be there when the picnic lunches came. This is the time when the pilgrims are paired off and given a cestina or picnic and invited to go off together and share. The names are drawn out of a hat so it is always interesting to see who God has decided to pair off with whom. As far as I heard, it all went well and in some cases very well indeed and no disasters! In fact there is no need to stay with a disaster if they dont want to since they all have bus tickets to return to the Casa and can do so whenever they choose.

They had a lecture that evening which I think was Murray on the Canticle of Creation, one of his best. I seem to have used the back of that sheet of the schedule for something else! Andre also taught them the Canticle in the Umbrian dialect which I havent heard yet but imagine they are going to sing at some point. There are some good singers in the group so everyone sings better then their best, always a good feel. 

The next day, Friday 27 September we all went to San Damiano, only one visit this year, usually we have gone once of Francis and once for Clare, but it makes a-lot of overlap sow e tried only the one visit this time. 

They had a power point presentation of the work Don Marino Bigaroni believes Francis did on the building and we had Mass in the small side room during which I disgraced myself by getting poorly. I have had a chest infection which is going round and the Farmacista gave me some powerful antibiotics. This was the first day. As Mass went on I felt sicker and sicker, in the end I said to Andre 'Is there a sink here?' He was saying his prayers so said 'what do you want a sink for? So I said firmly I am going to be sick! Not sure what happened next but I found myself outside amid hundreds of tourists, my head in a large paper bag over A Waste paper basket being held by someone else. In the event the moment passed but it did mean that when each day the antibiotic had this effect, i was ready for it! In the end nothing happened but easily could have! Fortunately, as it cleared I felt better and was able to do my work there which was the guided tour and explanations etc etc. It went OK and as I got to each room, i remembered what i was supposed to say in it, so I think it went off well enough.

Somewhere in all this, ironically enough, Murray and I did a healing service at San Damiano and anointed everyone including each other, and it seems to have worked for them all though maybe not for me! Then back to the Casa for pranzo and riposo, much needed, and in the late afternoon there was supposed to be a film of Assisi in World War II but we could not get thenDVD to show the English subtitles. This was the first big hiccup but was followed next day by my power point on Clare and the San Damiano crucifix when the laptop refused to show it from-a flash drive, we  changed the laptop, no. One of the pilgrims had an idea, No. we tried every suggestion made but no, so in the end I told them what it said,  ot the same actually but the best avaioable, the third crash was when we got to San Paolo in Bastia and the Benedictines for the first time ever, did not show up. After a while I rang them but they seemed to know nothing about us! Yet i had not only been in touch with Sr Noemi the Abbess but had had a warm reply from her and, thank heaven, forwarded it to Andre. So we did not have Mass but had a liturgy of the Word, i gave the homily and the three Poor Clares renewed their vows, and it was lovely, nicer I half think!

The rest of the Bastia day, which was actually today, Monday 30 September, went well.  The visit was good, the talks went alright, after dinner I took the two Poor Clares to the Protomonastery to see the place. I did not go myself, or not beyond the door, as I went off to buy a pair of walking shoes, much needed, since the ones I had bought to come were too tight and gave me black toes, so I gave them away. This time I asked to of the pilgrims to come and help me make a better choice and they did. I tried on about six or eight pairs, resisted pink shoes with flowers on and finally managed to buy a pair that were the ultimate in comfort and were totally vegan as well, lots of bonuses!

Tonight the Casa are hosting a dinner party for Murray for some of his friends here in Assisi, about 20 are coming, i am rather dreading it, all in Italian and lots of people who only know me as a hanger on to Murray! But he is dreading it too though he jumped at it when Andre suggested it first and spent yesterday writing a speech in his best Italian. I am sure there will be tears and laughter in abundance and may well be wonderful. I do hope so for his sake as this is not being easy and he is looking very stressed and tired, worn out with emotion! So more of that in my next. I think there is still a day to catch up,on but it will have to come out of turn. Love to one and all ft

Wednesday 25 September

Wednesday 25  September, i have a bit of catching up to do and hope to manage it during the course of today which is a free day. So on Wednesday 25 we had an early breakfast then a hike through the city to the pullman or (in English the coach)! As always there were two people who thought they knew the way so went ahead and got lost, not a recipe for a peaceful start, but we weathered it, found them and all got on board in time. At that early hour, the city only allows busses to park for a certain time, half and hour or so, after which they have to pay for a parking place for the whole day. It probably makes sense in the car park economy but doesnt allow for independent pilgrims who get lost! However all went well, we zoomed out of Assisi into the Perugia rush hour and so north into Tuscany and Lago Trasimeno. We arrived in very good time, long enough for a cup of coffee under the tamarisk trees beside the lake. These trees always intrigue me as we have one which sprawls all over the place. But here the various shoots from the ground are firmly wound together to for a sort of trunk and the they umbrella out from the top, and must look beautiful in the spring when in flower. Thee were men there fishing though, as usual, not apparently catching anything, but the lake supports a lot of wild life so must have fish in. We got on the ferry and set sail for the island. As we passed one of the other islands, no less than six herons flew from out of the tree tops and across the water, looking all tied together with string, legs dangling and croaking harshly. I also saw egrets, grebe, seagulls as well as some smaller birds.

We had Mass on the island since we have discovered both the small church near the seafront and the young lady who looks after it. So that was nice and Mass at the sanctuary all helps to set the day out of the rush of pilgrimage. After Mass we walked everyone round to the place where Francis traditionally landed and told them the story of how he came there for Lent with two loaves of bread and at the end of Lent, had only eaten half a loaf. Then everyone was let off the lead, so to speak and they soon all vanished. Some sat near the water and ate their cestina or picnic and others climbed the hill to the little chapel of St Michael where there are some early frescoes. The dayw as hot, I sat by the water and watched the egret working his way along the shore, while the grebes further out were catching their dinner. The lake is a bit of a mystery as there in no inlet of water, that is no stream or river runs into it, and also there are no outlets. In fact the water level was about two yards lower than last year since it has been a very dry year and obviously the lake relies on rainwater to get topped up.

It was lovely sitting there quietly and not feeling I should rush around and see everything, one of the perks of having seen it in previous years. I felt that quite afternoon with the ripple of eater did me more good than all the frescoes in Italy!

Finally the time came to catch the ferry back and everyone turned up in good order. The clouds were moving in and thunder was forecast as we got into the coach but we took a risk and went north a little more to visit Cortona and the shrine of St Margaret of Cortona. This is where they have had her head reconstructed by computer from the measurements of her skull, to give a lifelike impression of a very lively and lovely young woman. We took a group photo of the OFS members of the group, about ten of them which was really nice. When I get it, I will forward it for inclusion on our OFSGB site if they will accept it. It will let people know this great patron is here and perhaps encourage them to visit for themselves sometime. Then, as always, we made our way back to Assisi and escaped the thunderstorm which rumbled around the valley off and on all night. 

