Susan & Tome Pilgrimage continues: Silla, Alcoy, Onil, Novelda & Alicante, Spain

 

Buenos Dias:

 

Well, today stated out very well.  We were up at 6AM, finished our packing from last night, showered, got out a Trip Report and got down to the lobby to check out by 7:15 A.M. ... just as we had planned with many Shrines to visit today.  It was still dark..a first.

 

Paid our hotel bill and left Susan at the front door with luggage as I headed down to the small and dark underground hotel garage to try to negotiate my way (and the car's way) out.  I had to somehow figure out how to turn the car around and get it on the elevator/lift without a scratch or "dent-fest".  I'm getting to be a real pro on these K-turns.  Six K-turns later, I had the beast (a/k/a car ... I love this car) on the lift and went up even though the hotel clerk was afraid to start the lift because it just fit..  I didn't take Susan with me on this journey because, if you think she hates tunnels, she would have freaked out on this venture!

 

When I finally got him to press the button to bring me up with the car all was well.  I exited and back up the one way street to get the luggage, Oh and Susan too! LOL  Sue got in the car and laughed because the clerk freaked out repeating "I corumbra" as he ran back to his desk. I began signing goodbye to Bettenuser, your are the loooooser.  Little did I know how true this would turn out. "Just read on"

 

We didn't even have coffee this morning before heading out.  The hotel restaurant wasn't even open yet when we departed.  So, I figured that we would grab a Cafe Leche' at our first stop (Shrine) which was only 20 minutes away.  I was confident we would find a "Cantina" in this small and remote town.

 

By the way, last night I made two scrumptious sandwiches after dinner with the leftover croissants, meats, cheeses & olive oil.  What a wonderful thing to have on hand today when we get hungry but don't want to waste time stopping for lunch.

 

We got to the Parish Church in Silla, Spain (Eucharistic Miracle).  Parked the car and went across the small plaza for a cup of Cafe Leche' ... the Shrine was CLOSED so we thought we would enjoy a cup of coffee and wait for it to open ... hoping to catch Morning Mass.  20 minutes went by and no activity at the Shrine.  I went inside to ask when the Church would open.  We had heard the Church Bells sound ... SOMEONE HAD TO BE RINGING THEM!  With his best universal language "hand signals", he let me know that "sometimes they open ... sometimes they don't".  With a full agenda for today, one Shrine down ... 4 to go (I will send you all very short stories on today's Shrines.

 

Next stop ... Alcoy (Alcoi), Spain ... another Eucharistic Miracle Shrine.  We decided to head there from Silla, not wanting to waste time and hoping for the chance that this Shrine would be open and that we would be able to attend Mass.

 

We made it to  Alcoy about 40 minutes later.  I could see the Church on "Princess's" (GPS) Screen ... I just couldn't get there with her directions.  So, we parked the car, brought "Princess" with us and we walked and walked and walked ... first up, then down .... then up, then down,( People kept staring at us as Princess kept screeching "recalculating" from a pocket in my cargo pants) we had to negotiate more very hilly streets and tried to keep remembering where we had parked the car.

 

  Finally, it was time to stop at another Cafe' for another cup of Cafe Leche' (to be honest, it was also to use the restrooms and get directions ... men never ask for directions so I had Susan do it).  The owner/waiter pointed us up a street and signaled to make a turn at the top.  Susan did her hand signals to ask if we should walk or drive and he said something about three minutes ...no problem ... we will walk.  I left him a good tip because we could have been walking around Alcoy for days trying to find the Shrine if it wasn't for him.

 

So we paid our cheque and followed his directions ... we CLIMBED up another steep street ... made the turn and CLIMBED up more steep steps ... VOILA ... the Shrine was right before our eyes.  Thrilled, we quickly walked to the front of the Church ... DOORS CLOSED AND LOCKED!  Doesn't anyone go to Church around here?).  It was after 9:00 A.M., so, disappointed, we knew we had to leave and get back to the car before I got a parking ticket.  We knew, with the time, if the Church was going to be opened, it would have been by now and Mass might have even been in progress when we arrived.  So back down the narrow and steep steps and road ... back to our car and on to Shrine No. 3 ... Onil, Spain.

 

A little frustrated, I told Susan that I wanted to stop so I could do a little hand-gliding to release my frustration.  It was great!  (See photo).  By the way, if you believe that one, then you also thought that was me swimming in the Mediterranean this morning!

 

Enough with jokes ... we made it to Onil, Spain in about 35 minutes later and headed straight to the Shrine.  "Princess GPS" showed that the Shrine was only about a mile or so away ... excited, we proceeded.  Only to be "stopped in our tracks" for some kind of a Marathon Race that was being held.  The police had closed off all of the streets in the center of town ... at this point, we laughed ... these types of trips give us a lot of lessons in patience and understanding.  As soon as we saw the running marathon and knew we could not get through, I found the closest parking spot on the street and we set off, determined to find the Shrine of the St James the Apostle in Onil, Spain and the Eucharistic Miracle.

 

We parked and walked without much of a choice.  People were everywhere clapping for the participants of the marathon as they passed.  Our goal was to manage our way through the crowds and get to the Church.  We stopped a few policemen standing in the road and Susan would show our computer print-out of the photos of where we were trying to go.  One officer pointed and it looked like we were just around the corner.  Excitedly (maybe this was our chance, today, for Mass), we turned the corner and lo and behold ... the door was open ... Yippee!  No ... it was BOOOO! ... The open door was only an entry into a courtyard and we stopped to ask a workman where to go (again showing our computer print-out).  With "universal language", he let us know that they were closed.  Sadly, we turned around and exited and checked the other side to make sure, he could have been lieing.

 

We thought/knew that there were two Shrines here in Onil ... one was where the Eucharist was actually found by the young girl and a Chapel was built to signify the spot ... and the other is where the incorrupt Hosts (from over 200 years ago) can be observed.

 

We continued on our quest ... asking about 3 to 4 other police officers who were guarding the closed roads for the marathon where we could find either of the Shrines.  "Universal language" seemed to be working each time ... to no avail.  We would think we were on the right path and ... boom ... dead end!  The last officer that we approached and showed our computer print-out to spoke quickly in Spanish ... pointing in one direction and then in the other.  But we could tell that he was guiding us to keep walking ahead so we continued on. 

 

 We noticed, at one point shortly after, that there was a Station of the Cross in the street (off of the sidewalk) and that each Station of the Cross were about 100 yards apart ... VOILA ... were we in luck?   I quickly calculated the distance to and from and realized that we had about another 2 miles to walk (that would a total of 7 miles to and from) ... by this time, I think we had walked all of the town of Onil and I convinced Susan that we should return to (and/or try to find our parked car) and that we would try to drive from there.

 

I just knew (and I was determined to) find the Shrine ... and I did.  It was not the Main Shrine that we had found closed ... the one that contained the Incorrupt Hosts ... but we found a small Chapel that was open (gated on the perimeter so we parked and walked there).  This was the Chapel that was built on the site where the young girl found the Consecrated Hosts that had been hidden by the thief. 

 

We entered the beautiful small Chapel (first one of the day) and spent a few moments in silence and Prayer, absorbed in our thoughts and hoping to rid ourselves of the frustrations of the day.

 

Leaving the small Chapel, we were now on to our next destination ... Novelda ... a newer Shrine dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.  At this point, we were 1 for 4 ... it had not been the best of days for us to find Churches open and/or to attend Mass.  My stomach began growling and I wasn't sure if it was from hunger or frustration.

 

As we continued our drive to Novelda, the stomach growls were getting louder ... I was going to reach into the back seat of the car to retrieve our "food supply bag" when, all of a sudden, I remember those two beautiful and scrumptious sandwiches I had prepared last night in our hotel room ... the ones I delicately placed on the ledge outside of our window so they would stay fresh for the day ... the ones that I forgot to bring with us when we checked out of our hotel this morning ... the ones that I WAS HUNGRY FOR AT THIS VERY MOMENT!  Now I wasn't quite so happy.  Susan and I laughed as we remembered the "very important sandwiches" that had been left behind.

 

We made our way to Novelda ... You have to know that all these stops are all on the way to our final destination for the day  Alicante, where we will spend the evening.

