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Worb, Switzerland in Fall
We are experiencing our first “fall” living in Worb, Switzerland. The changes have been beautiful to watch. “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often” Blessed John Henry Newman
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The Volto Santo
A few weeks ago, while on our trip to Italy, we visited Lucca. In the Tuscany region, Lucca is believed to have been founded around 180 BC. It is a beautiful place, and I highly recommend it if you ever visit the Tuscany region. The Cathedral of St. Martin is located within the city’s walled area. Inside the cathedral is the Chapel of the Holy Face, or the Volto Santo, also known as the Holy Cross. The small chapel contains a walnut crucifix showing Christ wearing a tunic. Yet it is the face, the Volto Santo, that grabbed me. Like all old relics, the Volto Santo is surrounded by history,…
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Tuscany, Italy
We are very grateful that friends invited us to join them in Tuscany, Italy, during the boys’ fall break last week. It was a wonderful week of sights and sounds. We decided to drive, so our journey took us up, down, around, and even through the Alps. It was indeed a beautiful ride. After passing the Great St. Bernard Pass, our first stop was Aosta, a town in northern Italy. Nestled in the Italian Alps, Aosta is home to great Roman Empire history. After spending the night in Aosta, we continued our drive through northern Italy and the beautiful Italian Riviera to the Tuscany region. During our stay in Tuscany,…
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A Single Tree
One of the things that my wife and I love is the “single trees” that fill the landscapes all over Switzerland. Here are a few in our village of Worb. This has made me wonder, beyond their beauty, what a single tree can teach us about our spirituality and relationship with God. A Single Tree Today, I stand in silence,And it prompts me to be still To be stillAnd hold onto my wordsTo be stillAnd resist the need to actTo be stillAnd reside within my name Rooted in Your creationI lose my statureI lose my fullnessI lose my looksThank You Rooted in Your creationI gain my statureI gain my fullnessI…
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Exaltation of the Cross
There is a great light that shines from the Cross of Christ. A light full of grace that glistens my soul and illuminates the darkness and dysfunction of my human capacity. Oh the grace. A light full of mercy that corrodes my desire to “feel good” and exposes my attachments to the things that cause injury. Oh the mercy. A light full of hope that swallows the source of my pain onto Himself so that through darkness I might find life. Oh the hope. Today the Church proclaims the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Here are some of the crosses that have caught my eye over the last…
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Mt. Pilatus
We had a great time staying the night on top of Mt. Pilatus. (2132 meters (about 7000 ft.) above sea level.)
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Penetrating Light
Last week, during an early morning run, I was struck by the light that penetrated the darkness on one of my favorite trails near our house in Worb, Switzerland. It was a great reminder that as much as I try to hide from the light, the light always penetrates my shadows and invites me into freedom. Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom you give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour; and bears a likeness of you, Most High. –Canticle of the Creatures, St. Francis of Assisi (Laudato Si, 87)
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Happy Easter
He is Risen! Alleluia! One of the distinct ways we find truth in the Risen Christ is that His Church is alive 2000 years later. Here are just a few of the churches we saw while we spent Easter weekend in Lugano, Switzerland. Happy Easter!!
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Maundy Thursday
“The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, it produces Love.” – St. Thomas Aquinas (This painting is called “Last Supper” and is located in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels (Chiesa Santa Maria degli Angioli) in Lugano, Switzerland. Milanese Bernardino Luini painted it, sometimes called the “Raphael of the North”, for his art’s gentle expressions and calm beauty. We spent Easter Weekend (and the Paschal Triduum) in Lugano, Switzerland.)
