Assisi

I arrived in Umbria a week ago and have already concluded that its rolling hills and mountaintop vistas make it one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth. Today I had the privilege of spending the day in Assisi - a town where over two million people visit every year to experience the spirit of the town's two most famous and pious inhabitants - Saint Francis and Saint Clare.

I also visited Assisi to better understand the 'holy ground' and quickly fell in love with the hilltop town. Assisi is small and you can visit all the famous sites in half a day but I prefer a longer stay to really get a feel for everything. I spent most of the day wandering around climbing the steep streets. Who needs a StairMaster when you have medieval, cobblestone walkways?! I walked most of the town, even making my way up to a really cool fortress that sits at one of the highest points in Assisi.

After doing some reading about Francis and Clare, I found myself picturing them in Assisi's streets. They both grew up in privileged families but later shed their lives of comfrot in exchange for sacrifice and simplicity. One of my favorite spots in Assisi is the place right outside of Santa Maria Maggiore on a tree lined street where Francis denounced his father and his inheritance by stripping naked in front of a crowd. Very dramatic but I guess from then on no could doubt his seriousness about his conversion. Francis stricly followed the commands in Scripture to 'deny thyself' and to this day his following of Franciscan priests and the Order of the Poor Clares (both groups inspired by Francis) are notorious for their simplicity and strict rule following. I am amazed at the commitment of these two saints and ended up spending most of the day wondering why Christians dont do more to show our love of Christ. We do believe, after all, that the God of the Universe came down from heaven, suffered greatly to take our place on the Cross all so we could be in relationship with the One who created us. I am reminded of this when I read a quote from St. Clare posted in her basilica where her remains are located. 'Totally love Him who gave Himself over totally for love of you.' Hows that for convicting.

On another note, I dont think I have seen more priests and nuns in one place before. The ratio of clergy to laymen in Assisi is far above average. I loved seeing a bunch of nuns stopping to eat their bagged lunches in front of the Basilica di San Francesco and was surprised to find out that they like drinking soda and energy drinks. I guess fully devoting oneself to God requires a sugar boost every once in awhile.

I was going to attach pictures of the numerous churches and sites I visited in Assisi as well as some of the amazing views overlooking the green Umbrian hills, but alas, I either lost my camera or it was stolen. It was probably my own carelessness, but I cant help but notice the irony of it all. I was near San Damiano - another favorite spot near Assisi and the place where Clare was cloistered for most of her life and the setting of where the crucifix spoke to Francis, sparking his conversion. I cant believe someone stole my camera outside of a place like this! For a moment I got upset, but then learned a lesson from Francis himself and realized something. Francis vowed to own no property once he committed his life to Christ. In light of this, I guess I can handle the loss of my camera and well, whoever took it while standing outside of a church probably has bigger issues to deal with if he's willing to steal something as trivial as a camera near a place as inspiring and other-worldly as San Damiano.

On another note, the sunsets in Umbria are incredible and I watch them everyday from my temporary residence at Casa Faustina. We've started the olive harvest and so far I'm enjoying it. Theres nothing like working alongside old Italian men wondering where they told you to put the nets to catch the olives because you can barely speak the language. Anyway, more on that later, but for now, in the spirit of St. Francis, pace. (peace)