 

(It started out as a good plan)

 

We arrived at Novelda and the church of Mary Magdalene and we were happy to see other people climbing up the road to the church. I found this while planning this pilgrimage and the picture made me want to add this to our itinerary.  It's unique to say the least and beautiful in it's own way.  There were no schedules posted and nothing but people coming and going as tourist.  We had hoped for a mass but that wasn't going to happen.

 

About 30 minutes later we were on the road and arrived at our hotel around 2pm.  While checking in I realized I had left my Master Card in the light switch panel that allowes the lights to come on at the loooooser hotel in Bettinesiur.  The door pass usually works for this, but it did not fit.  Being such a savvy traveller I used my card and it worked perfect. I have done it before but will never do it again.

 

 I had visions of the maid, after finding my card,  taking the rest of the day off and refurbishing her apartment and getting new clothes for her 5 kids and maybe a I phone or 5 and some tv"s on my credit card and eating my sandwhichs.  The reception clerk called the hotel and explained what happened and they said the got the card from the maid and would hold it for us.  That's 2 hours away but I considered it as I thought about those 2 beautiful sandwhiches.  I figured the maid deserved them as a tip.  (If I knew, I could have left a half bottle of wine to boot.) I told them to cut the card up.

 

After our reception-reception and help from the front desk, we got to our room ... the furthest at the end of the hall.  First things first, I tried to get online knowing it might be the last night for a couple of days that we could be on the Internet.  We were so far from the check-in desk that the Wi-Fi reception was horrible.  I had Susan go to the desk to request another room ... no problem.  Thank goodness ... we hadn't unpacked our bare essentials for the evening. Another trip to the front desk for an extra pillow and 2 hand towels we didn't have and another 2 trips to the car we finally settled in.

 

Moved into the new room, checked the Wi-Fi connection and, content, Susan returned the old keys to the desk and I got out our "MagicJack" to call my credit card company ( through the USA 800 toll-free number).  Cancelled the credit card, thanked the woman who helped me cancel my card, asked her where she was from and she said ... India!!!!  Go figure!

 

Relieved and having handled the "business at hand", I prompted Susan to return to the car (I love that car) so that we could search for a place to eat.  (We tried to find a SuperMarche earlier to no avail).  I couldn't believe that every town we were in today was shut down.  Apparently it was some sort of "holiday" today.  Not even supermarkets were open ... out of luck today all the way! We were hoping that all the restaurants weren't closed.

 

We found a restaurant and stopped.  We had Tapas type of a lunch/dinner.  It was good.  It should have been for the prices.  The hamburger we saw at the next table and checked on the menu was $20 BUCKS ... guess we are back to one meal a day.  We had a nice and relaxing time nibbling on tapas and departed on our return to the hotel ... hoping to find anything open to just buy some water for the room and, possibly, a bottle of wine to share with some cheese later ... like the rest of the day seemed to go ... THEY WERE ALL CLOSED.

 

So, back to our hotel we went.  I stopped in the hotel bar and bought a bottle of wine for the two of us to enjoy as Susan was in the room... typing away so that we could catch up on Trip Reports.  She was working on "yesterday's" report as I went outside,  to sit on this terrible chair ... to write this report.  Susan was stuck in the room with the computer ... did I tell you that I was out poolside writing so Susan could get it and type it in the room?

 

We are "off" for the next two days to try to wind down and try to relax before the end of our journey.  We still have three more Shrines to visit before our return home from Madrid on Monday ... hard to believe ... it went way too fast and we're not yet ready to return from this wonderful pilgrimage.

 

By the way it was a beautiful drive here, there and everywhere...albeit more photo's of the drive than interior churches..." CLOSED "

 

So, until Saturday (unless you hear from us tomorrow), I will leave you with this thought which I felt was appropriate for today ...

 

 

Lord Jesus, I willingly accept my disappointments,

 my irritations, my moods, my weaknesses,

 my headaches and fatigue ...

 all of my defects of body, mind and soul.

 

Because they are your will for me,

 these "handicaps" of my humanity.

  I gladly suffer them.  

 

Make me content with all of my discontents,

 but give me strength to struggle after you.

 

 

Good night and God Bless

 

Tom and Susan

 

ALCOY

 

The Eucharistic miracle that
took place in Alcoy in the
year 1568 regards the
miraculous retrieval of some
consecrated Hosts that had
been stolen. The miracle is
still remembered every year by
the inhabitants of Alcoy in a
festival that is celebrated on
the feast of Corpus Christi.
The house of the man who
committed the sacrilege was
turned into an oratory and
can be visited to this day.
n the 29th of January in 1568, a citizen of
Alcoy by the name of Juan Prats, a man of
French origin who needed money, secretly
entered the parochial church and stole many
sacred objects, among which was a precious silver
box containing three consecrated Hosts. Juan
Prats consumed the three Hosts immediately and
then hid the box in his stable underneath a pile of
wood. The next day, the parish priest, Don
Antonio, found out about the sacrilegious theft.
Distressed, he sounded the church bells to let the
people know of the horrendous act. Soon after,
all of the people of Alcoy were assembled in
prayer in front of the church. The searches began
immediately, but were in vain. Near Juan Prat’s
house lived a pious widow, María Miralles, who
had a statue of the Holy Child. The woman, profoundly
disturbed by the profane act, began to
pray intensely in front of the statue of Jesus,
pleading for the consecrated Hosts to be returned
to the citizens of Alcoy. Few hours had passed
when she started her fervent prayer when María
saw the little hand of the statue of Jesus point its
finger to the house of her neighbor, Juan Prats.
The woman, suspicious, decided
to tell the civil authorities of what had taken
place. In that moment the pastor of the church,
moved by a mysterious force, went to the garden
of the house of Juan Prats and entered the stable.
He rummaged through the pile of wood and
immediately recovered the silver box with the
three consecrated Hosts. Juan Prats, not understanding
how the three Hosts were inside the
silver box again, (as he remembered consuming
them) repented deeply and confessed the misdeed.
The documents relative to the miracle and
the statue of Baby Jesus are still kept today in the
monastery of the Holy Sepulcher of Alcoy.
© 2006, Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire / Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration

 

Eucharstic Miracle ONIL

 

On November 5, 1824, the monstrance which contained the Blessed Sacrament and several
liturgical objects were stolen from the church in Onil by Nicolás Bernabeu, who as a child had
been an altar boy in that very church. News of the sacrilegious robbery spread quickly through
the whole region. When Nicolás tried to resell the stolen objects in Alicante, a merchant there
became suspicious and decided to
inform the authorities. Nicolás
Bernabeu was arrested, but did not
want to reveal where he had hidden
the monstrance, which still contained
the Blessed Sacrament. The faithful
and the civil authorities looked for
several days around the countryside,
but it was in fact in a nearby town, at
Tibi, where the thief had settled
down to live, that a woman named
Teresa Carbonell, on November 28,
1824, recovered the stolen
monstrance in the part of the town
called “la Pedrera.” The woman
immediately brought it back to Onil,
where it was received with great
festivity. Exactly 119 years later, on
November 28, 1943, Father
Guillermo Hijarrubia, the delegate of
the Archbishop of Valencia,
confirmed the authenticity of the
miracle, verifying that the Host
contained in the stolen montrance
had been preserved incorrupt.
Today, at the parish church of St.
James the Apostle in Onil, one can
still adore the miraculous Host, which has remained intact after almost two centuries. Each
year, the Feast of Our Lord “Robat” (“Stolen”) is celebrated in commemoration of the
Eucharistic Miracle and the recovery of the Host.

 

 

 

 

 

Tom & Susan Tour: VALENCIA CATHEDRAL & BASILICA OF THE LADY OF ABANDONED

Buenos Dias:

Woke up this morning at 4:00 A.M. in our oceanfront room .... both of us thinking that it was time to get up until we looked at the clock.  Susan and I decided to sit out on the balcony for a few minutes and enjoyed the quiet lapping of the ocean waves and the peace and contentment that came with it.  Back to bed to finish what turned out to be our "ten hour nap".  It was so beautiful and calm on the med I decided to a swim in the sea for a little early morning exercise.  Afterwards we showered and packed (the usual) and went down to a "real BREAK-FAST" ... that included the works ... eggs, fried ham, croissants, fresh fruits of all types, cereals, etc., etc. (and baked beans???).  Had several cups of our favorite Cafe Leche'' to wake us up. We ate very little bread this morning.

