Along the way to the Shrine, after Morning Prayer, Taylor had a proposition for the group. A number of us, myself included, had expressed concern that we would not have sufficient time to take it all in on this second, longer, visit to the main goal of our pilgrimage, including time just to sit and pray and present the intentions that we had brought with us to Our Lady. So he put it to a vote – after, at my suggestion, having Roberto and Pablo tell us a little about the three other churches we were scheduled to visit during the afternoon. Of the choices 1) to ditch the three other churches altogether and stay at Guadalupe all day, or 2) to stay longer at Guadalupe, take a late lunch, and go to one of the churches, described by Father Juan Diego as “worth seeing,” or 3) to keep the original schedule, the consensus was choice 2 (I voted for 1, but was outvoted). It does seem like a happy compromise.
Also on the way to the Shrine, Roberto passed out lyrics for a Guadalupe pilgrim songs, most notably La Guadalupana:
Desde el cielo una hermosa
mañana
Desde el cielo una hermosa mañana
La Guadalupana
La Guadalupana
La Guadalupana bajó al Tepeyac.
Desde el cielo una hermosa mañana
La Guadalupana
La Guadalupana
La Guadalupana bajó al Tepeyac.
Suplicante juntaba sus manos
Suplicante juntaba sus manos
Y eran mexicanos
Y eran mexicanos
Y eran mexicanos su porte y su faz.
Suplicante juntaba sus manos
Y eran mexicanos
Y eran mexicanos
Y eran mexicanos su porte y su faz.
Su llegada llenó de alegría
Su llegada llenó de alegría
Luz y armonía
Su llegada llenó de alegría
Luz y armonía
Luz y armonia
Luz y armonía todo el
Anáhuac.
Junto al monte pasaba Juan
Diego
Junto al monte pasaba Juan Diego
Y acercóse luego
Y acercóse luego
Y acercóse luego al oír cantar.
Junto al monte pasaba Juan Diego
Y acercóse luego
Y acercóse luego
Y acercóse luego al oír cantar.
A Juan Diego la Virgen
le dijo:
A Juan Diego la Virgen le dijo:
"Este cerro elijo
Este cerro elijo
Este cerro elijo para hacer mi altar."
A Juan Diego la Virgen le dijo:
"Este cerro elijo
Este cerro elijo
Este cerro elijo para hacer mi altar."
Y en la tilma entre rosas
pintada
Y en la tilma entre rosas pintada
Su imagen amada
Su imagen amada
Se dignó dejar.
Y en la tilma entre rosas pintada
Su imagen amada
Su imagen amada
Se dignó dejar.
Desde entonces para el
mexicano
Desde entonces para el mexicano
Ser Guadalupano
Ser Guadalupano
Ser Guadalupano es algo esencial.
Desde entonces para el mexicano
Ser Guadalupano
Ser Guadalupano
Ser Guadalupano es algo esencial.
En sus penas se postra de
hinojos
En sus penas se postra de hinojos
Y eleva sus ojos
Y eleva sus ojos
Y eleva sus ojos hacia el Tepeyac
En sus penas se postra de hinojos
Y eleva sus ojos
Y eleva sus ojos
Y eleva sus ojos hacia el Tepeyac
Madrecita de los mexicanos
Madrecita de los mexicanos
Que estás en el cielo
Que estás en el cielo
Madrecita de los mexicanos
Que estás en el cielo
Que estás en el cielo
Que estás en el cielo ruega a
Dios por nos(otros).
The
Virgin of Guadalupe
From the heavens on a
beautiful morning
From the heavens on a beautiful morning
The Virgin of Guadalupe
The Virgin of Guadalupe
The Virgin of Guadalupe came down to Tepeyac.
From the heavens on a beautiful morning
The Virgin of Guadalupe
The Virgin of Guadalupe
The Virgin of Guadalupe came down to Tepeyac.
Pleadingly, she joined her
hands,
Pleadingly, she joined her hands,
Pleadingly, she joined her hands,
And it was the Mexican people
And it was the Mexican people
And it was the Mexican people
whom she resembled in her demeanor and visage.
Her arrival brought happiness
Her arrival brought happiness
Light and harmony
Light and harmony
Light and harmony to all of Anáhuac.
Her arrival brought happiness
Light and harmony
Light and harmony
Light and harmony to all of Anáhuac.
