The Road to Juquila - Part 1: The Desire to Get to Know Her, La Virgin of Juquila, Begins

I have so many, many thoughts,
so many things run through my head
after my recent pilgrimage to Juquila.
And so,
this will be the first of many blog entries
about that most wonderful trip.
It has been a process.
And like all processes,
it started somewhere. . .
. . .when I least expected it. . .
and only now am I realizing
how many years ago
this desire to visit La Virgen de Juquila
began in me.

I have always had a devotion to
and a love for
Our Lady.
Anyone who knows me even ever so slightly
knows this about me.
Why,
I’ve even built a website in Her honor.

And I have always had a particular interest
in the titles given to Our Lady
by the peoples of the Americas.
But I must admit
that I do not know
a great many of the stories
attached to these titles
of Our Most Blessed Mother.

And such was the case for me
with the Virgin of Juquila.
I knew that this was a title of Our Lady
venerated by the people
of the state of Oaxaca in Mexico,
but I really didn’t know much more than that.
I also knew several people
who had gone to the little church
where she is venerated by that title.

And then, several years ago,
a priest said something in casual conversation
that just made me absolutely angry.
At the time
I just could not believe the words
that were coming from this man’s mouth.
At the time
I found his words to be unforgivable.
Oh, I know, I know.
We are all human
and as such
we all say and do things
that we later regret.

The thing is,
there were others there
who actually believed what he said.
And that’s what made me angry.
If it were just a conversation with me,
well, that’s one thing.
But he said some things
that others present believed to be true.

You know,
to whom much is given
much will be expected.
To be ignorant of a subject matter is one thing.
But to speak things that are so untrue
well,
that is another matter entirely.

And if one is uncertain of what the truth is
of a particular subject matter,
would it not be better
not to speak what you are unsure of??
Would it not be better
to keep one’s tongue silent????
Yes,
this man made me angry.

He said that the veneration to Juquila
was a veneration to an abortion clinic.
People who said that they visited Juquila
had actually gone to have an abortion
or have accompanied someone who had an abortion.
He said that there was no title to Our Lady
under the name “Juquila,”
but rather that it was all about abortion cover up.

Now,
Juquila is the name of the little mountain municipality.
(Actually, Santa Catalina Juquila.)
That being the case,
there could very well be a clinic of some sort
that uses that name.
However,
having recently returned from Juquila
I can honestly say
that I never saw any abortion clinic.
Now,
this is not to say
that maybe there isn’t one
somewhere up in those mountains,
but I never saw it.
But more,
he spoke a blatant lie
when he said
that there was no Lady of Juquila,
when he stated that there was no real veneration
to Our Lady by that title.

But you know,
his cold and callous untruth,
his sheer stupidity
started the fire
that began to burn in me that day.
And that desire
was to travel the Road to Juquila.

Little did I know
that when he spoke his untruths
I would begin developing the promesa
I would later make to Our Lady,
the promise to tell and share Her story
with as many people as I can.

It still angers me,
and a justified anger, I do believe,
that this priest could somehow
make an abortion accomplice of Our Lady.
Still,
I am thankful.
Were it not for his unwillingness
to study the matter further,
his stubbornness at not wanting to know the truth,
the desire would never have been born in me
to seek the truth for myself
and to visit Her at Juquila.
I suppose that Spanish colloquial statement
fits well here:
No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga
(There is not bad from which good doesn't come.)
And so while he may choose
to distance himself from Our Lady,
I grow ever closer to Mary of the Magnificat,
La Virgen de Juquila.

And thus,
I began my travels
down the long and winding
Road to Juquila
about six years ago
during a time in my life
when I had
neither the gumption needed to correct this priest
nor the financial means
to take a plane south of the U.S. border.

I’ve since flown to Mexico several times,
with hopes of returning to Mexico
twice more this year alone.
I just returned from visiting that shrine in Oaxaca.
And now, with this blog,
I hope to set my mind at ease
and correct this man’s error
as best as I can.

Perhaps,
one day
in him will also be born
the desire
to travel to the state of Oaxaca in Mexico,
the desire to travel
that long and winding road,
full of twists and turns
up that high mountain,
up that road full of obstacles.
Perhaps one day there will be born in him
the desire to travel
The Road to Juquila.
I certainly hope so.

At the very least,
I pray to Our Lady
that this minister of God
would learn to respect
the popular religiosity
of a people so strong in their faith.
For as I see it,
he is the living embodiment
of why some people
are a people of faith
in spite of the Church
and not because of her.
In the end,
I guess it is always
a Holy Spirit thing.

