Miracles Are All Around Us

First Miracle

My belief is that miracles happen daily, but sometimes we are too busy to realize that what is happening is a miracle. Recently, I took forty-one persons on a religious journey to San Luis, Colorado and to parts of Northern New Mexico. The first miracle occurred as we neared San Luis and I called ahead to let them know we would be arriving in about twenty minutes. The person answering the phone said, "Who is this?" I replied it was the Holy Trinity group scheduled for lunch at noon. "We do not have you on the calendar," she said. I reminded her of our conversations and that she had told me it would be either the seminarians or the Knights that would prepare the meal."

Her answer was, "I see that Holy Trinity is on the calendar with a question mark." She then said if I could give her about an hour and a half, they would come up with something.

I decided that we would visit the Stations of the Cross first, which would take about an hour, and then we would return to the parish hall for lunch. I figured the only thing that could be prepared in such a short time would be sandwiches.

We enjoyed the beautiful stations and the almost life-size statues of the Passion of Our Lord, looked at the beautiful vistas, entered the Capilla de Todos los Santos, visited Our Lady of Guadalupe grotto, the Mexican martyrs hill, and I prayed. On these journeys it is vital that we try to stick close to the itinerary because if we are late at one, it automatically makes us late for the next stop.

After everyone got back on the bus, we headed to the parish hall of Sangre de Cristo parish and I hoped lunch would be ready. In the kitchen were four young men chopping, stirring, grating and preparing lunch. It smelled like a restaurant with garlic and onions wafting in the air. My heart lifted a bit but I still did not know what we would be eating.

When we were served, I was surprised to see a plate of  fajitas (sliced beef with onion, green pepper and tomatoes), a tasty hamburger and potato dish (my mother used to prepare something similar when I was growing up), and Spanish rice. They had two bowls of red chile and grated cheese to accompany the meal. A huge box of chocolates and cookies were put on a table but that was not our dessert. We got a large glob of ice cream to end the meal.

We tipped and thanked the young men who had, in my opinion, made a miracle happen!

Second Miracle

I knew we would be late for our next stop so I called and let the St. Francis of Assisi church know we were on our way but we were running behind schedule.  When I had made the arrangements to visit the church and to see the mysterious painting, I had been told we had to arrive by three-thirty because

everyone goes home and everything closes up. While on the phone I looked at my watch at it was after three-thirty. I explained we were driving through Taos and she said they would wait for us. I did not know that one of the travelers had called a cousin who lives in the parish and the cousin told her, "I will go to the church and I'll make sure your group gets to see the painting." Sure enough, as we entered the parking area, the cousin stood outside the church office waiting for us. This to me was the second miracle. One, that they would stay open until we arrived and second that one of the travelers happened to have a cousin who lived near the parish and probably helped convince the office to stay open

Third Miracle

The third miracle occurred when I was told that the wrong date had been put in the calendar for seeing the Conquistadora's outfits. The statue arrived in New Mexico around 1624 and is the oldest statue of Our Lady in the United States. For special occasions she is dressed in her beautiful clothing. Before leaving on our pilgrimage, I had called the "madrina" (the lady who takes care of dressing Our Lady)  and she had us on the calendar for the 2nd, and not for the 1st of June when we would be visiting. She also told me that a couple who had been married for 72 years would be presenting Our Lady with a gift and there was no way she could change the date.

I explained to the group that we would not see the clothing but we would enter the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi and look at the marvelous architecture and art. We could also view La Conquistadora in her chapel. As we entered the Cathedral, a woman came up to one of the priests and he called me over. Mary, a docent, was asking if we would like a tour. I immediately said, "That would be great!" She was knowledgeable, funny, and gave us an insight of the history of the Cathedral.

When I worked for the Archdiocese of Denver, I took groups on this trip for ten consecutive years,  and then I have done three with Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. This was a first with the Holy Trinity group. I have never encountered so many bumps along the way as I did this year. What I find interesting, is that God straightened everything out before it became a disaster and for that I give thanks for another successful pilgrimage to the Land of Enchantment!

Fourth Miracle

One of the travelers, (we share the same first and second names,) came up to me as I stood in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Chimayo.  She began telling me a story. "I believe in miracles because when my son was three years old he stopped walking. No one could figure out why because he was a healthy, normal three year old who up until then had been walking. We went to Mother Cabrini Shrine and took the holy water and rubbed it on his legs. He then began to walk again.  I really do believe miracles."


As she was telling me the story, a man came up behind her and as he got close, I thought he was going to rob her but when he put his arms around her in a hug she looked over her shoulder. She gave a short scream and turned and hugged him back.  "This is the little boy that could not walk. This is the miracle baby. This is my son!"  It was odd that as she was telling me the story, he happened to walked up behind her. He lives in Albuquerque and after being in the service he settled in New Mexico. He drove down to meet his mother because she had told him she would be in New Mexico.

Fifth Miracle

At the Chapel of Loretto, after everyone had entered the beautiful chapel, I was paying and the man collecting the money asked, "Would you like an explanation of the Spiral Staircase?"  I told him we would enjoy hearing the story about how the Staircase happened to be constructed. We got a first-rate explanation filled with acting, humor and information about the Chapel. In all the years I have brought groups to the Chapel to see the Spiral Staircase, we have never had a private explanation.

"There are only two ways

to live your life. One is

as if though nothing is

a miracle. The other is

as if everything is a miracle!"

Albert Einstein