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Pilgrimage
in Rome and Assisi with Diane On May 12, Diane Sherwood met me in Rome to start our personal Pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. Staying at various Guest Houses, Pallontine Sisters, in Rome, and Franciscan Guest House in Assisi, I also stayed at another Guest House in Florence. These Guest Houses run by the various Orders of Sisters are immaculate although rather Spartan and are the equivalent of one star hotels in Italy, around $35 to $40. Located in the center of the old towns, we could walk to everything. I personally love these Pilgrimages where we can linger in the local churches where painters, now famous, did their finest work. Not on tour, we can stay for mass, silent prayer, and solitude with these inspiring artists. Diane was granted an audience at the Vatican to meet Fr Fitzgerald, of the Inter-Faith office of the Vatican. He listened intently as she told of her work, the most recent inter-faith prayer services of the Children of Abraham, as well as faith traditions, praying for peace in the Holy Land. Our Jewish faith was represented by Rabbi David Shneyer on the shofar, Hebrew Choir with Serena Fox in the chorus. Santa Maria Church, Trastevere at Janiculum Hill, in Rome, with Byzantine mosiacs has an Inter-Faith group meeting nightly. No priest, no dogma, just people following the gospel, living in community, trying to be kind, compassionate, living in grace. Like it says in the Old Testament "Loving their neighbor". Tiny mustard seeds. I see them growing all over. Two thousand years ago, a young Rabbi, rebelled against the corruption in the Temple, and the old ways. The Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Who was this Rabbi who helped make the Lord our God a household name in over 200 languages? Our Society for Biblical Literature has thousands of scholar writing on every sentence, every phrase, and even every word in the Two Books, possibly the most powerful books ever read, translated, quoted, and misquoted. The Old and New Testament. From powerful Rome, we spent the rest of our time in the tiny village of Assisi to join tourists from all over the world paying homage to St. Francis.
St. Francis and the Renaissance Wars, Crusades,
Chaos Not a priest Love your
neighbors, animals, And to
the Sultan of Jerusalum From Power
of Rome Palaces,
merchant's homes Humanist
and Pagan Humankind
at center of art On the
tomb of Sixtus IV - 1493 Also: Arithmetic,
Astrology, Dialectics Old Testament
Moses, Abraham, Isaac, The world's
finest painters: In Venice, I stayed at a small one star hotel waiting for the family wedding party three day boat trip before landing in Venice. Endless parties with family, and an extraordinary wedding with a beautiful bride were the highlights of Venice. I'll roam
while I may This great surface of earth Flowing
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