Juan Diego was passing
closely by the mountain
Juan Diego was passing closely by the mountain
And drew nearer when
And drew nearer when
And drew nearer when he heard the sound of singing.
Juan Diego was passing closely by the mountain
And drew nearer when
And drew nearer when
And drew nearer when he heard the sound of singing.
To Juan Diego the Virgin
said:
To Juan Diego the Virgin said:
"This is the hill I've chosen
This is the hill I've chosen
This is the hill I’ve chosen for my alter to be built."
To Juan Diego the Virgin said:
"This is the hill I've chosen
This is the hill I've chosen
This is the hill I’ve chosen for my alter to be built."
And amongst the painted roses
of the tilma
And amongst the painted roses of the tilma
And amongst the painted roses of the tilma
Her beloved image
Her beloved image
Her beloved image she has left upon it.
Her beloved image
Her beloved image she has left upon it.
As of then, for the Mexican
people
As of then, for the Mexican people
To be a Guadalupan
To be a Guadalupan
To be a Guadalupan was something of an essential.
As of then, for the Mexican people
To be a Guadalupan
To be a Guadalupan
To be a Guadalupan was something of an essential.
In their sorrows, they kneel over the fennel.
In their sorrows, they kneel over the fennel.
And with their eyes raised
And with their eyes raised
And with their eyes raised towards Tepeyac.
Dearest mother of all the people of Mexico
Dearest mother of all the people of Mexico
Who art thou in heaven
Who art thou in heaven
Who art thou in heaven, pray for us to God.
[VIDEO LINK]
We
could have used more than one run-through of it on the bus before we got to the
Shrine … but that’s all we got. When we arrived at the Shrine, we went into the
same gift shop for a bathroom break before we went into the Plaza of the Americas.
This time, as a group, we walked
into the New Basilica from the plaza singing the La Guadalupana. Frankly, the quality of our sung Spanish wasn’t there, but our hearts
were. I took a long, continuous video as we entered the Basilica and went down
to the conveyors below the tilma for
our second visit.
One reason for the building of the
New Basilica in the 1970s was that the Old Basilica, as magnificent as it is –
and in my opinion it has a far more suitable ambience for the miraculous portrait of the
Mother of God than the dated 1970s-chic
décor of the New Basilica – it was far too small for the number of pilgrims
that now make their way to Guadalupe each year. An important consideration,
yes, but ultimately not the decisive one. Built at the base of Tepeyac Hill,
the Old Basilica was erected on even more sandy soil than the Metropolitan
Cathedral downtown, and lists to an even more noticeable degree. Looking
closely at it from certain angles the façade immediately brought to mind the
Leaning Tower of Pisa, although the cant is obviously not to the same degree. Where
it’s really noticeable is inside, where you literally feel that you are walking
on a slanted floor, generally uphill from the doors to the high altar at the
front of the church. The foundation had shifted so much that the building was
literally unsafe by the mid 20th c., and it was indeed closed for a
number of years, although again it is my understanding that the wonders of
engineering have also stabilized this building and will keep it from shifting
or listing even further. It was an experience being inside it, however, besides the dark carved-wood beauty; I
felt a little off-balance all the while.
There was a smaller gift shop in the
Old Basilica, just outside the Adoration Chapel that was currently being used –
but I think most of us spent more time in the chapel than in the shop.
We reassembled in the front of the
New Basilica and were finally able to make our way to one of the upper chapels,
and heard our last Mass in Mexico City, said by Fr. Peter. Afterward, we
scattered, each to do our own thing – or rather each of us to do pretty much
the same things just not necessarily in the same order. In my and Anne’s case,
it was first to make our way up Tepeyac Hill to the church on the spot where
Juan Diego found the miraculous roses, back down and around to the gift shop
where we made our purchases, and then back to the New Basilica for our time
with Our Lady.
Leaving the gift shop, Anne and I
went back to the New Basilica. I spied Fr. Juan Diego by one of the big columns
hearing the confession of one of our group. That was something I’d been meaning
to avail myself of during this pilgrimage, but had never found the right time.
