October

 Dear Family and Friends,

     October 4th is a big day for us!! We Sisters celebrate the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of our religious order. We even wear our black habits, which is equivalent to our Sunday best!

     St. Francis of Assisi was a man of deep prayer. For all that people know of him… his austere lifestyle, his deep love for the beauty of creation, his care for lepers, his powerful preaching of the Gospels, his founding of religious orders that have flourished to this day… behind all of that was a deep life of prayer in which he surrendered all to God, and God, in turn, conformed him to the life of Jesus. It has been said that since the time of Christ, Francis is the most Christ-like person to walk the earth.

     After we Sisters have been in the convent for twenty years, we are given the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to our Motherhouse in Germany for three weeks, and to Assisi, Italy for three weeks. What a huge grace!! In 2017, Sister M. Juliana, Sister M. Beata and I got to go. We still talk about it as if it happened yesterday.

     Assisi is such a peaceful place! Before Francis died, as the brothers were carrying him to the place where he would spend his last days, he asked them to stop outside the city and turn him toward Assisi. Then he raised his hand and blessed his beloved city. Anyone who travels to Assisi experiences that his blessing was a lasting one. Assisi hasn’t changed much since 1226 when Francis went to heaven. The city climbs up an Italian hillside topped by a medieval fortress. The streets are narrow with centuries-old cobblestones. Life is simple, despite the millions of pilgrims that pass through every year. There is joy everywhere… Pace! (Peace!) is the greeting you hear with every passing person in the street. Francis has ordained that our souls could find refuge here, in his footsteps, and follow him by turning our hearts to God.

     Walking in his footsteps is just what we did during our time in Assisi. We wanted to go where Francis went, to pray where he prayed. This was no easy task!! Francis found remote places to pray… typically on top of mountains or deep in caves.

     Let me tell the story of one of these “prayer adventures!”

     Carceri is a hermitage in a ravine between two mountainous slopes where Francis and his first followers would go to pray in caves. I had a desire to visit Carceri for a day of prayer. So one morning, I set out and walked the steep mountain curvy road to Carceri (about 5 kilometers). I arrived there about 10am, and much to my dismay found it noisy with the voices of a large touring group. Seeking to avoid the clamor and bide some time until they made their way back to their cars, I followed a small path that went up the hill within Carceri. My path kept going up and up, and I soon found myself at a thick stone wall. Since my path had become quite steep and precarious, I decided to climb over the stone wall and see where it led me.

     When my feet hit the ground on the other side of the stone wall, I was on the road above Carceri. As I started to walk along that road, I saw another path that kept going up the mountain. Ever curious, I thought… I wonder where that one goes…?? So I decided to follow it for “just a bit.” It kept going up and up and up. I was getting closer and closer to the open sunlight. The beauty of it all kept beckoning me!

     After another hour of climbing, I broke through the tree line to gaze upon an open, bare, rounded mountain top. I was at the top of Mount Subasio!! Not a soul in sight. On the other side of the mountain top, I looked down into a valley with other mountain passes lining up in the distance. The air was cool and light and the wind had that whistle of uninhibited air currents that whirl and whirl off into seeming eternity.

     I made my camp right there at the top of Mount Subasio, looking down on Assisi and the Umbrian landscape. Though I had set out for Carceri, I had found my place of prayer here, where I stayed for the rest of the day! Now I understand why Jesus sought the mountains to spend time praying to His Father in heaven. I was alone with the Alone. What a blessing this experience was for me!

     And Yes, I sang all of the songs from the Sound of Music at the top of my lungs up there… 😊

     This brings me back to the topic of prayer. Prayer punctuates our life here at the Mother of Good Counsel Home. I think Francis would have felt right at home here!! We have morning prayer over the intercom, daily Mass, common Rosary, blessings before bedtime, and we recently added Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the late afternoon. It is such a joy to see some of our residents anxious to participate in these times of prayer. While they enjoy the activities at the Home, they love their times of prayer. What a site to see such holy souls adoring God and offering their hearts and lives to Him. I can only imagine what good they are doing for this troubled world by spending this precious time with God.

     In His Merciful Heart,

                Sister M. Anselma