Tuesday 24 September

Tuesday 24 September

This morning the valley is full of mist and from my window on the first floor, I can see no further than the rooftop across the road. The bells all sound muffled and there doesnt seem to be any traffic. This must be what Clare had in mind when she said to Agnes not to let mist and cloud overwhelm her. She had seen mist and cloud filling the valley as a powerful image. This morning we go to S. Maria Maggiore and then San Rufino with a lecture this afternoon from Andre on Franciscan Solitude in preparation for tomorrow which is a day of solitude on the island.

Later n the day. We had a lovely Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore, celebrated by Murray and followed by a moving ritual of Francis before the bishop. Francis was played by the young friar on the pilgrimage who is severely dyslexic but was determined to do it, and it gave the whole ritual a completely new dimension and he read very carefully through his part. The most moving ever I think. Then a historical visit, this church is built almost certainly over the villa of the poet Propertius and you can g down into the cellar which was his living room level, and imagine him setting there with-a cool glass of wine, writing a poem and looking out over the Spoleto valley. 

There has been something precious about coming back to these places year after year, like visiting old friends and introducing them to other friends. I had not really realised how many friends I had made in this way, and as my Italian gets easier, how many living-now friends I have made as well. So far I have not walked around the city each morning like I used to but am waiting in hope for my knees to be less painful which is slowly happening! The more one walks the better it goes, that's for sure.

After S Maria Maggiore we had a coffee break and, for Andre and me a pan cacciato, hinter's bread, a sort of savoury cheese bun with walnuts in.  Murray can eat nuts poor mutt as this bun is only made at this time of year. It also offers a welcome sit down before meeting the pilgrims again at the fountain in Piazza Comune and leading them up to San Rufino where we had an historical visit, some input on where Clare really lived, on the old Cathedral and the new one (consecrated in 1228) and then went in to the chapel for War victims, the. Down to the small place where Francis used to pray all night before preaching on a Sunday morning. A sobering thought! t this point in the programme we also have a renewal of baptismal promises with holy water from the actual font where Francis, Clare, Frederic II and various others were baptised. Until very recently this was the only font in the city but now they have more as the suburbs have expanded so much.

This morning for the first time we saw people begging in the city. But today there was a young man crippled, who said he was Romanian, begging outside San Rufino. He has somewhere to sleep, he said, but no income so he cant buy food. Heaven knows how he got here from Roumania as he did look genuinely crippled, not just 'for the tourists crippled'. Assisi always had a no begging policy which seemed a little strange in the home of Francis, but they must have relaxed it at least, probably, enough to licence some of them. Since San Rufino is the main cathedral, there is no way he could sit in the porch begging without some sort of OK.

So it was quite a full morning and walking up and down hills in between, I dont know which is harder on the knees! So we are always glad of the siesta time and the afternoon. Back at 5.30 forAndre's lecture on Franciscan solitude, then supper and then we are showing the film Francesco, assuming all the gadgets work (that seems to have become my worry!)! Tomorrow we go to the island, hence the talk on solitude.

The weather is very unsettled, during the night there was thick mist over all the valley but mid-morning it cleared up and the sun came up, though not without some cloud companions! Yesterday we had a mega thunderstorm with lightning and thunder rolling round the valley. It reminded me of the one and only time I flew fromPerugia and we sat for ages in the p,ane and the pilot explained that he was waiting for the storm to return to Assisi before takingnoff! Eventually it did just that and off we flew!

Everyone here is keeping up with Greta Thunberg at the UN though the Americans are very despairing about Trump. They think he is mentally sick and impervious to anything. I hope not. Meanwhile we cheer ourselves up with the news that an unknown Cimabue painting has come on the market, after all these centuries! End of page, so love to you all and prayers in these places.

Monday 23 September

Monday 23 September

This is the first day in Assisi and, as Andre likes to say, we hot the ground running with Morning Prayer on the roof garden at 7.00. I went up at about 6.30 and put my washing in the machine (staff only privilege!) and the garden was dark and the valley full of mist and all the seats were wet. Little by little things got lighter and a bit drier and by 7.00 it was all manageable though too misty to point out all the spires and towers of Assisi, which is usually part of it. We read the Salutation to Assisi and a couple of other readings about it and sang some songs in greeting, and the Blackbirds chuckled around us as they found breakfast after the rain, and pigeons got on with their pigeony business. Then we had breakfast, or some did, and off to the Chiesa Nuova for Mass at 8.30. 

Since last year all the frescoes have finished being cleaned, the last two years they have had scaffolding up, so the portraits of the early friars were clear and fresh and the huge fresco of the Moroccan martyrs being disembowelled was gorier than ever! But it all looked clean and nice and cared for. We saw where Francis' father imprisoned him for bad behaviour and his mother let him out, then moved to the area where they think the shop was and more of the home, now all chapels for children and praying for children, especially the sick ones.

Again we had a long coffee break then reconvened for a historical tour of the Piazza Comune, winding up at Bernard of Quintavalle's house and back in time for pranzo. After the siesta Murray had a talk on Francis and non-violence, which gets better each time I hear it, usually we then encourage people to go up to the Rocca if they wish, but by the time we got to that plnt in the programme, the thunderstorm had set in and it was not only far too wet but probably dangerous to prance around on a hilltop anyway, so they had a breathing space which I dont think they regretted at all. Finally we got together in the chapel here at Papa Giovanni and had a ritual about Francis¡ meeting with the Sultan. This was very nicely read by one of the couples on the pilgrimage, very clear and distinct. And one of the Nigerian sisters told us about a peace initiative in Nigeria between the Christians and the Moslems, especially up in the north where Boko Haram had been so busy. The sisters (FMDM) just live there doing good works, feeding the hungry and doing what Francis says in the 1221 Rule, going among the non-Christians and preaching without words but by their way of life.

As always the FMDMs are impressive. They tell me they have just had a chapter and re-elected Jane for another term, I mention it as some of us know her.

Love to one and all ft

Thursday 19 September

Thursday 19 September - Poggio Bustone

This is one of the days that got missed out and I secretly hoped nobody would notice, but not a bit of it. I have had at least three emails or messages asking where it is. So here it is!

From Greccio where we were staying this year, Poggio is right across the whole width of the valley, much further than it was from Cabrini. That Cabrini house has been closed and the sisters gone somewhere else. It is true that Etorina was very unwell and the other two were elderly,  but no more so than we three. It all looks different when you get there! But their presence in the valley is much missed and I guess that is far stronger than we have been able to pick up. Anyway, we got there, Guido our driver was as good as they always are, negotiating the U-turns with skill and calm. 

