a friar style?

an open window on heaven...

This is what I think about icons! They can tell us a story, they can show us a glimpse of heaven, they lead us to God; they are an open window on heaven. They take us away from where we are if we allow them to guide us. I have received an icon for my solemn profession.
There's the Mother of God holding Jesus. On her right hand side there's St.Francis of Assisi and on the other side fr.Christophe Lebreton, a Trappist martyr in Algeria, killed in 1996. Here some pics I do like to share with you.

31st October 2009 A VERY IMPORTANT DAY

Yes, it finally happened, the day got closer and closer and finally it hit me...
I haven't posted anything before even if I knew some of you would have had praied for me during that very special day; but I did not feel like posting in advance something about such an important day like the 31st October 2009!
Are you wondering what happened? Well, it's been the day of my SOLEMN PROFESSION as a Franciscan Minor! It's been the most important day of my life. I promised, through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, that I will live for the rest of my life as a Friar Minor in order to serve God, the Church and all humanity.
Friends and relatives came from very far places to share such a day, we all got really touched; I've been told that many people have cried - hopefully for joy - and I almost did the same when, knelt down with my hands in the hands of my provincial, I had to read aloud my profession and intention to be a Friar Minor for the rest of my life...
Have a look at the pictures:

The Entrance

During the litanies

making my profession 1

making my profession 2

hugging my provincial

hugging my dad

Hugging my mum

Here with some old and good friends

Below with my cousins

One day a son asked his dad

would you like to do the Ironman with me, and his dad said YES!
Enjoy the video

and guess what has happened this morning...

...and despite what you might think I WAS NOT the driver... but I actually told the driver to turn left... while we were on the "right" hand side of the road...

a pilgrimage of a soul

It has definitively been a journey of the soul… really… I still find a bit difficult to express what I’ve been through those days of walking alone in the north of Spain, heading towards the tomb of the Apostle James.

I did not respect the plan I had posted before leaving as I could walk more everyday. I say everyday, but I feel as if it’s been a single long day. I had some catechesis to read and meditate on, but the walk did not allow me to do that properly. The fatigue of the walking, some pain in my back and feet, the scenery, and the people I met had led me to think about my own life. So many things came up to my mind, some stuff I even did not want to think about, but I had no defences…

I have walked more than 30km per day, some times 40 and one day 53, but only because I got a wrong information…

I can’t really tell you how it feels to walk alone for 7 or 8 hours per day, meeting other people and everyone doing the Cammino di Santiago for such different and personal motivations; but we were all there, living the same fatigue and tiredness and everyone thinking about his/her own life.

The pilgrimage become, for who wants to, an image of the personal life and personal living.
In theory one can stop where he/she wants or choose to go on…
there’s the chance to avoid the fatigue by catching a bus… or you can choose to walk and face “the problem”…
you can ask for help, or stubbornly decide to do it all by yourself…
you can push yourself too much or thinking wisely that maybe it’s necessary to stop for a day…
you can decide to have a very comfortable night in a rather expensive hotel, or decide to spend the night in very essential hostel and sleep in a room with maybe 30 or 50 other people…
some times you can even choose the old and original way to Santiago, which is the hard one, or simply walk next to the main road… the easy way…

I think the way I walked it’s the way I live my daily life; and I do have to thank God, and my parents and my all family for the person I am now; I have to thank all the people who have prayed for me those days and who do it daily…

On the 16th, at about 11 am I arrived in Santiago, as soon as I was in front of the façade of the Apostle Cathedral I begun to cry… don’t ask me why… I could not stop my tears, everything seemed so beautiful to my eyes… my entire life… and I was also sad because the pilgrimage came to and end, at least apparently.
In the days that followed I kept and I still keep, thinking about what I’ve been through: a sort of new life, short but intense… I was given a time – as in this true life – and the time had an end… as it will in my true life… and I was sad, but at the end I accepted it and thought it was now time to go on… as in this true life we shall keep walking, always at our speed, because now we are given a time and then we will be given Eternity…

and back from Santiago de Compostela

Bye bye again...

Early tomorrow morning I'll leave for another three weeks... I'll WALK for 484Km from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela, one of the oldest pilgrimage of the Church:
This is my programme, sorry it's in Italian
Pellegrinaggio a Santiago de Compostela
31 Agosto 21 Settembre 2009

31 agosto: arrivo a Madrid – autobus per Burgos (860 slm)
Meditazione: Dov’è il tuo coraggio di cambiare.

1 settembre: arrivo a Arroyo San Bol (Km 24 – 850 slm).
Meditazione

2 settembre: arrivo a Puente Fitero (Km 25,2 – 790 slm)
Meditazione: La povertà – Greccio

3 settembre: arrivo a Villalcazar de Sirga (Km 24,2 – 809 slm)
Meditazione

4 settembre: arrivo a Ledigos (Km 29,1 – 883 slm)
Meditazione: Fare misericordia, la conversione di Francesco

5 settembre: arrivo a Calzada del Coto (Km 21,2 – 822 slm)
Meditazione

6 settembre: arrivo a Reliegos (km 25,6 – 836 slm)
Meditazione: Vivere secondo il Vangelo

7 settembre: arrivo a Léon (km 24,3 – al 838 slm)
Meditazione

8 settembre: arrivo a San Martin del Camino (Km 26,6 – 850 slm)
Meditazione: Francesco e l’intuizione della vita fraterna

9 settembre: arrivo a Astorga (Km 25,3 – 869 slm)
Meditazione

10 settembre: arrivo a Foncebadon (Km 26,3 – 1439slm)
Meditazione: Francesco e la scoperta di un nome nuovo
11 settembre arrivo a Campo (Km 23 – 570 slm)
Meditazione

12 settembre arrivo a Villafranca del Bierzo (Km 26 – 504 slm)
Meditazione: Seguire Gesù povero

13 settembre arrivo a La Faba (Km 25,3 – 917 slm)
Meditazione

14 settembre arrivo a Tricastela (Km 25,3 – 665 slm)
Meditazione: Francesco e lo sguardo puro

15 settembre arrivo a Brea (Km 30,1 – 650 slm)
Meditazione

16 settembre arrivo a Ligonde (Km 26,1 – 580 slm)
Meditazione: La perfetta letizia

17 settembre arrivo a Melide (Km 23,7 – 430 slm)
Meditazione

18 settembre arrivo a Salceda (Km 24,6 – 360 slm)
Meditazione: Maria, madre poverella

19 settembre arrivo a SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
(Km 27,9 – 260 slm)

21 settembre back to Rome