Chronicle of Tuesday 19 August

Dear parents, grandparents, friends and all the other pilgrims,

At last we have begun the second part of our pilgrimage. There is less and less to go before we reach Rome. Today, before setting off, waiting for us at reception were some little bags with breakfast that the ladies who looked after the place where we slept had kindly left ready for us. As every day, we began the walk with an hour of silence, recollected in prayer. Today we meditated on the importance of being simple of heart and of discovering where we have set it, so as to make sure that Jesus is the centre of everything.

As we started walking, the good pace the pilgrims were keeping was surprising. Even though there were more than twice as many of us as just a couple of days before, the pace hardly dropped and for several stretches we managed to keep up a fantastic average of 5 kilometres an hour. When we reached the stop, a very kind priest opened the doors of his church to us, where we were able to do our daily spiritual reading, in which Cardinal Ratzinger spoke to us about different ideas, such as marriage or the joyful affirmation of love that celibacy is. The truth is that the first day of walking for those who joined us in Assisi went like clockwork.

Today Montefalco welcomed us with a breathtaking climb. The last stretch before reaching the town was hard going, but we all reached our destination with a smile from ear to ear. The parish priest of the town, Don Luca, was waiting to welcome us and we were able to share various impressions of the way with him. Together, we made lunch and sat down to enjoy, one more day, our bread and cold meats. It was clear that we were more tired than yesterday, so, after a good shower at the sports centre next to the school where we are sleeping, we went off to rest.

In the afternoon, we were able to have a time of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament before praying all together again, meditating on “In Conversation with God”. Then we were able to celebrate Holy Mass dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the homily, following today’s Gospel passage, the priest spoke to us about how total self-giving must be without conditions, without expecting anything, but seeing the other person as the gift that God is already giving us.

In the evening, we had a good plate of rice with tomato and a couple of pieces of pork loin each. Everything was delicious. It isn’t “rice à la Gomar”, but it comes pretty close. Tomorrow’s stage is hard, with a steep climb, so we didn’t have a get-together; instead we prayed Compline and now we’re off to bed, always holding Our Lady’s hand, mentally prepared for whatever tomorrow brings.