The weather was cloudy and the road lined with fig trees, to Andre's fury as his pampered tree in New York still wont give figs and it is becoming a personal contest! Luca, the guardian is still there and says he expects to remain there until they find another fool to take over. There were three dogs hanging around, none of them belonging there but are from the village and they wander up to the sanctuary because (Luca's opinion) there is more happening and they get nibbles from the pilgrims!

We had Mass and an excellent homily from Andre and those who wanted had a chance of confession since this is the place where Francis finally accepted that he was forgiven. Then they had a historical visit though not a lot to see and mostly climbing down a tight crevasse to another of Francis' caves where only the slim or semi slim can pass! Then the energetic climbed the mountain. I went and sat in the picnic area and looked at the wonderfully wooded hills rolling in all directions.  No wonder that they say the UK is the most sparsely tree covered country in Europe. As I sat there gazing and thinking and just sitting, every now and again I heard the bell on the to of the mountain which each climber rings when they reach the top. So all the climbers made it and came down tired but pleased with themselves.

About midday we left to return to Oasi for 1.00 pranzo, a siesta and in the late afternoon we had a lecture and after supper a Preparation for Greccio, that very moving ritual where we pass the bambino around among the pilgrims. It always touches cords of one sort and another. 

This is a very comfortable group and, as we later discovered, all of them have been to Assisi before, though some only for a day or two and often it was thirty years ago. But it seems to make a difference, and certainly is easier for us. Ten FMDMs is certainly a bonus as they always bring a wealth of experience and have done so again. Two are Nigerian and two from Singapore, three are Irish and the rest UK. Then we have two married couples and two deacons so Murray and Andre 'have' one each if you follow me. There are about five people who have recently been bereaved and that seems to give a certain depth to the group and to any discussions. Then there are two other Poor Clares, Nelia  from Cincinnati and Sharon fromS Carolina. This is really nice as I know both those communities and Sharon came on the pilgrimage some years ago before she entered. Now she is finally professed and had not expected to come again but hers is one of the communities where they draw lots each year for who is to come and to her amazement her name came out. She was a professional singer and has a lovely voice. I remember her singing the Canticle of Creation in the Mantra version, it was the first year we had those books and it sounded wonderful. Being a musician must be as taxing on a pilgrimage as it is in a community but she is just peacefully bumbling on and when asked to sing, she sings. Then there is a young Irish friar coming up for solemn profession next year, who is probably the only one in the group who can still run! So all in all it is an interesting group, the average age is probably higher than usual but that is Ok too.

At the moment there is a massive thunderstorm going on. Fortunately there is nothing out scheduled for the rest of today, Murray has a lecture on Francis and non-violence and then there is a prayers service on the same. Usually we take them up to the Rocca at this point but with this thunderstorm raging on it may not be wise!

More in my next!

Sunday 22 September

So here we are, about to leave the Rieti valley which Francis very much loved, and move on to Assisi which he also loved though it was, I guess, a more complex relationship. And that rather complex relationship has come down to us all, I think, in that the relationship we have with Assisi has a wide range of feelings. In a curious way it is the goal of our pilgrimage, but at the same time it is only the start of it. We come to Assisi in order to find, experience, discover, understand or simply to be nourished by the sense of drinking the river near the source. Assisi will offer us innumerable things, some of which we know we are looking for and some may well be a surprise or even a shock. But for the moment I would like to connect our journey with an important ,journey made by Francis and his first companions in 1208, when they too were approaching Assisi, though a very different city from the one we are going to approach. By that I dont really mean because 800 years have passed or because it has changed or because we are people of a very different culture etc etc. Rather I mean that in 1208/9 Assisi was still a symbol for the brothers of all they had renounced whereas for us it is no longer that. So to pick up the story of Francis . . .

When I first read The Rediscovered Life of Francis, that short version which Thomas made somewhere before 1239, I was very struck by one short paragraph which, to my surprise I later discovered was in all the other accounts by Thomas as well. The paragraph refers to the 15 day stay which Francis and his first brothers made at Orte on their way back from seeing Innocent III. It has already been mentioned but I dont apologise for doing so again because I really believe it to be important because it set the agenda for all that was to come. The extract from the sources for today refers back to that stay at Orte, not explicitly but, coming as it does from the Three Companions, I think we can accept that the reference is there. This made me think that we are being invited at this point to stop and reflect.

On that journey in 1208/9 from Rome to Assisi, we are told that the brothers discussed how they were to live the Gospel life which the Pope had just told them they could do. It is as if they said to themselves: When we wake up tomorrow morning, what will be different? What are we to do that we did not do before? So they did the obvious thing and consulted the Gospel itself which told them: 'Seek first the kingdom of God and its justice'. And they spent the next 15 days discerning together about what that meant and how they were to do it. And in the opening words of the reading from the Sources we are told:

The servant of God, Francis, stripped of all that is of the world, is free for God's justice.

'He is free for God's justice' - unless we connect this to the days of searching at Orte, that phrase remains simply a pious expression, but if we connect the two texts, then we are being told something of significance, which is what I would like to try and unpack with you, because we should not forget that we too are on the way from Rome  to Assisi. We too are following the same journey both geographically and spiritually.

The three companions, Angelo, Leo and Rufino, who wrote today's text many years after Francis' death, had all been part of that original group which had gone to Rome with him. Together they had made a commitment to Lady Poverty which shaped the rest of their lives. In order to understand this and to gain some insight into the power it had for them for the rest of their lives, we need to recall the passage about Orte because that shows us how their commitment to Lady Poverty was closely connected to their thinking about the kingdom of God and its justice. They started from the simple conviction that our Heavenly Father is the source of everything. This made them realise that nothing was theirs, and they began to understand sine proprio (having nothing of their own), was a way of living which imitated the generosity and open-handedness of the Father. Being troubadours at heart, they called this a commitment to the Lady Poverty. She was and is closely linked to justice. As Francis used to say, if a poor man needed something he, Francis, had, then it belonged to that poor man. Lady Poverty is Kingdom living whereas the poverty of the impoverished is the fruit of injustice. This is the link between Lady poverty and the justice of the Kingdom. 

So when the Companions tell us that Francis was now free for God's justice, we sit up and - as Bonaventure says in the Journey- we prick up our spiritual ears. We attend to what is going on.

(Fox cubs, pricking ears, Dad's here!)

So we, with our pricked ears, hear the three companions telling us that, free for God's justice, Francis is able

- to Give himself to God's service in every way

- to comfort the priest in the same way that the bishop had comforted him

- to begin praising God

- then to turn to repairing the church.

When we look at the first reading for Mass this morning, from the Book of Revelation, we have what we could call the architect's model for that repaired church, the holy city Jerusalem. The writer obviously finds it impossible to describe the beauty of the city. It has the glory of God, radiant like a very rare jewel, angels at every gateway shining like pure gold, clear as glass. Even the sun and the moon are eclipsed, outshone,  by the light of the glory of God which is at the heart of this city. The whole world walks by its light and all the glory and honour of earthly kingdoms are just a poor offering in this temple. And the temple itself is the Lord God Almighty, there is no other.

