There was a crew excursion today and I signed Deanna and I up for it. Instead of going into Lisbon we went to Fatima! I had no idea what was in Fatima, but Deanna is always hinting for me to plan things so I planned going on this.
It turns out that Fatima has a basilica larger than St. Peter’s square in the Vatican. It also turns out that Catholics are…well…crazy. No offense, but some of the things that were going on here…crazy. Let me start at the beginning.
Fatima. In 1910 three young shepherds (two girls and a boy. 10, 9, and 7) saw lightning and headed for home. Then there was another flash an in its place was a bright white lady holding a rosary…so, not necessarily the Virgin Mary, but “the Lady of the Rosary”. She told them to be good and stuff and said she would be back on the 13th day of the next few months. Supposedly 70,000 people were there the final time this happened.
In the place where they first saw the lady there is a small chapel. It is part of the larger basilica. The whole town is pretty much based around the church and the income from the 5 million visitors per year.
Not crazy enough? Let us dig deeper. There are all sorts of shops in town. Almost ALL of them sell a wide variety of statues of The Lady and the kids who found her…as well as toys for kids, and weirdest of all, candles.
What is weird about candles? The ones that are in the shapes of body parts that are taken to be burnt like offerings or something. And when I say body parts I mean we saw, arms, feet, legs, intestines, breasts, heads, children, kidneys, etc. Apparently they are burnt in this big fire pit area where you can also light candles. Burnt when you pray for something to get healed and it does…I guess.
Not weird enough? There is also a long sidewalk within the basilica that leads down a slope to the small chapel. There were several people traversing the 80-100 yards on this walk…on their knees. One lady was lying on the ground inching herself forward using only her feet.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something too. It was an interesting experience on multiple levels. Oh, of the three kids that saw this, two died within 3 years and the other lived a long time and became a nun, or she might even still be alive.
It was also raining a lot of the time. AND I shipped all my warm clothes home so I’m relying on the same three layers every time the temp drops.
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3 comments:
Oh Yee of little Faith! The nun died at 97 in 2005. I need a certain candle as Viagra doesn't work.
dad that's so wrong!
There's a church in Antigua Guatemala that's the same thing - you burn your candle of the part that needs healing and the spirit of that saint intercedes on your behalf and heals that part that you're offering. The church is full of crutches and other things as well.
My mother took a pilgrimage to Fatima years ago. I have heard of a seen all sorts of stories out of Fatima (most of which I unfortunately have forgotten). At this point I'm sure it is difficult to tell who is setting up shop there in true religious faith and fervor and who is just there to make some $$. I did have a rosary change in my hands once though - a little know "miracle" where the chain of the rosary changes from silver to gold mid prayer. Apparently its connected to Fatima. Even if there is a scientific explanation for it, it was still really weird.
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