I went over and got in line, and a few minutes later I made my confession. Anne
had found a pew – this was in one of the rare lulls in the liturgical activity
that is almost constant in the Basilica. When I joined Anne, she went and made
her confession. Meanwhile, I prayed the prayers to receive the Holy Door
Indulgence that is available for Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy – the main door of
the Basilica is, like in all Basilicas including our own in Natchiitoches,
designated as a Holy Door through which pilgrims can pass and, under the usual
conditions[1],
receive a plenary indulgence. I also prayed for all the intentions that made it
into my little “pilgrimage notebook,” including some others that came to mind.
This is where the presence of Our Lady in that place really did hit me, perhaps
not as intensely as others have reported in the presence of the tilma, but as a definite reality.
We remained there in prayer for
about a half an hour, bringing us up to the 14:00 time designated for the group
to gather again by the big statue of Pope John Paul the Great between the two
Basilicas. We did so, as usual it taking about twenty minutes for stragglers to
make their way there, then we walked to where the bus awaited us and we set out
again through Mexico City.
I don’t think it was very far or
long before we stopped for lunch, at a cafeteria attached to a department store
called Sanborn’s. Once again the food was excellent, and we had a bit of time to
wander around in the store – which reinforced an impression I’d had already
that, for all the abject poverty that may be witnessed in various parts of
Mexico City as well as in the countryside, and the drug-trafficking violence
that is notorious in certain regions (mainly the borders, both north and south,
as I understand it) this “third-world” country does have access to all of the
amenities of a “first-world” country, at least in the cities and most of the
places we visited. The hotel was definitely first class. One thing that I did
find surprising, however – and perhaps this is related to the difference
between “first-“ and “second-worlds” and the standards of education – in
contrast to Europe, in my experience, and despite the relative proximity of Mexico
to the United States – it really seemed that relatively fewer people that we
interacted with had any facility with English. But what can I say? – so few
people in the US have any language
whatsoever beyond English, and as I apologized to one clerk along the way when
I caught myself attempting my pitifully limited Spanish even after she had demonstrated that she was perfectly able to communicate in
English, “I’m sorry – your English is much better than my Spanish!”[2]
Then we set out for our last
excursion, about an hour and a half drive to the suburb of Coyoacan. Along the
way we watched the last half-hour or so of For
Greater Glory, then Fr. Juan Diego related his vocation story – how an
Irish-Canadian ended up as a friar with the name “Juan Diego,” in prison
ministry in Nicaragua. It was a fascinating story, especially his description
of his relationship with the inmates whom he serves.
Also, nearby, 2) Well, if there were depictions of the Spanish Our Lady of Guadalupe in any other
church we visited, I did not notice them. (There was so much to see – sensory
overload was constant!). Here there was one. There were also huge paintings
depicting the conversion of the native Mexican peoples – San Juan Bautisto was
built on land donated by the Conquistador
Hernan Cortes, near what became his own personal home – as well as an active Adoration Chapel off the left
transept. Once again, breathtaking.
Outside the church, just across a
small square, Anne’s new buddy Pablo made sure we experienced two of the three
things he said people come to Coyoacan to taste – the coffee, the ice cream,
and churros. Churros are fluted,
ridged, deep-fried dough that’s well-dusted in sugar while hot – crispy on the
outside, warm and soft on the inside – and in this case filled with ice cream!
Wonderful!
Finally, back on the bus, we headed back to the hotel for
a half-hour chance to freshen up before being taken out to dinner for our last
meal together as a group in Mexico City. The stop back by the hotel also gave a
chance for a one pilgrim who was not able to join us on this last day’s
excursion to join up with us. One of our pilgrims was an 88-year-old man who
did not walk well. He came with us on Friday and Sunday, spending much of his
time in a wheelchair which Pablo generally pushed (as well as, at least at one
point, little Jude Marshall), and his wife said that with the first visit to
Guadalupe he had really accomplished his goal for this trip. He did join us for
this dinner out; there were, however, a small number of pilgrims who, for
whatever reason, did not, choosing to go their own way for whatever reason.
On the trip back from Coyoacan, also, Fr. Peter shared
his vocation story, telling how a “book-priest” – a priest who trained mainly
in canon law and did not end up in the “pastoral track” – nevertheless ended up
as the rector of the cathedral in Shreveport, and Roberto read off the flight,
departure time, and gate information for the various small groups and
individuals who, it turned out, were leaving the hotel pretty much half the day
on Tuesday. The earliest group had to be up and ready to roll out by 06:00; we
were in one of if not the latest
group, not departing the hotel until noon.