So our texts for today give us a map for the true and ultimate pilgrimage which we are all making. We think we are travelling from Rome to Assisi via Rieti but the texts tell us that something far greater is also going on Though we may not know what that is. However this moment of departure for Assisi is an ideal time to pause and look at the spiritual view, to check the map and to get our spiritual breath both individually and collectively. Reading this map, we see once again that Francis is like a mirror for us showing us our personal journey, and he is also a mirror in the sense of giving us an example. This is why the Three Companions tell us that once he had shed all his unnecessary baggage, he was 'free for God's justice'. This is not the goal of our spiritual journey but the starting point, of the kingdom. 

So perhaps the first thing to check out on our map is what we understand by God's justice. We touched on it yesterday at La Foresta when we prayed for our Sister Mother Earth and the restoration of God's kingdom on her. There is a Taizè chant which says:

The kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

And this is what Francis was beginning to find, justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  This is what the scripture reading must mean when it says that people bring into the Kingdom 'glory and honour'. When those three come together, justice, peace and joy, then we can go forward trusting that we are working for the Kingdom of God. 

The 3 Companions, who all their lives pondered on the deeper meaning of Francis, show us how he did this. Because he finally 

accepted God's forgiveness at Poggio Bustone, he was now free for God's justice.

He was also free to share with others the gifts given to him, I think that is the meaning of 'the comfort he gave to the priest'. St Paul says somewhere about sharing with others the same comfort that we ourselves have received. This is a first stage in the life of justice and the companions saw it at work in Francis.

The next thing Francis did was to praise God, this is the true work of justice. Justice means giving others what is due to them. In daily life it often means things like paying our debts and telling the truth. In relation to God is means much the same, giving back to God all that we owe and telling the truth by acknowledging the wonder of God. So Francis began to praise God and to speak of God as good, all good, supreme good, the only good. 

Only after all those spiritual foundation stones were in place was he free to turn to the material dimension. He was began to create beauty outside because he had been restored to beauty inside. He began repairing the material fabric of the church and only gradually began to understand that God's plans were greater than three small buildings. 

We are told that he turned to obtaining stones to repair the churches, and God gave him brothers as stones for the spiritual building of the Church. So just as yesterday at La Foresta, the story of the vineyard and Francis became a mini version of the greater story of our planet, so here the story of Francis rebuilding the church is a mini version of every Franciscan vocation. In more ways than anyone can count, Franciscans of every kind and every degree of commitment and with every different level of awareness, are all called to the rebuilding of the church. By the goodness of God, we have a pope who even though he is a Jesuit, is profoundly Franciscan and knows that together we are all summoned to rebuild the church. So as we leave the Rieti valley and leave Rome even further behind us, let us look forward to the things that are before us, the tasks and the gifts. As we keep   our eyes fixed on Assisi let us not lose sight of the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. That is our gift and our task.

Saturday 21 September

This happens every year, that I miss a day for reason, which seemed unavoidable at the time, and then I cant remember what we did and have thrown away yesterday's schedule so there is no help there! Sorry. If it comes back to me I will fill in the day later.

Today we went to two sanctuaries which is unusual on this pilgrimage. It was caused by Fonte Colombo having a wedding this morning. So we went to La Foresta where the people who came flocking to Francis, ate all the priest's grapes from his vineyard but Francis made it up to him. We had Mass for Mother Earth to support the climate change protestors and I spoke as a homily. It seemed to go OK! Then we had time there and Mondo X, that group of young-ish men who are a rehabilitation group based on the rule of Francis, one of them spoke to us, nice man called Bruno. He was a bit older than sometimes and seemed more relaxed. He said he had been there for 27 years, he gave some of us a bunch of lavender and everyone a sun warmed tomato each. The. i asked him about the wonderful deep red geraniums which are always such a feature there and he gave me two cuttings to take with me and said he thought the secret was that they fed the plants with donkey droppings. He may well be right! Perhaps the sheep we had were a mistake!

After some time there for reflection we hopped back into the bus and returned to Oasi for pranzo. At 4.00 we were back on the road. The day was beautiful, clear blue sky and full sun, temperature just dropping from the upper 80s. In the distance was the range of Mount Terminillo high against the sky. There was no snow on it as yet though once or twice there has been at this time-of year. We had to drive right across the Rieti valley to La Foresta but only along to the other end of it for Fonte Colombo. This meant we had a good look at the valley, the sunflowers all dark brown and drooping, waiting for harvest. In one or two fields they had been harvested already and the stalks were being burnt. I saw several fields of millet, the first time I have seen it here. Most of the verges are left long for flowers and there are certainly a lot growing beside the roads. The old grey horse who was here last year is still here in his field with his three goats. It is hard to believe in climate change in these wooded hillsides, but the FMDM sisters from Zimbabwe tell me they have had no rain for four years, hard and rather frightening to imagine. 

Once at Fonte Colombo we went into the church and learnt about the Rule and some of the conflicts around it. They then moved on to the Magdalen chapel where Murray talked about the Tau as there is one drawn on the wall thought to have been done by Francis. Then to the St Michael chapel where, with lighted candles, they have a short liturgy of recommitment to Franciscan values, which they really entered into and seem to have appreciated very much. We were there for about two hours allowing some reflection and 'look around on your own' time and then back into the coach for Greccio. At pranzo there was a big group from Malta and the noise was something else! Tomorrow we will have Mass at 9.00 (Murray and me) and an introduction to Assisi from Andre then into the coach and off to Assisi. They landed a week ago today but have really gelled as a group and are very pleasant and easy to deal with. 

I will send this off and do some advance packing for the morning. At the next chance I will write up yesterday which was the celebration of Christmas at Greccio and an amazing Christmas lunch in the little village of Greccio. All for now, love to everyone from ft

