Monday, August 11, 2008

best of summer : : three

Birthdays and Feast Days. This "best of summer" does not entirely apply to everyone, but it does represent a highlight for me!

I'm a summer baby. This means two things, 1) my mom endured awful summer heat and humidity during her last weeks of pregnancy, and 2) because of my late July birth, I get to celebrate my birthday in the season of pool parties, visits to the beach, ice cream cakes (before I became dairy free), outdoor concerts, and birthdays on the road. I have celebrated my birthday in Italy twice, London this summer, Vermont, Ontario, and all across the United States.

In addition, it is in August, today in fact, that I celebrate the Feast of St. Clare, the saint I chose for my confirmation when I converted to Catholicism in the Spring of 2005. I had visited St. Clare's birthplace in Assisi in 2003 and became convinced that her path was one I desired to follow or emulate in some form. Clare's call was to the poor and to lead amongst men in the reforms of the Church. A close companion of St. Francis, she was involved not only in his work and contemplation, but that of her own with a group of women who gathered around her.



An icon of St. Clare painted by famed Sienese artist Simone Martini.



Clare's cathedral in Assisi, Italy. It is difficult to tell from this photo, but in person the pink marble that comprises the structure is breathtaking.

****NOTE****

One of my bestest pals, J, has her fantastic photos from an April trip to Assisi posted here, visit and see more of Santa Chiara's hill-top medieval city. Including this one:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey there, your email and post reminded me of the day, so in honor of it, I finally posted my Assisi photos to Flickr!

BJW said...

How fun, I'll link to them here!