God is Good!

 God is Good

Thirty-eight persons traveled to New Mexico from Spirit of Christ Catholic Community in Arvada, Colorado on a pilgrimage to Pecos, Santa Fe, Taos and Chimayo. Our first stop was The Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in Pecos. The Abbot welcomed us with "God is Good" and we answered, "All the time!"  He told us about the monastery and about his journey to become a priest, a monk and an Abbott. We were fed dinner and breakfast and the Benedictine Brothers made us feel at home. Mass in the beautiful chapel the next morning filled us with a peacefulness.

Our journey took us to Santa Fe and to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi where Theresa Garcia, the Madrina, who is responsible in dressing the Blessed Mother, showed us all the beautiful gowns. This is the oldest wooden statue of the Blessed Mother in the United States having arrived from Spain in the 1600's. The 300 plus gowns are donated by persons in thanksgiving or in answer to a prayer.

We saw the Spiral Staircase at the Loretto Chapel and the original nuns believed that St. Joseph had built the unusual staircase. We were scheduled to take a one hour and fifteen minute trolley ride and to hear about the history of Santa Fe. This is when the first "miracle" took place. No credit cards accepted, only cash for the $25 per person ride. I did not have that kind of cash and after talking, pleading, begging I was allowed to use a credit card and we enjoyed touring Santa Fe.

After a delicious lunch at La Cocina in Espanola, we arrived at the Hampden Inn Taos. I now know how Mary and Joseph must have felt when they were told there was no room at the inn. The young girl at the desk said, "We are sold out and I have no rooms for you." After a lot of discussions the next "miracle" occurred. The manager, Michael, found twenty rooms, at the best hotel in Taos and it is a 5 Star hotel! It took about four hours for arrangements to be made but around 9:45 p.m. we went to our spectacular rooms, each with a private jacuzzi! The rooms were huge, each patio had either Aspen trees, slopping grounds with green grass or ponds that we could enjoy. Two of the women ended up in a cottage and they loved it. All we could think was, God is good!

The Taos Pueblo made us feel thankful for all our blessings and found it difficult to understand how Native Americans continue living as in the past. They are trying to keep their traditions alive and live as their ancestors lived!

San Francisco de Asis is one of the most photographed churches and Georgia O'Keefe has painted the church. There is artwork inside and a beautiful statue of the Holy Family outside. We were shown the mystery painting that once the lights are turned off, people can see a dark cross in the picture. Some see the bow of a boat. When the lights are on, the eyes and the toes follow and seem to move with the person. We ate lunch at Ranchos de Taos Grill located on the grounds of the church! The amazing sopapillas were huge!

On Saturday morning we arrived at Chimayo, known as the Lourdes of America, because miracles have happened in the area. There is a small room with the "holy" dirt that is known to cure illnesses. Fr. Roca, the priest who would greet us in the past and has now passed away, told me, "That is dirt, what cures people is their faith!" There must have been around 400 or more persons waiting for a pilgrimage coming from Albuquerque that would end in Chimayo. A mini-miracle was watching our bus driver maneuver through the many cars in the parking lot. We left the bus and waited with the crowd for the procession to arrive .When they arrived they were singing, wearing shell necklaces, white t-shirts and we heard many shouts of Viva Cristo Rey and Viva Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe! I saw the Archbishop in the middle of the pilgrimage and he would  be celebrating mass outside under a large tree.  It was exciting to be part of their 100 miles in 100 degree weather as we joined their joyous pilgrimage! I wondered if it was part of the Eucharistic Procession that came through Denver.

Our mass at 11 a.m. took place in the Santuario, (small chapel), and my group was filled with holiness and spirituality as they worshiped in the small chapel surrounded by the beautiful art work.

Without God our pilgrimage could have been a disaster but He watched over us so we could have a successful pilgrimage, and I repeat, God is good!