  Exhilarated and refreshed, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to Valencia, Spain.  It was a pretty boring ride for the most part; however, I did manage to cruise at 101 MPH for a period of time on the superhighway since the highway was virtually empty and I felt comfortable ... I Love This Car!

Princess ("GPS") did a great job of getting us to the Valencia Cathedral.  She even made it easy on me so that I didn't have to search for a parking place ... there was a parking lot right in front of the Cathedral that was in an underground garage.  PERFECT!  10 minutes later, we entered the Valencia Cathedral.  We paid the $15.00 entrance fee which included earphones and a taped narrative of each of the 21 Chapels, the Religious Museum and, most importantly, The Holy Grail!  The 15 bucks was well worth the price of admission.

When we paid our "vig" and got our "equipment", we asked if there were going to be any Masses and she pointed to a small Side Chapel near the front of the Cathedral.  We had to go out one side of the front door and enter through another to get to Mass.  There was a guard there that wasn't going to let us in because we had the "equipment" with us.  We tried to assure him that we would not be playing with the earphones ... that we simply wanted to attend Mass.  We think he understood and finally just smiled, shook his head a bit (American pilgrims) and allowed us through.  We attended a beautiful Mass with an elderly Priest that reminded us of Monsignor Bill Carey (God Rest His Soul).  What a perfect way to start the day ... with Mass.

Afterwards, we left the one side door and re-entered the Cathedral through the other side door (LOL) to begin our tour.  At each Shrine, we stopped and listened to the wonderful narratives and took time for photos (lots of Church & Bascilica photos today ... it was not a "mountain" day").

We finally made our way to the last stop ... The Holy Grail ... the Cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper.  As we have experienced with other Shrines relating to the life of Jesus Christ and/or his Miraculous Hosts, it is just indescribable and incredible to be able to experience being so close to Our Lord in His Life and in His Death ... and after.  We have been Blessed to have seen a few of the Eucharistic Miracle Shrines; His actual blood from Calvary; have venerated his Cross and, now, we knelt before the Chalice with which he proclaimed our salvation and instituted the Holy Eucharist!  Just an awesome some what overwhelming experience.

We Prayed in the Chapel of the Holy Grail for quite some time before departing for our new stop ... The Basilica of Our Lady of the Abandoned and Helpless.  We certainly had a lot of Special Intentions from many of you to deliver to Our Lady at this Shrine.

Susan took over guiding us out of the Cathedral, behind the Cathedral and across to the Basilica of Our Lady ... As skeptical as I was to follow her without dispute, she led us right to the door of the Basilica (Susan has become quite the navigator).

Angelic music was flowing out of the Basilica from within.  As we entered, we saw that Mass was in progress.  We knelt and Prayed and watched as the Boys' Choir sang fervently ... it was a beautiful sight and sound.

This was the second Mass of the day for us.  We thought that we might make up for missing Mass yesterday (not that we hadn't tried").  But we opted not to receive Communion for the second time.

When Mass concluded, we began to explore the Basilica.  As with the Valencia Cathedral, the sculptures and artwork were extraordinary.  The Statue of Our Lady of Abandonment was breathtaking.  We examined every inch of this wonderful tribute to Our Blessed Mother.

So far, we were "2 of 2" today with the Shrines on our Itinerary for the day ... we were thrilled.  Before leaving the Valencia Cathedral Square for our next scheduled stop which was 3-4 miles away based upon "Princess's" calculations, we wanted to stop in a Religious Store for our usual memento and a medal for Susan's (not very heavy) bracelet.  No Luck!  Once again, it was 2:00 P.M. and "siesta time" ... in the countries we have been traveling, it seems that virtually everything closes down at 2:00 P.M. and doesn't re-open until 4:00 P.M. ... difficult when you're dealing with an itinerary and time and travel stops.  We did manage to find one small shop open and we picked up our little religious table memento for home.  We decided to stop for a quick beer ... it was so hot outside and we had less than a 10 mile journey for the remainder of the day until we would reach our hotel for the evening.

After a brief respite, our next stop was going to be the Shrine of Our Lady of the Innocent.  We drove there and, again, had to follow very, very narrow roads to get there.  It was hidden in the middle of a residential area but we finally found it.  Of course ... IT WAS CLOSED!!!!  We asked a local when it/if it would be opened today and he said 7pm.  Sad not to have been able to visit this Shrine but this one is the original shrine to Our Lady of The Innocent that we had just visited.  Our 4 th stop was postponned until the morning since it was past our hotel and we sure that it was not open at this hour. so we headed for our hotel to check in.

We arrived at the hotel and all plans involving the car were nixed when we unloaded our luggage and the receptionist guided me to their parking garage.  I left Susan at the hotel elevator and said "I'll be right back after I park the car".  Well, once the car ... with me in it ... went down a very, very tight "lift" (or descent I guess I should call it) ...and down into the very narrow garage, I had to make 3 "K" Turns just to get the car into the lift that took me to the parking.  I decided then and there that the car was going to be able to sleep for the remainder of the day and night ... I wasn't going through the "lift experience" again until it is time to depart the hotel tomorrow. 

We got ourselves situated in our room.  Susan had "a lot" of typing to catch up on.  We have developed, over the past several days, a new way to work on our Trip Reports, photos, etc. for all of you during our "unused" time on the roads or in the hotel rooms.  I will either write the trip report and Susan will transcribe it, or I will dictate the report to her as I am driving and she will type it later.  She has this "strange" way of taking dictation or a very short-hand ... impossible for me to try to read and transcribe it so she's on her own.  Once we are stationed in our hotel room for the evening, we will re-read the report, edit it, add the stories that I had previously saved with information on the Shrines for the day and ... VIOLA ... you have our Trip Report!  Sounds easy doesn't it????  Not!!! But we both love doing it and sharing these Shrines and photos and experiences with all of you.  (Oh, forgot to mention downloading the photos ... going through them with a "yeah" or a "nay" and deciding what photos to send on to you ... many never make it to the "final production" to send to you.)

Back to the story for the day ... I left Susan at the computer and ventured out to get us some food and supplies.  I asked for directions at the front desk so that I could find a "Mini-Marche" ... I knew from the small town that a SuperMarche was out of the question.  She pointed me in the right direction and I headed off for what I thought would be a short walk down the street.  Well, after walking almost 2 miles in one direction in search of the "Mini-Marche", I finally found it.  Then I had to negotiate my way back to the hotel ... thank goodness I did some "mental landmarks" on my walk to the store or I would still be out there walking around and trying to find the hotel. 

I got back to the hotel after over an hour ... loaded with "goodies".  Susan was still punching away at the keyboard so I quietly took a shower to cool down ... I wasn't sweating ... just hot ... after all, "pretty boys don't sweat!".

We kept working while we enjoyed a homemade dinner (sandwich) and I had some sardines & oysters (out of cans).  We continued to play "catch-up" on our trip reports, update "Princess/GPS" for the next few stops and call it a day.

We finally rolled into bed around 9:30 P.M.  We decided to set the alarm for 6:00 A.M. in the morning so that we could get a very early start on the day's pilgrim stops ... instead of 4 stops, we had not added The Shrine of the Eucharistic Miracle in Silla, Spain to our list.

After tomorrow (Wednesday), we are "finally" on the "mini-vacation" for a couple of days on the Mediterranean Sea in a large 2 bedroom apartment close to the beach where we can both spread out all of our luggage, do some laundry, get to the beach for some "beach-time", and just "try to relax" after what has been an exhilarating personal pilgrimage.  Our accommodations, as far as we know, do not provide Internet/Wi-Fi Services so we don't know whether or not we will even be or get online during these couple of days.  If you don't hear from us ... don't fret ... I hope that means we are getting some "well-deserved" quiet time for the two of us to spend together and recuperate.

We want to thank all of you again for all of your emails ... they are great and we love reading them (and your comments) at the end of each day.  They really help to keep us going and we appreciate all of your kind thoughts and words.  We continue to hope that all of the Special Intentions you entrusted us with on this journey will be answered ... nothing, absolutely nothing would make us happier.

