Subiaco

I took this picture on the mountains near Subiaco, Italy during my pilgrimage to Italy in May 2012. On this mountain is the site where St. Benedict first formed the Benedictine order, including the first Benedictine monastery and the famous cave of St. Benedict. He founded 12 monasteries near Subiaco, including the most famous of Monte Cassino. St. Benedict is one of the patrons of Europe.

Part of the story goes that people once tried to poison St. Benedict, but there were miraculous interventions preventing this. When he prayed a blessing over the drink the cup was shattered. When he prayed a blessing over the bread, a raven came and snatched it away.

We only stayed one night here (in the visitor section near the abbey of St. Scholastica), and I wish I could have stayed longer. While we were there a few of us tried to climb up to the cave of St. Benedict and the Benedictine monastery to pray vespers with the Benedictines. Thinking that we would save time if we took a small path instead of the road, we ended up missing the monastery altogether. We literally climbed to the very top of the mountain, and only discovered the monastery one the way down (by that time it was closed). So I ended up praying vespers with my English breviary on the way back down.

All the same, the view while climbing the mountain was extraordinary. You could see all over the Italian countryside and the surrounding mountains. I will probably post more pictures, it was truly stunning.

This was a very powerful sight to see though... with the cross framed against the dying sun... recalling how Christ has conquered the world through His cross and Resurrection!