On Sunday I took a grand trip around San Diego county. One could call it a pilgrimage due to the fact that the escapade was entirely faith-based.
A two hour drive up through Julian brought us to Whispering Winds, a Catholic retreat devastated by the Wildfires last October. I had been there on retreat twice with my family, but now it was completely different. What used to be a forrest on a hill is now a barren, blackened mound of ash and dirt. What was formerly an outdoor chapel in the was devastated and turned into a temporary parking lot for the four hundred people expected to show up for the grand reopening mass.
We got there early so we could get good seats at mass and just take a look around. What we saw was nothing we remembered. There were few trees in the camp, formerly in what one could almost call a forrest. Most buildings were gone and replaced with temporary structures. The one thing that remained was Mary. The Union Tribune put it very well by saying…
Mary was spared. The fire danced around the statue of the mother of Jesus, leaving a scorched ring as if it were a grim calling card that hell had paid a visit.
Well, actually you have to see it, the fire came within 10 yards of the area that is commonly called “Mary’s Grotto”.
The actual mass was so large that there were people sitting outside and behind parked cars to listen. Needless to say, it was 80+ degrees, inland. The water supply had a high algae content and was unfit for drinking purposes. Luckily there were jugs of water that they brought in.
At the conclusion of the mass, there were the thank you’s and then a free lunch. We couldn’t make ourselves cozy though, we had to head back into the city in order to pick up our 3P.M. tickets for “St. Peter & the Vatican” at the San Diego Art Museum.
St. Peter and the Vatican was long but interesting. They had tons of drawings, plans, and holy pieces on display. It was crazy, there were plans for the original Basilica, and they were in better condition than the United States constitution. It takes you through the time of St. Peter, all the way through modern times.
Something that I thought was very interesting was the process in which a new Pope is initiated. It’s just one thing after another, seems like it could take hours. Some other things I found interesting were the “liturgical drinking straws” and the “papal snuffbox”. What could a liturgical drinking straw be used for?
And that was the conclusion of the day…