AT THE LAST SUPPER,

JESUS INSTITUTED

THE SACREMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION,

WHICH PROVIDES NOURISHMENT

FOR THE BODY AND SOUL

CHANGING BREAD INTO BODY

AND WINE INTO BLOOD.

JESUS IMPLORED...

"DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME".

                                                LUKE 22:14

May God Bless You All,

Tom & Susan

THE HOLY GRAIL

Healthy scpeticism is expected, but this seems to be the real deal.

Your quest for the Holy Grail is complete once you land in Valencia.
It is inevitable that such a seemengly bold claim will evoke a cynical grin from most people who hear of the Holy Grail kept in the Valencia Cathedral. However, and contrary to how it may seem, such scepticism is an uninformed reaction, rather than otherwise.
It is common knowledge that if you collect all the nails with which Jesus was cruxified, it turns out that the poor guy had a few hundred nails in Him. And you could build a house from all the wood that is claimed to be part of His cross. However, it is just not like that with the Cup that can be much more scientifically analysed and cross-examined with various historical records and references. As a result, every single claim in the world have been dispelled. Apart from that of the Valencia Cathedral. On the contrary - historians all over the world point all their evidence to this item as being the authentic Cup used in the Last Supper.
Hollywood has, as usual, impregnated the public with a pseudo-historical moment of truth. Indiana Jones speculates that the Cup was wooden since Jesus was a carpenter. Well, shoe-makers don't drink from leather cups and blacksmiths don't make their own steel mugs. While it would be absurd to see a golden or platinum cup used by Jesus, it is also a bit silly to expect Him to have found time in His very busy schedule to make all kinds of cutlery and domestic items for His following, rather than just buy one on the market or have one donated. Porous wooden cups, impractical and forbidden for the Jewish Passover, are unlikely to have been used by Him.
In fact, the Cup is made of agate stone - a popular material for drink vessels in those times. It is a homogenous piece cut out entirely from a lare chunk of agate, 9 cm in diameter. Naturally, decorations of gold and pearls were added to the supporting structure over the centuries.
The Holy Grail is believed to had been left in the house where the Last Supper took place - a house belonging to the family of St Mark the Evangelists, who later took it to Rome when he went to serve as an interpreter for St Peter. Passed on within the church and used as Papal Chalice, the relic was shipped out of Rome in 3rd century by St Lawrence, in anticipation of a persecution. It was taken out of Rome in the hands of a Spanish soldier to Huesca, Spain. During the Muslim occupation of the Iberic peninsula, the Grail went into hiding and later re-emerged in various Spanish monasteries and cathedrals. The Kings of Spain looked after it, on occasions taking it into their treasuries or palaces, until it was finally presented to the Valencia Cathedral in XV century, where it remained ever since. It briefly left the Cathedral only twice, both times during the 1930s Civil War, for fears of plunder.
To be totally fair, the Cup in the Antioch Cathedral also passes tests on authenticity. However, it is way too large to be passed around as a cup. Records refer to two cups being used in the Last Supper - one as a communal tank for wine and the other as a cup to drink from.

 Our Lady of the Innocent

 

It was on the morning of the first Sunday in Lent, 1409, on his way to preach the homily at the Mass higher in the Valencia Cathedral, the religious order mercedaria, Fray Juan Gilabert Jofre, a contemporary and friend of St. Vincent Ferrer, observed during the trip that a group of boys cruelly mistreated a poor madman. The good friar spoke to the aid of the unfortunate and after stopping and reprimanding the young, went his way deeply impressed by the event. So much so that modified the content of his sermon, including in it an emotional call to charity and for the "ignoscentes" that left to their misery in the streets, were subjected to all kinds of abuse and also protect citizens of their unconscious actions. not his words fell on empty as their reasons burning permeated the minds of those present, among whom was a merchant named Lorenzo Salom, who emerged as the main supporter and effective advocate of the idea, so So nineteen days after the General Council of the City was studying the initiative and two and a half months later, work started on a hospital for this purpose.

 The paper was founded, signed by King Martin V the Human, the March 15, 1410, states, and therein lies the originality of the proposal, that humanitarian assistance dispensed to welcome there, they also provide assistance care, which meant, culturally and scientifically, the foundation of l world's first psychiatric hospital. The institution was named in Valencia's' Hospital dels Ignocens, Folls and Orats "which, according to modern psychiatry, is for" feeble-minded, psicósico and demented. " In principle, Pope Benedict XIII gave owners and patrons of the new hospital Innocent Martyrs Saints, being the only saints to whom the church offers worship without having reached the age of reason in his short life threatening. However, led by the fervor of his devotion to Mary, the Valencian people began to take the habit of naming the new hospital with the name "Sancta Maria dels Dona Nostra Innocens", ie, Our Lady of the Innocents. Such was the roots that reached the name the pope took the name itself of the privilege of founding a guild.

 From this was born a curious way dedicated to the Virgin before her image representative. guild or brotherhood Said came up with the idea of supporting the hospital with more resources and manpower. Its members practice the same proposed works of mercy of the hospital and also attend the funeral of the insane and brothers, expenses of the Hospital and religious events. The zeal and enthusiasm of the Brotherhood soon wanted to expand the scope of its assistance beyond the hospital and thus established between its standards support to those facing death, providing spiritual comfort and Christian burial, also established relief and aid to brothers themselves in case of illness, death of spouse or death. Soon he began to attend shipwrecked, destitute and prostitutes expresses grace of Dona Maria of Castile, wife of Alfonso the Magnanimous, King of the Crown of Aragon. The Brotherhood gained great expansion, creating another hospital where they were welcomed and cared for all kinds of marginalized.

 It stipulated aids orphans skills to prisoners and needy, for foundlings, and amounts for the ransom of captives in the land of infidels. In this context, was the need to provide a new image of the Virgin to represent the sponsorship of the insane and the pious Hospital Guild, so that without pretended, had emerged a new invocation Our Lady intended to have universal coverage. By decree of King Ferdinand signed in Barcelona on June 3, 1493, the invocation was given the title of Our Lady of the Innocents and the Homeless.

The image, which was designed in size and flat back in order to be able to accommodate over the coffin of the deceased brothers lying down, although in feasts and solemnities appeared upright and with a mantle of silk, the current source, to disguise this fact. At first the image is kept and venerated in the house of clavario of the Brotherhood, but after two hundred years of survival of this custom, and before that it had serious drawbacks, went a little chapel in the Cathedral Square, where arose later, in 1652, the current basilica minor, given dignity by Pope Pius XII, by recognizing, rather than their artistic value, its value as a center and symbol espirtitual of Marian devotion and encouragement of countless Valencia works of





mercy. Well into the twentieth century, Pope John XXIII, states "... the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of OUR LADY OF THE HOMELESS, Celestial Patroness before God MAIN WHOLE REGION REGION ... " The onomastics of "Amparo" is celebrated on May 8, although in the city of Valencia celebrated with great solemnity and celebration on the second Sunday of the month.

Melillo's Montserrat and Manresa

MONTSERRAT, SPAIN TO MANRESA, SPAIN TO CAMBILS, SPAIN

 

Once again (not that I don't plan it so that we stay on the time schedule I planned),

 the alarm went off in time to fulfill the plans I had for the day. We quickly showered, packed up and we lugged down our overnight bags to the car before "Bread-Fast". They owners were ready for us. Last evening when we asked what time in the A.M., they said ... well, it is Sunday. So, maybe 9:00 A.M.? Susan and I quickly (but politely) asked for 8:30 A.M. at the latest.

 

We walked into their Dining Salon a bit after 8:30 A.M. and our table was ready for us. fresh juice, a platter of meats and cheese, juices, homemade breads (a la "Angel"), jams & jellies .. a delectable treat. The Chef/Owner was also our server this A.M. and when his partner came down, we asked for their business cards, names, etc. (last night was too busy for us to interrupt them). As it turned out ... Reniere' and Angel own the Inn. They run a first-class and first-hand accommodations and they wanted to be certain that we enjoyed our stay there ... and we had.

 

We decided to name René ire & Angel our "Angels of the Day".

