Sun the 3rd of May – Blessing for Sale

The weekend is tough for Mar. She’s incapable of holding anything down and is just collecting more Wretchers Points. At this rate, she will soon be elevated to Gold Membership and get her own Golden Bowl. When I walk in, she wakes up, groggy, and hugs me really tight for at least 2-3 minutes. Just as I think she may have fallen asleep on my shoulder, she lets go…She’s so exhausted. It breaks my heart. On Saturday, Hege spent some time with her. The idea was for Richard to be with her on Sunday but Mar’s having such a bad day that she cancels. As one of my dear friends put it: She will get sicker before she gets better. SO BE IT. May all this, as rough as it is, serve to make her healthy again. Her strength and determination are unquestioned. Mar even says herself, in a slightly modified version of Rapper 50 Cent’s famous album: I'm gonna “Get well or die tryin’!” In between her severe bouts of nausea, my big sister manages to hold on to her sense of humor. I’m sorry the same can’t be said about her food.

On Sunday, Hege, Richard and I visit the Basicilica of St Francis of Assisi. For the interested and unknowing, St Francis is the Patron Saint of Animals. Back then, he was like a modern day Animal Whisperer. He came from a wealthy family and decided to give up his comfortable lifestyle to devote himself entirely to the poor. He lived very modestly and did many charitable acts. Through his good deeds, he had many followers and so he founded the Franciscan order for which he received the Pope's approval. He was a very kind man who did a lot of good for the poor and destitute. I hope this short summary is accurate and does him justice.

While both the Church and Basilica are very imposing in design, it strikes us that very little about either construction is humble. The interior is just as rich. I wonder if St Francis is rolling in his grave. Everything about this place screams of Status and Wealth. Does this not contradict the values he practiced and preached such as Humility and Charity…To be sure, we visit his Tomb in a downstairs chamber. For a small donation, you can take a candle which you can not light. With the hundreds of tourists walking around I understand this precaution. Back upstairs, again for another small donation you can light an electric candle. So I insert 50euro cents and to my dismay, nothing lights up…Mass is being held. I may not be a very religious person (to be clear I am a spiritual one and I do have faith. There is a difference) but it saddens me that in spite of all the boards and requests for silence, people are still talking, children are still yelling. This all seems like a business. A tourist attraction. In one corner, a priest is sitting in a glass booth. Just like at Disney, people are standing in line and for yet another small donation, the priest blesses you. You are even handed a receipt or is it a certificate? Everything is for sale so why not a Blessing?