The Motherland

So this weekend was our first programmed excursion to Subiaco, the CSB|SJU/Benedictine motherland.  Friday was spend running around town and doing homework so it was nice to just hop on a bus and leave for the day.  We met at school at 8:30 and hopped on the most massive coach bus I have ever seen.  This thing was literally the size of a double decker bus, but there was only one level.  Huge I tell you.  And apparently, side note, all of the busses in Rome cost the same and are all giant-sized.  Not the yellow school busses I‘m used to for field trips.  But anyway, we made the drive to Subiaco which was only supposed to take 1 hour, but the driver didn’t speak English so it was really hard for Elaine, our director, to give him the directions so we got lost.  Let me rephrase, we got lost on tiny, twisty, roads built for medieval modes of transportation.  And we’re trecking up the side of a mountain in a bus built for Andre the giant.  We end up having to back up (in the bus) and take different turns 3 times in our quest to get to this monastery, but we finally made it to the top.  From there it was a good 5 minute walk up a path with an incline of at least 35 degrees before we actually got to the site itself. 

Now, on a historical note, Subiaco is important to us Benedictine kids because it’s where St. Benedict went when he left Rome (because it was falling) and lived in a cave for 3 years before leaving his cave of wonders to found 12 monasteries in the area.  The monastery that’s there now is pretty much the original.  There hasn’t been a whole lot of modernization or even preservation done to it.  And the building itself is built directly into the cliff face and uses some of the cliff walls to for structural support. 

In this tiny little building there are 2 churches that are on top of the actual cave where St. Ben lived.  The frescos on the ceiling and walls are incredible.  Most are from the 12^th through the 15^th centuries (to put this in perspective that’s at least 300 years older than America) and in impeccable condition for their age.  They aren’t even roped off!  There is some pretty humorous graffiti on them, though.  Including an inscription made by a Pope.  And all the floors are made from marble taken from Nero’s villa that used to stand in the area.  So cool.  I’m history geekin’ out. 

During our few hours at Subiaco, we talked with Father Luigi who was fascinated, as were we, by the difference in lifestyle between himself and the monks of St. John’s.  The work of the monks of St. Ben’s is hospitality.  There calling is to welcome people to the top of this mount and share the history of the place.  Some keep bees, garden, farm, or something like that.  Fr. Luigi was just floored to hear that the OSBs of SJU pretty much all have Ph.D.s, teach rigorous class schedules, have the internet, and walk around in plain clothes (that’s another thing, the ecclesiastics in Italy still dress as if it’s pre-Vatican II). 

We got the full tour by an SJU grad serving with the Benedictine Volunteer Corps and then headed down the mountain for lunch at the sister monastery, St. Scholastica.  THIS LUNCH WAS AMAZING.  Enough said.  But truly we had a bruschetta appetizer followed by incredibly pasta with pesto and tomato sauce and then potatoes and honey glazed pork and dessert.  Yummmmm.  It was so good to eat good meat and potatoes.  That’s one thing about Rome, meat is quite expensive so I haven’t been eating much of it in my apartment. After we had all digested a little, we toured the monastery at St. Scholastic and then hopped the bus back to Rome.  We were all in massive food comas so no one really talked on the way back and I passed out hard core and my legs fell asleep.  And with my contacts out of whack and no feeling in my bottom limbs, I stumble back to my apartment and promptly fell asleep.  So much for life in the eternal city.