Orvieto and Assisi

I'm sorry for not keeping up with my posting.  The place we're staying in Assisi has basic internet but I've been knocked off the web more than I've been able to access it.  Perhaps it's a message from St. Francis to ponder, pray and meditate more and blog less!!!

Chapel of the Corporal, Orvieto, Umbria, Italy

This is a spectacular place - a place not only of beauty but of peace, of prayer.  Yesterday we began the day in Orvieto, a beautiful town on the way to Assisi.  There we celebrated Mass in a very place called the Chapel of the Corporal.  In the year 1263, in town of Bolesana, near Orvieto, a priest was celebrating Mass.  He had entertained doubts about the real presence of the Eucharist and, as he consecrated the host, it began to bleed and stained the white corporal with drops of blood.  The corporal is located underneath the altar here and the beautiful frescoes on the walls tells the story of
the miracle.

Fr. Joseph Tuscan, OFM, Cap is one of the priests on Sabbatical here in Italy.  He actually studied at Borromeo and is originally from Pittsburgh.  Joe preached about the Eucharistic miracles (there are 140 of them) and how Pope Paul VI in 1970 commissioned the Academy of Science to do scientific studies on several of the Eucharistic miracles.  Strangely enough, the academy concluded that in all the blood samples taken from Bolseana, Lanciano and from the Shroud of Turn they discovered tissue from the human heart and all had AB- blood types, the rarest kind found in only 4% of the world's population.  When we speak of the "real presence of Christ" in the Eucharist, these miracles all point to our belief that Jesus makes himself present, body, soul and divinity at every Eucharistic celebration.  A great gift to us indeed.

Oriveto is a place of special veneration and prayer.  The town itself is also very beautiful - accessible only by funicular or by ascending many, many stairs.  But once you've arrived, it is magnificent.

We arrived in Assisi just in time for dinner.  We are staying at a Capuchin guest house/retreat center just outside the walls of Assisi's main area.  We are being well cared for and the hospitality and warmth of those who work here is truly a manifestation of the Lord's care for everyone.

Tuesday morning we celebrated Mass in the Basilica of Saint Francis, the largest church in the area. There are two levels - the lower one which is the crypt in which St. Francis is entombed and the upper basilica.  The upper basilica was heavily damaged on September 27, 1997 where four people (2 architects and 2 monks) lost their lives.  They have restored the basilica since but some of the frescoes were permanently damaged from the quake.

It's difficult to cover all the beautiful pieces in the basilica.  I'll focus on two frescoes in particular. The first depicts the Last Supper but with a specifically Italian twist.  Note that the left side of the fresco shows 2 common citizens doing the dishes with a dog licking food of the dirty plates.  What is notable here is that common Italian life was incorporated in a Renaissance depiction of the Last Supper.  The artist wants us to know that faith was accessible and available to everyone - even the most common of folks.

The second fresco is a confrontation between Francis and his father.  As you may know, his father was a wealthy garment merchant and he despised the fact that Francis wanted to leave everything to rebuild Christ's church.  His father even imprisoned Francis (we saw the prison) and refused to speak to him ever again.  The scene of this depiction is when Francis discarded his clothing in the town square.  His father is pictured with condemnation while the Bishop (representing the church) is now covering Francis with a cloth - showing that he belonged now to the Church.  Fr. Tuscan told us the story how Francis and his father never reconciled.  Though it had always been Francis' hope to do so, when he left his father's home his father never spoke to him again.  He would often run into his father in town and it was customary for a son to ask for a blessing from his father when he encountered him. Francis' father refused so Francis asked a poor man to bestow on him the blessing his father refused to give.

It was beautiful tour - more in my next post.