I have a passion for fossils

My darling wife sees

How happy it makes me

And lovingly supports me

Despite not sharing my passion

But I was particularly struck by

Museo Di Storia Naturale in Venice

It was more than what they had

It was the way specimens were presented

To spark interest, answer questions

And feed the passion

Like specimens of footprints

Being in the floor

But what is it about fossils

For me?

It’s that life has been around

For solong

In so many different forms

And that we have a fossil

Is a long shot in itself

All of the conditions were right

For thisbeing

And/or its passage

To be preserved

For our viewing

Our study

Our appreciation.

There is so much order

So many relationships

That God is in all this.

And tears come to my eyes

For the glory of it all

And it makes me deeply happy.

In the church of San Troviso

There is a Last Supper painted

By Venetian Renaissance painter

Tintoretto

I am no art critic nor historian

But I deeply appreciated

Its contemporising the Last Supper

For 16^thcentury Venetians

Drawing them in

Saying to them:

‘The Last Supper is now’

I was deeply moved by this explanation

As it strikes a chord

With my working vocation

These last 20 plus years

That faith matters in the here and now

Or it doesn’t matter at all

About salvation now

Really believing that I have dignity

As do all around me

And that our relationships

Promote that dignity for each person

And as much as they do not

We are all the poorer for it

As simple

And as powerful

As that

I was fortunate

To spend time in Florence

In our time

We saw many of the ‘sights’ like

The Duomo, the Church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi gallery

As well as appreciated

Being able to eat

Tasty food

And drink wine

Soaking it all up.

But so many people

Had said so much

About the place

I was left feeling

Underwhelmed

By much of it

I’m not really sure why

And guess it comes down to

Expectations

Amidst the gold and grandeur

And despite the constant buzz

From visitors

Who are meant to be respecting the silence

I found a prayerful moment

In the chapel of Our Lady

In the Basilica of San Marco, Venice

The icon of Mary

Was nestled under a succession

Of three arches

Giving it the feel

Of a grotto

Emphasising the separation

Of this space

From the buzzing throng

So the Holy Spirit

Could pour down her grace

Of this prayerful moment

Spending time in foreign countries

It’s easy to focus

On the differences –

In language

Customs

Bank notes

Yet, we have a common currency

In our humanity

Seen in children

Their joy and delight in the simple

Such as dancing and singing

Frequently on tip-toes

Their agency in pressing buttons –

To cross the road

Or wherever they can get their hands on them!

Their mimicry of adult behaviour

Which can raise an amusing

As well as uncomfortable mirror

To adults

Thus we adults have a choice:

Do we focus on agency

As well as joy and delight

And pay attention

To the mirror

Held up for us?

Or do we stumble

Along dark paths

That lead to

distrust, division

And destruction?

There are so many tourists

In European cities

Like Paris, Florence and Venice

That there are may

‘Associated’ industries

Legal ones

Like souvenirs

And ones that skirt the law

Like beggars

When some, like me, have so much

Why shouldn’t they get their cut?

Is it because they are so

Outside my normality

That I feel awkward

Around them?

I am also annoyed –

Leave me in peace!

Do they confront

The depth of my compassion?

Or are some of them just con artists?

We went into the most spare

Looking church with

Rendered concrete walls

But the peace spoke to us both

Suspended from the ceiling

Above the sanctuary

Were three figures

Jesus crucified

Mary on his right

And ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’

On his left

What floored me was

The shadow of the cross

Since the sanctuary wall

Was not flat

But in sections such that

The shadowy arms of the cross

Look upraised in

A gesture of embrace

And blessing

This juncture of

Creativity and theology

Emphasises the bonds of relationship

And hope

And redemption

Precisely when humans

Would give up

Our God

Our salvation

Is in community

Sitting, overlooking a view

That no photo can do justice

I’m struck by a deep sense

Of peace and gratitude.

The honesty, integrity and hospitality

Of our hosts

Is a vital ingredient

That puts us at our ease

And helps to open our hearts

To drink deeply

Of the idyllic panorama

And feel at peace

Creation is alive riotously

In this place.

An enormous liquid amber

Whose boughs

Dip into the river

Like fingers from a green hand.

The river flows past ever present and changing.

Ducks of various types

Doing their thing –

From scavenging scraps

To attempted flight.

Other birds

Singing, chirping

Their joy

In late spring.

Humans amble past

Some sit and chat

Others, like me,

Drink in the peaceful wonder

And I thank the creator

For this everyday salve

For life’s cares

We went to the Fraumunster

In Zurich

To see Marc Chagall’s

Stained glass windows.

They were wondrous, luminous

But the 1250 year history

Of worship

At this place

Was stunning.

The crypt pointed

To its 9^thcentury founding

As did the mural of the original abbesses

On the wall of the transept.

But I was moved to tears

By Mary’s chapel.

Not by its grandeur

But by its peace

Which cracked open

My heart

Walled in by fear and control

The spell was broken

By other visitors

My desire to stay there physically

Can be slaked

By a heart

Opened by contemplation

To acting out of love.

Doing so will be the trick