Wednesday18 September

Wednesday we had an early start, everyone had their bags packed and in the coach before breakfast and they themselves were sitting in their seats well before the departure time. This was the first of the hard ones for Murray as he is probably not returning to Italy again, so he had some sad Goodbyes to say to the staff at Tra Noi since over the years they have become friends and concerns. This is quite a long coach ride up into the hills around Rome, into another regin, the Abruzzi. We climbed a lot or the coach did and gradually we came into wooded hill country. The trees are already beginning to turn colour but it was still hot, though thunderstorms are forecast for Thursday. Finally we reached Tagliacozzo where Francis' first biographer Thomas of Celano is buried, and climbed up through the town to the friary church where he lies in state behind glass. Attilio the Guardian was waiting to greet us and the. Produced another version of himself, his twin. Clearly they are identical and the second one is called Carmine. He gave us a presentation about Thomas which I translated but the whole thing was jovial and informal because that is what they are like! When they had finished, they went off, Andre went off to vest for Mass and I filled the pilgrims in-on the very end of Thomas' life because it is so sad. He wrote two biographies of Francis, one at the request of the pope Gregory IX in 1228 or so, and another in1243 to incorporate the bits the friars felt he had left out. Then in 1258 or so the friars, who were very divided on their image of Francis, asked the new General Bonaventure to writ e life presenting a Francis they could all subscribe to, which he did, two versions, the Legenda Maior and the  Legenda Minor, the long and the short! As part of subscribing to this, the chapter decided all other texts should be destroyed, so Thomas' life's work went up in flames. We only have it today because the Cistercians felt no obligation to burn theirs and kept the manuscripts! For Thomas however this was fairly traumatic and he retired to his home country, the Abbruzzi and became chaplain to the Poor Clares nearby. When he died he was buried there in Val di Varri and it was not until 1500 and something that his remains were moved to the friary he had founded in Taglicozzo.The sources say, rather sadly that he died 'in mistica solitudine',  in mystic solitude.

During the Mass we took time at the Offertory to pray for writers, naming any we knew or liked or had been helped by etc etc, that took a while! Then a short time to look around and we had to make our way to the Hotel Marina where Marcello, our host, was waiting at the door to greet and welcome us. Then we sat down to a beautiful banquet starting with prosciutto, several kinds of salami and for the two vegetarians a tomato and mozarella salad with basil. Then Came fagioli wich are kidney beans ina nice sauce cooked with chunks of lamb's heart and various inner bits, like haggis Andre said though I am not sure I agreed. Again something for the non meat eaters though I cant remember what sorry. Finally though not last we had another regional dish Scarmorza which is a local cheese wrapped in paper and cooked retaining all its juices, very tasty again but very filling. Finally we arrived at the pasta dish which Marcello said was flavoured with orange. It was ordinary tagliatelle with a tomato sauce and this amazing orange aroma. When I asked him how it was made, he laughed and said it was a secret! It was stupendously nice! We had a beautiful local wine, bottles kept getting opened, and at the end we had a dish with a slice of eater melon, a slice of pineapple and two small very light dumplings which he said they call a Bomba, a bomb, drizzled with a rich fruit and wine sauce. Certainly an introduction to the region. The bus driver who came from there said everything was cooked to perfection. It certainly tasted so. Then, at the very end, Marcello came up and made a farewell speech to we three because it was our last time, and gave us each-a gift! We were so touched. The gift was a plate with a picture of Taglicozzo in the snow, each wrapped carefully.

After all that food and emotion and fond farewells and many embraces, we tottered back to the bus because we were now heading for our second hospice in the Rieti Valley and Greccio. The drive was nearly two hours through numerous tunnels under the mountains and so to Oasi, the Franciscan Oasis of Greccio. I think we stayed there during the Poor Clare pilgrimage but am in a bit of a muddle so if nobody remembers it, then maybe we didnt! Although it still belongs to the friars, it is now managed by a married couple, Orlando and Simona with a charming five year old called Francesco who tells me he can count up to ten! 

More anon and as soon as the wifi is better I will send some pics too. Love to all ft

Tuesday 17 September Part 2

tuesday pm

This afternoon we went to St John Lateran, it was very hot but, amazingly, when we started out we seemed to be in a small gap between rush hours and there was nothing like the usual traffic. Sow e arrived in record time, went through security as you have to these days and into the vast portico and looked at the Holy Door, all cemented shut now until the next holy year. It has a complex and beautiful sculpture on the front of the Trinity and Our Lady and the bronze feet of the Son are all shiny with touching and kissing. Then we went inside and the marble flooring is as wonderful as ever. I took yet more photos of it because it just intrigues me every time! There is not so much here of Franciscan history as you might imagine but it is the place where Francis came to meet Innocent III in1208, though obviously not the actual actual building, since that is long burnt down and replaced. Innocent III is buried here. He died in Perugia and was, I think, buried there, but Archbishop Pecci who became Leo XIII had his body brought down and a posh tomb made. Leo XIII is also buried here, important in the history of the friars because he united the many splinter groups into what we now have, friars minor, friars minor capuchin and friars minor conventual, this is the so-called Leonine union, though it took over a hundred years for all the groups to toe the line.

The other notable thing in the Lateran, well two really, one is the apse designed and executed by a Franciscanfriar called Torriti, very beautiful and for once the machine that turned the light on worked instead of gobbling my 2 Euro piece and doing nothing. It is a lovely apse with rivers of life flowing off, two deer drinking and a bunch of saints including Francis and, very small, Nicholas V the Franciscan pope who commissioned it. The other lovely thing is the mediaeval statue of Our Lady which Paul VI bought and pope Francis put - as the label says - here in his church. There are always fresh and healthy looking plants around it and candles burning and people praying there, turning the vast place back into a church. 

After some time to look around, we went into one of the small chapels and had a ritual recalling the visit of Francis to the Pope and the dreams which seem to have guided the whole incident. Innocent had a dream of a tree which grew to tremendous height and which he was told was the beggar he had turned away the day before. So he sent servants to look for hi and they found him with the Antonine Brothers working with the poor. They wore a large Tau on their habits and are thought to be where Francis first saw it and took the idea, though there are also other theories - of course!

After some look-around time, we got back in the coach and returned via the Gianicolo with its spectacular view of Rome, over looking the whole city and then the driver pulled off the coup of taking us back along what must be the only road in Rome that Andre did not know! There is an early start in the morning, the coach arriving at 7.00 as we are leaving Rome and so people had to pack. They had strict instructions to put all suitcases in the coach before 7.30 breakfast so we could get away as soon as possible since we are off to the hills and Tagliacozzo where Francis' biographer Thomas of Celano is buried. And so to bed.

Tuesday 17 September

This morning we had a relatively leisurely start with breakfast at 8.00 and at 84.5 we were all on a coach, il Pullman as the Italians call it, heading into the rush hour and Trastevere and San Francesco a Ripa, St Francis on the river bank. Thanks to Mussolini there are now high embankments and Trastevere no longer floods every year, one result of which is that it is no longer the district for the poor only, though it does still seem very much the old Roman district. To buy sn apartment here is probably prohibitive and they say hardly anyone buys houses any more since the price is so high.

We had a nice bus driver, Luigi, and we arrived in good time for Mass at 9.30, Murray was the celebrant and ft the homilist, or should it be homiliste? After that Andre gave a guided tour though it is a very small place after St Peter's 6 acres. The history included St Charles of Sezze, an ofm brother who was told not to write but who left, on his death, six volumes of mystical works. So much for obedience but John XXIII canonised him anyway, thrilled that his very first canonisation was a franciscan as he himself was a secular franciscan. In the next bay to him was Bl Luisa Albertoni, a widow, with a spectacular Bernini monument of her in a somewhat voluptuous extasy! The frescoes in her chapel were being restored and those in St Charles' have been done, lovely glowing colours and sharp focus.

