Easter in Assisi

On Monday, March 30th I will be flying from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Germany, where I will connect to a flight to Rome, Italy. And then I will travel by train to Assisi.

On Thursday, Friday and Sarturday of next, I will be giving a retreat for American college students studying in Perugia, Italy (just a short drive from Assisi) in a program offered by St. Bonaventure University. After the retreat, I will spend Holy Week and Easter in Assisi. During that time I hope to be able to give more serious thought to the film on St. Francis, with an eye toward returning in May for some additional filming.

Lent has been very busy for me. I have given my “poverty and prayer” presentation to many high schools, universities and churches, traveling to Spokane, WA, Detroit, MI, Reading, PA, Ossining, NY, Raliegh, NC, New Rochelle, NY, and three towns on Long Island, NY. I am weary from the travel, but I nonetheless am happy to have a chance to return to Italy.

I am going to spend time on Sunday trying to post a blog for each day that I am away. If my time runs out, I might resort to posting quotes instead of reflections.

Peace and blessings,

Gerry

Life and Death

On the day after Christmas, I boarded a plane and headed back to Assisi. It was a short trip, two full days of it spent getting to and from Italy. I returned on Sunday night.

My time in Assisi was marked more by thoughts of life and death than by the reality of the cold and snow. In the early morning hours of December 30th, Padre Gerhard Ruf, an 81 year old German Conventual friar died in his room after a heart attack. His knowledge of the art within the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi was virtually unsurpassed. He dedicated his life to helping pilgrims better understand and appreciate the magnificent art that graces the walls of the church. He lived at the Sacro Convento at Basilica of St. Francis for 50 years, and his books on the basilica are filled with a lifetime of wisdom and knowledge. His body was placed in a simple room in the Convento within hours of the discovery of his death for the brothers in Assisi to say farewell. I was fortunate to be allowed to spend time in the room. The funeral Mass was celebrated on December 31st in the lower church of the Basilica. The Bishop of Assisi was the celebrant and it was a beautiful farewell to a man who truly lived his call. Before the Mass, I was privileged to be with a small gathering of friars and sisters as Fr. Ruf’s coffin was sealed; it was a simple yet deeply moving ceremony, preformed with dignity and grace.

Padre Ruf’s passing offered me the chance to reflect on the mystery of life and death as I begin the New Year and think about challenges in my personal life and in the life of The San Damiano Foundation. I hope each of us can live each day as if it were our last, doing what we love out of love. Let us try to greet each day of the coming year with love in our hearts.

My Kid Sister

Today I remember in a special way the anniversary of the death of my younger sister, Teresa Marie, who passed into eternal life six years ago after succumbing to a long battle with leukemia.

I was in Manaus, Brazil working on my film Embracing the Leper during the last weeks of her life. I called her as often as I could, but phones in the area where I was were hard to find. I returned home on a Friday and was informed that the next day they were putting Terry into hospice care. My impulse was to rush to her side. But I had caught a nasty cold in the Amazon; it was so bad I could hardly speak. My family persuaded me to stay home and rest over the weekend and travel to New York on Monday. Terry died on Sunday. To this day, I regret not getting the chance to see her one last time, to hug her and tell her I loved her.

Terry was truly a loving person, who gave herself fully to everyone she encountered.

I miss her very much.

A publisher (who rejected my book on St. Francis) asked who the market was for the book. Without hesitation, I said, “My kid sister.”