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July 24 to 28, 2006 A diary of the Pilgrimage: Day 1 - July 24, 2006 Monday - San Jose to Mexico City The majority of the 41 pilgrims got to San Jose airport early in the morning. As a matter of fact 6:30 am was really too early. But it gave us enough time to grab some breakfast at the food court in Terminal C. The boarding time was at 8:00 a.m. But once on board the Mexicana Airbus 320 we had smooth sailing all the way to Guadalajara. For first time travelers to Guadalajara the airport was an experience. After going through Immigration booths we had to climb up to the second floor to go to departure gate. But while waiting for our flight someone noticed that our departure gate was changed to gate on the first floor. So off we went to Gate 18 on the first floor. We had to get on a bus to get to our plane that was parked on the tarmac. The short flight from Guadalajara to Mexico City was uneventful. The Mexico International airport was something else. There was clear absence of anyone you could ask for help regarding luggage or anything else. Our guide Ricardo Muñoz was outside the arrival area when we were done taking care of our luggage. He led us through a long corridor that finally brought us to a new bus that Fr. Lim blessed. In Mexican tradition it is customary to bless the driver (Kiko) of the new bus. Kiko took us to the hotel Casablanca in no time. Dinner was good and after dinner all were free to do as they wished.
Day 2 - July 25, 2006 Tuesday - Tlatelolco Buffet breakfast was at 7:00 a.m. By 8:30 a.m. we were on the bus ready to visit the Plaza of the Three Cultures in Tlatelolco. The historic Franciscan church of St. James sits on the ancient Aztec temple. The first cultural heritage is the ancient temple of the Aztecs who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Spaniards. The second cultural site is the present church of St. James, the patron saint of Spain. The Franciscan monastery attached to the church is where the Archbishop Zummaraga lived and where Juan Diego brought him the flowers and the tilma which today is enshrined in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The third cultural site is the surrounding area and from which the modern city of Mexico grew out of. As historically and cultural important to the Mexicans the Plaza of the Three Cultures is also the site of tragic violence. Sometime before the Olympic games in 1968 a group of students demonstrators were gunned to death under the regime of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz. About three to four hundred demonstrators were killed, although government report indicated only four were killed. From the Plaza of the Three Cultures, Kiko, our driver, took us to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. No words can describe the first time experience of the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The first thing was the enormity of the shrine itself – the land area as well as the basilica itself. The modern basilica, built in 1976, can hold twenty thousand worshippers. The second point is the number of people that came to the shrine. All the Masses are well attended and there us an endless flow of humanity found in the shrine. The miracle of Guadalupe is the faith of the people who continually flock to the shrine of the Mother of God. But the private Mass at 11:30 a.m. for the 41 of us on a second floor chapel facing the main altar was anything but private. We had to compete with the music and liturgical event going on at the main altar. Suffice it to say that Christ understood the language of our hearts in spite of the conflicting sounds coming from the main altar that drowned out our voices. When Mass was over it was time to go for lunch. Ricardo chose a restaurant called “Buffet Aleman”. The food was plentiful, nutritious and delicious. There was sufficient variety of food so that everyone could find something to eat. The cathedral of Mexico is a work of art. Built on the model of European churches, it invites people to pray and spend some quiet time in it. Hundreds of people visit the church every day. Because Mexico sits on top of former lake the cathedral is sinking about 2 inches a year. The cathedral sits in the conspicuous spot of the zocolo. It is a huge square where people come to celebrate and express their political beliefs. After the visit to the cathedral we headed to the Holy Family Church, a Jesuit parish church. It is also where the shrine of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro is located. Executed by the Federales on some false charges, the young Jesuit priest yelled the famous “Viva Cristo Rey!” before he was executed. From Holy Family the bus headed back to the hotel at about 5:00 pm and dinner was served at 7:30 p.m. Day 3 - July 26, 2006 Wednesday - Puebla, Ocotlan,
