The Mountains - Part 1

On the First Sunday of Lent, we read of Jesus’ retreat from the city into the mountains to pray. Each year, this story marks the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, when we are all to pause, escape from the rhythms of business, take stock of ourselves, and engage in reflection and prayer. Less than one year ago, I journeyed from Jerusalem to the very mountain on which Jesus is said to have prayed during his forty days of fasting and temptation, while I was on pilgrimage in Israel and Palestine. Overlooking both the vast baron desert and the green fields from a marvelous (and terrifying) height, I recall being washed with an overwhelming sense of earthy yet radiant gratitude.

The Mount of the Temptation which I visited last year, and a view from its height on a clear day

I have now felt that sensation once more, as I find myself once more on retreat in the mountains surrounding a great and holy city. This weekend, I traveled about 90 minutes by train to Orvieto, a small city in the Umbria region north of Rome, for a nearly three-day spiritual retreat.

This past week, without question, was one of the most stressful and exhausting weeks I can remember in at least the last several years. I knew without question that I was not only overdue for a little vacation, but that without one I would definitely be in a very rough place physically, emotionally and spiritually. Quite literally a breath of fresh air was not only desirable but absolutely necessary.

In the lush, bucolically forested mountains of Umbria, I have had the absolute blessing to enjoy the hospitality of St. Pauls’ vicar Fr. Francisco Alberca and his marvelous wife and two children. Eating what is without question the best meals I’ve had since coming to Italy (which as you can imagine is VERY high praise), I have been overjoyed to share with such a marvelous family.

Notably, the Alberca family speak perfect Italian and Spanish, but very little English (although Francisco is learning for sure). Likewise, I’m learning Spanish and Italian but by no means close to fluency in either. Despite the lessons I’ve picked up in the highly multi-lingual environment of Rome, I was still awfully nervous about being a good house guest without fully (or perhaps even mostly) sharing a language with my hosts!

As soon as Francisco and I arrived in Orvieto and enjoyed some quick cappuccino (it is Italy after all), we picked up his two kids and headed to the giardina where they love to play sports every day. For about an hour, as the sun began to set behind us, we joyously went back and forth playing soccer and basketball with the two little bambini and their happy dad. I couldn’t help but be flooded with thankfulness and that incredible feeling of “that was exactly what I needed”. After months traversing the dirty, smoggy, traffic-covered, tourist-filled, incessantly busy city of Rome, there was nothing better than a wholesome game of football with two great kids on a blue-sky day in an adorable suburban park.

Long story short, the Albercas are bar none the best hosts ever. No offense to all you awesome hosts out there (some of whose hospitality I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy over the years). Over dinner and board games (and did I mention amazing food?) we all went back and forth, flowing between English, Spanish and Italian – sometimes even in the same sentence – creating full and fulfilling conversations along the way! A real Pentecost experience!

The following morning, I had the extraordinary joy of rising early with the Alberca family. After a delicious breakfast we departed for the day. Fr. Francisco, who also remarkably happens to be a surgeon and former BioEthics professor, was off to his weekly duty visiting patients in the hospital. Meanwhile, I headed up to the center of Orvieto via the Funiculare (a sort of tram that goes directly up the mountainside instead of the curved vehicular roads) to explore the marvelous Duomo and surrounding area.

Rather than describe it in detail for you, I’ll let you enjoy the photos for yourself! Click here or head to the next blog post to see them!