Bonnie made a list of what she wanted to do while we were here. Going to Mountserrat was number one on her list. ¨I have always wanted to hear their boy´s choir, one of the oldest in Europe,¨ she said. We were on our way there this morning when Joaquim said, ¨Did you hear the bad news. The boys from the choir are on vacation.¨
Jordi, Rosa, Irina and Mariona spent five days at Mountserrat this winter. Rosa´s father Joaquim, who drove us, went when he was a child. Now he is going there with his grandchildren. Mountserrat is moret han Banff would be for us, for it brings with it connotations of a religious pilgrimage, since it is there you can see the Black Virgin, who was discovered in a cave there, sometime in the 9th Century.
Over the years the Moors, the French, even the Spanish, have sacked the monastary, and sometimes destroyed the relics or burned the buildings, but always Mountserrat has been rebuilt by the faithful.
Mountserrat means the serrated mountain. It appears out of no where, shooting straight up in the sky, the product of years of erosian by the wind and the rain.
We took the Religious Walk, a path that leads alongside the mountain. When my son-in-law Joaquim asked me for my top 3 events of the day, this walk led the list. Along the path, cemented into the rock are many tiles of the Virgin Mary, each put there by a different town or village. What was going on in my mind is that this pathway has been walked and maintained by so many others for a thousand years, so many leaving a mark in the mountains about their religious beliefs.
After we climbed the stairs to touch a ball that the Black Virgin holds in her hand in a cubicle high in the ceiling behind the altar, we sat for a few moments in one of the side chapels, the decoration of which was done by Gaudi.
Rosa let Irina and Mariona join with the pilgrims who were lighting candles. Bonnie let David join his cousins in the candle lighting. He learned that you can say a prayer for someone as you light the candle. He chose to say one for Glen, standing there singing the Beatles song Blackbird in a sweet little voice. If this worked, it should have been felt in B.C. at 6 am, January 2, 2011.
Jordi, Rosa, Irina and Mariona spent five days at Mountserrat this winter. Rosa´s father Joaquim, who drove us, went when he was a child. Now he is going there with his grandchildren. Mountserrat is moret han Banff would be for us, for it brings with it connotations of a religious pilgrimage, since it is there you can see the Black Virgin, who was discovered in a cave there, sometime in the 9th Century.
Over the years the Moors, the French, even the Spanish, have sacked the monastary, and sometimes destroyed the relics or burned the buildings, but always Mountserrat has been rebuilt by the faithful.
Mountserrat means the serrated mountain. It appears out of no where, shooting straight up in the sky, the product of years of erosian by the wind and the rain.
We took the Religious Walk, a path that leads alongside the mountain. When my son-in-law Joaquim asked me for my top 3 events of the day, this walk led the list. Along the path, cemented into the rock are many tiles of the Virgin Mary, each put there by a different town or village. What was going on in my mind is that this pathway has been walked and maintained by so many others for a thousand years, so many leaving a mark in the mountains about their religious beliefs.
After we climbed the stairs to touch a ball that the Black Virgin holds in her hand in a cubicle high in the ceiling behind the altar, we sat for a few moments in one of the side chapels, the decoration of which was done by Gaudi.
Rosa let Irina and Mariona join with the pilgrims who were lighting candles. Bonnie let David join his cousins in the candle lighting. He learned that you can say a prayer for someone as you light the candle. He chose to say one for Glen, standing there singing the Beatles song Blackbird in a sweet little voice. If this worked, it should have been felt in B.C. at 6 am, January 2, 2011.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your lifeYou were only waiting for this moment to arise
Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly, Into the light of the dark black night.
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| Beetles Ticket Stub from Concert in Barcelona, 1965 |
Giving the top three happy memories of the day is not always easy. In this case, number three has to do with that old adage that it is not the desination, but the journey that is important. If you think you would love a ride through the Catalan countryside on the way to Mountserrat, then I was taking the ride for you today. Grandpa of the Vineyard was the driver. He told me that the ten foot high canes that I have been asking about are typical of the area around the Mediterranean, but not seen on the higher elevations. As we sped along the highway, we could look down and could see his vineyard nestled in a small valley below us. At one point someone said to me, ¨I hope you won´t be too bored.¨
There is no getting bored on such a trip. He told me that flowers and tomatoes grow better down by the seaside, and that as the elevation increases, the red earth that I was seeing grows grain and other products. We continued the climb in elevation and even I heard myself gasp at the beauty of this sudden view of high mountains ahead.
¨You haven´t seen anything yet,¨ he said through Joaquim to me. It was that journey, the drive up and the drive back, that was number 3 on my list of highlights today, though that does not negate the stunning view of the destination.
I will be sure to buy a disk of the boys choir and listen to their singing at home. That will be my way to tie the bow around our lovely visit to Mountserrat.
David´s favorite part of the trip was the purchase of a ¨basto¨ (walking cane) to match that of his cousin. It has the word ¨Montserrat¨ burned into the side of the cane and a a ribbon or two tied around the top with a tiny bell hanging from it.
ReplyDeleteThe basto will be ideal in BC during bear season because that bell was ringing constantly. The basto was used to clack against the long metal fence along the train track, to imitate a sheppard drawing in his flock, to draw with in the sand at the playground near the Basilica, to defend and attack in play with his cousins, and to be placed gently under a pew in the Basilica where David knelt and told Jesus on the cross ¨I love you¨.