Assisi

Greetings again!  I am currently at a hotel in Siena in pouring rain, so I'm taking the opportunity to email, blog and journal.  As regards the latter, I am doing my best to write every day or two, so that I don't lose the marvelous experiences I'm receiving.

One thing that struck me about Rome, and which I found again in Assisi, is the many times that Our Lady appears all over the streets.  You'll be walking around, just wandering or maybe on your way to a basilica, and you look up.  In the wall above you, or next to you, or above the intersection, is the Madonna.  Sometimes it is a tiny statue set in a niche, where some pious person has placed a red candle.  Sometimes there is a large fresco surrounded by stonework.  Sometimes there is a painted tile image.  At any rate, she is truly a Madonna of the Streets everywhere you go.

We've seen many sites, all of which are completely worth the visit and the walking.  However, the best blessings from God are the unexpected ones, the little moments of sudden beauty in nature or happening upon a spot one never expected to see.  I've had so many of those that I owe God so much gratitude.

Unfortunately my internet and computer time is limited, so I'll have to sign off.  Please continue to pray for me, as I do all of you!