June 10 - Journey to Assisi, Basilica di Santa Maria Degli Angeli, and more

Frequently on the pilgrimage we are asked “Where do you see God?” The answer is different for everyone. The place, time, headspace, sounds, and people surrounding someone all contrast and create an individual experience. A moment can be small and internal or as vast as one of the many grand monastaries we’ve visited with sky-high ceilings and exceptionally large and intricate works of architecture. My experiences have been both shared with the mass of people around me and personal for only me to feel. So, back to the question at hand: “Where do you see God?”

During our nightly talks in the chapel we discussed the topic of materialistic reliance and the current worlds obsession with the things we claim to “need” but are more realistically quite easy to live without. The question, “Would you be able to live without nothing but God?” was ressurected, and further into the debate over the topic I phrased a new question: “Could you lose everything you have and be satisfied with only God?” For a moment people held their breath as there was a pregnant pause as my statement was processed and thoughts emerged. We, together, concluded that the many things in our lives we find so hard to live without, are merely as tiny as a grain of sand when matched with the serenity and wisdom of the greater power. I have found that letting go of the small-town world I am constantly immersed in is much easier away from all of life’s normal pressures (and yes, to all the parents reading this, I have not experienced the adictive teenage pleasure of electronics till this very moment and at it’s peak it is not as satisfying as I had previously hoped---also I love and miss you Mama and Andy).

My experience today was an extremely moving and personal one so I’m going to refrain from sharing my deepest thoughts and feelings as I would like them to remain with me. It happened when we were inside the Santa Maria monastary and our tour around the structure given by a local monk had just come to a close. The remains of a small church had been placed in the center of the monastary and he explained to the group in closing that this was a place where leppers would congregate after the church had been abandoned. Saint Francis went to visit the leppers there in order to further his spiritual wellbeing and be in congregation with these lonesome people. The monk (and tour guide) asked us to go into the small church and take a moment to pray. The feeling of holy presence and history that came over me was immediate. I was suddenly immersed into my own little personal universe when I began to pray. As I prayed (again, sparing the details) I felt as if I were the only person in the room and when I emerged from my prayers I felt the small stream of a few tears down my face. My moment when I saw God was unique and shared between only me and the heavens. Now ask yourself, “Where do you see God?”

Sophia Vargo