There's No Place Like Home!

If I remember correctly, this is a chapel in San Damiano.

Leaving Pisa was uneventful. We pretty much left as scheduled. We watched three movies on our return flight, were served lunch and several drinks/snacks. They have to keep us adults and children entertained. After the third movie I checked the time. Good Grief, we still have 4 hours of flight time left. It was a long flight and then we had a 5 hour wait at JFK which ended up being delayed due to routine maintenance. We actually landed in Rochester about 12:10 a.m. I got home about 1:00, checked on my house plants and fell into bed thinking “God it is so good to be home.”

In the morning I transferred all my pictures so I could view them then while I ate breakfast, then got ready for church. Upon entering I hear the choir just finishing their gathering song. What a wonderful sound. They begin the Processional song and I observe they (the choir) are doing just fine without me. How insulting! Of course I am only kidding. It is wonderful to see and hear that group and sound that is so familiar. BEST OF ALL . . . Mass is in English! Praise God!!! I am taking it all in and see a new sign on the altar promoting the special program/mission that began during my absence. The sign reads:
New Beginnings
We Are Family
I flash back to the past 10 days of my life and find it satisfyingly humorous that our pilgrimage meditation sessions were about that very topic. It was presented basically as . . . We have been created by God and are a part of God. We all have God’s genes and therefore are all connected to God and to each other. There was much more to it but since I am not a presenter, and never will be, the bottom line will have to do, ‘We Are Family’. At that moment I felt connected to everyone there and my eyes filled with tears at the thought of my experience, being home, being in my church, with my people, my choir, my friends, my family. This journey was everything I had hoped for.

I have been asked, what did I enjoy the most? How can I answer this question? There are no words to express the experience. Ask me what I liked the least and I can tell you…the exchange rate!!! How can you not love the countryside? It was all breathtaking, the scenes from the mountain top, the stone buildings, stairs, sidewalks/streets , the thought of all the labor intensive work involved in it's creation, the hanging gardens, the pastries, the food, the cleanliness, the friendliness of the waiters and waitresses, the meditation sessions were interesting, informative, prayerful and ended spreading a feeling of oneness, traveling with Melissa and seeing that she was also enjoying it, meeting wonderful traveling companions to share feelings, ideas, food, etc. So in answer to the question, what did I enjoy most? ALL OF IT!!!

Please stay tuned for more pictures of Assisi and Florence.