Stretch & Savor a Shalem Pilgrimage To Assisi

Once upon a time, Christine and Frank were widowers, after both being long time caregivers to their beloved spouses, Ron and Alice.

Previously, Christine had also been friends of Alice and Frank for several years. Then Christine decided to move into a senior living condo, and unbeknownst to them all, it turned out to be on the same floor in the same building, about 20 paces away from Frank and Alice.

In the last year of Alice’s life, Christine and Alice became even closer friends, including Christine taking Alice to many doctors’ appointments while Frank was recuperating from knee surgery. On Wednesdays, Christine would invite Alice and Frank across the hallway for cocktails. After Alice died, Christine continued this Wednesday tradition.

But before that, Christine was committed to the single life, and made it well known to all that as an independent, self-sufficient woman, she was never going to remarry, ever.

And then, who knew?  We were married within 3 months!!!  The theme of our wedding and of our marriage commitment is, “Sharing Our Joy–Anything Is Possible.”  Christine attributes this unexpected surprise to divine intervention, Frank, to 20 paces towards grace!

Soon thereafter, Frank asked Christine if she would consider going on Shalem’s Assisi Pilgrimage, and again, Christine, without hesitation, said “Yes”. On our third day in Assisi, we ran into Margaret on the street and she asked how we were doing. “Wonderful,” we replied. Christine added that for her, the pilgrimage started when she, trusting the grace of divine intervention, again said “Yes.”

We were concerned that we may not be up to the challenge or that our fellow pilgrims would be much more advanced than we were. But we soon realized that we came with our own blessings and baggage and that our fellow pilgrims were all vulnerable and searching, too. Like Francis and Clare, our outer garments were stripped, and each of us quickly became comfortable and relaxed to just be ourselves.

Our experiences and practices included visiting the many sites in Assisi and surrounding areas where Francis and Clare walked, talked, ate, slept, worked and played, lived and loved, suffered and died; practicing the prayer of presence or centering prayer; intimate pilgrim’s circles; deep listening; body prayers such as stepping into the flow, vespers with the Poor Clare nuns; liturgies at St. Francis’s Basilica and other sacred spaces; visio divina and lectio divina; prayerful pauses; pilgrim hikes to mountain chapels and caves; music and poems, meaningful and deep heart sharing; free time to explore the town of Assisi; circle exercises; appreciations; meals together with wine; warm and endearing hospitality of the nuns; inspiriting texts; storytelling; dreaming and pondering; procession with the friars, playfulness and silliness, and unexpected deep tears and frequent belly laughs.

There were also beautiful lingering questions to savor such as: who was Francis of Assisi, really, or who do you want him to be; how do you meet God; what do your eyes see, what does your heart see, what does it all mean for you in your life today; what shimmers for you; to whom, to what, or to where is God calling you; how is God speaking to you so far on this pilgrimage; is there something you are being asked to give up for your next spiritual journey; what do you need to do to keep your hearts open to God’s call; What is next?

We found that these experiences, practices and beautiful questions helped rekindle in us an aliveness and openness to our hearts and to the hearts of our fellow pilgrims.  

Oh, we were stretched!  But isn’t that the purpose of a pilgrimage with Francis and Clare?  Their enduring love for God in Jesus Christ stretched them far beyond their comfort zones. No doubt they did not then realize or know what they were saying “Yes” to either!

We are thankful that we accepted the invitation to be pilgrims on the Assisi Pilgrimage to experience God’s transforming goodness, beauty, and love with and among our fellow, like-hearted pilgrims. We will forever savor our Assisi Pilgrimage with deep gratitude and joy, knowing beyond knowledge that we have been, and are, deeply connected to our fellow Assisi pilgrims, and to all pilgrims everywhere who have travelled on the Way.  We continue to savor and drink it all in. As the psalmist wrote, “Taste and see that the Lord is Good.”  Stretch and Savor.

If you are pondering the invitation to go on the Shalem Assisi 26 Pilgrimage, remember pilgrim, there is no path, the path is made by walking. It’s all good.

Just say “Yes”!       STRETCH & SAVOR

Sharing Our Joy–Anything Is Possible

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