Tre Fontane Abbey is the only Trappist abbey in Rome.
It owes its name to the legend that Saint Paul was beheaded in this place and that his head, cut off from his neck, bounced three times and, with each bump on the ground, miraculously caused a spring of water to tap. It is an Italian national monument.
From the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom 8:11-18)
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Saint Paul, strong of his faith in Christ and in an otherworldly glory revealed to him by Jesus himself, lives his faith intensely to the point of martyrdom.
The legend of the three fountains that sprang up at the three points where his head had bounced as it fell, once cut off from the rest of his body, is a metaphor for the extent to which Saint Paul, through his evangelizing work lived out along the roads of the ancient world, gave rise to communities of believers, of righteous and upright men according to the will of God.
And how do you deal with your fears?
Have you ever realized that something good was born out of some fear you faced and experienced?
Fear sometimes blocks us, makes us lose touch with the light.
Blindfold yourself and blindfolded, go in search of the hand of another Pilgrim of Hope to whom you can confide your fears. (sometimes fears block us, other times they allow us to open up to the other by asking for help or comfort, and in this case, too, being blindfolded, a symbol of the fear that obscures our view, could also be helpful in opening up to the other)
In light of what has been read, experienced, reflected upon, shared... insert words here that summarize the experience.
A journey that knows how to make a pilgrimage to the Jubilee of Young people, from 28 July to 3 August 2025, with a rich program and an experience proposed by the Branca R/S for all young people and their communities of reference: Tracce di Speranza (Traces of Hope).
traccedisperanza.agesci.it available to all, born in the Jubilee Year!
