Page 23 - LOTN Autumn Issue 54 2023

FAITH AND CULTURE

cry’ are usually included in the order of service, and carols such Advent carol service in addition to a Christmas Carol service
as the beautiful ‘There is no rose of such virtue as is the Rose seems to be gaining ground. The characteristic note of Advent
that bore Jesu’ or ‘Tomorrow shall be my dancing day’ may is one of expectation, which can be difficult to sustain in the
also feature. Palestrina’s Advent Responsory is another frequent secular world, with all the commercial pressures surrounding
choice, as is ‘Sleepers Wake’ in the version by J. S. Bach, or that Christmas.
of Mendelssohn. Here is a link to the Advent carol mentioned above, ‘There is
By the time you read this article you will probably have been no Rose of such virtue’, a setting by Graham Ellis of medieval
hearing festive music for some time in the local supermarket words, sung by the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral: https://www.
and elsewhere. It seems a shame to start singing Christmas youtube.com/watch?v=MwNlJuXm8hE It will also be sung at
carols so early in December that there is no time to mark St Mary’s cathedral on the last Sunday of Advent this year.
the season of Advent. Fortunately the practice of holding an

Shetland parish trailblazers take the

"Way of St Francis" in their stride

BY FR AMBROSE FLAVELL OSB

ast year a group from the Shetland parish walked
the Way of St Francis from La Verna, where Saint
Francis had received the stigmata, to Assisi. We
Lhad timed our pilgrimage to arrive at our goal on
the eve of the feast of St Francis and the basilica that
evening was packed with pilgrims, religious and the
local people for a beautiful Mass before we filed down
to the tomb of St Francis in the lower church.
If that pilgrimage taught me anything, it was that St Francis
loved wild and solitary places. He was by temperament a
hermit, and the places I felt closest to him were the three
mountain hermitages which punctuated our route, La
Verna, Montecasale and the Carceri just outside Assisi itself.
The Franciscans have always been torn between the The Shetland pilgrims with two Capuchin Friars at Renacavata
cities and the wilderness, between a ministry to the poor Friary, Camerino - First house of the Capuchin Franciscan reform
of Christ in the slums and a life of solitary prayer on the
hill top. In the 16th century that double pull gave birth laid out a long-distance pilgrim route, the “Cammino dei
to a new branch of the Franciscan family, the Capuchins. Cappuccini” which ties together some of the key places
In a few years’ time they will be celebrating their 500th connected with their founding. That was our challenge for
anniversary and as part of the preparations the friars have this summer, 130 miles through the hills of the Marche from
Fossombrone to Camerino to follow in the footsteps of the
pioneers who were looking for a stricter living of the Rule of
St Francis, and a life dedicated to prayer.
And it was a challenge! The route is still only a few years old
and there is not yet a guide book. We were very conscious of
being pioneers and it soon became clear that we were one
of the first foreign groups to tackle it. But that novelty was
part of the attraction. It is still small enough for pilgrims to
be welcomed into the friaries and monasteries along the
route as guests and friends. We started out on the last day
of August with a blessing from Fra Filippo after Mass, and
from the vantage point of their hilltop he pointed out the
first stage of our journey, through the dramatic limestone
gorge of the Gola del Furlo. After that, the path soon took
us into the hills of the Apennine ridge which runs down
The pilgrim credential with the first six stamps. We walked the first the spine of Italy. We passed through several national and
eleven stages of the route, the complete pilgrimage is 400 km long regional parks with dramatic scenery but it was all strangely
quiet with very few other walkers. We relied on the red

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