Day 3: Friday 18 January – Mexico City & the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Day 3: Friday 18 January – Mexico City & the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our morning began by the ruins of ruins of the main Temple of the Aztecs in Mexico city, a place once called “the navel of the moon” and believed to be the centre of the universe. The Temple was dedicated to two gods – the god of water as well as the god of the sun. Sometimes thousands of victims were sacrificed to the sun, their living hearts cut from their bodies to appease the thirst of the sun. Mexico stands in the centre of a volcanic range. The buildings were built of volcanic rock, near Lake Texcoco and surrounded by good agricultural land that had been inhabited by villages since 600BCE. Lake Texcoco would sometimes flood the surrounding land and so was drained in the 1600s by the Spanish but its remanent lies under Mexico city, leading to the slow sinking of it buildings. But at the time of the Aztecs the main temple was at the centre of four causeways, stretching to the north, east, south and west. Surrounding this were reclaimed terraces, human made islands, separated by canals, upon which the Aztecs built their houses. Their main form of transportation was by canoe, like with the canals of Venice.
Just across from these ruins stands the grand Cathedral of Mexico, built over 240 years from material harvested from the ancient Temple. One of the first things the Conquistadores (conquering Spanish invaders) did had been to destroy the Temple and they pillaged its ruins for their own building program. We celebrated Mass in a small chapel around the back of the Cathedral, facing the ruins. Serving as a deacon rather than as a musician this morning, I proclaimed the Gospel of the healing of the paralytic – the story of a man whose four friends were unable to get him through the crowds to see Jesus. These faithful companions carried him onto the roof, broke a hole in it and lowered him into the presence of Jesus. Before the crowd and disapproving scribes Jesus demonstrated his power to forgive sin and to heal, with the man walking out carrying his mat, healed from his paralysis and freed from his sin. It’s a great that we can’t save ourselves, or even save others, but that we can lead others to Jesus, who alone can transform their lives. Since we would be visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe that afternoon, Fr Greg chose to reflect on the significance of Mary. “Mass this morning was really reverent,” said Ian. “I really enjoyed that and enjoyed Fr Greg’s homily about the special relationship between a mother and son and how this applies to Mary and Jesus – that Jesus would respect and listen to the woman who brought him into the world, and nurtured and loved him.”
Following Mass we split into three groups to rotate between three sites – the Palacio National, the crypt of the Archbishops beneath the Cathedral and the body of the Cathedral itself. The Palacio National (National Palace) currently houses the Office of the President of Mexico as well as the Ministry of the Treasury. It was built in the late 1600s on land that once belonged to Montezuma, the last Aztec ruler. Sections of it are open to the public. Most striking were the murals of famed Mexican painter, Diego Rivera (philandering husband of the even more famous painter Frieda Carlo). With bold, bright imagery these painting capture the history and culture of Mexico. “The artwork at the Presidential Palace was really cool,” summed up Skye.
As we walked up the main flight of stairs we saw a noble Cortez, the Spanish conquistador, in plate armour, mounted, leading his troops in a battle with the natives, about to drive his lance through an indigenous warrior. Above the left staircase was Diego’s vision of the Final Judgement – with Karl Marx in the place of Jesus in the heavens, sharing his Communist gospel with a soldier, worker and a peasant. At the base of this painting Frida Kahlo and her sister (with whom Diego was having an affair) look on as the oppressed peasants give what little they have to feed the indulgences of their rich oppressors – dictators, generals, cardinals, capitalists and the Church itself represented as a whore. For better or worse Francisco, our tour guide, skipped discussing this part of the image with our group. But to me it was a reminder of the danger of the Church being seduced by power and wealth, forgoing the gospel to maintain a place of privilege through cooperation with systems of injustice. “How I would like a poor Church that stands for the poor,” has said Pope Francis, who chose his name in honour of St Francis of Assisi, a man of peace who embraced lady poverty. History has shown that Marx’s communist vision has failed to bring about the utopia that Rivera dreamed of. I believe that a Church faithful to the teachings of Jesus and the model of St Francis offers us a better way.
Along a corridor was a mural of Aztec life before the coming of the Spanish, demonstrating the sophistication and rich culture that already existed in this place. My eye was drawn to a man with a blue feather headdress who was holding a human arm. Francisco explained to us that as a reward the bravest of warriors would be given the arms and legs of defeated enemy warrior who had been sacrificed. They would take these limbs home to cook pozole (stewed meat with corn and spices) for their family, believing that those who ate of the body would be given the strength and courage of the victim.
We then returned to the Cathedral and descended to the Crypt of the Archbishops. All 65 of Mexico’s Archbishops are interred or memorialised here. The first was of particular significance to us – the Franciscan Friar, Archbishop Zumarraga ofm, to whom Juan Diego was sent with a message from Mary and to whom was revealed the miracle of the roses and the image of Our Lady on the tilma. The first 35 Archbishops were all Spanish, and some of their bodies were returned to Spain. From 36 onwards they have been Mexican born and are remain here. After death their coffins are placed in the wall for 40 years to allow their bodies to decompose before they are placed in an urn in the memorial wall. 40 years on, the body of one Archbishop was found to be incorrupt and has now been placed in a private chapel as he goes through the process of applying for canonisation. The Archbishop of Mexico from 1956 to 77 was a namesake of mine – Archbishop Gomez! 