As I write about my experiences
on the Road to Juquila
(which will include the story
of La Virgen de Juquila)
I will keep this gentleman in my prayers
and I ask all who read this blog
to do the same.

And you know,
I’ve always said that sometimes
we need to hear the exact opposite
of what we know to be true
to move us from our complacency.
Sometimes it takes someone
saying something we know isn’t right
to make us stand up and take notice,
stand up and take action.
And with those thoughts,
I think of my father,
who always taught us
to stand somewhere.

And so I do not think it is a long stretch to say
that the Road to Juquila
really, really began in me as child
with my father teaching me
to love justice and truth.
Wow. . .
. . . . Our Lady has been waiting for me
for quite some time. . .
Sort of reminds me of that Spanish hymn
to Our Most Blessed Mother:
“Una madre no se cansa de esperar. . .”
(A mother never tires of waiting. . .)

And thus began
my journey to Juquila.
Like most journeys of faith,
it began with a movement of the heart,
when and where I least expected it.
It has not been a journey of miles,
but rather, one of years.
And I am ever grateful
that I headed the call
to take The Road to Juquila.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray For Us.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray For Us.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray For Us.
Virgen de Juquila, Ruega Por Nosotros.
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About the photo:
I picture I took of some statues of La Virgen de Juquila,
handmade by local artisans,
sold by the local street vendors.

Whte House Goes Green

According to John Doyle of GlobeAndMail,
O'Bama is Irish.

". . ..You see, early last year,
Stephen Neill, an Anglican priest in Ireland,
was contacted by a researcher in the U.S.
about local parish records that mentioned Joseph and Phoebe Kearney,
and their son Fulmouth (also known as "Falmouth"),
who emigrated to the U.S. in 1850.
As the good Anglican priest later explained on his online blog,
he was initially reluctant to take on the task
because he gets many, many inquires from people in the United States
seeking their Irish roots.
But the researcher then mentioned
a possible connection with Senator Barack Obama and,
intrigued, the priest began his research in earnest.. . . ."

Here are the creative results of that research.





ps
don't send me any negative comments
about where our new president is lacking
or what he should be doing.
you will be deleted.
just smile and laugh and have fun. . . .

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

To be a good photographer
is an art that we often don't recognize.

It has been said that a picture
is worth a thousand words.

These photos made me stop and think
of many, many things.

I salute and thank those photographers
who took these images.

The one that most made me think
is the image of the priest.

You can view the photos I speak of here.

Second Letter to St. Peter

March 20, 2008

Holy Thursday

My Dearest St. Peter,

I know it’s Holy Thursday
and you’ve probably got a lot of major work to do today,
inspiring the faithful and all.
But I just couldn’t let this day pass
without asking some more questions.
You see, I’ve been really reflecting all week
on the words of Jesus,
especially on the words he spoke
during those last days of his earthly life.

Good St. Peter, you were there.
I mean, tomorrow afternoon at the liturgy of Good Friday
churches all over are going to sing, "Where you there."
But you, St. Peter, you were there.
So I really believe you are an expert
and will be able to answer my questions.

San Pedro, what did Jesus mean when he said,
"Take this, all of you, and eat it. . ?."
We seem to be getting that all confused.

Did he mean,
"Take this all of you and eat it. . .
. . . . unless you are divorced and remarried
and the tribunal hasn’t finished
processing your annulment yet."

What did he mean by,
". . all of you?"

Did he mean,
"Take this, all of you and eat. . .
unless you are a homosexual. . .
. . . .well, if you are a practicing homosexual
do not approach the altar.
Celibate gays may receive..."
Is this what Jesus meant by "all of you?"

St. Peter, I do not understand.
I mean, I have always found the Eucharist to be nutritive.
So, how can we deny Eucharistic
to people who are starving for it?
I have also found the Eucharist to be transformative.
We become what we receive.
How can someone become what they receive
if they are not allowed to receive?

San Pedro,
how can we sing "All are Welcome" and "Come to the Feast"
during the Sundays of the year,
but then exclude some people
from approaching the table?
I’m confused.
I’m really confused.
What we sing and what we pray
do not match what we do.

And today at Cathedrals around the world
clergy will recommit themselves to their ministry.
Ah. . .what a beautiful, beautiful thing that is.
But. . .it’s problematic.
Clergy numbers are dwindling.

St. Peter,
I was in church recently
and we were told that the priest
was going to be a little bit late.
He was a visiting priest who was filling in for the pastor
who was out of town.
But he had to preside at mass at his own parish first,
so he would be late.
So we waited.
And waited.
More than a half hour late,
he finally arrived and we celebrated the Eucharistic together.
I didn’t mind the wait
and I don’t think the people really did either.
But I began to realize
that this will be a reality more often than not.
Clustering, merging and closing parishes
is really only a stopgap.
By giving these gentlemen 2, 3 or more parishes
we are only aiding in adding stress to their lives.
St. Peter, by placing all of this added responsibility on them
aren’t we really only committing a genocide of sorts?
"Take this, all of you, and eat. . ."
I don’t think he meant to give our priests
stress related heart attacks in the process.

