Word in the Hand

I have only been to Assisi twice; but somehow - as often is the case with sacred places- a part of me has always been there.  A part of me, I hope, still remains so if I never get there again in person then I can be there in spirit. Particularly for the second visit which seemed like a comedy of errors including driving (for the first time ever on the 'wrong' side of the road) across Italy, by myself, without a map having been diverted off the autoroute by roadworks and then, having arrived in one piece, finding my credit card deactivated - it's amazing how far 50 euros can go when that's all there is. Francis continuing to teach through example :) Assisi Undeniably, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Medieval buildings of pink granite, turned golden in the sun. Hot red geraniums, bold against the dark blue of a Northern Italian sky: the scent of olive groves, rosemary and lavender, and good coffee.  Magical, an inspired setting, worthy o...

Abbey at Lindisfarne There are many holy places in the world I would like to visit and re-visit. Some I have; but in the main, at this time in my life,  I don't have the freedom, time or money to go on faraway pilgrimages or long retreats. Also, I have ambivalent feelings about the need to travel or detach oneself from the world. The pilgrim in me understands completely the need to move out of the everyday; to take on the challenge of a journey; particularly to visit with and walk in the footsteps of the saints who have been an inspiration. The hermit in me agrees with the desert fathers and mothers  - stay in your cell and find God there or you won't find God anywhere. God is in the everyday; and the everyday is everyday . St Melangell's Jesus seems to do a bit of both; his wandering mission connects Jewish places with Gentile lands and sweeps back home to Capernaum or to to the place of trial, Jerusalem. When needed; there is the desert; probably o...