Touching Connections

It is Saturday

My beloved cousins have brought us to an off-the-beaten-path church

they are certain I will appreciate

I AM standing in the “Sistine Chapel of Abruzzo”, Italy

The guide invites me to translate from Italian to English for my family

The chapel is covered in frescoes from the 13th century

Although there are only a few from Jesus’ life,

            right there in the middle is

            Jesus washing His “disciples’” feet

            “Disciples” – students who are being transformed

                        into the image of their teacher

            Jesus washing His disciples’ feet

                        a counter-cultural action

                        one of absolute loving service

                        one of hospitality

I remember on the eve of my first trip to Italy

            about 40 years ago

            My father teaching me just one phrase in Italian:

            “Com’e’ posso aiudarti?”

            How may I help you?

            It became a mantra for my life.

I AM touched and

reminded of the importance of touch

and the importance of service

and the connections

We walk around the outside of the chapel

and to my surprise

there are more buildings.

This was a Benedictine monastery.

I turn to my sister with awe and wonder…

            Here I AM at a Benedictine monastery in Italy

            And in one week,

I will be at a Benedictine monastery in the USA

There is a spiritual connection.

            I wonder what it is….

            And Dean David’s voice in my head clearly says…

            “Yes! There is a connection and

You do not need to know what it is.  :) ”

On Sunday, we celebrate at St. Peter’s Festa

            in our little piazza

outside the home my great-great grandfather built

The marching band leads us in a procession to the Church

            to retrieve the statue of St. Peter.

As we walk with St. Peter on the streets

and pray with the same words

that my family and their companions have done for 150 years.

I AM touched.

I am invited to lector and proclaim some of the readings at Mass.

The gospel features one of my favorite stories of healing touch:

The faith-filled woman who was isolated for years because she was hemorrhaging

She courageously touches Jesus’ hem to be healed

The Eastern Church remembers her name: Veronica

It all feels like God planned the day JUST FOR ME!

I AM touched by the deep love and the connections

On Monday, we fly home peacefully.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

            I meander through my home and life

            Unpacking the stuff and the stories

            Reconnecting with my dearest

            And preparing for a month away

            as a writer-in-residence where,

            by God’s grace,

            I will finish a book to be published –

a Catholic catechism

            incorporating contemporary theology.

Curious about this Benedictine connection,

I purchase Joan Chittister’s book,

The Monastery of the Heart: Benedictine Spirituality for Contemporary Seekers

and begin to read little by little

I remember meeting Joan last fall where

speaking about change in the Catholic Church

she proclaimed:

“The people must lead and the leaders will follow.”

It is now Friday morning at 6:15

The rain is pouring down

My husband hands me an umbrella

as we finish loading my new car

After a kiss good-bye,

I sit in the driver’s seat

I am reminded of the “Sistine Chapel of Abbruzzo’s wall”

where next to the main door is a floor-to-ceiling depiction of

St. Christopher – patron and spiritual companion – to travelers.

I know St. Christopher is with me

and I invite Jesus to jump in the passenger seat and

take the wheel.

I text a few friends about the 8-hour drive on which I’m embarking,

the longest I’ve ever done ALONE

Before I leave the driveway,

my first companion calls

and then the next

and an invitation to stop for breakfast in a couple of hours

The entire journey is filled with

delightful conversations

and beautiful vistas

across multiple states

At 4:15, I arrive at the Monastery

The steeple and stained-glass chapel

remind me of my trip to the the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa,

an order of nuns started by one of my ancestors, Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli.

Sr. Anne is outside to welcome me

along with another elder sister and her 9-year-old friend

I AM touched by their hospitality, their warmth, their intergenerational love…

I soon discover that generous hospitality -

like Jesus washing His disciples’ feet -

is one of the Benedictine rules and

is woven into the fabric of this community’s very essence

part of their way of life

and love

I AM grateful

I AM curious

I AM excited

I AM exhausted

Anne and I unpack my car

She gives me a tour of the building –

            Will I ever find my way around this maze of a building?

The bells ring with a message

            like in “our” piazza back in Italy

Divine Echoes

the old and familiar

is

new and wondrous

Anne invites me to join her for evening prayer

We pray the psalms as generations of Benedictines have done

As generations of my family have done

Psalm 22

We sit in silence.

I notice the verses that resonate with me

a Divine message

Our ancestors placed their trust in You;    

they trusted, and You gave them deliverance…

You brought me out of the womb    

and made me feel secure upon my mother’s breast.

I was entrusted to Your care at my birth;    

from my mother’s womb, You have been my God.

But I will live for You,    

and my descendants will serve You.

Future generations will be told about You    

so that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn    

the deliverance You have accomplished.

Thank you, Oh My God

Divine Love

Source of All Connections

Life-giving Rhythm of our Days

For generations past,

For generations today

And into the future

For all the ways You touch us

For al lthe connections that are woven into our lives

To You be all glory and praise

Now and forever.

Amen.