In giving him several parishes,
a priest will preside at several masses on the weekend,
but may never have
a pastoral relationship with the congregation.
He will only arrive on the scene to "do" Eucharist.
St. Peter,
is this turning the ministerial priesthood
into nothing more than a hocus pocus moment?
Are we turning these gentlemen
into sacramental gumball machines?
"Take this, all of you, and eat it."
How can we if we don’t even have someone who will preside?
And will it really be Eucharist
if the one presiding
is so totally detached from the community?
How can this detachment serve The Body of Christ?

San Pedro,
in no way do I wish to tell you
or any of the other santos what to do.
But it just seems like that if we don’t redefine
the ministerial priesthood,
redefine who can be a priest,
the church is slowly but surely
only going to end up holding the Eucharist hostage.
"Take this, all of you, and eat. . . ."
How will we ever be able to fulfill Christ’s command then?

We become what we receive.
But St. Peter,
it almost seems like the faithful
will become The Body of Christ,
will be The Body of Christ,
in spite of the Church
and not because of Her.

And today at churches all over the world
priests will wash the feet of the faithful.
This is another beautiful,
yet often misunderstood, ritual.
You were there, St. Peter.
You were there.
You didn’t want Jesus to wash your feet.
He had to explain it to you.
I think there are some who are still in need
of having this ritual explained to them.
It’s all about being a servant.
God bless you, Good St. Peter.
You dared to enter into the dialogue.
You understood what it all meant in the end,
even if you resisted at first.
Why is it, St. Peter,
that so many are afraid to enter into the dialogue?
Why is it
that so many refuse the role of servant?

San Pedro,
I know that it won’t happen today,
but I long to attend the sacred liturgy
where St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke
washes the feet of Fr. Marek Bozek.

San Pedro,
I know that it probably won’t happen today,
but I long to sing God’s praises during the liturgy
where Cardinal Bernard Law
washes the feet
of those who suffered sexual abuse
at the hands of priests of his diocese.

San Pedro,
I know that it probably won’t take place today,
or even in my lifetime,
but I long to witness the liturgy
where Pope Benedict XVI
washes the feet of
Leonardo Boff and Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.

St. Peter,
I hope you don’t think I’m crossing any lines
by asking and suggesting some of these things.
The thing is,
I work hard at raising my son in the Catholic faith.
It hasn’t been easy,
but I think it’s very, very important.
Sadly, I don’t think there will be anyone left
to preside at Eucharist when he is my age.
And I don’t want my
yet-to-be-born grandchildren
to come into this world
without ever having had the opportunity
to know Jesus in the Eucharist.

Please know, Good St. Peter,
that I am not looking to cause trouble or problems.
I’m just stating to you in this letter
what’s crossed my mind this past week
as I reflect on the words of Jesus,
"Take this, all of you, and eat it. . ."
And so, I ask these questions.
I really would like to know
how you see it all,
from your heavenly perspective.
And then I’d like you to let me know
what I can do,
from my little place in history,
to help bring about God’s plan for us all.

Please say "hello"
To John Paul I for me.
Although his time as Pope was short,
he continues to inspire me.
Be sure to let him know
that his Letter to Pinochio is one of my favorites.
Especially, where he writes:
" My Pinocchio,
there are two famous sentences on the young people.
I recommend you the first one, by Lacodaire:
‘Have an opinion and assert it.’
The second one, by Clemenceau,
and I do not recommend it at all
‘He has no ideas,
but he defends them passionately."

I think John Paul I
is one of the reasons I write and think so much today.

Oh, and please say "hello"
to Oscar Romero for me.
I realize that the anniversary of his death
is coming up.
His words and actions
have served to inspire me more than any other.
Boy, could we use some bishops
like San Romero de América today.

And finally,
remember me to my abuelita.
My grandmother died on Good Friday, you know.
I hope you remembered the Mariachis
to welcome her home!

Thank you,
St. Peter,
for once again taking the time
to listen to all I have to ask,
for taking the time to really listen to me.
I promise that I will do the same for you.

Tu hermana en la lucha,
Rubi.

© 2008, Rubi Martinez-Bernat. All Rights Reserved.

