Vila Nova de Gaia

It rained on us again, or is it still? But it was a bit warmer and the rain was not as drenching, so that was good. Jayme is beginning to improve though you might not believe it to hear her cough. I am holding steady, no better, no worse. With the report out of the way, let me tell you about my day.
It was a fairly easy walk today which left lots of time for observation and reflection. And being Easter morning, it was hard not to think long and hard about my religious faith, which has been pretty much non-existent for a long time. If you know me, you know i am convicted in my spiritual beliefs. But today, religion was everywhere, and I had not a single negative thought. It was really, really nice to feel that long closed door crack open a bit. It started with nearly every single business being closed down, shops, whole malls, restaurants, pharmacies, even gas stations. This country is all about allowing the people to worship something other than making the next dollar. And the people do! We are not quite positive this actually happened since neither of us speak Portuguese, but Jayme greeted a man this morning saying "bom dia". Normally people will respond in the same way and then offer a "bom camino" or "bom viage". But this guy started to speak to her as if he were admonishing her. We both seemed to understand that he did not think she should be walking on the Camino today, but should instead be in mass. Anyway, it seemed the whole country was decorating their houses, all dressed up and out visiting , eating Easter dinners together, and yes going to mass. The sense of community around this day and its traditions was palpable.
On my walk today, I must have passed dozens of shrines on lawns or built into the walls of people homes dedicated to Mary. And there were three chapels built in her honor, just on our route alone. And when I went to mass this evening (yes I did) they began the mass to the Risen Lord with a procession and blessing with incense and song to her.
The church was packed, barely a seat to be had at a 7pm mass when I would have expected most people to be in front of the TV or too full from dinner to get up and out. But, it truly seemed the whole town was there.
Somehow, in that sea of worshipers, we stood out. Immediately after the mass was over, a young man named Pedro approached me and offered to tell me about and show me around the actaul church and give a bit of history and some info about the procession. It seems that for hundreds of years the youth of the parish volunteer to go to every single home in the parish and announce that Jesus is risen. They carry poles with crosses and are welcomed by the people they visit.
I loved the spirit around this shared belief in Jesus. I'm not sure I'm ready to rejoin, but I do admire the way they all join in community and celebration of a shared belief.Read more