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Reflections from the back of the plane
28th June, 2009 - Posted by Ursula Stephens -
Donna looking out from her window at Casa San Giuseppe
Today is Helen’s birthday and there’s something lovely about the idea of waking up in Greece and going to bed in Italy!
Today we’re back on the bus for the two hour drive to Thessaloniki. James our guide tells us that the media has reported that the storm we drove through on our way to Kavala delivered more rain than the area has had for a year and that about 300 sheep and goats had drowned!
We begin our trip with the morning prayers and Archbishop Mark spends time putting St Paul’s missions in sequence, with the over-riding theme that he was always heading west to Rome.
And we consider the cultural influences upon the development of the church through the ages - a fascinating insight into power and corruption, christianity and martyrdom.
As we drive into Thessaloniki we say the Angelus together and say farewell to Greece and our wonderful and knowledgabe guide James and get ready for the next stage of our journey.
At the airport we queue and queue! Thank heavens we had arived 2 hours before departure time. The scangers amongst us have been gathering bits and pieces ( including some magnificent icons) so there’s some anxiety that our bags might be overweight.
We finally get through and head for the departure gate. Archbishop Francis’ hip set the alarm off, and the other major crisis was when Ian put his bag through the scanner. The security officer drew him aside and asked ‘ what’s in your bag? ‘Clothes’ said Ian.’ Please open up’. Ian opened his bag and the officer reached in and retrieved a bottle of Southern Comfort. “What’s this?’ ‘ Ah’ said Ian,’ that’s a nightcap!’
Using all his charm and good looks Ian makes it through and we board at last. The flight attendant has a particular challenge- giving the safety instructions in three languages. To do this in time she speaks so quickly noone can understand a word!
We are about two hours in the plane and land in Rome about 2.30 ( we’re now 8 hours behind you at home). We have another 45min wait for our luggage and when it finally arrives Norma’s bag is badly damaged.
We’re to be met by the Harvest people in Rome but have to wait while until they find us. We consider how Paul and his disciples would have arrived in Rome and the kind of welcome they would have received.
Another bus, another guide Fiameta.
As we drive into Rome Archbishop Mark provides a running commentary about the city he knows and loves. He recounts the story of two aboriginal boys brought to Rome by the Benedictine Monks with the hope of establishing a Benedictine presence among Australian aborigines and their tragic illness and death, perhaps from loneliness and dislocation.
We arrive at the Tre Fontane Abbey which is said to have been built on the site of St Paul’s martyrdom. We first visit another chapel and go underground to what is believed to be the site of his imprisonment. The road between these two beautiful churches still has cobbled stones from the earliest days.
We walk these final steps to the abbey of the three fountains, named for the story that after St Paul’s beheading three fountains are said to have sprung up from the places where his head hit the ground.
This is a gloriously spiritual Mass and several of us are moved to tears. Mary reads the reading from St Paul’s letter to Timothy- his good friend and closest companion.
Those familiar words ” I have fought the good fight……” Are Paul’s message to us all - though we may be persecuted for our faith, if we hold true to the life God wants us to live, then our death, in whatever circumstances, brings new life. And of course, since we know not the day, nor the hour of our own death, we are urged to live as if these are our last days - full of hope, full of faith.
Archbishop Mark preaches the profound and enduring message that is the story of the three fountains. They are fountains of strength, the Trinity, and St Paul’s martyrdom seals everything that has gone before for him. Although he wasn’t to know when he accepted the faith on the road to Damascus - this is where it was destined to end - in Rome.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul speaks of the joy of knowing that soon he would be reunited with the Lord. Nothing can take that joy from him. His faith is strong, his love for God is strong and his spirit is strong.
For all of us - can we say the same? Could we have endured even a fraction of the brutality meted out to St Paul and the early Christians? And what is the contemporary equivalent -other than that physical brutality - the assault on family life, rampant consumerism, mediocrity, individualism, lack of communion, koinonia?
I’m reminded of Nelson Mandela and the dignity with which he endured his imprisonment, his serenity, his inner strength that could only come from a deep spirituality.
We sing our way through the Mass - a favourite hymn for us is ‘Keep in Mind’ which we sing to proclaim the mystery of faith.
As we leave the church most of us are deep in thought - Archbishop Mark has challenged us all to be stronger, braver missionaries of the Pauline message. The gardens around us are glorious, there are four fabulous specimens of gum trees providing shade to many Mercy nuns that are visiting the Abbey as the Pauline year is coming to a close.
For the next few days we are staying at. Casa San Guiseppe - the House of St Joseph- a pensionne - hotel beside the convent of St Joseph it has a very unassuming electronic gate that opens into a glorious courtyard.
We trundle off the bus in search of food and wine - it has been a magnificent journey in the final footsteps of St Paul.
But, it’s not over yet! Tomorrow we continue our pilgrimage paying tribute to the Church’s great evangelist.
Ciao from your pilgrim friends!.
4 Comments
Oliver Ross
June 28th, 2009 at 4:35 am
love u mum
oliver ross
June 28th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Donna I pray 4u u are a good mum!
Pilgrim watcher
June 28th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Dear Ursula,
It’s just after 8.00 on Sunday night and I’m wondering if you’ll all be having pasta for lunch! I’m sure they eat other things in Rome but I hope you all enjoy genuine Italian pasta and some wine too. After all, you are a group of visiting Australian Catholics and it’s widely known and documented that we don’t mind a drink—just the one mind!—on days of the week the spelling of which ends with a ‘y’! I hope the weather is more pleasant for you than it was in Greece. It must have been nice to see rain although I felt very sorry for the sheep and the goats that drowned. I’m still enjoying your very thoughtful and informative posts but feel compelled to add one to your list of contemporary brutalities that people endure in the world today. Many people are incredibly isolated in this very crowded modern world. Isolation is a gut-wrenching experience. It’s even worse when it’s inflicted on people so you might remember the isolated in your prayers. In the meantime, and until you post again, don’t forget to have your drink and rest up for tripping around Rome. How very excxiting for all of you although I know that some of you have certainly visited the Eternal City on previous occasions. I hope you really enjoy and value all of the marvellous things you’ll experience this week.
God bless, have fun and be safe.
Dennis Sleigh
June 28th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Ursula, will Paul’s letters ever be the same again? As I read your thoughts and your reflections on Bishop Mark’s talks, I keep thinking just how privileged we have been to hear these insights. I imagine that each of you will be transformed by your experience, and that as you read St Paul in future you will be re-immersed, day after day, in the memories of this pilgrimage. Our privilege is that you shared this with us back in Oz.
As you conclude your pilgrimage in Rome in the next couple of days, we will still be praying for you and we will be counting on your continued prayers for us. As Donna Ross said in her video clip: not only are you following St Paul, but you can sense his presence as you do so. You are certainly richly blessed.
Travel safely for the final days of this Pauline year, and be ready to share even more when you return home.
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