Living and Dying

The year was 2006 and the annual pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo would be extra special because a Fifty Year Wedding Anniversary would be celebrated on the trip. I contacted Fr. Lawrence Kaiser to be our priest for the journey and a guitarist to go with us also.

The first stop were the Stations of the Cross in San Luis, Colorado where we ate lunch at the parish center and then hiked up the mountain while praying the stations. The prayers were in English and Spanish and so was the music.

After leaving San Luis we arrived in Taos, New Mexico at the Kachina Lodge where a reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres was planned for Rudy and Mary Lopez, the two persons celebrating their anniversary. They were serenaded by the guitar player who sang beautiful love songs to them.

Rudy entertained us by telling us stories about their relationship and his family. I remember reading a poem about marriage. We spend a fun time at the reception before going in to the dining room for our dinner. After dinner we enjoyed watching the Native Americans dance typical tribal dances. At one point, we joined in the dancing!


The next morning we traveled to Chimayo where Fr. Kaiser celebrated the beautiful anniversary
mass in the quaint chapel with the colorful altar screens. Many family members joined the holy mass and Mary received a bouquet of red roses.  We ate a delicious lunch at The Ranchos de Chimyo before continuing to Santa Fe for the rest of the pilgrimage.

We enjoyed the Fiestas of Santa Fe, mass at the Cathedral and then a fabulous lunch at the world famous La Fonda Restaurant.

All of the pilgrimages to Chimayo are special but this one was extra special because of the celebration of fifty years of marriage for Rudy and Mary! 

Eight years later, on January 2, 2015, a funeral mass was celebrated for Joe (Rudy) Lopez at Holy Trinity Catholic Church and at his mass I found out the Fr. Lawrence Kaiser had passed away two days before Joe. Makes one think about leading a good life because we never know when we will be called to meet our maker!