Pilgrimage of Unfinished Business

St. Francis healing a cow

Today I am flying to Rome and then on to Assisi, Italy to begin my Pilgrimage of Unfinished Business. This morning I exercised at the Recreation Center. I spoke with Max, one of my unlikely friends. Each of us approaches the Divine from diverse viewpoints. We care about each other. We respect each other’s way of seeing. I enjoy talking with Max and I value his clear thinking. I asked him if he had ever experienced moving ahead with a major project only to find out when he was close to finishing, why he was doing it? He affirmed that he too had experienced the same phenomenon: Being led or encouraged by a series of happenings until the essence of the whole could be realized, however, not yet understood.

That is exactly what has happened and continues to unfold for me. Today I will be leaving from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on route to Rome, where I am scheduled to meet up with a group of Pilgrims from around the United States and one from England. I have been preparing for over a month for this rather unexpected Pilgrimage. It was then that I first received an email announcement from Shalem Institute advertising a pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy. I had traveled with them about three years ago to Iona, Scotland on spiritual pilgrimage and found it a very clear, deepening spiritual experience.

There is a fundamental difference between travelling as a tourist and travelling as a pilgrim. I have done both and I no longer enjoy being the tourist. During Spring Break this year, I took the family on a children’s vacation. 

A couple of months ago in a conversation with my 12-year-old great niece, I offered to take her anywhere in the world that she wanted to go for her 16th birthday. 

When she heard that, she lit up. “Anywhere?’ she asked. 

“Yep, anywhere.” I answered. 

Excitedly she asked, “Could we go to Africa?” 

“Sure, we can. I’ve been there. It’s beautiful and I would love to take you.” I answered.

Then there was an uncomfortable expectant pause, and she asked, “Do we have to fly in an airplane to go to Africa?” 

I said, “Unless you want to swim, and it’s pretty far for that.” 

“Then” she said,” I don’t want to go there.” 

“Why not?” I asked. 

“Cause, I’m afraid to fly,” she said emphatically. 

“Have you ever flown before?” I queried.

“No.” she said quietly.

“Then how do you know you are afraid to fly? I love to fly,” I pushed.

That was the moment I decided it was time to take the children and mom and dad for a family vacation that would teach them all something about travelling. I wanted to be sure they learned their way around airports, had the experience of taking off and landing. Staying in a place far from home. Seeing the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. Walking the Sky Walk. Seeing the Ravens and Eagles in flight below us because we were so high at the rim of the Canyon. The trip was a huge success. We achieved the planned agenda and the ultimate purpose of actual experience to counter imagined fears. Now when we talk about going somewhere, they want to know if we can fly.

The nature of the trip was that of tourists. I enjoyed being with the family. I did not enjoy the role of tourist. When I went to the Grand Canyon, the experience pulled at my pilgrim heartstrings and I wished that I could send the family home and remain with the spirits of the Mountains and the Canyon for a time of prayer and inner experience. I wanted to let my spirit soar with the Ravens and to have conversations with the Spirit of the Raven. I wanted to hike down into the canyon, to find a quiet cabin where I could disappear into the spirit of this sacred place for a while. That’s the essential difference for me, I go to experience the spiritual gifts that present themselves in different places around the world, including my own backyard. I pilgrim to be and become not to do or to shop.

Assisi has been on my radar for years. I wanted to visit because Saint Francis is not only the Saint that Pope Francis chose to emulate but also my mother and husband were named after Saint Francis of Assisi. Every year at the Feast Day of Saint Francis which is celebrated October 4th, we would remember this Saint who spoke to the animals and preached to the birds by inviting folks to bring their animals to the church for hands on blessings.

When I pastored a church in Michigan, one of the members was a Veterinarian. She knew that the blessing of the animals was fast approaching on October 4th. and mentioned her dilemma, “I don’t know who to bring, I have thirty-four animals at home.” I encouraged her to select those that she felt most drawn to bring. In addition to the animals that she brought I suggested that she bring pictures or personal toys to represent the other animals. That was the last we spoke of the event. On Sunday morning nearest October 4th, we were gathering for the Blessing of the Animals, someone nervously said, “Did you see what Doc brought?” 

“No,” I responded, “I haven’t seen the animals yet.” 

She concluded, “You are in for a surprise.”

I entered the gathering space crowded with every kind of pet you can imagine. Then I saw Doc. She was taking her RAT from its cage. She placed it free and loose on her shoulder and kissed it! It was the biggest rat I had ever seen. My mind stopped when I realized that I was going to have to hold that rat!

Not being a little distracted, I instructed the church members to write the name of their animal guest on a name tag that each human owner would wear. Then as we began our time of prayer, I asked them to take a few minutes of quiet to ponder what blessing, healing, prayer would their pet request today. Then came the moment of reckoning. Each one brought their beloved pet forward for a blessing. I held each one and prayed aloud naming each of them and asking their human for their request. When Doc came forward with the rat that had been perched on her shoulder during the service, she held him in her arms like a baby. He was very healthy and I could tell well fed. 

I looked her in the eye and simply asked, ”Is he going to bite me?” 

“No” she replied. 

Then I asked what prayer her pet was seeking and she said, ”That I not be so misunderstood!” 

At that I reached out my arms to embrace and bless him.

I wondered if Saint Francis also talked to rats and other animals that we don’t easily think of as cuddly pets. There is a legend about his intervention with a Wolf who was killing sheep and perhaps also had attached some children. Francis went out to meet the Wolf to talk with him. During their talk, Francis learned that the Wolf was hungry. Francis got the Wolf to agree that he wouldn’t attack any longer if the towns people would provide him with food to still his hunger.

Saint Francis of Assisi is also the Saint that I think of when I think of the Cosmos and when I think of our Earth Mother and the damage that humanity has caused to our precious Mother, whom we depend upon for sustenance, water, life. If Francis were here today, I’m certain he would be at the forefront of saving the waters, the animals, the polar ice, the air, and more. Yes, this pilgrimage to Assisi has been long in becoming a reality.