Experiencing God’s Love First Hand
Intimate Conversations
Our Mexico City pilgrimage included ordinary and intimate conversations with dozens of our companions, but through four days Jean and I had exchanged only brief words with our dynamic host Chris Stefanick.
At breakfast on day five we were discussing with other pilgrims two of Chris’s recent “Daily Anchor” inspirational emails, one including a touching true story about a loving father. Chris joined our table, and I briefly summarized. “I use that loving father story in my catechism classes every year,” the etymology of “catechist” being one who “echoes down” truth learned from others. Chris didn’t miss a beat in replying, “The beauty of pilgrimage is you’re not echoing down anymore, but experiencing it first hand.”
MexiCable Trams
Jean and I were excited to again experience Our Lady’s love and presence first hand at Tepeyac, but our initial destination lay a little ways beyond. Along the way we viewed a number of hillsides terraced with ordinary and upscale pastel-roofed residences, each interconnected by a series of aerial tram cars. We were informed these were a fairly new public transportation option built to bring employees more quickly to the businesses and factories in the valley. What a grand way to get to work!
Teotihuacan
In our eagerness to return to the Guadalupe Basilica, we were unprepared for our unexpectedly entertaining and informative initial destination.
Mesoamerica boasts many historic examples of complex cultures and civilizations, from the Olmecs before Christ to the Mayans in the 200s-600s A.D. to the Aztecs of Juan Diego’s time. Teotihuacan is an ancient city believed to have begun in the 3rd century B.C. and actively constructed into the 3rd century A.D, with a population exceeding 100,000 at its peak. Teotihuacanos likely weren’t warriors, but builders and astronomers in many ways advanced beyond modern standards. The Teotihuacan archeological site is located some 30 miles northeast of Mexico City.
Mr. Bienvenidos – Best Docent Ever
Our orientation was given by the best docent ever, whose introduction was so brief I sadly cannot tell you his name. I’ll call him Mr. Bienvenidos, or Ben for short. Casa Museo de las Piedras (Museum of the Stones) lies along a bend of Rio San Juan in Teotihuacan, a deep and clear-running creek which crosses the archeological site. Ben greeted us in the courtyard beside a large Agave cactus plant, the very plant from which Juan Diego’s miraculous Tilma was knitted. Agave has become a symbol of Mexican heritage religiously, culturally, and economically. Ben shared that the fibrous succulent was an important part of the natives’ daily diet, and each plant could provide up to a gallon a day of honey water. Ben cut a two-foot section from the end of a limb and deliberately peeled off a thick layer.
I was taking notes when Ben asked, “May I borrow your pen, sir?” He briefly wrote on the revealed inner section, then peeled off a paper-thin strip with the writing on it.
“Now feel this,” passing around the exposed smooth and soothing agave section. “Agave is related to Aloe vera,” Ben told us, and it was and is used medicinally. “But wait,” he continued, breaking off the sharp black tip with dozens of sturdy hair-like fibers attached to it. “It is a needle that is already threaded.”
Ben led us to an artisan shed where three craftsmen were working with obsidian, a shiny volcanic glass formed naturally over hundreds of years from lava rock, moisture, and minerals. Examples of the jewelry and trinkets they produced from obsidian were laid out, and Ben handed out a few well-polished discs. “Look through them at the sun. Teotihuacanos used obsidian to view the sky during eclipses.”
We entered the well-stocked museum and gift shop, where artisan-made items were displayed in a series of rooms. Many of the pilgrims were immediately distracted, but a number of us followed Ben to a side room for what turned out to be his most appreciated demonstration. Ben brought out a tray of three bottles and, introducing each agave-based alcoholic concoction, poured small cups of the liquid. Three times he proposed a hearty toast in Spanish (health, good times, new friends?), each ending with “Salud!” Three times we sampled, though it wasn’t yet noon. “This is the best part of my job!” Ben joked, capping off the bottle and my best docent experience ever.
Pyramids of the Sun and Moon
The Teotihuacan Archaeological Zone is an eight square mile oval bisected by a north-south lane known as Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). The Pyramid of the Moon anchors the northern terminus of the lane, which passes an intricate palace and a series of smaller stone platforms to the Pyramid of the Sun, then across Rio San Juan to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. We had about an hour to wander the Calzada, and to climb the Pyramid of the Moon if we desired.
Return To Tepeyac
We returned to Mexico City and the Basilicas at 2:40, with no group agenda except to meet in the plaza at 4:00pm. Jean and I entered the New Basilica, and spent 20 minutes in reflection and prayer before the 500 year-old Image of Our Lady and, not incidentally, in the presence of her Son in the Blessed Sacrament. We walked along Calzada de Guadalupe, window shopped, and ate a late lunch. As we gathered on the plaza to leave, I suddenly felt the loving gaze of Our Mother upon us, like an embrace goodbye. It was a deeply comforting; A genuine first hand experience of God’s love.
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