 

We finished our Cafe Leche on the outdoor patio of their establishment, went up to our room to retrieve the last of our bags and went down to bid "Adios" to our friends. As is the usual when we make new friends, we did our traditional adios, kisses & hugs to Renoise & Angel (and their little doggy) and headed on to our day's mission ... Montserrat & Manresa. It was an easy drive (in the beginning) although a bit hazy. It was nothing compared to the beautiful and endless hours we have spent, almost every day since

our sojourn began ... but we still have time.

 

I almost ran out of gas but was lucky to catch the last petrol station before the exit.  $100+ later we were on our way. Gas has been costing between $8 - $9 a gallon.  I’ll not complain when we get home.

 

We made our way up the mountain ranges to Montserrat ... lots of them ... and lots of cars and tour buses. We had hope to get there a bit early because we knew that, because it was Sunday, it was going to be more crowded than through the weekdays. About 1 mile before we got to the Shrine, it was bumper to bumper as the high road and the low road merged into one as they headed for the "pay our way" booth on to the property (frustrating but they have to be able to support themselves). It took us about 45 minutes to sit, idle, in the car and in the waiting line to reach the "ticket station". We knew it wasn't going to be easy since we had been here before about 6-1/2 years ago. However, it was just not possible to beg, borrow or steal a place to park our car ... and we weren't alone ,... cars, tour buses mobbed with frustrated travelers, motorcycles, bicyclists, people, pilgrims ... all trying to get to the Shrine ... not a soul was around (as far as traffic control, security, etc.) to help anyone, any car at any time. That saddened

us both but we kept going.

 

So now we got to the merge "pay for it" station ... $8.00 bucks to park to enter.. Nowhere near the Shrine or any related sites to visit. And, we could not even find a way to turn the car around and head out of Montserrat at this point. So, we followed the traffic flow and ended up at a "circle" before the Shrine with ONE LONE SECURITY PERSON constantly shaking his head as the cars/trucks/buses/people stopped to ask him what to do and all he did was shake his head "no".

 

It was our turn ... as we approached, I asked Susan to pull my "trusty cane" from the back seat of the car. It was a last ditch effort to get into the Shrine. As we approached him, Susan rolled down the window and gave the puppy dog eyes as he indicated that there was not even handicapped parking available. He then motioned us to continue on around the circle ... at this point, heading down the mountain from the Montserrat Shrine. It was sad as we saw so many people being pointed in the same direction.

 

Susan and I had been here over 6-1/2 years ago on our first "driving personal pilgrimage" so, at least, we knew we had seen the Shrine had heard the Boy's Choir sing ... although, even on that trip, had not the opportunity to walk up and venerate Our Lady of Montserrat. We knew that it was not going to be possible to visit Her Shrine today so we made the decision to begin our descent and head to Manresa.

 

It seemed like ages as we went down (not even through the pay station). It was, of course, frustrating and saddening but we kept reminding each other than we had been here and that, apparently, there were many traveling for their first time who were on a time frame and would not be able to park, walk to and, at least, see the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat.

 

We neared the pay station and I think I was more upset for others and I was going to "dispute kindly" the $8.00 entrance fee. I got out of the car and walked to the teller. I spoke nicely and said "no parking!". He responded very matter of factly ... "No Pay" and motioned us to exit ... I really feel these poor workers had already had a difficult day of complaints.

 

Trying to get down the mountain was a choir in itself. There were buses going up and down and unable to make the curves unless traffic on both sides was clear (they do "hair-pin" turns on these mounts). There were aggressive motorcyclists and bicyclists (sorry, but it seems that the car traffic lanes belong to them and makes vehicle journey tedious and dangerous). There were people walking up, down and across the lanes of the roadway ... all this on a very narrow road taking us down from Montserrat.

 

Patience is a Virtue ... today, a true test of that but we realized that more people were frustrated than we ever could have been.

 

We finally made it off the Mount of Montserrat and headed towards Manresa … the place where St. Ignatius lived as a hermit, found his vocation, began to write and died.

Our dear GPS Princess took us to the Cathedral of Seu De Manresa. I saw a sign that I took to be an underground parking lot and pulled in.  There was an elevator (a/k/a “Lift” to take us up to the Church.  Not the “No Pain Guy”, we walked the entire way up and, actually, climbed the last part of the way on the long staircase leading to the Church.  Finally at the entry to the Church, we found (nothing new) that the doors were closed and locked.  But, then, we saw signs … “Under Renovation”.

Not discouraged, we took a walking path that went around the Church.  Lo and behold, we found one door open near the rear of the building.  Before we entered, there was a book store and I asked the elderly gentleman about “how to find St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  He pointed his finger in yet another direction away from where we were.  He was kind enough to hand me a small brochure (“in English”) and indicated that we were on the “wrong side of the street” …

Although not on our plans for the day … how could we not explore a Church dedicated to “Our Lady” … little did we know.

The Cathedral is a very, very old Church from around 1040 … hence; the renovations must be long overdue.  Instead, it is a tribute, once again, to Our Blessed Mother.  The depictions, imitation statues from Our Lady of Montserrat, Our Lady of the Pillar (Zaragoza), Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima and we will need to find out the story of Our Lady situated in grandeur over the Main Alter. 

The Basilica was virtually empty except for a Baptismal Mass taking place in a side Chapel.  The child … the “new Catholic” was adorable so I had to shoot a couple of photos.

We spent time, Prayed for those of your Intentions we thought appropriate for this new-found Shrine and headed out in search of “St. Ignatius Loyola.

We left the Shrine and headed out over the “plaza” to try to get our bearings.  Having looked at the brochure the man had given me, I saw the St, Ignatius Shrine and knew that if we got back in the car, I could get there without the help of “GPS Princess”.  10 minutes later, we pulled the car almost to the very front of the Cathedral.  We parked and walked to the doors … only to find them closed and locked (what’s new).  Alas, we read the signs as best we could interpret, we found that this Church was open only ½ day on Sunday (in the A.M.) … go figure.  I told Susan that if we had gotten up around 3AM, we could have made it but would have missed our “bread-fast”,

So we walked up and down the hills in search of any type of Shrine/place relating to St. Ignatius to no avail.  We stood in front of the closed and locked doors to the entrance of the Shrine, held the Special Intentions in our hands and Prayed for each of those Intentions while standing on the stairs outside of the Church.  That was as good as it was going to get … I didn’t think it was going to matter to God that we were standing outside.  We planned to light an additional candle at our next stop to fulfill our “mission”.  Joan L. … this stop was for you in particular and for your Intentions.  We hope that your Prayers will be answered.

We reluctantly left the property of the Shrine and went in search, driving through the town, to try to find a religious store that might be open … today … ON A SUNDAY … no such luck. 

We had about a 1-1/2 hour ride to our overnight hotel in Cambrils, Spain. On the way, GPS “Princess” took it upon herself to give us one last ride via the narrow mountainous roads for about 1 hour of a harrowing ride up and down the paths.  Once again you will see some special “Susan Dashboard Photos” as she tried like a hero to get photos while “hanging on” and grunting quietly as I made my way around the narrow mountain curves.  We left the mountain ranges, were led onto an extended, new and rarely traveled highway until we arrived, safely, at our haven/hotel for the evening... the one I had booked that was specifically located on the Mediterranean Sea. 

Not knowing what our hotel room would be (2 “ok” beds was fine with me), I was grateful when I found that we were on the “ocean side” , with an ocean view (instead of a street view), and that we were in Room 113 … a very lucky number for the two of us … we actually met on the 13^th … Friday, January 13, 1988) … so this is a very lucky number for us.

We grabbed our bags in the lobby after I had parked the car.  We went to our room that was so close, we could have jumped into the ocean, the ocean’s sand or the pool … it didn’t matter. 

It was so hot … we have been used to 2-3-4 layers of shirts and clothing since the beginning of our journey.  Now, even a thin t-shirt in the few minutes we arrived in this oceanfront town, we are hard-pressed.  Standing in the lobby with heavy jeans, socks and “hiking shoes” was quite funny as people in bathing suits and shorts passed us by.

