Assisi Weekend

Baptismal font where both St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized.

I apologize for the delay in posting.  The demands of Italian classes, other obligations and my first run in with the Italian power system (I fried my power cord for my computer) kept me from writing another blog, but alas here it is.

I will write about the main event now and if time permits, I will add to it later.  September 3-5 we took a class trip to Assisi to visit the holy sights there and to relax a bit.  This was a much needed break from the hectic pace of orientation.  Since Assisi is a relatively small city and I had been there twice, I was able to take a lot of time to relax, sleep and allow myself to finally overcome the jet lag.  I did tour some of the sights with one of the guys who studied Italian for a month in Assisi, so he was able to tell me about several things I did not know.  This weekend was extra special for me, because I learned an interesting fact since the last time I had been to Assisi.  As most of you know, my grandpa (Paw Paw) passed away this past February.  The fact that he was a very spiritual and religious man was no secret to me, however I learned in his last days that he had a great devotion to St. Francis of Assisi.  I found this interesting because the last time I was in Assisi, I bought a statue of Jesus on the cross being embraced by St. Francis to give to my grandparents (not knowing about Paw Paw's devotion).  I was excited to get to Assisi and pray for my grandpa at a place that would have been so special to him.  As the weekend went on, I thought about Paw Paw and prayed for him several times.  On Sunday morning we ascended the mountain to have mass outside at the hermitage where St. Francis lived after his conversion.  Somehow in my two previous trips to Assisi I had passed over this amazing place.  When I arrived before mass, I immediately had a peaceful feeling.  It was a beautiful wooded area, the weather was cool and I was in the place where one of the greatest saints in Church history lived and prayed.  I was able to walk through his humble hermitage before mass and saw the rock bed where Francis slept.  I felt a great peace there and felt like I was so close to God, St. Francis and Paw Paw.

St. Francis' "bed".  A rock floor in the corner of his tiny room.

Needless to say, mass was amazing.  Afterwards a group of us went down to the lower part of the city and visited the church ( which houses the small church where Francis was brought to die.  The weekend was amazing because I got to pray in amazing places and finally caught up on my sleep.  Now I am ready to conquer this thing they call Italian!  Hope to post again soon, but until then, please continue to pray for me and know of my love and prayers for all of you!

In Christ,
Patrick

P.S. - Please pray for Garrett, the 15 year old godchild of my aunt's friend who has an inoperable brain tumor.    Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, pray for him.