Friday was a really beautiful day. We seem to have really good weather on Fridays. It was sunny, not too warm, not too cold. Naomi and I spent the morning together touring Española and Chimayo. We first went to a few weaving shops and gift stores. They had beautiful woven rugs, coasters, and table mats. Along with it, they had various pieces of pottery, some black etched and others very colorful. They also had a lot of different types of jewelry, all colorful and usually large. Everything was very beautiful, but quite expensive. Apparently all of the woven stuff was made on an old fashion loom and took a long time to weave.
After the shops, we went up to the Santuario de Chimayo. This is a Catholic chapel that was built in the late 19th century. The special thing about this chapel is that there is a spot inside known as the "pocito" (well) that has holy dirt in it. The dirt is holy because it was the dirt in which the "crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas" was found. The special thing about this dirt is that it is said to have miraculous healing abilities and replenish itself. The room before the "pocito" room is full of crutches of the people who have been "healed" by the miraculous dirt. So, every year on Holy Week tens of thousands of people make a pilgrimage to this chapel to have mass, rub holy dirt on themselves and take some home. The roads are packed with people walking on foot for miles. Normally 25,000 - 30,000 people will come. In the last few years, however, the number has decreased to about 15,000.
Friday being a weekday, the chapel wasn't busy. They hold mass everyday. So, we sat in on one. It amazed me they could so twist the Gospel to make Jesus's work on the cross only covers part of our sin debt and we must work for the rest. It amazed me because so much of the Catholic faith is centered on Jesus going to the cross. There were so many models and pictures of it in all it's brutality. And then they use a lot of scripture reading, but they twist it by not sharing the whole story. So, they would read the scriptures from Psalms and other places, but listening to it from their perspective you could hear the emphasis on your righteousness and your good works. The Bible clearly says, however, "We are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.."Isaiah 64:6a; There is none righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:10; "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Then, all throughout scripture, it talks about how Christ alone can save and how Christ gave us His righteousness. It's so sad that the Catholic faith has so much right, but the things that it is wrong on are the most important. It makes me wonder if we would not have said the same about the Pharisees and the Scribes and their followers in Jesus' day. They, too, knew much of the Word of God, but relied on their knowledge, works, and traditions to save them. Anyway, we stayed in mass for a little while, then went and saw the "holy" dirt and explored the grounds. Everything was really really beautiful!!
After exploring the chapel, we went to lunch at Rancho de Chimayo. It was wonderful!! We ate authentic New Mexican food and were served in a beautiful sunroom by waitresses dressed in New Mexican dresses. The food was really good. I had a stuffed sopaipilla with guacamole, lettuce and green chili. A sopaipilla is a type of fried bread that puffs up and isn't sweet. It was stuffed with pulled beef, spanish rice, and cheese. Naomi got a fried green chili stuffed with cheese with refried beans and Spanish rice on the side. Surprisingly, it was good too. After that we went home and helped with family stuff.
Later in the evening we all watched a movie and snapped green beans and cow peas. We watched "A More Perfect Union". It was a movie about the Constitutional Convention. It was an older movie, but it was very good. I would recommend it. I had never seen that part of the story before.
After the shops, we went up to the Santuario de Chimayo. This is a Catholic chapel that was built in the late 19th century. The special thing about this chapel is that there is a spot inside known as the "pocito" (well) that has holy dirt in it. The dirt is holy because it was the dirt in which the "crucifix of Our Lord of Esquipulas" was found. The special thing about this dirt is that it is said to have miraculous healing abilities and replenish itself. The room before the "pocito" room is full of crutches of the people who have been "healed" by the miraculous dirt. So, every year on Holy Week tens of thousands of people make a pilgrimage to this chapel to have mass, rub holy dirt on themselves and take some home. The roads are packed with people walking on foot for miles. Normally 25,000 - 30,000 people will come. In the last few years, however, the number has decreased to about 15,000.
Friday being a weekday, the chapel wasn't busy. They hold mass everyday. So, we sat in on one. It amazed me they could so twist the Gospel to make Jesus's work on the cross only covers part of our sin debt and we must work for the rest. It amazed me because so much of the Catholic faith is centered on Jesus going to the cross. There were so many models and pictures of it in all it's brutality. And then they use a lot of scripture reading, but they twist it by not sharing the whole story. So, they would read the scriptures from Psalms and other places, but listening to it from their perspective you could hear the emphasis on your righteousness and your good works. The Bible clearly says, however, "We are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.."Isaiah 64:6a; There is none righteous, no, not one; Romans 3:10; "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Then, all throughout scripture, it talks about how Christ alone can save and how Christ gave us His righteousness. It's so sad that the Catholic faith has so much right, but the things that it is wrong on are the most important. It makes me wonder if we would not have said the same about the Pharisees and the Scribes and their followers in Jesus' day. They, too, knew much of the Word of God, but relied on their knowledge, works, and traditions to save them. Anyway, we stayed in mass for a little while, then went and saw the "holy" dirt and explored the grounds. Everything was really really beautiful!!
After exploring the chapel, we went to lunch at Rancho de Chimayo. It was wonderful!! We ate authentic New Mexican food and were served in a beautiful sunroom by waitresses dressed in New Mexican dresses. The food was really good. I had a stuffed sopaipilla with guacamole, lettuce and green chili. A sopaipilla is a type of fried bread that puffs up and isn't sweet. It was stuffed with pulled beef, spanish rice, and cheese. Naomi got a fried green chili stuffed with cheese with refried beans and Spanish rice on the side. Surprisingly, it was good too. After that we went home and helped with family stuff.
Later in the evening we all watched a movie and snapped green beans and cow peas. We watched "A More Perfect Union". It was a movie about the Constitutional Convention. It was an older movie, but it was very good. I would recommend it. I had never seen that part of the story before.