Buongiorno☀️ … We hope this blog finds you in superb health, with your Medicare insurance not keeping you up at night!
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The bells exploded at 5 AM on Tuesday, rousing the faithful (and the rest of us) who wished to experience the celebration of Sant’Agata, one of the largest of the holy festivals in Europe.
Piazza D’uomo filled with thousands, all hoping to see the sarcophagus, experience the 900th sharing of the martyr (Agatha was returned to the city in 1126 AD), and to receive the Bishop’s blessing.
I scampered up a high stone wall near the cathedral entrance, clasped onto a collumn, and gave thanks for every pushup and every squat that preceded this moment. My primary goal was to avoid falling and also to see and hear the procession.
With AI transcription glasses, I was able to understand the Italian liturgy and hear how Saint Agatha’s story continues, how priests and judges in modern Sicily have lost their lives to the Mafia, and how the fight for justice continues.
When the service finished, the one ton silver Fercolo holding Sant’Agata was carried from the cathedral, through the thousands (waving handkerchiefs and singing), then placed into the Candelora to be pulled by the devoti through the city.
It was a moving experience.
Rituals create attention.
They pull us out of autopilot and remind us that some moments deserve to be marked: birthdays, funerals, weddings, holidays.
That afternoon, Nicholas and I drove the north eastern coast of the island, surveying the recent cyclone’s damage.
In Sicily, you can never escape the volcano or the sea. These are the forces that continue shape the island.
Yet life goes on, and each year, the city pauses to remember what endures:, belief, family and tradition. The little boys build their cardboard Candelora and practice the procession. Perhaps they dream of carrying Sant’Agata through their city.
After days and long nights of celebration, in the brilliant midday sun, Sant’Agata returned to the cathedral, completing here 900th year in Catania.
Exhausted but unbowed, these young’uns took a breather after day of ritual, finding their way in this ever changing world that somehow never changes. As the song says, “the circle is unbroken.”
May we, who’ve been on the journey a while, look to them for inspiration and with encouragement, remembering to keep fresh eyes on the world.
Our country can seem busy and divided, stepping back softens the edges.
Practice gratitude, stay close to the people who matter most, treat others with kindness, and keep your eyes on the big picture.
It’s never just what happens, it’s how we choose to respond. “There is no them; there is only us.”
Keep asking, “What’s the next big thing?”
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Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
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Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:
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The Big 65 Medicare Insurance Services does not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 10 organizations that offer 50 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