Tlaxalas We left for Puebla at 8:00 a.m. The traffic going out of the city was relatively light. Coming to the city was bumper to bumper for a long way. The road was generally good, but some sections need to be repaired. The two well-known volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, were partly visible on our way to Puebla. The bus made a brief stop at a gas station where we could get a better view of the cloudy Iztaccihuatl. When we reached Puebla, Kiko dropped us off at the church of Santo Domingo where we celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Holy Rosary. After Mass we walked through the shopping mall to the Villa Rosa restaurant where we had lunch. Villa Rosa restaurant was a real experience. A percussion band entertained us with Spanish songs during lunch. The band played so well that there was spontaneous dancing during the meal. From Puebla we headed for Ocotlan. First we visited the orphanage of Ocotlan where 50 girls reside. They girls were on vacation and we did not have a chance to see them then. The superior of the orphanage Sr. Luisa was very gracious and thanked us for the toiletries and other items that the pilgrims collected for the orphanage. The next stop was the church of Ocotlan where the miraculous statue of Mary is kept. Ricardo told a marvelous story of Juan Diego who saw the Blessed Virgin Mary on his way to fetch water from the Ocotlan River for the sick people. Our Lady pointed out to Juan Diego Bernardino to go to a spring that would provide healing water for the sick. Up to this day the healing water can be taken from the spring that Mary pointed to the humble Indian. The group walked to the plaza of Tlaxalas, an ancient town, that has colonial structures. We left Tlaxalas at about 5:00 p.m. and dinner was ready for us at the hotel at about 9:00 p.m. Day 4 - July 27, 2006 Thursday -
Tulpetlac, Teotihuacán
We left at 8:45 a.m. to stop at an outlet to do our shopping. The outlet carried jewelries, ceramics, leather products, clothes, furniture and crafts. Prices were reasonable and the shoppers had fun buying gifts for their loved ones. The next stop was the church at Tulpetlac, site of the fifth apparition of Mary to Juan Diego’s uncle Juan Bernardino. The dome of the church reminds one of an Orthodox church. We celebrated Mass in the church and some local people participated in the liturgy. After Mass we proceeded to Teotihuacán to have lunch and after lunch it was time to visit the Pyramid of the Sun. There are 250 fifty steps that a young at heart can climb to reach the top of the pyramid where the ancient inhabitants practiced human sacrifice. Actually six gentlemen climbed the pyramid of the Sun and came back safe and sound. The pyramid of the Moon can be seen from the pyramid of the Moon, but we did not visit it. At about 3:00 p.m. Ricardo brought us back to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and gave us free time for personal visit and prayer. It was a good chance to visit the old basilica where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed 24/7. Others took the occasion to visit the new basilica or do more shopping. We were back at the hotel at about 7:00 pm. Fr. Lim blessed the religious articles that the pilgrims bought during their short visit to Mexico City, At about 8:30 pm Kiko took us to the Focolare Restaurant for dinner with Mexican folkloric dances. It was an entertaining evening, but with very little time to rest when we got back to the hotel.
Day 5 - July 28, 2006 Friday - Xochimilco
The next morning we had to wake up early, put our luggage outside our doors at 7:00 a.m. and be ready to leave the hotel to get to Floating Gardens of Xochimilco where we enjoyed the guided tour through the canals on board a chalupa, a flat boat, that can hold about 20 people and propelled by a pole. The floating garden gives us a glimpse of ancient Mexico City that sits on a lake. Ricardo brought us back to Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine for Mass. Fr. Lim concelebrated with a Mexican priest and the pilgrims attended the Mass at 1:00 p.m. There was really not much time to have lunch since we had to go to the airport to check in for our flight to San Jose, California. The check in procedure at the Mexico International airport was quite an experience. We had barely enough time to check in our luggage and after going through the regular check in procedures we had to walk endlessly to find the departure gate of our flight to San Jose, California.
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