Greccio

This past week I had a silent retreat at Greccio (pronounced Grechio), which is a beautiful place high in the mountains. The monastery pictured above is one of the places that Francis of Assisi lived. It is important because it is the site of the first Christmas Nativity Scene as well as the first mass held at midnight, both of which are devotions started by Francis. The monastery was very beautiful on the inside with different creche scenes from around the world. It also showed Francis' utter devotion to Christ. His room was part of the cliff wall where he slept propped up against the rocks.

My retreat center was part of this monastery, but was located a short walk away. It was a beautiful place to be with God. We were surrounded by mountains, and right outside the retreat center were many trails that led up to the peaks around us. I will never forget wandering up the mountain , and finding an old shepherd out on the side of the mountain guarding his flock. It put a new perspective on the Gospel passages to see this with my own eyes. God blessed me in many ways on the retreat. Before I left, all of the changes that I have gone through after coming to Rome started to overwhelm me. The retreat helped to calm me down and put my focus back on God. Now I am excited again about the coming months.

As an aside, I never put any of the pictures from my tour of the Swiss Guard Barracks. I thought everyone would enjoy these two photos.