Sorry folks, it has been a while since I updated the blog. As you might guess things are starting to pick up here in Guadalajara which has left these pages untouched. Last Saturday Chris and I headed into the historic downtown area of Guadalajara where we took in some of the local attractions. We started at Templo Epiatorio which is outside the downtown area and then walked the few blocks to the downtown area. Our first stop was the Cathedral which is beautiful inside and out, but mass was going on so we didn't get to look around too much. After the Cathedral I tried to pick up a breviary in Spanish at a local Catholic bookstore to no avail. But the kind lady behind the counter did give me a monthly program of the Liturgy of the Hours that is put out by a local press and in Spanish. After Chris and I checked out El Museo Regional de Guadalajara which has a fairly simple look to it, but has some awesome art inside. We also checked out the Palacio de Gobierno, which is essentially the State Capital. It was striking for us Americans to see the State Capital relatively free of security. There were two guards at the main entrance (with one hand on their gun, the other held a cigarette) while the other entrances had no guards at all. We concluded our day just by walking around the various plazas and shops in downtown Guadalajara. Unfortunately by the end of the day, I felt a bit of rumbling in my stomach and sure enough, I had the beginnings of Montezuma's revenge. Which put a damper to the rest of the weekend, but by Monday I was fine again.
On Monday, Chris and I finally received some company at school, for the first few weeks, it was just Chris and I, which made our daily 30 minute breaks fairly bland. There are now 9 other students from the (Arch)dioceses of Chicago, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Evansville, and Tulsa. It has been nice to begin to get to know them and they've added a bit of variety to our daily coffee breaks. They also have given us some company going to some of the local events here in Guadalajara.
Unlike a good chuck of the world, here in Mexico the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (or Corpus Christi) is still celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday and is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass for Corpus was on Thursday, but we went again to another Corpus Mass on Friday, this was the big diocesan celebration which was followed by the diocesan Eucharistic Procession. The Mass was held in a large outdoor plaza in front of the aforementioned Templo Expiatorio with the Cardinal Archbishop presiding and then the Procession made its way nearly a mile to the large plaza in front of the Cathedral where the Cardinal gave the benediction. Describing the Procession is no easy task, I do have some video, but alas the cable for my camera is still at home so I can't post it anytime soon. The best way to describe it would be to say that if "solemn" for Americans means incense and silence "solemn" for Mexicans still means incense, but also marching bands, chanting, shouting, and singing. Jesus was not carried like in most Processions, but was rather placed in a 6 foot monstrance which was on top of an elaborately decorated parade float, complete with lots of flowers and even a few fountains. The float also had a kneeler for the Cardinal so that he could adore the Blessed Sacrament during the trip. There were about 2000 or so people at the procession which often times felt more like a political rally than adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There was a man in a car that had speakers attached to the top that was in charge of leading the people in prayer. We said a few decades of the rosary, often broke into song (mostly refrains of Alabaré) and did a lot of shouting. The leader would often shout out VIVA CHRISTO REY! Which would be met with shouts of VIVA! VIVA! by everyone else. It was amazing to see such a public demonstration of faith by so many people down the main streets of Guadalajara.
On Saturday Chris and I got to see another procession of a different kind. The statue of Our Lady of Zapopan travels to many of the parishes of Guadalajara each summer and on Saturday she made it to one of the parishes close to here so Chris and I decided to check out her arrival. The church was elaborately adorned with candles and flowers as it awaited her arrival and they had constructed arches in the street for her to pass under (they also held confetti). Our Lady arrived with quite the entourage. There was a large band (mostly drums and trumpets) and a ton of children divided into groups based on age and sex. Each group was led by a banner and color guard of sorts. The statue of Our Lady is only about a foot and a half tall, but she travels in a converted pick-up (which sort of looks like the popemobile) and is in a large plexiglass case. The pastor had the privilege of taking her out of the car and bringing her into the Church, but he was closely surrounded by 6 security personal and a Franciscan friar who is the official "custodian" of the statue. After a few minutes to wipe the fingerprints off the glass, Our Lady was put on display and the everyone started saying the rosary. It should be noted that the statue only stays at the parish for a day, and the next day it moves to a different one. So the Church remained open all night and took on a sort of festive atmosphere with a mini carnival in the streets around the parish.
Well that is about it, more school is on tap for the week to come, but we will also join the diocesan seminarians for yet again another Corpus Christi celebration at the major seminary with the Cardinal. Chris and I are also planning a trip to Tequila soon enough so that should present some things to report back to you all. Until then I hope all of you are doing well and are enjoying the summer.
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