Verso l’alto!
We started the steep ascent quickly, which brought on slightly labored breathing and the friendly reminder I was outta shape. We were supposed to be hiking. We were climbing quickly. I knew there was going to be some scrambling involved. I didn’t realize exactly what that meant. As I pinched my two feet together in a foot hold, I reached to the right and then to the left hoping to decipher which angle was going to give me the best leverage in order to continue the climb. There was a point where my feet nestled in between two rocks, I leaned into the rock face and reached straight up. As I was praying I also recognized “If this goes wrong, I’m screwed.” It wasn’t exactly the rock climbing gym.
The crazy thing though is that as dramatic as that sounds and as dramatic as the climb looks, it actually was exhilarating. It wasn’t a moment of fear but rather focus. “Failure” wasn’t an option. What happens when you’re on the ledge?
Looking at the iconic picture of Pier Giorgio you see an athletic young man climbing to the heights, daring greatly and reaching boldly. However, I would say its fair to guess that as he was in the midst of his climb, he recognized there was nothing more important than the next right thing. It wasn’t about how far he had come nor was it about how far he had to go. Simply, he seemed to understand the simple genius that many of the saints lived. As we ascend toward the heights of Heaven, the only way to get there is one foot in front of the other, trusting Providence to show us the way.
Pier Giorgio, intercede before the Blessed Mother that we may know the joy of climbing towards Heaven while recognizing the blessings of today. Help us to see the beautiful gifts unfold that as we climb closer to Christ we can come to recognize and know there is so much more that we don’t understand. Let us see this as it is: a beautiful invitation to Climb On.
Verso l’alto,
Coop
You’ll be alright
Cause when push comes to shove you taste what you’re made of
I’ve learned the path to heaven is full of sinners and believers
Draw me a little closer, take me a little deeper, I wanna know your heart.
Your post reminds me once again that I need to learn more about this man's life. The philosophy of advancing one step at a time is so simple; we are often too impatient for the advance to become obvious and then we spend our whole life getting back to it. Believe me, I know. Fortunately, I'm advancing now and with much patience.
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