May 1 - The entire day was spent in Assisi, a beautiful hill town in central Umbria. We visited all the places associated with Saints Francis and Clare and learned how these two saints were so generous with God, giving up everything (both came from wealthy and/or noble backgrounds) to embrace poverty in a very radical way. Both their lives were filled with a deep love for Christ and the poor, and both changed the worlds they lived in incredible ways.
Perhaps this quote by Saint Francis says it best: Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
It was inspiring to walk the places they inhabited and learn how a single person can add so much meaning and colour to life by being passionate and true to the Lord single-mindedly and single-heartedly.
The treat of the day was a visit to the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis, whose canonisation mass was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis. I am inspired by this young soon-to-be saint who has been hailed the patron saint of the Internet for this millenial created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world, using technology to spread the gospel. He died at 15 from leukaemia in 2006. His love of video games, like any typical teenager, has made him relatable to young people; and his vibrant faith makes him great role model for young and old alike.
May 2 - Yet another saint who changed her world with a forthright wisdom centred on Christ was Saint Catherine of Siena. Because of her, the Pope, Gregory XI, moved from Avignon to Rome and changed the papacy for the better. Despite being illiterate she is celebrated as a Doctor of the Church for her teachings and letters (taken down by scribes) hold great spiritual merit. The Pope also sent her on many missions as his envoy.
I was happy to visit her again, a decade later, in the Basilica of San Domenico and ask for her intercession. We finished off the day in Siena with mass at the Basilica of San Francesco which is home to a Eucharistic miracle.
A couple of hundred of consecrated communion hosts that were stolen and three days later discovered discarded in an alms box of the Church of Santa Maria in Provenzano. The consecrated hosts have remained intact, no sign of decay, ever since the theft which took place in 1730.
After mass we had the opportunity to worship in adoration which was a wonderful chance to sit quietly at the feet of our Lord and just be. My Lord, and my God, you are truly alive today and forever.
May 3 - We spent the day in Padua and it was a chance for me to pay respects to Saint Anthony and see his incorrupt tongue and voice box. I first came in 2015 for Saint Anthony is very special to me in many ways personally. His is one of the shortest from death to canonisation which took place in less than a year. For his renown as a preacher led to countless conversions and there were many accounts of miracles of healing attributed to him when he was alive. May those who have lost their faith, through his intercession, find their way again.
The bonus at day’s end was a chance to visit the Basilica of Santa Giustina where the tombs of Saint Luke and Saint Matthias reside. One was an evangelist who wrote a gospel honouring Mother Mary in a special way, while the other was one of the first 12 apostles of Christ. It was quite mind-boggling for me for these men either knew Christ or those who knew Him, and they were among His initial followers.
May 4 - It was a day of relaxation in Venice where we visited the tomb of Saint Mark whose body was stolen by the Venetians from Alexandria where he died. Here the evangelist who wrote the first gospel is greatly revered by the Venetians.
It was equally great wandering around the city and discovering relics of other saints in random churches, and offering prayers for family and friends there.
I especially enjoyed sitting under the leaf-covered trellis in the Royal Gardens, breathing in the intoxicating scent of Japanese Cheesewood or Mock Orange (pittosporum tobira). It was a lovely day, sunny yet breezy cool. A perfect day to sit and stop a while with P, my heart.
May 5 - And so we have arrived at the last day of our pilgrimage, and we were blessed with mass in a chapel in the Basilica of Saint Anthony (as we were two days ago). It was a thanksgiving mass for a pilgrimage filled with spiritual abundance: inspiring homilies, time for prayer and worship, good weather, speedy road travel, moving queues and the camaraderie of fellow pilgrims.
I was greatly impressed with the driving skills of Michele, our driver from Rome to Venice, the knowledge of our local tour guides, and I savoured every gelato along the way. Many thanks to Ivan Lui from Faith Tours who kept us, his wandering flock, safe and sound, and to Father Michael Lim who is so evangelical about catechetics and has a deep love for Mother Mary. Both men inspire me with their zeal for God expressed in different ways.
Ivan, in his habitual gentle and gracious way, offered us this pearl before we got to the airport: We all have two lives, the second one begins when we realize we only have one.
As we journey home to Singapore, I am grateful to have had so many real experiences of Jesus and Mother Mary, and I hope I will not lose the zeal to persevere in doing what’s right with a joyful heart, even in difficult times, and to live with integrity as have had all the saints I encountered in these last two weeks.