We then went upstairs to the main body of the Catedral Primera de México, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Awed by its majesty we spent time in silent prayer. “I had a spiritual moment when we all walked in there and we have some quiet prayer before we started looking around,” said Skye. Francisco explained that this beautiful Cathedral, built over 240 years starting in 1523CE, is slowly sinking due to the water table below Mexico city to the extent that the front of this huge edifice was a full 2 metres higher than the back. There was discussion of dismantling the whole thing, reinforcing the foundations and rebuilding. But the ingenious (?) solution was to decide that rather than fighting the sinking, to use it to help. Bore hole were drilled beneath the front of the Cathedral, so it is now sinking faster, levelling it off with the back! “What if the front keeps sinking?” is my question. He then led us around to view the beautiful side chapels around the Cathedral. “For me the cathedral stood out the most today,” said Jaeden. “You see the difference between the difference between the churches here and back home. There was so much history and so many beautiful paintings and statues.” As we walked around the warm tones of the pipe organ filled the air. “The Cathedral was really, really pretty,” commented Skye. “The organ with its 7,000 pipes was amazing. All the different chapels around the cathedral were interesting too.” These chapels housed many relics of saints, including relics of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and the skull and crossbones of San Vital, a martyr.
Outside the cathedral stands a statue of Pope St John Paul II, with an image of Mary blending into his front, reminiscent of the tilma. To create this statue the artist asked for people to donate their old keys, which he melted to cast it. This is a reference to Jesus giving the first Pope, St Peter, the keys to the kingdom of heaven, telling him whatever he freed on earth would be freed in heaven, giving him and his successors the power to forgive sin through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
The group dispersed for lunch and the four of us from St Leo’s wandered down the main shopping mall, soaking up the sights and sounds. “I enjoyed walking through the main mall and seeing the street culture,” said Skye. I gave her a few coins to donate to what appeared to be golden statue of Death, and she gave a great jump-start as he moved – not realising that it was a person in a costume. We found a buffet with authentic Mexican food. “Lunch was really cool. They kept making us tacos and trying to get us to eat more food,” commented Skye. The staff (who spoke no English) liked us so much that they kept cooking fresh tacos and things for us even though we tried to tell them that we were full – we had to keep eating out of politeness and they were devastated when we were too full to sample their delicious looking deserts! “I finally ate a Mexican taco and it was a lot better than I expected!” observed Ian. “I thought it would taste like the ones we have in Australia, but it was nothing like them.” We experienced genuine hospitality there despite the barriers of language and culture.
In the afternoon we went to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the site of the first four apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego. Like the cathedral, the Old Basilica, built in 1695, is also sinking – it is visibly twisted and leaning to the right. In 1976 the new and larger Basilica was built – it can hold up to 10,000 people for Mass! Said Jaeden of the experience: “Guadalupe… its hard to put into words. You’re walking in a spot that is so sacred. Trying to understand that Mary herself was here. The size of the new basilica was impressive – and that it is the most visited pilgrimage site in the world with 20 million visitors a year! I found seeing the older basilica fascinating, how tilted and bent it was as it is sinking into the earth. It made me think that the people here don’t give up, they keep moving on, nothing stops them. I was also struck by seeing the bent altar cross that was destroyed when someone tried to blow up the tilma.” Despite the bomb being place directly below the tilma, it survived unscratched while the rest of the sanctuary was devastated.
The sheer number of pilgrims who want to see the tilma meant that they have installed travelators, flat escalators, so that you stand on it and are taken past the tilma. Honestly, with all the crowds with cameras on these moving walkways I didn’t find it a particularly prayerful experience. But when we were climbing the hill where Mary first appeared we came to a beautiful waterfall with a statue of Mary appearing to Juan Diego and some natives. I found the time and space there to kneel and pray. I lifted up in prayer my family and all the people who asked for my prayers. This has been my personal highlight of the trip so far, a moment of connection and self-transcendence in the sacred presence of that place. One of the other pilgrim groups leaders was so overcome she also basically just wept her way through the shrine. 
“My highlight today was the Shine of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” reflected Ian. “Being in the actual place where Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego was sensational. I had a special moment at Chapel on top the hill where she first appeared. After we prayed the rosary we were just praying in the silence of our hearts for our intentions for ourselves and for others. I was just praying for strength for this year at school. Year 12 is going to be a really hard and stressful year, but I prayed that I can push through and get the results I want.” “While I was in the chapel at Guadalupe,” said Skye, “I was praying for my family and my sister who has been a bit unwell. I also prayed for the people with us on this trip, that they stay safe and well. I’ve also been praying for the homeless people here, the poverty here has been quite confronting, and it makes me realise how much I take for granted in Australia.”
On the way back to our hotel we stopped to watch a Mariachi band performing in a town square. Trumpets, violins, guitars, percussion and of course the wonderful harmonies had us bopping along to well-known folk songs like “La Bamba” and “Cielito Lindo”. But then a little old lady passing by started to dance, and within moments our whole group was on their feet, dancing away! 
During dinner tonight we also entertained by a Mariachi band, with several of the girls being serenaded – one of the leaders, Krishmalie, was particularly entertaining as she was soooo embarrassed when the singer looked her in the eyes, came to her and put his arm around her. After dinner another Mexican band got up – but they kicked off with “YMCA” and our pilgrims flooded the dance floor. The priests and seminarians joined in too, it was great to see them having fun with the rest of us.
Back to the hotel and once the students were safely in bed (or at least in the rooms) I headed out with a few of the young adults to get some chocolate churros from a vendor on the street corner outside and a Mexican hot chocolate before turning in myself. Tomorrow is a 3.30am wake up call so that we can leave for the airport by 4.15am for a day of travelling – two hours back to Houston, four hours in transit and a five hour flight down to Panama where the next part of our adventure awaits!
Adrian
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