March 23, 2016: Day 7

We begin our day with breakfast: provided by the nuns. We have cereal, juice, a hard roll and a latte . There are only a few other women at breakfast.  It has rained through the night. You can hear water splashing on the streets as cars go by. There is a clanking of dishes from the kitchen. But I say to Scotti does it seem to you that it is incredibly quiet here? She agrees. We reflect on this. It is more than quiet, there is a deep palpable peacefulness. It is deeply restful.

After breakfast we walk to St. Francis Basilica. It is huge. St. Francis was such a simple person I was somewhat circumspect entering the grand church. After entering though I am drawn in. The colors are warm and inviting. On one side of the basilica  are frescos of the passion of Christ and on the other frescos of the compassion of St. Frances. 

St. Frances' relics are found in the crypt below. There is a beautiful altar and place for prayer. The pink stone gives a gentle light to the area and a feeling of peacefulness. We pause to pray before St. Frances tomb.

Returning upstairs we then climb upstairs again to the Upper Church.  Here there is a whole other complete worship area. It too is beautiful with light pastel 

frescos. 

I just asked Scotti how she would describe the Basilica.  My words don't seem enough to describe this church we spent 4 hours in.  Scotti says it is gentle, restful and quieting. We both had the feeling we did not want to leave. 

We walked out into winds of more than 30 miles an hour with some rain mixed in. It is cold. I have many layers of clothes on along with my rain poncho. We walk quickly to a restaurant and we are happy to find a wifi connection. I am able to upload a blog from the day before and call Doug. He has been so worried because I was not able to call yesterday. He tells us about the terrorist attack in Belgium. We hold the victims in our prayers.

We continue walking through the winding medieval town taking pictures and finally stopping at the church of St. Clare. It is very plain in comparison to St. Frances Basilica. Many of the frescos have faded, but somehow it feels like a representation of her life. We learn there will be a concerto at 9:00 and we plan to attend. 

We walk back to drop things off in our room and then go to dinner. The wind is still blowing hard and it is cold. Along the way we meet a couple of women from Ireland who are staying at a nearby Monestary. We exchange travel tips.

We end our day with the concerto. The acoustics in the church are incredible. At the end they sing 3 Negro Spirituals: Have You Seen, There is a Balm in  Gilead and Jericho.  While their voices are beautiful  it is not quite the same  as hearing a gospel choir. We end the night peaceful and serene. 

Lessons Learned: Make me a channel of your peace.