The treat of this place is the little room upstairs behind the sacristy where Francis is reputed to have slept and which has never, by the look of it, been painted since! Charles of Sezze's embalmed heart used to be there in a niche but somebody stole it! The whole church and its still poor setting is one of the places which seem most full of Francis, and of course it was here that he met Lady Giacoba since this land was all owned by her family,,the Settesoli gang. In those days the building was the hospice of St Blaise, whose blessing we still have in February. They must have been glad of him even more in the days when the district was an overcrowded swamp full of malaria mosquitoes - as indeed it still is even though the swamp has gone!

The painter de Chirico is also buried here which is another surprise, and outside the church are three posters saying de Chirico, St Francesco, Beata Luisa. Clearly heaven is egalitarian and you might end up with anyone for a neighbour. Off to pranzo now. St John Lateran this afternoon so watch this space.
Love and prayers to all
ft

Monday 16 September

This is the big day when we go to St Peter's for Mass and then have the visit there. It was ht again but still cool when we set out at 7.30 to walk to St Peter's. The morning traffic was as bad as ever, it dont Think it ever sleeps! The day began excitingly for one pilgrim whose toilet overflowed generously or, as she said, Grossly! She had rung the desk and someone had come to her rescue, including a plumber, then she rang me to do the same. I trotted down a floor and although it was not 'horrible' it was all pretty wet. The staff person promised that it would all be sorted. 'Subito' which officially means at once and really means possibly sometime today! This was demonstrated when nothing had been done by the time we returned for pranzo and she threw a very wobbly wobbly lapsing into broken Spanish since she was, she later said, too upset to remember any Italian! It did not really clarify much! Anyway I poured oil around, recommended 'calma!' And spoke to the staff and as I went back to the lift, it opened and two cleaners came out ready to do their stuff and the lumber to double check and, maybe not to miss any fun!

St Peter's was itself, massive and busy. Tourists are not allowed before 10.00 am and Masses were going on all over the place, but it is so huge that they are only background sounds. I heard Andre say today that the floor of St Peter's is 6 acres, which is as big as six Hollingtons! Andfe's input was a good as always though I noticed he now knows it mostly by heart and hardly used his text. It is a very tiring day and there are no seats there to stop and have a break and I think everyone found it hard. Murray said Mass at the tomb of John XXIII and preached about being the body of Christ, as well as about John himself . The visit followed, looking at key items, art works, tombs and ironies like John XXIII's monument being in the same chapel as Pius X who condemned John for modernism! Or all the names of the bishops who signed the decree of the Immaculate Conception being written on the wall of church under the statue of St Thomas Aquinas who denied the Immaculate Conception as it did not fit with the ideas they then held about the development of the Foetus! And so on . . .

Murray went back to Tra Noi after Mass, I stayed with Andre, partly, for support and partly so that there was a second person incase anything happened. Also at the end we have to collect the small receivers we rent from the Vatican with head phones so everyone can hear without having to shout, this is what makes the visit possible. Then e eryone scattered, the pilgrims were out on their own for pranzo adn Andre and I went to a nearby bar and thankfully sat down and had an orange juice, when we felt up to it we took a taxi back to Tra Noi, he was desperate by then to take his habit off and I was desperate to take my walking shoes off which were killing me. i have decided never to wear them again no matter what! 

We all regrouped at 6.00 and they had two lectures, another double act from Murray abd myself, on the sources we have for Francis and Clare. This was also in preparation for going to Tagliacozzo where Thomas of Celano, Francis' biographer, is buried. Then cena and so to bed.

More anon, watch this space. Love to all, ft

Sunday 15 September

Sunday in Rome is far from dead but from the pilgrimage angle is a nit of a lost day. It is impossible to go to any of the sanctuaries on a Sunday and in fact a lot of the group were still in jet lag and were glad of another quiet day. Sundays cant be avoided altogether obviously, and the pilgrimages are fixed according to the same dates every year. So here we were on Sunday!

We had a leisurely start with Mass at Tra Noi. There was a muddle with the booking so an elderly priest and his small group had a Mass standing round the altar in a chapel built for a couple of hundred and we, 28 of us, had Mass in the small prayer room and filled every seat! But it was a lovely Mass, people are coming back to life and almost half of the group are FMDM sisters and had come from Ireland or UK so were not in jet lag anyway. After Mass  they had a lecture at 10.00 though I cant seem to remember what it was about nor can I find the sheet of paper which would tell me all. Sorry. They then went down to St Peter's for the midday Angelus with Pope Francis and were back in time for pranzo and a siesta. Sunday was very hot again, upper 80s and some are minding it more than others. The humidity is also high which makes it feel hotter but the two sisters from Singapore said that for this it was a lovely sort of day,  ot too hot not too humid. It clearly depends on what you are used to!

Towards the end of the afternoon there were two lectures, one on Francis and the papacy and one on Clare and the papacy, star turns, Murray and self! Nobody is hanging aroiund in the evenings I notice, and they always have a lot of reading to do for the next day, as well as keeping journals and keeping emails etc up to date, so they have more to do than just visit places with lecture interruptions! That is all I can remember about Sunday though I think we had a staff meeting and Andre is also a bit jetlagged still.  Love to you all ft

Saturday 14 Septemberrs froma cer

Today was largely spent at the airport. We had an early breakfast (well, coffee) and were on the road by 7.00 with the least traffic I have ever seen
 So we made very good time. The first flight for us was due in at 7.00 and we reckoned that the time it takes to come through customs etc is roughly the same, as the drive to the airport. This was more or less correct! Unlike some years, there were several flights with-a number of pilgrims on ending with an Easyjet flight from UK with a number of Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, in all  25 pilgrims and all present and correct except two. One was coming from England and said she wouod make her own way into Roam and had been before. The other was coming from Charlotteville in Arizona and the flight was delayed by four hours, possibly - the men thought - because of disruption after the hurricane or turbulence or something. He was not coming in until about  1.00 so one of us had to stay. I was happy to because it gave me a chance to find out how one gets a taxi etc etc. I learnt a lot, including how many charming (and some very pushy and aggressive) men were hanging round getting work. They would go up to any tired or laden traveller and ask 'Taxi?' And then phone for one and charge what they like. However the authorised taxis are lined up in the street outside the airport doors and are all white. The others are cowboys. Ours, when we finally got into it, cost €48 into Rome. So you have been warned. I have probably ruined their trade and will get lynched! Never mind, it is a good cause! Our tired pilgrim finally turned up, a nice man, very involved with the secular Franciscans in his area and we were in Rome and pulling up outside Tra Noi in just about half an hour which was less than I had thought. I had eaten at the airport, he had eaten on the plane so I went with him while he checked in and then to my room for a break.

