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Hola Amigas & Amigos:

We got up this morning to see the Sun out and it appeared it was going to be a beautiful day.  We both woke together and packed up a bit and then we went down for our Cafe Con Leche & Toast to dunk in it.  We  weren’t in the dining room for 15 minutes and we came out … we could hardly see across the street.  A very heavy fog had moved in to Garabandal and, when you are in the mountains and in the clouds, it gives a whole new meaning to the word “fog”.

As Father Rolando had announced to us the evening before, Mass today was at 10:00 A.M.  So we headed to the Church to, hopefully, get in our Morning Prayers together before Mass (we had slept in a little late this morning and had packed and brought some of the luggage down to the car).

We arrived at the Village Church and saw Father Rolando on the front patio, and on his cell phone.  I told Susan … “he’s probably hearing a confession since he is so busy” … and then he actually did go into the  Church to hear Confessions before Mass.

Again, at the beginning of Mass, Father greeting us in English at the Opening Prayer and at the Sign of Peace.  He had Michael not only read the First Reading in English, but he motioned to him after he had proclaimed the Gospel … for Michael to read the Gospel in English as well! (Michael told us later he had no idea that was going to happen.)

After Mass, we went back to the Sacristy once again … this time Roberto accompanied us so that he could translate if need be.  We exchanged our feelings in both English and Spanish (through Roberto) to each other before our departure … it was a bittersweet moment to bid farewell to Father Rolando … he has been very special to us since our first visit to  Garabandal.  We promised him that we will return in “approximately one  year” and that, next time, we will remain in Garabandal for a longer stay.  Father then departed for his next Mass in another village.

We stood in front of the Village Church and spoke about so many things with Roberto before leaving.  He is originally from Mexico and had moved  to Amsterdam.  He was in Garabandal on a spiritual retreat.  A very  young and nice man who has a great loved of Our Blessed Mother, Jesus and  our Catholic Faith.

After bidding farewell to Roberto, we headed across the street to the Garabandal Pilgrim Center, where we once again met Michael as promised.

Susan and I had brought a “tablet” with us on this trip that had The Mystical City of God book on it.  The two of us decided to “gift” Michael with the tablet so that he could read The Mystical City of God at his leisure. I knew he was going to give me a hard time accepting such a gift, but when he  said … “well, I will accept it as a loaned gift and will give it back to you when you return to Garabandal”.  We laughingly agreed to appease him  (ha-ha, Michael!).  He is savvy enough to figure out the tablet, but I took a little time to teach him how to bookmark his page, etc.

We then purchased a few things from the Foundation to bring home with  us.  Michael gave us two relics on medals that Our Lady had kissed with  the visionaries when she was here.  We bid farewell to our “new friend”  and we know that he will see him again.

We returned to Sari & Papa’s to finish loading the car, pay our tab  and bid farewell until next time.  Susan was in no hurry to leave …hoping that the fog would lift and the sun would come out.

So, reluctantly, she hopped in the car and we made our way down and up and down the mountain toward our next stop … Our Lady of Bien Apareicida and the Miraculous Cross at Limpias, Spain, which was about 10 minutes away.

We were the only two people, unfortunately, at Our Lady of Bien Apareicida.  It was a beautiful Shrine where an exquisite statue of Our Lady (although very small), sits high and perched above the  Altar.  This is a favoritedestination for many and place of  pilgrimage for many people … just not today, I suppose.

That was “okay  with us” so that we could enjoy and Pray.  The two of us lit a candle for  your Special Intentions and sat in the Church Praying our Rosary.  I  realized that it was close to 3:00 P.M. … time for Divine Mercy.  I  really wanted to Pray our Divine Mercy Prayers at Limpias and in front of the  Miraculous Cross of Christ.  So, we left Bien and agreed to finish our  last decade of the Rosary at Limpias as well … for today was the Decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries and we felt it appropriate.

We made it to Limpias at 3:00 P.M. on the dot and we are now “two for  two”!  IT WAS LOCKED AGAIN!  We have been to Limpias 4 times … we  have been lucky enough to have been into the Shrine only twice!  Very  Sad.

So the two of us sat in our car directly in front of the Shrine and finished our Rosary and Prayed Divine Mercy … keeping Christ company from outside.

