A more full day could not have been asked for or imagined. Today included both a presentation by three members of the Assembly on Mission, a financial report, a consideration of the procedures for the Chapter, and a festive dinner at Via Flamiglia, one of the most prestigious schools that the Brothers operate here in Rome.First of all, at least for me, it was rewarding to finally sleep all of six hours. Even if I still felt quite tired when I awoke, it was good to know that some of me had had a rest that lasted longer than three hours, as in days past. The fact that the outside water pump didn't kick in once during the night may have had something to do with it. When I got up, and opened up the windows (opaque because the room used to be a bathroom) it was quite nice outside.
During morning Mass (our third, so far, as a language group) it became apparent that we were beginning to feel together as a group - the quiet times were rich and relaxed, the flow was becoming comfortable. Breakfast followed, and so on.
For the opening prayer in the Chapter Hall, when the group began at 9 AM, I chose a quotation from De La Salle's first meditation for the time of retreat that speaks about God "diffusing the fragrance of his knowledge through human ministers...." Just a short couple of sentence followed by the sung "Let us remember..." in the three languages. The point for this morning was to listen to members of the Assembly on Mission that occured last year, and it was worthwhile to recall the universal call to ministry that was part of De La Salle's perspective. Then, three individuals who were key participants in the Assembly on Mission (Br. Fred Mueller, Mr. Gery Short, and Ms. Evelyn Geofroy) made reflective presentations about the experience. Included was a short video that helped to capture the spirit of that event. Afterwards, the Brothers broke up into groups and returned later to pose questions to the panel about some of the things that were covered in the report - available online at www.lasalle2.org for everyone to read.
That completed the morning.
During the lunch recess, it was announced (in the three languages) that Gery and Roseann are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, and so the whole group sang "Happy Birthday" (we sing that for anything here) to them with mucho gusto. Near the end of lunch, Gery invited me to join them and Evelyn on a quick afternoon jaunt into Rome. Since I knew that I would not be needed for the afternoon session, and since I very much needed a break of some kind, and because they were my good friends, and because I wanted to do so, I said "I'd like that." Years ago I came up with the principle that, as far as possible, I would address questions and situations like this with the question "What would you later most regret not having done?" In this case, the answer was pretty clear to me.Out of good conscience, I did tell a few people that I wouldn't be there for the afternoon session, and pretty soon the four of us were on the Metro on the way to the "Spagna" metro stop and a vist to the Spanish steps. Before getting onto the Metro, we had encounters of the mysterious kind with the ticket machine - you have to know which buttons to push when, and to know what ticket does what. After all of that effort, we walked to the trains through the wide-open gate next to the subway-style entrances and didn't have to show our tickets anywhere. What a country! (This is a good comment.)
At the Spanish Steps, we stood around trying to decide what to do for a while. Evelyn wanted to buy a dress for her nine-year-old granddaughter and we wanted to wander about a bit and maybe stop for a coffee somewhere. After some pictures, we decided to first visit the Brothers' school right there at the Spanish Steps and then to walk around the area, making our way to the Via Corso. Our school opens out into the plaza through the small non-descript doorway. But once inside, the place opens up into a grand set of buildings. We walked inside and I showed a faded ID card from CBHS in Sacramento to the guard who looked at it, looked at me, said "Brother?" and let us in when I just nodded and said 
"Si." Since it was Saturday, only a few kids were about. We wandered about a bit, taking pictures, and then proceeded down the main street that leads away from the Spanish steps - jam-packed with tourists of all kinds.At one point, Evelyn saw some dresses that might fit the bill and she began to take out her glasses to read the prices. I told her "Don't bother," and she agreed after seeing the 3,000 Euro cost. These were some pricey stores here! After a couple of side streets, each one getting smaller than the last, we saw a nice outdoor cafe and sat down for some coffee. It was all quite enjoyable and just the right thing for every one of us.
When we returned to the Generalate at around 5:30 PM, they went off to rest a bit before the dinner at Via Flamiglia while I went up to the Aula Magna to find that the Brothers were still at it, considering the various details of the rules and procedures for the Chapter in some detail. They had been at it since 3 o'clock. I sat in for some of the questions and points and suggestions before making my way back to my desk to process some of the pictures of the day. I wasn't needed in the Aula Magna, either for help in resolving some of the issues (since I wasn't a member of the Chapter) or for prayer (most Brothers were probably already praying silently that they could finish all this sometime before midnight). The process was all very legitimate and good, I must say. It reminded me of Mies van der Rohe's comment about architecture: "God is in the details." This, of course, had been turned into the more catchy "the devil is in the details." But I prefer the first.
At 6:45 PM, the buses for our evening journey were being loaded in front of the Generalate and we took off for our dinner at Via Flamiglia. There wasn't enough room on the buses for everyone, so the Motherhouse cars were quickly called into service. At the school, the Brothers there welcomed us with warm hospitality and we had a tour of some of the facilities (indoor pool, fine gymnasium, garden with a lake and swans, and so on) before sitting down under tents for a wonderful Italian dinner. There were five or six courses, each served with efficiency and consisting of some great food. The evening passed very quickly in conversation and fraternal atmosphere. 
After a long week of work, we were ready for something like this.A couple of short talks were give by the Visitor for Italy, Br. Donato, who is a member of the Chapter, and Gery and Roseann were again recognized on their 25th wedding anniversary, leading to another round of "Happy Birthday to You" in four languages. (At least I think that's what they were singing in Italian, French, and Spanish - the melody was the same, anyway.) Br. Leonardo was next to me, and we spent some time talking about his work, our families, and various esoteric points related to the life of the Founder (don't ask, it will only bore you). The dinner began around 7:30 PM, and at about 10:45 PM people stood, as if an invisible signal had been given, and began making their way back to the busses. Leonardo had driven here in one of the cars with a couple of Brothers and invited me to join them, so I did. On the way back to the Motherhouse, he negotiated the traffic with a native sensibility (I just hung on), saying that growing up in Bogota, Columbia, had trained him well for Rome driving. He turned here and there and suddenly we were driving down the wide boulevard that leads to Saint Peter's, with the cupola and facade lit up at the end of the street - a great way to return to see the place. He then decided to take a quick jaunt to Gianicolo, a local hill overlooking the city, and with the permission of the other Brothers in the car we drove up to this lookout, which was absolutely filled with people - as if it were noon, and spent a while overlooking different views of the city before making our way back to the Generalate.
From thence to now I've been in communications room in order to put in order to feed the blog beast.
Know that as part of the rules and procedures that were considered today, one item dealt with the "official voice" of the Chapter. There is a "chronicler" who is that official voice. And so I have to make sure that my comments and observations are strictly personal in nature. For any official news about the Chapter, the Brothers' website, www.lasalle.org is the best resource.
On a sad note, I also heard that Scott Gibbs, the videographer whose work has been a great asset to the district, and who I count as a friend, is nearing the end of his treatments for leukemia and will likely pass away very soon. Prayers for his new wife, Mary, and for Scott's comfort / ease / acceptance in this transition are welcome.
Tomorrow I'll sleep in. Yeah!
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More pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/gvangrie/ItalyMay5