The final meal was at a fine “French-Mexican” restaurant
called “Mexsi Bocu” – a pun on “Merci
Beaucoup,” opened a few years ago (as I understand it) by a French chef who
married a Mexican woman and decided to create a unique cuisine combining their
respective heritages. Anne and I ended up sitting at a table with one of our
group whose husband decided he was too tired for this last excursion – and it
was quite late, after a full day; if I recall correctly, we were verging on
21:00 before we were placing our orders, and maybe after 23:00 before we loaded
up for the return to the hotel. Roberto, Pablo, and even Mario the driver
joined us at our table, and although Mario evidently had little or no English,
it was a welcome opportunity for us to get to know Roberto and Pablo even
better. As I said, we became quite fond of both of them by the end of our few
days with them, and in addition to their great skills as guides – and Pablo’s
going the extra mile to help out Anne yesterday – this meal cemented that
affection. They kept up a lively conversation about their own personal
histories as well as the joys and travails of a tour guide. They’d never worked
together, I understand, but in my opinion they make a great team, complementing
each other perfectly. During the meal, I passed around my little brown
pilgrimage notebook, and everyone present wrote their name and email address
into it, from which I planned to compile a master list on Google Docs and share
it with all.
Finally, no earlier than 23:00, we were back at the
hotel. Anne and I had heard of a small group of pilgrims who would end the day
up on the roof of the hotel where there were pools, recreation rooms, conference
rooms, and even a bar, but had never joined them. We did so this evening, and
although it was too cool to sit out by the pool we found a table and chairs
just inside where a small group of us, including Fr. Juan Diego and Taylor – who brought half a
bottle of fine Oban Scotch that we all enjoyed (even Anne took a sip) – visited, shared stories about how we had come to be there;
reminisced about various things that had really struck, impressed, or moved us;
and generally just didn’t want to let go of the bond that had been forged in a few short days.[4]
But eventually – after midnight – we had to.
+ + +
More Pictures from the Day
[1] Confession within a few days either way of performing the
indulgenced exercise, receiving the Eucharist on the day of performing the indulgenced exercise, having no attachment to
sin, and praying the following prayers for the intentions of the Pope: the
Apostles’ Creed and three Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes.
[2] That is actually, in hindsight, one of my big regrets – that I did
not invest some time in learning at least the basics – a few necessary phrases
and the numbers as well as the Spanish words for a few items I knew that I would be looking to buy
(neckties, mugs, teeshirts, and the like – my standard personal souvenirs). In
my defense, there was relatively far less prep time for this trip than any
other I’ve done, since it came up late last year, just before the busiest time
of a semester, followed by the always-busy and never-very restful Christmas
break and return to the other busiest time of a semester, and the time for
departure was almost here before I knew it. I picked up a few necessary words
and phrases along the way, but was severely handicapped throughout this trip in
a way I did not feel even in Italy. There I was quite proud of myself at least
once when, confronted with a clerk who had absolutely no English, I was nonetheless able to cobble together enough
doubtless very poor but understandable Italian to successfully complete the
transaction. Here I was truly humbled by my ignorance and dependence on others.
Incidentally,
mention of Italy in this context does bring to mind something funny, however.
Even though I did know such things as “gracias”
and “una cerveza,” I found myself
unconsciously lapsing into Italian rather than Spanish – saying “grazi’” and ordering “una birra” instead! Go figure….
[3] Although the bodily Assumption of Mary into heaven at the end of
her earthly life is a dogma of the Church, whether she was Assumed into heaven before or after experiencing death has never been defined. If the former, she
would enjoy the company of Enoch and Elijah as the only humans never to have
experienced death, as would have been most fitting for her since she was
preserved completely free from Original Sin by her Immaculate Conception; it
would thus be theologically fitting. On the other hand, a tradition of the
Church does say that in order to unite herself more perfectly with the salvific
Passion of her Son she chose willingly
to experience death in this world before being rejoined with Him in heaven. In any
case, “Dormition” means “Falling Asleep,” even if euphemistically referring to
bodily death.
[4] Kind of like me in writing this account of the last full day of our
pilgrimage. My subsequent trip-journaling, which gave birth to the “travels
blog,” is always an enjoyable experience allowing me to relive the experience
all over again as I scour my notes, my memory, my pictures, as well as the
Internet regarding the things we saw and did, and I do find myself not wanted
to bring it to a close.
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