We then began our treck to our next B&B in the Basque Country of Spain. Our stomachs were once again growling since it was 3:00+ in theafternoon and we had only had coffee and some bread-fast in the morning.  The drive, which was mainly on the highway, went through  numerous big cities in Spain and I wanted to beat rush hour and traffic.

We were two minutes away from our apartment B&B and we opted to  drive 6 miles further to get to a “Supermarche” (grocery store), knowing that we had to eventually eat.  We didn’t even have time for a photo op in the  store because we ran through the store and grabbed anything we could find that  looked appetizing (including a frozen pizza).
We arrived at our next B&B around 6:00 P.M. and “Rosa”, the  owner, was waiting to greet us and happily showed us to our very small room (LOL:  See Photos).  This was/is “heaven” and we weren’t sure if we would ever get in the car again!

Dutifully, we managed to get out a Trip Report, had our pizza and some cheese, Chorizo, bread and a large glass of wine.  We were already in our “jammies” so, shortly thereafter, we were in our bedroom.   There was only oneproblem when we went to retire: There were two  pillows. Unfortunately, each of them were about 5 feet long and the  bed was a bit of an oversized queen bed.  As we tried to figure out how to position the two of us and negotiate our pillows, it felt like there  were two other bodies in our bed … I don’t know what happened because, two seconds later, I was fast asleep and I think Susan followed me shortly  thereafter.

Buenos Noches

Hola:

We wanted to break the alarm clock when it went off this morning, but instead we reluctantly got up and showered before breakfast. More vulture eggs and bacon and we have managed to reduce the amount of caffeine  with only 11/2 cups each.  It’s nice not having the shakes!!

This morning was laundry day……we couldn’t put it off any  longer.  Before going to the laundromat, we stopped at a Carrfour super-market superstore. This made W-Mart look like a 7-11.  We  didn’t have the camera and a good thing, I didn’t know where to look  first.  They had an amazing array of everything.

We loaded up on water, wine, paper towels and laundry soap.  We then went to the woman’s clothes and bought 10 Pasminas for the residents at the Foundation Home.  We found the laundromat on the first try, again another placestuck on a small side street with no parking available.   On our second try, Sue and I both were praying quietly and a spot came open just around the corner.  Almost 2 hours later we had fresh clean  clothes to hopefully get us home.  I’ll never complain about doing the  laundry at home again since it’s only 20 feet away.

On the way from Madrid to Prado Nuevo,  we saw a gas station and it was time to fill  up so we stopped and a young man jumped out of nowhere and pumped it for  me. We had a few laughs and he said to me: car wash?  I looked at  the car and agreed it was time, so they included it on the bill and I drove  in to meet the same young man who got the wash going.  The car was so clean we decided to vacuum and clean the inside windows to add the finishing touches.

We were hungry so we went into El Escorial and had a burger, it wasn’t  bad, and we then went to the shrine around 3:00 PM, an hour before Antonio  and Marie del Carmen (Padre Guillermo’s Mom and Dad) were to meet us. When we entered, Eduardo, one of the caretakers, came over to say hello. We met him 3 years ago and when we said Americanos he remembered us and we each got a hug.  He opened the gate protecting the tree Our Mother appeared on and let us venerate it: I held on tight as I did so.  We then walked to the end of the shrine to the first station and prayed the Stations of the cross alone with Jesus and Our  Mother.  As always, the peace and tranquility wasoverwhelming.

At 4:00 p.m. sharp Tony and Carmen arrived and we hopped into their car and went to the cemetery to visit Florita’s grave.  It was bittersweet that we hadn’t seen her before she died but we were happy that she was now at home withthe Lord.

The rosary in the field in front of the first apparition and Mass in the Chapel: what more can I say.  It was off to the Foundation home again with the Pasminas and flowers for the Sisters.  Sister Pilar was not there, so it was the universal language again.  The women loved their gift as Susan draped and tied one around each one of them.  It  was a warming sight since most of them have no family at all.

I took a lot of pictures and will make a video for them with them in it and send it after we get home.  They still watch the video from the last trip we made through here in 2012. Two of the women had a  race so we could see
how fast the could walk it was funny.  There is a  lot of love and care given to these people and I know they are truly  grateful no matter what state of health they are in.