At 3.30 Fr John Cella was looking in to see us, he is the manager of the whole pilgrimage programme and over her himself to lead a pilgrimage. I think there are about five groups over here at the moment of one sort or another. Most pf them are straightforward pilgrimages but one or two are more focussed, like a group of Felician sisters retracing their foundress' birthplace etc. Also there is often a group of teenagers fro, I think, a certain St Anthony's School who offer their sixth forms a twelve month course in Franciscan history and spirituality which closes with a visit to Rome and Assisi and they get credits for the trips (or dont) so they are on their best behaviour most of the time. We often cross with them during our time in Assisi.

After a prolonged siesta, we met at 5.00 for Introductions and orientation and the giving of each pilgrim a copy of the pilgrims' Companion, the book with it all in. Then there were some bits of business, signing up to read, be Eucharistic minister etc etc, then supper and to the relief of most, bedtime. By the end of supper it was nearly 8.30 so for Most of them, a very long day. And so to bed, as Pepys said!

13 Sept pics of Tarquinia

Friday 13 September

Today was our 'relax and have fun before it all begins' Day. After some discussion and changing our minds we agreed to go to Tarquinia on the coast, near Cività Vecchia. It was not a long drive and offered sea, sun and fish - all worth travelling for especially all together. The traffic was awful as always and Andre is still grappling with jest lag but we got there ok and then realised the Etruscan. Museum seems to be in two places. We went to the National Museum but realised the frescoed wall of Etruscan banquets and animal were in another place. But we decided to stay with what we had and saw some stunning pottery and jewellery as well as massive Henry Moore type ladies and a wealth of delicate bronzes and gold work, all from as early as 800BC. It was very hot and nearly 2.00 after that so we decided to go in search of dinner and to look at the Etruscan paintings online, where we might actually see more.

So we tootled along, got slightly lost among the saline which we discovered were salt pans where the sea was evaporating in the heat and leaving a crust of white salt along the edges. We often eat sea salt, so it was interesting to see it in its early stages. When that was sorted and the hige rented car-turned round without falling into any of the available ditches, we set off even more seriously in search of lunch. We wanted, sea, view, good food, nice ambience and as soon as possible. Finally we found all three at the Ideal Restaurant. It was a two storey house in a fairly large garden with hibiscus in bloom and all looked well cared for. Going through the entrance we came to a huge conservatory type extension which was right by the beautifully clear blue, green Mediterranean sea. Across the bay were moored two cruiser ships, sailing around were several sailing boats with white sails. The maitre d' said we were not too late and led us to a table looking down onto rocks and shallow water. It was gone 2.00 by this time and we chose rapidly. Andre' had a mixed Fruit if the Sea dish, different kinds of fish and shellfish which he said was delicious, though being a south Italian he really likes lots of garlic with everything. Murray ahd what he later described as the best ever spaghetti with shell fish, clams mostly. Since shell fish made me so sick a few years ago, to my great sorrow, I have avoided them and this did not seem the moment to experiment with the pilgrims arriving in the morning. So i had something I have read about which was small squid cooked in their ink. When I made the order a kind of movement went across the waiter's face. I did not know what it meant so told him I had read about this but never had it and he smiled nicely. When it came, on a large dinner platter, there was this large bumpy pool of food which was absolutely black. I was sort of prepared as it was called 'al Nero'. In fact it tasted very nice though I was a bit knocked back half way through to realise that the bumpiness was lots of tiny squid about an inch and a half long. I began to feel wicked and wish I could be a vegan but I am sorry to say I enjoyed them and ate it all up then followed it with. Lemon sorbet and felt ready for anything!

This restaurant was rated A1 and put on the very shortest short list. But its crowning delight came when we we all trooped to the toilet before leaving as the whole area, men on one side and women on the other, was decorated as under water, painted a-sea green with shells all over the place and, in the women's part, the toilet seat was all sparkly and twinkly, like that holograph paper you can get! So that was fun, even better than getting lost in yesterday's potting shed!

We drove back to Rome door to door along the famous Roman road, the via Aurelia. History was all around us. The Romans marched to conquer the Etruscans along this road which is still numbered 1 of all the roads leading out of Rome. We had a great discussion in the car about the difference between a lorry and a-truck in UK and USA and where do the words come from anyway? So now we are back at Tra Noi and start work tomorrow, leaving for the airport I guess, at around 6.00 am as the first flight gets in at 7.10 and then it will be all go. More anon with love to you all. ft

Thursday 12 September

This is the preparation day when we need (such a hardship!) to go to Assisi. We had breakfast, or the men did and I tanked up on coffee. Murray was in clover because at the. Supermarket the day before we had found some soya milk in small containers, one a day, so he was happily back to cornflakes! We had a beautiful Mass together in the small almost underground chapel, managing to avoid the sacristan who seems to regard any use of the chapel as an infringement of her human rights! As so often, we had a great sharing. They are urging me to write something about Hollington, how it started and a sort of assessment after nearly 16 years. They have always been immensely supportive of the project and are so still, seeing it as having a prophetic insight which is completely in harmony with sll that Pope Francis is saying. I tried to be non-committal but of course the last time they did something like this, it turned into five volumes! That wont happen again but maybe something will and it is obviously very affirming that they grasp so well all that we had in mind or have learnt since.

So by 10.00 we were on the road, Andre' and Murray shared the driving, Andre driving until out of Rome. Being used to New York, he drives like an Italian and is well able to cope with the way they drive as if nobody else was on the road! It is quite a long trip, almost two and a half hours  but as always such trips have been a precious time of sharing and pooling ideas. We stopped at the Autogrill, a service station, for a coffee, and, later on the return trip at another one where the toilets were all wall papered in pictures of shelves full of plant pots with plants. For a moment we could not find the door and thought we had wandered into a potting shed until, among the plants, we saw the signs for Uomini and Donne! Once inside the Donne section, the papering was the same except that alternate ones had birds in among the plant pots and, for a moment, I could again not find the doors!
We finally arrived in Assisi, always a powerful moment as you drive in along the flood plain and see it across the alley on the far mountain side, looking so little and yet so packed with significance.

We drove through the town made a longer drive by the one way traffic, tourists everywhere all wandering back to their hotels or restaurants for pranzo. We finally came to the Casa Papa Giovanni and Rita was there to welcome us. Then Francesca come in and Marissa, they had prepared a lovely just right meal for us which included something new to me, which was fried green chillies. They were delicious, soaked in olive oil and not exactly hot, just piquant as the cookery books say and the seeds almost charred. To be recommended.  But the best thing of all was a large bowl of figs from Marissa's garden, undoubtedly the way to Andre's heart and by the end of the meal they had all vanished!