In moments, I told Susan that I was “hitting the pool”.  Invited her to join me but she felt she still portrayed an “Alaskan Eskimo) in her winter gear.  I left … and went down to the hotel pool … I really needed to cool down.  Well, once I took the plunge, all of the heat I was experiencing disappeared … THE POOL WATER WAS COLD... but only for a few seconds.  I then enjoyed myself as Susan shot photos from our balcony.

We didn’t do much else after that … downloaded some photos from the camera and relaxed on our oceanfront balcony.  I had done a “half-board” type of reservation at this hotel … Dinner and Bread-Fast Buffets.  We enjoyed the buffet dinner … it was nice and of great variety.

Before retiring to our room, we took a short walk on the boardwalk and the ocean.  We collected a little “sand” for a special friend (whom we have-not met to this day but have developed a great relationship with her … this is for you, Cindy!).  We wrapped the sand, held hands and journeyed our way back to our room.

To leave you with this evening’s “thought” …

 

My Jesus, Lord

I take my daily cross.

I welcome the monotony

that often marks my day,

discomforts of all kinds,

the summer’s heat, the winter’s cold,

my disappointments, tensions, setbacks

cares.

 

Remind me often that

In carrying my cross,

I carry yours with you.

And though I bear a sliver only

Of your cross,

You carry all of mine, except a sliver,

in return.

God Bless

 

Tom and Susan

 

Our Lady of Montserrat, Spain: 718

Blackened by candles that burned before the statue day and night this particular image dates back to at least the twelfth century. St. Ignatius of Loyola made an annual pilgrimage to Montserrat as have a million or more pilgrims every year in modern times.

The mountain named Montserrat rises 20 miles northwest of Barcelona, in the region of Catalonia, which takes it names from the Spanish, Catalan, for "sawn mountain" probably because its rock outgrowths seem to be the teeth of a saw from a distance. These most unusual lofty cone-shaped jags are almost perpendicular. The highest cone rises to a height of nearly 4,000 feet, while the circumference around the entire base of the mountain is measured at about 12 miles. The church which contains the miracle-working statue of the Madonna and Child sits about halfway up the mountain.

According to tradition, the miraculous image was first known as La Jerosolimitana (the native of Jerusalem), since it is thought to have been carved there in the early days of the Church. The statue was eventually given to St. Etereo, Bishop of Barcelona, who brought it to Spain.

In the seventh century, when Saracen infidels invaded Spain, the Christians of Barcelona heroically defended it for three years until defeat appeared imminent. Knowing that they could hold out no longer, they decided to take their treasured image of Our Lady to a secret, safe place. Quietly, with the knowledge of the Bishop and the Governor of the city, a group brought the statue to Montserrat, placing it in a small cave, April 22, 718. A complete account of the origin of the miraculous image, the cause of its removal and the place of its hidden security were recorded and in the archives of Barcelona.

Even though the location of the statue was eventually forgotten, the people of Barcelona never forgot the holy image for almost 200 years. Then, in 890, shepherd boys from Monistrol, a village at the foot of Montserrat, were sent unbeknown to them to be the source of the discovery of the treasure:

While tending their flocks that night the shepherds were surprised by lights and the sound of singing coming from the mountain. When this happened once again, they reported the situation to their priest, who looked into the matter. He, too, heard the singing and saw the mysterious lights, so he reported this to the Bishop, who also witnessed the same occurrences. At last the statue of Our Lady was discovered in the cave and brought out and placed in a small church that was soon built; this little church developed into the present church that was completed in 1592.

In 888 there had already been a chapel dedicated to Our Lady and it was at that spot that the present shrine is located. Eventually a monastery was added, which grew rapidly, because of the miracles wrought there by the Blessed Virgin. According to the caretakers of the shrine, the statue that still presides over the monastery was introduced in the twelfth or thirteenth century. This statue might have replaced an earlier one, which could have been destroyed during one of the many wars:

Carved in wood, the statue is in a sitting position and measures slightly over three feet in height. In Romanesque style, the figure is slender, with an elongated face and a delicate expression. The dress of the Virgin consists of a tunic and cloak both gilded and plain in design which is draped. Beneath the crown is a veil adorned with stars, squares, and stripes in subtle shades of color. The right hand of the Virgin holds a sphere, while the other is extended in a graceful gesture. The Child Jesus sits on His Mother's lap and also wears a crown and lovely garments. His right hand is raised in blessing; His left hand holds an object that resembles a large pine cone. A cushion serves as the Madonna's footrest; she is seated upon a chair that has large legs and whose back is topped by cone-shaped finials. The statue is highly revered not only as a religious treasure, but also because of its artistic value. It is almost completely gilded, save the face and hands of both Our Lady and the Child Jesus [and His feet also]. Unlike many old statues which are black because of the kind of wood or the effects of the original paint, the dark color of Our Lady of Montserrat is attributed to the innumerable candles and lamps used in its veneration. Because of this dark color it is affectionately called La Moreneta, The Dark Little One. Thus, the Virgin of Montserrat is classified among the Black Madonnas.

The image is in an alcove behind the main altar. It can be reached by climbing decorated stairs to the side of the church. The stairs lead to a large room which is directly behind the alcove where the statue is enthroned. This large room is called the Camarin de La Virgen, the Chamber of the Virgin. A large number of people can fit in the space to pray beside the throne of the Blessed Mother. The pilgrim cannot touch the image, however, since it is protected by a glass.

Although not located on the peak of the mountain as are the sanctuaries of Monte Cassino and Le Puy, the monastery is situated high enough from the surrounding area to make one think it safe from attack. Yet the monastery sustained considerable damage during the Napoleonic invasion. Additional harm was inflicted during civil wars and revolutionary disturbances. The treasured image of the Madonna and Child was hidden during these times, but was soon restored to its place of honor when the church and buildings were quickly repaired. These buildings were spared during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia.

Benedictines settled in the monastery hundreds of years ago and still maintain the sanctuary and provide hospitality to the steady stream of pilgrims who go there. The number of historical figures connected to the sanctuary or who have visited it, including one of its hermits, Bernat Boil, who accompanied Christopher Columbus to the New World, thus becoming the first missionary to America. One of Montserrat's first abbots became Julius II, the Renaissance Pope for whom Michelangelo worked. Emperor Charles V and Philip II of Spain both died with blessed candles from the sanctuary in their hands. King Louis XIV of France had intercessory prayers said at Montserrat for the Queen Mother, and Emperor Ferdinand III of Austria made generous financial gifts to the monastery. All the kings of Spain prayed at the shrine, as did Cardinal Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII.

Some of the Saints who visited there were St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymond of Penafort, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Francis Borgia, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Joseph Calasanctius, St. Anthony Mary Claret and St. Ignatius, who as a knight was confessed by one of the monks. After spending a night praying before the image of Our Lady of Montserrat, he began his new life and the founding of Jesuit order. A few miles away is Manresa, a pilgrim shrine of the Society of Jesus. The shrine holds the cave wherein St. Ignatius Loyola retired from the world and wrote his Spiritual Exercises.

The Virgin of Montserrat was declared the Patron Saint of the Diocese of Catalonia by Leo XIII. The statue has always been one of the most celebrated images in Spain.

A historian wrote: "In all ages the sinful, the suffering, the sorrowful, have laid their woes at the feet of Our Lady of Montserrat, and none have ever gone away unheard or unaided."

Melillo's Tour: Our Lady of Torreciudad

Buenos Dias!

  I wanted to break the alarm clock again this morning when it went off but I decided to cooperate and got up.  Susan didn’t even stir when it went off, so I let her sleep another minute or two as I began to focus on the new day.

First things first … Shower, Pack, Pre-Load the car, pay the hotel bill and EAT BREAD-FAST!!!  Somewhere in between all of that, I managed to get Susan up and running.

We had a lovely table in the window and we sat right next to a sweet older woman.  She was trying to communicate with us … and we were trying to communicate back without much luck but some laughs with her.  I took a photo of her eating her “bread-fast” because she possessed an excellent technique of “dunking the bread into her coffee” … just like my Grandpa.  She was a real pro at it (LOL).  At the end of our meal, we bid her farewell and as we were leaving the dining room, the woman got up and followed Susan to the elevator.  She stopped Susan, grabbed her hand and said “God Bless You”, smiled and went back to her table.  So there we had it … our Angel of the Day (or Morning depending upon how our day goes).

