August 2006: Spain, Portugal

August 2006: Spain, Portugal

Dear Friends,

Since our last open letter, we have added two new countries--and a couple of thousand kilometers--to our musical pilgrimage. In Spain and Portugal we visited a variety of holy places. There were stone-age altars and monuments and medieval Christian sites, including some from the Templars, on the islands of Mallorca and Menorca. There was the cape of Muxia in north-western Spain where--according to legend--the apostle James reached a point of despair and discouragement. He felt that he could not go on spreading the "good news"...until the Virgin Mary appeared to him on the ocean, sailing in a boat made of stone. The medieval cathedral of Santiago (his name in Spanish) in Compostella is admittedly full of pomp, tourism and distraction. Yet behind these is a holiness that can be felt in the architecture, or in the crypt early in the morning. There is also the huge incense burner suspended from the ceiling above the main altar. It is swung by a group of men from one side of the church to the other. For some, this is a tourist spectacle. For others, it is a reminder that the smoke of our prayers must be preceded by the fire of loving sacrifice: thoughts, desires, habits etc. which hinder our moral and spiritual perfection can be given as "burnt offerings" and "whole burnt offerings." They are then transformed into virtues and strengths.

In Segovia and Avila, and on the high plains they lie on, we communed with the great Carmelite reformers Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross. They endured many hardships and made many sacrifices, but also experienced tremendous joy, even to the point of being lifted off the ground. Theresa was twice tried for heresy by the Spanish Inquisition, and her autobiography was kept from the public for a couple of centuries. Once, as she was travelling by ox-cart to visit convents she had started, the party began to ford a stream which was swollen with rain. The cart and all their possessions were swept away by the torrent and Theresa and her companions barely escaped with their lives. She stood on the shore, cold, wet and dirty, lifted her eyes towards heaven and said, "Lord, why have you treated me like this? You said you are my friend." With her spiritual ear, she heard a reply: "I always try my friends." Theresa answered, "It is no wonder, then, that you have so few friends!"

We also visited more modern sites like Fatima in Portugal and Garabandal in northern Spain. In both of these places, young children had visions and locutions of a woman bathed in light--the Virgin Mary, they said. Her basic message was of repentance (metanoia) and warning of great catastrophes to come if humanity does not change its ways. There were also some specific indications and even secret communications which have been withheld from the public.

Different people have interpreted these happenings in different ways. Some dismiss them without any further thought because they do not fit into their materialistic world-view. Others use them to justify the institutional power of the Roman church and unthinking acceptance of the dictates of its leaders. A third group, in contrast, use them to criticize the church, since one of the messages of Garabandal was that many priests, bishops and cardinals are on the way to perdition and are taking many souls with them. For some, their simple piety is strengthened. We saw many people praying the rosary and in Fatima, people walked long distances on their knees to ask for healing or some other favor. Yet for us, and for many others, these phenomena are a challenge. The apparitions cannot be comfortably explained (or explained away) by the laws of material causality. The challenge is to spiritualize our thinking and school our powers of moral discernment to be able to say, out of direct experience: Who has appeared, what have they said, and what are their intentions?

If, instead of looking for a ready-made answer, we search for the right question, that question will become a force within our souls which will not only inform us, but also transform us. In the words of the Christ: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Mt. 7:7)

We send our love and our thanks to our many friends!

Alexandra and William