Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Greetings
In January I visited your churh during a
vacation to New Mexico. When I entered the church, mid-day Mass
was being said. In respect, my partner and I stood quietly in
the back and enjoyed the feeling of community as the Mass
continued.
After Mass we visited the side shrine and
marveled at the devotions, statues, crutches and other items
left by those cured by their visit, and by those still seeking
help. Upon visiting the pozito, we washed our hands with the
soil.
Without explanation, upon entering the
shrine, I was overwhelmed with emotion and the sense of the
other who had also visited this space. I have toured the
Vatican in Rome, the Knock Shrine in County Mayo, the National
Cathedral of St. Patrick in Dublin, grottos to Saints in
Ireland and Mexico and Various large and small Catholic
churches across the USA, but none of these spaces gave me
feeling that I felt when visiting el Santuario de Chimayo.
Michael O’Hara
Charlotte, NC