Italy pilgrimage 1 - Rome and beyond

April 23 - It took 18 hours to get to Rome. On the 21st, we heard that the Holy Father had passed away early Monday morning. As I prepared for the pilgrimage, I felt out of sorts, not quite myself, although a part of me was eager to be able to pay my respects to someone I held in great esteem and affection. Tears streamed down my face unbidden when I first read the news of his death. Such a mix of emotions: sorrow, gratitude, deep respect and love for a man who heroically ignored his own ailments to be the voice of encouragement on Easter Sunday, his last gift to the world.

April 27 - Forty-four of us are on the way to Rotondo which is a five and a half hour bus ride. The last four days in Rome were filled with grace upon blessing despite the hive of activity - passing through the Holy Door of each  of the four major basilicas, praying as we ascended the 28 steps of the Holy Stairs, paying our last respects to the late Pope Francis in St Perer’s and a little bit of sightseeing in the Vatican Museum and the city of Rome. It was surreal to be in Rome to see the large numbers of people who had gathered intentionally and unintentionally to say goodbye to the Holy Father. What was most heartening was to see the huge number of youth who had gathered for the canonisation mass of Blessed Carlo Acutis. May they be blessed even though the mass has been postponed due to the funeral  on the 26th. 

April 28 - San Giovanni Rotondo is a destination purely to experience the holiness and life of Saint Padre Pio. It was nice to take a breath, to be able to contemplate how God has blessed me and P on this pilgrimage. As we did the Way of the Cross it became clear that my mission, our collective mission, is to grow in holiness within our own families by forgiving, and caring for those people whom God has placed in our lives and bonded us in a special way. The people I need to treat best, giving generously of my time and effort are my family. Am I doing it? Yes, but I can certainly do much better. 

100 rich

Yesterday marked 100 months of marriage and I initially had great plans to celebrate the occasion with a romantic dinner à deux. 

However, as events transpired we ended up celebrating the birthdays of my daughter N (I invariably take out the step for I consider her the daughter of my heart) and grandson J.  It was fitting for the procreative nature of marriage gives rise to the beautiful multiplication of numbers crossing generations within a single family.  I consider myself extremely blessed to be able to participate so fully in family life in my late vocation of wife and mother. 

Sarah laughed in disbelief when she heard the stranger’s prophetic message that she would have a child (Genesis, chapter 18). There is still an element of disbelief on my part that I, too, could be “fruitful”, but mostly I laugh with delight at how full my cup is with P and my instant family. 

I would like to remember this special day, filled with very ordinary things that made it extraordinary.

I awakened to the sound of my grandson’s voice, after which I quickly went downstairs to make breakfast pancakes for the grandkids. Then I dropped C off for her netball lesson before coming home to sit with J as he did worksheets and we did some coordination exercises before N came to pick him up.  

P and I went for a quick breakfast before I drove to church to join the meeting of all liturgical ministries participating in Holy Week as well as the lectors’ meeting that followed after.  

When I got home, P and I had to go pick up J’s birthday cake which I had ordered earlier in the week. He wanted a Cookies n Cream (his fave) ice cream cake as he didn’t like cake cake.  

We brought the cake home then got ready for pickle ball in the sweltering heat. It was an indoor court but. boy, did we sweat buckets.

After an hour of play we got home, showered , and soon it was time to go pick dinner up. It was raining by then but I prayed A’s good weather prayer and truly the rain lightened considerably when we had to cart the food to the car, and when we got home.

Then it was dinner time which was a lovely evening of good food and family bonding. I had made a tiramisu for N’s birthday cake (her fave), so there was the obligatory celebratory sugar overload. 

P and I were both pooped after our long and busy day. But we ended it with our consecration prayer to Mary which we repeat every 12th of the month, invoking the memory of the day we first did our consecration to our Mother on our wedding day. 

It is late, and I have to proclaim the Word at Palm Sunday mass in several hours’ time, so I shall end here. Thank you, Lord, for the last 100 months of blessings and I look forward to the next 100 with great anticipation and pleasure.