Category: Florence

More signs of a solitary traveler

1/19/2019

I just had to share this with my prayerdiary friends about a post on www.acottagebythesea.net.

Would you believe this? I was selected as one of two the blog stars for December 2018 by Lonely Planet for my 12/28 post “More Signs of a Solitary Traveler.” “LP Pathfinders: what did you write this month [December]’ in our Travel Bloggers and Pathfinders forum.”

“Hey guys,
Thanks to everyone who submitted their wonderful travel tales from December 2018! A big congratulations to the following blog-stars who made it into this month's new-look round up:
@BobbbiFisher
@ChrisGaillard
You can check out the round-up in full, including why these blogs were selected, here: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2019/01/17/pathfinders-best-blogs-instagram-shots-and-videos-from-december-2018
Well done everyone! Keep up the wonderful travel writing and we look forward to reading more of your posts next month.
Happy travels!
Jack

Walking around with God

12/12/2018

This is my last day in Florence walking around with God. Of course, I can walk around with God anywhere, because God is everywhere.
Walking around with God is not a white privilege; you don’t have to afford be in such a beautiful place as Florence; God walks with everyone, everywhere, all the time--God shows no partiality.
God is always there to walk with me. I just have to notice.

The Convent of San Marco and Fra Angelico

12/4/2018

Here it is again! A slideshow of Fra Angelico’s frescoes in the monks’ cells in the Convent of San Marco. At 8:15 I was the first visitor of the day, and for a while I had the place to myself. I have a set of these same pictures stored on my computer, so why take them again? Because these are of the moment, this moment of prayer.

Morning in Florence with God

9/16/2018

I’m more conscious of walking around with God in the early morning, at least when I’m in Florence. There are fewer distractions to draw my thoughts away. The streets are relatively clear of traffic, the sidewalks sparse save for a few runners; I don’t have to concentrate on maneuvering my way from spot to spot, from café to cafe. And then there is the heat; even in September there is the omnipresent sun.
Very grateful for this morning.

Accepting the way things are

9/14/2018

On this visit to Florence I’ve become aware of how different life has become from what I experienced during my childhood and even my parenting years. Cell phones, selfies, wearing attire, hair styles, tattoos are just the way it is these days. Most would agree that the world is changing exponentially.
The good news, at least as far as I am concerned, is that I have no regrets about the past, nor specific desires for the future. As I sit here writing in this little park, I feel myself accepting things just the way they are, and, as the saying goes, just the way they aren’t. I notice I have very few judgments about people and I’m less apt to analyze situations. It’s just the way it is, not good, not bad. Life is changing and people have to adapt. You might say I have a Zen approach in accepting what is.
However, as a Christian I attribute the calm I feel to my meditation and prayer practice. My moral compass is always shimmering and keeping me on track. I try to be honest with myself and others, and follow the Golden Rule.
This is grace, not of my own doing. I just show up to open my heart.

San Marco and Fra Angelico again

9/12/2018

I did it again. I took pictures of Fra Angelico’s frescoes in the monks’ cells at the Convent of San Marco. Before every visit I tell myself I don’t need another set of photographs; during every visit, I take pictures anyway; at the end of the day, I post them. So, here they are for your prayerful enjoyment.

Morning walk with God in Florence

9/9/2018

If you name it a prayer walk, it will becomes one—it happens when t the mind goes to the heart. On this Sunday in Florence the temperature may reach 90, and for sure the streets will be crowded, but right now the early morning is cool and the streets relatively clear. So I start my best prayer walk, inviting my mind into my heart.
My walk began quietly as I wandered across the Piazza della Signoria, along the Arno, over the Ponte Vecchio, and down some side streets. Life picked up at Piazza Santo Spirito, where an antique show was getting underway and where my go-to café was bustling. Final stop, Sung High Mass at St. Mark’s English Church.

With God in Florence

9/6/2018

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything more than a Daily Quote or Word & Image. It’s not that I haven’t been praying, but I couldn’t pull together anything I felt worthy of sharing. Maybe I should have told you that I was all over the place mentally and physically getting ready for this moment when I would be sitting in the garden of the art institute adjacent to the Boboli Gardens in Florence. Maybe I should have told you that I was too involved in the non-stop breaking news to ever imagine that I would be taking a two week vacation from it all.
     The leaves are turning and there is a soft breeze here in the park. How easy it is to feel God’s presence in God’s natural creation and in God’s people enjoying themselves! I say that I go to Florence to walk around with God, because that is truly what I want to do, although I often forget. When I do remember, however, God is clearly present whether I am walking the streets, visiting a church or museum, enjoy delicious food, or watching people (and their dogs) in the park.
    Traveling alone simplifies things; it’s just God and me, no one else. Traveling alone helps me practice what I’d like to have happen all the time—be aware of God. I’m reminded of St. Paul’s suggestion that we pray without ceasing, and the way of the pilgrim repeating the Jesus Prayer.
    I am very grateful that solitary travel works out so well for me, but it’s not the only way to travel or to be in solitude, nor the only way to be in God’s presence. When we follow Jesus, however, we see that a little solitude time with God is part of God’s plan. If Jesus traveled off by himself to be with God, why shouldn’t we?

Another visit to San Marco

4/16/2018

Every time I come to Florence I promise I won’t take pictures of the frescoes that Fra Angelica painted in the monk cells at the Convent of San Marco. I never keep that promise. Here they are again. Pace e bene.

Praying at St. Trinita in Florence

4/15/2018

One of my go-to prayer churches in Florence is St. Trinita, a small, gothic style church on Piazza Trinita, and near Ponte Trinita. A trinity in itself.
I sit in a pew that gives me a view of Christ’s life through art.