After pranzo we sorted out stuff to take to Rome and left in Assisi the stuff we had brought up from Rome. This year the Christmas celebration is ata restaurant in Greccio so there was not the same need to buy Christmas 'candy' type things. We are not staying with the Cabrini sisters because they have had to close their place because of lack and ageing of sisters. So we are back to the friars' hostel Oasi where we used to stay in the beginning until they gave all the rooms to the North American College students' retreat. It seems everything has rolled over again and the students gone elsewhere so we are back instead. It is ideal there because it is within easy walking distance of Greccio sanctuary which is really nice for the pilgrims. Then finally we drove back from Assisi to Rome just in time for cena, supper. I know this travelogue must sound like a journey from one meal to another and so it is in some respects. By cena on Thursday, we had done all the preparatory business and tomorrow is our fun day. After a lot of thought we decided to go to Tarquinia which is anEtruscan excavation with lots of Etruscan wall paintings and frescoes and a very good museum and is by the sea so will have fresh fish too! Watch this space!

Wednesday 11September

Today is 9/11 and we began with Mass just the three of us, here in the little chapel of Casa Tra Noi, praying for all those who died and those still affected by the event and the events since as well.

Then it was soon to work, checking everything and going through the lists. There are 25 pilgrims in all, a respectable sized group, and we three so 28 for everything, nearly all women, a big group of Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, some from Ladywell and some for the Far East. There are two married couples and a young friar from Ireland who will probably be spoiled rotten by all the women! So busus, routes, times, taxis etc all had to be checked. That took most of the morning   And after Pranzo (lunch) and a time of repose, we then went off to the supermarket to do some shopping for the pilgrimage. Although we have been to the same one every year, it was only this year that I noticed it is a Co op, which made it all feel more  Familiar!

The traffic is worse than ever here and the driving too. I also noticed some serious needs for maintenance here at Tra Noi. Sitting on my balcony this morning to say some prayers before it all began, i unwisely looked up and saw how crumbling is the balcony about me, the metal struts all rotten. It looked like a classic example of an accident waiting to happen and makes me a little wary of moving right out onto the balcony in case is crashes down, but sitting there this morning, at treetop level, there were two European crows on a nearby TV aerial sprucing up before the day. From where I sat I could see the patch of ground where the trees were rooted and two blackbirds chuckling together as they had breakfast. Italian politics seem in almost as much mess as ours in UK or, Murray and Andre' assure me, theirs in USA. What I do see here isa commitment to recycling and an ecological awareness. As we flew down along Italy, we looked onto acres of forest interspersed with cultivated areas and the towns and cities spreading along the coast. It seemed to bear out what they say about Britain having the least forest cover in Europe.

In the evening we went out to a small family restaurant just by San Francesco a Ripa, on Lady Jacopa land. We sat outside amid the diesel fumes and watched the night fall. The moon was almost full. Romans were gathering in groups and going off for the evening and a came by playing music to the diners. We started with aubergine slices which mad been marinated in wine vinegar and il and spices, toped with chunks of ricotta cheese. The men then had vongole,mscallops, which I love but have learnt I am allergic to so I had what the two grandchildren of the family were eating. This turned out to be pasta stuffed with cheese and spinach and a delicious sauce. This was followed by a speciality of a stick about 6 ins long threaded like a kebab with sardines, quite different from the tinned version. Then we thought we would stop but Emilia insisted we try their tiramisù and wind up with a digestivo. The good thing was that in spite of being a lot of dishes, none of them were much in themselves. At the end we felt Very nourished and cheerful but not overfull and bloated. As we walked back to the car, I saw a young girl sleeping on a suitcase and several people begging from the vars held up at traffic lights.
On Friday we have to go up to Assisi to prepare things there so are making Friday our treat day and are going to Monte Cassino, more anon! Love to all ft

10 September 2019

Dear Everyone - it is more than time to start the new, blog and to take you on a pilgrimage with Murray and Andre'. It began, for me, with an early start, too early for Tandu who had only just gone to bed, but late enough that I still had time for a cup of coffee and to do this bits and pieces which can only be done at the very last minute. Rose fmsl nobly got up to drive me to the station, nearly wrecking the whole project by arriving five minutes early, not my style at all! She ran me to the station in record time, hardly any traffic, and with luck will have been home with coffee by the time I got on the train.

While I sat on the platform, a joyful vice spoke my name and I looked up to see Maria Darkadas, a local friend, looking as lovely and vibrant as always. She too was off to Gatwick, on her way to Portugal to give a course. So we travelled up together and she filled me in with all the family news, which is pretty good. Once at Gatwick I could see she did this frequently and topped it up by buying me breakfast. She had the full English but I had healthy granola and yogurt and coffee! Then I had to go as my plane was earlier than hers though in fact mine was delayed and left and hour late,

We  had the bumpiest flight I have ever had as we flew over France, mirroring Macron's views of Brexit, probably but it settled down as we got further south. We flew down the west coast of Italy and landed still an hour late. I felt sorry for Andre who had flown all night from New York, but he and Murray met me not looking too bad considering neither had slept much, Andre' in his plane and. Murray on his train. I had nobody next to me on the plane so read peacefully most of the time and arrived in good shape but hungry. I had declined to buy an Easyjet lunch as I felt sure we would have something at the airport. Not a bit of it as they had used my delay to have lunch themselves but chivalrously asked if I wanted anything and got me a very nice bap with sunflower seeds and such like. Then we got in the hired car, a huge jeep type thing which I anticipate will pose lots of parking problems and drove into Rome, almost an hour.  I keep thinking of Marie Therese making this trip on her own in October and am making mental notes to simplify everything!

We arrived at Casa Tra Noi and found my room, both men especially Andre', looked wiped out so we agreed to meet at 7.30, about five hours away, for supper. I settled in, have a shower and lay on the bed for a bit. I have a nice double room, very light, on the second floor so the balcony is tree top level. The cicadas are in full voice and it promises to be hot tomorrow, 90 says Andre' gloomily! We shall see. Just to round of today, we had supper and went to our separate beds. Andre' slept like a log and so did I. Murray was all set to sleep but about midnight he was visited by a poem which kept him awake for some hours. I imagine it like a fairy sitting on the bed raio but it may have been more disturbing than that!
More tomorrow, they both asked me about Paul and how she is doing and sent love. I will now send out some emails so folk can connect with this if they want to though it is the same programme as before!
Love to all ft

In Hollington and almost ready to go!
Fr Murray Bodo ofm and Sr Paul osc

Dear Reader

In just one week I shall fly off to Italy again for the last pilgrimage that Murray Bodo, Andre' Cirino and I will lead together. Rather a momentous event. I will try and keep this blog going and am sending this out as a prequel (as they say) so you can be warned and can, if you wish, let others know.
Meanwhile, pray for the pilgrims and pray for we three too. God bless, with love ft