We went back to our room for the last of our luggage and we couldn’t get the elevator … we were in Room 715 on the 8^th floor!  After waiting patiently (well, maybe impatiently), we said “no problem” … let’s walk down.  So I grabbed the two big bags that were left and Susan and I walked down the 8 flights of stairs (still no back or leg pains … just some aches from muscles that I haven’t used since our last “pilgrimage”!

We headed out right on schedule.  Hoping to arrive in Torriciudad for the 1:15 P.M. Mass.  The ride over the Pyrenees’ Mountains was spectacular!  I asked Susan how the car breaks on her side of the car were working because she was pumping away on the incredibly curvy curves I was negotiating through the mountain range.  She didn’t think I was too funny … but managed a very quite laugh.  She tried to relax and enjoy the ride and still shoot photos of the majestic mountain views.  This trip, only 6 of her photo shots were of the dashboard … not bad … she’s improving.

Just as things seemed to calm down, we had to drive through/under a two mile tunnel cut in under the mountain that headed straight down.  Susan’s least favorite thing is when we drive through tunnels (albeit, see the photos and you should understand).  I think we only have about 15 or 20 tunnels this trip.  On our last “personal pilgrimage”, we went through a total of 479 tunnels … I counted them all, especially for Susan!

We arrived at our destination (Our Lady of Torriciudad, Spain) at 12:30 P.M. … time to spare before Mass was expected to begin.  It is just beautiful at this Shrine which is set atop a small mountain overlooking the world.  We explored the grounds and different areas of the Shrine as we made our way to the Basilica entrance.  There were hundreds of young adults & children who, we learned, were all there from Madrid as part of a continuing devotion to Our Lord, Jesus Christ and to Our Blessed Mother.  They had walked/run from Madrid on a baton-passing journey and had just reached the Shrine of Our Lady of Torriciudad this morning.

On our way into the Basilica, Susan was going to snap a photo of me when one of the “Ushers” came up and wanted to take a photo of both of us.  He did not speak English but Susan understood his kindness and called me back to stand with her for the photo op.  After he took it, and we had entered the Shrine, he brought over a nice young man named Roberto who spoke English very well.  He took over with the two of us and was anxious to give us a personal tour and explanation of the Shrine.  We were very grateful (and surprised) as he walked us through the Basilica.

Roberto pointed out that the windows, the statue and the carving in the Shrine are made of alabaster.  When light shines through, it provides a wonderful and diffused aura to everything.

He took us to the Chapel where we were able to venerate a Religious Medal that is attached to the Miraculous Statue of Our Blessed Mother (Our Lady of Torriciudad) that is placed above the Main Altar.  It was a quiet and reverent moment for both of us.  He then took us into the next area of the Shrine that was a Museum that gave a history lesson on the Shrine and St. JoseMaria Escriva and his Canonization.  (St. JoseMarie’s Statue also graces the Main Altar area of the Shrine).

Above the Statue of Our Lady on the Altar is a crevice with the Main Tabernacle set inside.  Three Angels are praising the Lord while the other is inviting all to come and surround the depiction of the Life of Mary, Our Blessed Mother.  All of the faces and eyes of the statues are turned towards the Tabernacle no matter where they are situated.  I must say that the Main Altar took our breaths away.

The Shrine of Torriciudad is an incredible dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Family, as well as St. José Marie.  It is also part of the “RutaMariana” Route (http://www.rutamariana.org ) if you would like more information.  Torriciudad, Lourdes, Zaragoza & Our Lady of the Pillar (we were there on our last journey) and Montserrat (tomorrow’s destination) … are all part of this Marian Route.

Oh, by the way, Matthew, the Organ has 4,273 Chimes in it as Roberto pointed out … you’d go nuts!

We thanked Roberto profusely as we heard Mass was about to begin.  We took our place in the Shrine and sat in awe and Prayed during the very beautiful and spiritual Mass.  We were again surrounded by 100’s of youths which was wonderful. 

Our Special Prayer Intentions for today are especially for those in need of “Conversion”, those who are Praying (through their Intentions given to us) for the Conversion of other people, for our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) at Our Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and, for that matter, for all RCIA Candidates throughout the world.  As Roberto had explained to us, Our Lady of Torriciuidad’s focus is on the “conversation” of sinners and repantants.  Susan and I felt … what better place to implore Our Lady’s Intercession for conversion of others than at the Shrine of Our Lady of Torriciudad.

As we walked out of the Shrine, we encountered a Priest and wished him a good day.  Tried to do it in the best of our Spanish but it didn’t necessarily turn out that way (LOL).  He smiled, walked over to us and began talking with us in wonderful English.  Obviously, he asked where we were from.  Padre Javier told us that he had been to Palm Beach and was indicating “rich people” with a laugh.  I explained to him in words and hand signals that “Palm Beach” is “here” … and “we” are “here” … we all had a laugh.

We spoke with Father for quite a while, enjoying our time together.  He was interested in all of the places we have “pilgrim-ed” to and we attentively listened as he told us about the “Marian Route” he is involved with.  He surprised us by asking if he could give us his e-mail address so that he could join our “Trip Report Pilgrimage” that you all receive each day.  There were some Shrines we have been to that Father was interested in learning more about. 

He wrote down his e-mail address and we learned that he is Father Javier, the Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Torriciudad … a delightful man and Priest.  Angel of the day – number 3 – we made Roberto number 2.

After bidding Father farewell (as usual, hugs & European kisses from Susan), we departed and headed to the Candle Grotto of Our Lady to light a candle for today’s Special Intentions.

Wanting to explore the grounds even more, we once again had to depart … because it was 2:00 P.M. and they were shutting everything down until 4:00 P.M.  We quickly ran to the Book Store on the grounds to grab our usual memento but they explained (kindly) that they were closing.  They didn’t have the types of mementos we usually get, but the Caretaker … the original “Usher” who had taken our photo and had introduced us to Roberto, gave us a brochure of a hotel that had a Religious Shop and pointed us in the right direction.  We hopped in the car and stopped at the shop to pick up a memento … they didn’t have medals so Susan was out of luck for a medal of Our Lady of Torreciudad  for her bracelet.  That’s okay, she said.  The memories are there.

With the Shrine now “closed”, we sat in our car in the parking lot and shared a small sandwich from “bread-fast” this morning that I had made (1 of 2 sandwiches).  We couldn’t eat it this morning, so we took it with us not knowing if we would have dinner tonight … you know by now that “dinner makes a difference” … more food!

On to our hotel for the evening … as Susan named this hotel from the pictures I showed her … “The Bates Motel” out of the movie “Psycho” (are we dating ourselves or what?).  We drove on a long and desolate road across the mountain and down an extremely quiet street … through a small sleepy town.  A couple of miles later, we drove up a hill to this ½ purple/blue building that was stuck out “in the middle of nowhere”!  Susan was prepared to sleep in the car but I promised her that I would stand guard for her when she takes her shower).  We headed into the hotel/inn and we were greeted by none other than a “Norman Bates” look-alike … (see photos).  Seriously, he was a delightful innkeeper who spoke almost perfect English.  He explained that he was originally from Bavaria.  He checked us in and we went up to our room.  (I think he is the significant other of the Chef … and one of two owners).

Our room was just beautiful … artfully and tastefully decorated … Susan wants to copy the ideas from the bath … it was quite nice.  The room had excellent Wi-Fi, so we spent the remainder of the afternoon sharing a bottle of wine, checking and responding to emails, handling some business and, of course, preparing Trip Reports.  We had both balconies (yes, two of them), wide open and the breezes were flowing through.

It was almost 8:30 P.M. and you know what that means … “Dinner-Time” …..

We walked down the stairs and into a very quaint Dining Salon.  Every detail in this hotel is impeccable from the engraved crests on the bathroom floor to the personalized sugar packets with the hotel crest and name, to the personalized silverware … you name it.  You could feel and see the pride the owners have taken when, as we learned, they bought the hotel 12 years ago and took 2 years of hard work (and money) to renovate it before opening.

Before being seated, the Chef/Owner came out with a HUGE TOMATO … the size of a small pumpkin!  Via translation from his partner, he explained the history and story of the “huge tomatoes”.  If you want to know more … just ask us.

