This past summer I had a profound experience that helped me to remember that heaven and earth are one.<\/p>\n
I was in Assisi, Italy, on pilgrimage. I was there with other Franciscans who were preparing for (or discerning) final vows, and participating in a study pilgrimage sponsored by Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs<\/a>. As a Franciscan sister, it is understandable that my heaven-on-earth experience occurred in Assisi, as the village is holy ground for those of us in the Franciscan family.<\/p>\n Sacramental graces<\/strong><\/p>\n After a morning Mass with our pilgrimage group at the tomb of St. Francis, I went into the upper church of the basilica of St. Francis.\u00a0 I then found myself praying with Giotto di Bondone\u2019s vibrant frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis. Much was stirring in my heart as I examined the scenes depicting St. Francis\u2019 life of conversion and penance.<\/p>\n Specifically, I was feeling very uncomfortable with my weak and imperfect …<\/p>\n [This is the beginning of my latest column for the online newspaper,\u00a0Global Sisters Report.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Continue reading here<\/a>.]\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This past summer I had a profound experience that helped me to remember that heaven and earth are one. I was in Assisi, Italy, on pilgrimage. I was there with other Franciscans who were preparing for (or discerning) final vows, and participating in a study pilgrimage sponsored by Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs. As a Franciscan sister,...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":22104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755597,2178641],"tags":[1122556,2416,401,525076,91914,698755383,853,116,18211,3981,200],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-4674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-care-for-the-earth","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-assisi","tag-church","tag-faith","tag-franciscan","tag-heaven","tag-pilgrimage","tag-prayer","tag-religion","tag-sacraments","tag-theology","tag-travel","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/calvin-mano-CXS27RrJObQ-unsplash-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"Heaven and Earth: Lessons learned in Assisi<\/a><\/blockquote>