After the home we went to Fr. Guillermo’s rectory and community family house the has around 40 people who live and work there for the good of the whole and 10 priest and religious. I thought the Sisters worked hard, and  the Sisters agreed, but these people work harder taking care of the  land and livestock, the repairs and building and everything else you can  think about.  We got to see the room where Amparro had first received the  stigmata of Christ, which is now a chapel.

We finally bid farewell to Fr. Guillermo and his parents and God willing we will see them next year. It was 9 PM and we had to get up early to pack and planned to go to mass at the foundation chapel where the house the original statue of Our Lady that was desecrated  many years  ago.

Back at the hotel we packed and jumped into bed hoping for a good  night’s
sleep.  Sue was out in a flash and I contemplated how much I was going to
miss that garage. LOL  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Buneos Noches

EWTN will be presenting a visual pilgrimage to the Holy Land running from February 17-22 at 6:30 p.m Eastern time in the U.S. (01:30 UTC).

Husband-and-wife production team of Diana and David von Glahn, whose previous series “the Faithful Traveler” was widely acclaimed, take you along on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by Cardinal Justin Rigali.  

It offers some wonderful scenery along with great commentary.  Whether you have traveled to the Holy Land before, or plan to, or just want to see more, we recommend it.

You can find more information, order videos, etc by contacting them at diana@thefaithfultraveler.com or visit their website.  

And for our Holy Land section click here.

This doesn’t deal directly with Catholic travel, but for those of us who are of a certain age, it does ring a bell perhaps. 

With today’s social media we have all sorts of ways to stay connected (some say we have too many).  And for some reason I don’t always understand them.  

I don’t watch a lot of TV, but happened to the other day and saw one of the funniest commercials ever made regarding social media, imho.  Has nothing to do with Catholic travel, but certainly much to do with social media.

If you are of that certain age, or know someone who is, then you will no doubt get a kick out of it.  And if you don’t, then maybe social media is not for you!

 Here is the commercial on youtube. 

Social media has grown to the point that it is almost overwhelming.  Making the choice of which one is for you gets more difficult every day.

But one Catholic social media network that should definitely be on your list is Awestruck.tv.  It is not just one network, but a social hub hosting Catholic communities and networking beyond borders.  You will find many groups there that will be of interest.

So give it a try and help spread the word to friends and family.  It is one social media network that we all can use.  There are Catholic groups for just about any interest, so take some time to look around and join a few.  It is a great way to stay connected.

Having read the Acts of the Apostles many times in my life, I never really stopped to consider the lasting effects that the apostles had in terms of spreading the faith.  Strange, really, because without them going out “into the deep” as it were, very few people would have become followers of Jesus Christ.  

One particularly interesting story comes from Acts chapters 27 & 28.  At this point Paul had been arrested, but being a Roman citizen he knew he was within his rights he appealed to the Emperor to be tried in Rome. Therefore he was first on one ship and then another, eventually being put on one bound for Italy.  Although Paul had tried to warn the men of potential danger, they ignored him.   During the course of this voyage a violent storm overtook them, and they were shipwrecked.  And it was here in Malta that they ended up for three months.  

Paul had relative freedom on the island and even lived for a short time with the Roman ruler of the island, where he cured the man’s father.  He was able to perform many miracles and by the time he left there were many converts in what was to become a predominantly Christian nation.  

Saint Paul is remembered fondly here, especially on his feast day, February 10th  It is a national holiday and a great celebration.  A procession of the Statue of Saint Paul is taken from the Parochial Church of Saint Paul’s shipwreck and paraded through town.  Mass is offered and the entire city seems to turn out.

For more details about the church and the Festival click here.

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The beatification ceremony for Paul Yun Ji-chung and his 123 fellow martyrs (killed between 1791 and 1888) is scheduled for August 15, 2014.

Interestingly,  Asian Youth Day 2014 will be held August 13-17 in Korea. This is a World Youth Day event and is bound to be a popular event.  

Naturally this has given rise to speculation that the Holy Father might travel to Korea and perform the Beatification ceremony at the same time as Asian Youth Day.  

Based on the rousing reception he got in Rio at World Youth Day 2013, that is certainly possible.  Especially when you consider how much he seemed to enjoy it himself.  Pope Francis is not one to stay put, so we would not be surprised.

We will give you more information as we get it.  Check our Calendar of Events for information on Asian Youth Day.