First Letter to St. Peter

A Letter to St. Peter

March 4, 2008

Dear St. Peter,

I just read an article that made me cry about a parish in Minnesota. . . . Rules and Regulations. . Rules and Regulations. . . I know we need them to keep order. But sometimes the rules just get in the way.

I have a lot of questions I’d like to ask you. I just don’t know. I just don’t understand all of these rules and regulations and what they have to do with Life Eternal. Again, I know we need the rules to keep things running smoothly. But, well, it’s just that lately the rules create more darkness than light.

I mean, we just heard the story of the Man Born Blind at mass this past weekend. Yet, so many fail to be able to see. Please, St. Peter, answer my questions. I’d really like a clearer vision of what Diosito wants this Church of ours to look like for our day.

If David danced before the Lord
why isn’t o.k. for the faithful to do so today?

If Judith played her tambourine,
wouldn’t tambourines at worship
make liturgy more scripturally sound?

If a woman proclaims the Gospel at mass on Sunday
does that mean The Word is uttered without effect?

If the Paschal Candle
is placed 12 inches too far to the left
does that, somehow,
make the Holy Fire
of the Easter Vigil less sacred?

If some can’t even see
the metaphor in the previous question
without my pointing it out for them,
How can they possibly hope
to proclaim The Word,
which is so full of metaphors and creative imagery,
to today’s world?

If someone says,
"The Lord be with you,"
and I respond, "and also with you,"
instead of, "and with your spirit,"
does that mean that the Lord,
will not be with that person
because of the phrase I respond with?

And why is the church
worried about translations right now anyway?
Don’t we really have
things of much greater importance to be focused on?

If the vestment for Advent
Is closer to the color blue than purple,
will the Liturgical Police arrest someone?
Who will they arrest?
The priest who wore it?
The Worship Commission who decided upon it?
The parish secretary who ordered it?
The owners of the liturgical supply house

whose catalogue advertised it?
The owners of the company in China who made it. . . .

. . .who probably aren’t even Catholic anyway?
What would the Liturgical Police
say about a blue zarape?

If a Catholic priest gets married
does this, somehow, erase the Sacrament of Ordination?
If so, then,
if a married Anglican priest becomes a Catholic priest,
shouldn’t this, then, erase his marriage??

St. Peter,
When will you tell you us more about your wife?
I’m certain she could give many
the inspiration needed to keep going right now.
Can you tell her that there are many of us
that would like for her to start her own blog?
Her site would get plenty of hits,
that’s for sure!

And Oh. . . St. Peter. . .
. . when what’s going on in the country
goes and gets all mixed up the teachings of Jesus. . .
St. Peter, tell me,
before I feed the hungry
do I really need to ask to see their Green Card first?
And please explain to me, Good St. Peter,
how we can break the bread at the Eucharistic Table,
And then tell some of God’s children
it’s o.k. for them to harvest the grapes,
but it’s not o.k. for them to drink the wine?

And when Leonardo Boff was silenced,
didn’t anyone realize
that this would only make us hungrier for his words?

And Good St. Peter,
Please tell me the truth.
Wasn’t it a woman who first said these words,
"This is my Body.
This is my blood,"
When she embraced her newborn son

in the cave of Bethlehem?

And all this talk
Of what is or is not appropriate music for the liturgy.
Please tell me, San Pedro,
Is there a Mariachi Band in Heaven?
You see,
I just can’t imagine walking in through those pearly gates
Without the trumpet making music, "El Son de la Negra."

Quite frankly, it’s not The Kingdom without Mariachi.
If a Mariachi Band isn’t allowed,
then please don’t have them come for me
until you can straighten out the books on that one.

Please be sure to straighten out the rule about dancing, too.
Nothing celebrates the joy of life
that our Good and Gracious God has given us
like a really good Cumbia.

I’ll await your response on the rest of my questions.
In the meantime,
I’ll try to work them out from this earthly plain.

Say a hello to my dad for me.
You know, he was named after you.
I hope this isn’t asking too much,
But when it is time for me to Come Home,
I would prefer it if he was the San Pedro to open up the gates.
Actually, he’ll be able to do a lot of the grunt work for you.
I’m sure he’s already got a Mariachi band all picked out.

Oh, and say hello to Lupita for me, too.
I’m sure She couldn’t imagine Dec. 12th
without a really good Mariachi band
and really good Matachin dancers either.

I’m sure you have a lot of important work to do,
Being one of the major santos and all.
So I’ll close here.
Thank you for all that you do for us.
Estamos muy agradecidos.

Tu hermana en la lucha,
Rubi.

© 2008, Rubi Martinez-Bernat.
All Rights Reserved.

Second Letter to St. Peter

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Video:
Detroit Area Mariachi

Performing The Well Loved Celestial Song:
El Son De La Negra