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Showing posts with label Madonna pilgrimage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Madonna pilgrimage. Show all posts

Monday, May 27, 2019

Madonna Pilgrimage from Monterey County by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Madonna Pilgrimage from Monterey County by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

“We’re going to go on a pilgrimage now, or a trip to a religious site through the countryside.  Most people go on pilgrimages by foot, but we’ll go by car to the park in Watsonville where a laid off cannery plant worker saw a vision of Guadalupe in a tree,” I said to my daughter Florence.

As we went to the car, I put Hildegard von Bingen’s music on and drove to Betabel and Y Roads on Highway 101 and cut over to Watsonville.

“What I am going to tell you is Catholic, specifically French Catholic,” I said.

When we arrived at the park in Watsonville, I took a bag of apples out of the trunk and two jars of peanut butter and began walking towards the tree where the Guadalupe had been seen.

We put our offerings of peanut butter and apples on a table that held oranges, tortillas, and oatmeal.

“Latinos, which include Hispanics of Mexican descent, are usually Catholic or celebrate Catholic holidays.  The French are Catholic, too, if you count observing Catholic holidays,” I began.

“There are many Madonnas in French churches that people pray at to alert the church that they have financial or other difficulties.  Churchwomen usually are the ones who speak to other women to help them.  It is difficult for the poor to approach priests, who appear like Gods in their gold embroidered robes, no matter what color their clothing is for the church year,” I said.

“France is famous for its many Black Madonnas around the Mediterranean, because the soil is like a desert without irrigation.  People can easily starve there, if there is not enough food.  Starvation drives many people to seek help from Black Madonnas, which are signals to the Church and community to take care of the poor,” I said to Florence.

“Where we are sitting in this park also holds some secrets of Madonna sightings no matter what country you are in,” I continued.

“Amalia Mesa Baines from CSUMB says Madonna sightings occur near woods and lakes like this park.  There are ways to obtain food in these areas from what is called foraging for mushrooms, nuts, and berries.  The lakes provide fish and sometimes you can capture birds and eat eggs in a forest,” I said.

Florence and I sat quietly in the Madonna sighting area and were happy that families were out taking walks as some added food to the altar as well.

Later in the car, I told Florence peanut butter and apples together are practically a protein like meat and that eating like a vegetarian several times a week stretches food money.

We listened to more Hildegard von Bingen music on the way home on our religious tour of Watsonville, California and enjoyed the beautiful Central California scenery.

Today the Madonna sighting area has become Mount Madonna Park and offers equestrian paths, archery areas, camping trips for kids, and an theatre for plays or music in the redwoods in addition to hiking.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books