Via Francigena: Formello to La Storta, Vision of St. Ignatius скачать в хорошем качестве

Via Francigena: Formello to La Storta, Vision of St. Ignatius

“One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach —waiting for a gift from the sea.” — Anne Morrow Lindbergh A strange but exciting day today. Laura woke up not feeling well so we decided to stay on main roads more. The morning had us visiting the church of St. Lawrence the Martyr with its marvelous “meridiana” (sundial). A pinhole in the clock tower shines in a ray of sunlight on the astrological markings on the church floor. Following Google maps, we enjoyed a bucolic morning on a lane alongside farm fields, no cars. At the end though, we met a locked gate marked “vietato” nearby and were puzzled. Suddenly, it seemed we had been directed right onto private property! The crazed incessant barking of the farm’s guard dogs removed any doubt. How to get out? Hard to jump a fence with a backpack… Someone surely would come out at any moment…. Wait, is that an opening between the doghouses? Yes! We had only to sneak by the one large dog that wasn’t chained. He looked older and less aggressive, didn’t he? Let’s try it. “There’s a good boy”, “nice doggie”, “RUN!” Moments later, the farmer chugged by on his tractor. Buongiorno signore! Next, the ‘main roads option’ meant walking on Via Cassia, a highway (!), for four miles. Stopping for a quirky snack of fries, cappuccino and a muffin was comforting, even if it was at McDonald’s. It gave us a moment’s respite from the tense traffic dodging. We kept on walking right into La Storta whose name means “the curve” and is indicative of the twists and turns that the Via Cassia makes here. Now safely ensconced on a sidewalk, we met a dynamic thirty-something woman called Rossella, in a cheerful red sweater, walking a dog. We greeted each other and immediately felt a connection as we stumbled through a conversation. She asked us to pray for her sister Alessandra who had died, and she showed us a picture of her. Rossella poetically asked for us to pray for her at the Atlantic ocean back in Florida and said that she will pray for us on the Italian coast: “In this way, our prayers will travel across the waves and meet.” As we parted, she effusively proclaimed us kindred spirits. “Certo”, dear Rossella. A very few raindrops led us to a popular working class pizzeria (Laura was the only female present) till our accommodation’s check-in time. The hotel is renovating and fortunately, we were in a newly completed section. There is a cave here in La Storta in which St. Ignatius of Loyola had a vision in 1537. On his way to Rome, he saw God and Jesus in Heaven with a message saying, “You will have a propitious welcome in Rome”. This was especially significant because St. Ignatius was headed to the eternal city somewhat anxiously as his purpose was to try to found the Society of Jesus. As it happened, he was indeed well received by the Pope who granted permission for a new religious order that we know today as the Jesuits. Marking this event is a tiny chapel in the “Piazza Della Visione”. The next morning, we took in this pilgrim waypoint (though the church itself was closed up tight), marveling at what had occurred here. We are closing in on Rome proper now!! Photo Credits: Lawrence OP: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew... Slices of Light: https://www.flickr.com/photos/justasl... #viafrancigena #pilgrimage #camino #catholic #StIgnatiusofLoyola