St. Francis at La Verna

I want to tell you about a place I visited in Italy in 2015.
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La Verna is located in Italy, between Florence and Rome. It’s located high on a mountain. It’s a beautiful monastery dating back to the eleventh century. All of the structures are stone and there’s a wonderful plaza overlooking  the valley below.
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St. Francis of Assisi visited and stayed there for forty days in 1224.
It was there that he received the stigmata..
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Just below the stone structures of the monastery there is a cave. It was really more like an outcropping, but it was big enough to walk around in and was open to the public.

There’s a stone path that goes down to it that was lush with greenery. This cave is where Francis went to be alone with God. It was their special meeting place.There’s a stone path that goes down to it that was lush with greenery. This cave is where Francis went to be alone with God. It was their special meeting place.
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As I walked down the stone steps, cool air wafted up and around me,
Other members of our group had gone down the stairs ahead of me. They were silent, in awe of such a special place. When my foot stlipped off the last step and landed on the cave floor I started to cry! No just tears running down my cheeks, but a weeping that involved my whole face. Taffy, my sweet friend, came and put her arms around me. She and the others were quite concerned about me. But I told them that the crying was an overwhelming sense of joy and peace! I knew Holy Spirit was there and He was remembering the intimacy that He had shared with Francis.The air was filled with a tenderness that was palpable.
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Francis had taken a vow of poverty. All that he owned were was he wearing. There was no chair, no bed.

​Of the seventeen places we visited while on that prayer journey, that was the most meaningful to me. I will never, never forget that holy place.