They had a “pre-fix” and an a la carte menu … we opted for the “pre-fix” with 1^st & 2^nd Plata’s.    Our first courses:  a fresh tomato dish which came out with bits of crisp chunks of bacon and freshly sautéed calamari, carefully and artfully decorated on the platter.  The other was shopped octopus on a slice of lightly sautéed zucchini mixed with red pepper and adorned with a puree of fungi (mushrooms).  Both were unbelievably good and both with great presentations (see photos).

Susan then had a stroganoff for dinner and I opted for Monkfish … both were excellent.

Dessert came (we told the owner who was waiting on us to “surprise us”).  I received a slice of bread pudding that was more like a “flan” … delicious.  Susan received a chocolate cup filled with delectable homemade and creamy chocolate mousse.  (The disc in the camera was full so no photos of dessert).

By this time, and during dessert, the day’s activities and our energy completely ran out.  Susan looked at her chocolate mousse cup, picked it up by hand and said … “in America we can eat with our hands” … as she chewed it down … that was it … we laughed together (giggled, actually) and headed upstairs to our room.  It was a great, great evening and we were ready for bed … but the evening, as you will see, was not over yet!  We bid Buenos Niches to both owners, thanked and complimented the Chef/Owner and retired to our room hoping to jump into bed even though we had just completed a full and delicious dinner … that didn’t happen!

Unfortunately, I had forgotten to close the two balcony doors before we went down to dinner and a plethora of flies had invaded our room and taken control.  For the next hour or so, it was “Mission Impossible” as I tried to lure the flies into the bathroom by leaving on the light, getting them in there and closing the bathroom door so I could remain inside and swat/kill them. 

The two of us were now silly with laughter and Susan began snapping her photos … we just couldn’t stop laughing to the point of doubling over.  Susan thought I was actually “nuts” because she didn’t see all of the flies until I showed her the dead bodies in the toilet and on the bathroom floor (see photos).

“Mission Accomplished”, and 12-15 dead flies on our floors, I felt confident that we could go to sleep and not hear “BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ” all night long.  Lights out and a glorious sleep ahead of us.

Tonight we kissed good-night to each other rather than last night’s “handshake instead of a kiss” routine.

Buenos Nochos … oh … the “Chef” is our “Angel of the Night”.

Father all Merciful,
let those who hear and hear again
yet never understand,
hear Your Voice this time and
understand that it is You,
the Holy of Holies;
open the eyes of those who see and see,
yet never perceive,
to see with their eyes this time
Your Holy Face and Your Glory,
place Your Finger on their heart
so that their heart may open
and understand Your Faithfulness,
I pray and ask you all these
things Righteous Father,
so that all the nations be converted and be
healed through the Wounds of Your Beloved Son,
Jesus Christ; Amen

Buenos noches

God Bless

Love Tom And Susan

Barbastro is a city in the province of Huesca in Spain. Josemaria Escriva was born there at 10 o’clock at night on January 9, 1902 in a house on the corner of the main street and the market-place. Four days later, little Josemaria was baptized in Barbastro Cathedral.
Josemaria was a happy, naughty and funny child, but when he was just two he developed a very high fever. The doctor tried many different kinds of treatment, but in the end said to Josemaria’s parents: “He won’t survive the night.”
The next morning the doctor came back. “What time did the baby die?” he asked.
Don José Escriva, Josemaria’s father, answered: “Not only has he not died, he’s completely well!”
Don José and his wife Doña Dolores had promised God that if their baby got better they would go and pray to Our Lady of Torreciudad, at a shrine high up in the mountains near Barbastro. After Josemaria recovered they travelled there to thank our Lady. Torreciudad could only be reached by narrow paths beside steep, dangerous cliffs, but they kept their promise. Don José went on foot, while Doña Dolores rode a horse, holding the baby in her arms.
Josemaria had a sister called Carmen, who was two years older than him. Their mother Doña Dolores was a housewife, and Don José worked in a shop which sold cloth and chocolate.

Before Josemaria made his First Holy Communion, his mother took him to make his first Confession to a priest. A Piarist brother prepared him to receive Jesus for the first time in Holy Communion, and taught him a prayer which he remembered all his life. The prayer was: “I wish, Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility and devotion with which your most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervour of the saints.” The day of his First Communion was a very happy day for Josemaria.
Josemaria had three little sisters: Chon, born in 1905; Lolita, born in 1907; and Rosario, born in 1909. Tragically, Rosario died when she was only nine months old. Then Lolita died, and soon afterwards Chon also died. Josemaria was 11 years old by this time, and he was so upset that he said to his mother: “Next year it’s my turn.”
His mother answered: “My darling son, our Lady kept you on this earth for something important, because you were already more dead than alive.” She reminded him that our Lady had saved his life when he was only two. “Don’t worry,” she said again. “I offered you to our Lady, and she’ll look after you!”
Soon after that, his father’s business failed, and the family moved to the town of Logroño, where Don José got a job working in a shop.
One winter’s morning, when Josemaria was fifteen, he went out early. The streets were covered in newly-fallen snow, and he saw the prints of bare feet. They were the footprints of a friar, who was walking bare-footed in the snow to offer a sacrifice to our Lord and to imitate Jesus, who carried a Cross for us. Josemaria was struck by this, and thought: “If other people make so many sacrifices for love of God, aren’t I capable of offering Him anything?”

From then on he began going to Mass every day, and going to Confession regularly. He felt that God was asking him for something, but he didn’t yet know what it was. And so he decided to be a priest, so that he could be freer to serve God and other people. He told his father, “I want to be a priest.”
Tears rolled down Don José’s cheeks. He had thought that Josemaria was going to be an architect or a lawyer. It was the only time Josemaria ever saw him cry. They were partly tears of joy, because Don José was a good Christian, but also partly sorrow, because a priest has to live a life of great sacrifice.
To prepare for the priesthood, Josemaria spent two years studying in the seminary at Logroño, and then went on to study in Saragossa. Shortly afterwards his father died in Logroño. Heartbroken, Josemaria went to the funeral, shared in his family’s grief, and promised to look after them.
Josemaria was ordained a priest in the Church of St Charles, Saragossa, on March 28, 1925. He said his first Mass in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pillar, offering it for the repose of his father’s soul.
A little while later he moved to Madrid, and spent a lot of time looking after sick people and teaching catechism to children in the poorest parts of the city.
At the beginning of October 1928, Father Josemaria decided to spend a few days alone with God, with nothing to distract him. To do this he went to the house of the Vincentians, a group of religious brothers who lived in the centre of Madrid near the Basilica of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. There Father Josemaria prayed and asked God to help him to be a good priest and fulfil His will.

Then, on October 2, 1928, while he was alone, reading notes he had written while praying in the past few years, God let him see Opus Dei. In other words, God asked him to found Opus Dei to remind all Christians that we have to be saints, no matter what job we do. It isn’t only priests who have to get to Heaven, but also doctors, footballers, teachers, housewives, students, farmers, fashion designers, astronauts, and everyone else too. Many people have forgotten that God is waiting for them in Heaven and on earth. “Opus Dei” is Latin for “the work of God”.
Father Josemaria started to pray even harder, and offered up many sacrifices. He also started to look for other people who could understand him and receive a vocation from God to Opus Dei – ordinary people who could help him to pass on God’s message to many others.
One of the first people to follow Father Josemaria was called Isidoro Zorzano. They had first met at school in Logroño. Now Isidoro was an engineer, and Josemaria was a priest. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but Isidoro came to find Father Josemaria because he thought that God was asking him to do something, and that his old friend might be able to tell him what he should do. The met by chance in the street, and after a long talk, Isidoro joined the Work, as Opus Dei is often called.
Father Josemaria also asked the sick people he visited to offer prayers and sacrifices. One of them was a lady called Maria Ignacia Garcia Escobar. She was suffering from tuberculosis and was very sick indeed, in the King’s Hospital in Madrid. Tuberculosis is an illness that causes a lot of pain, but Maria Ignacia never complained. She also asked to join Opus Dei, and lived out her last days in a very holy way, until her death.

Your homework is to find the rest of this story and send it to us!

God Bless all of you,

Love Tom and Susan