It´s difficult not to notice the beautiful devotion Spain has to Our Blessed Mother Mary when you´re here. In every church we´ve visited on this pilgrimage in Spain there has been at least one statue of Mary surrounded by flowers, crowned in jewels, and clothed in beautiful colors. The Blessed Mother is so important to Spain that this country is known as the land of the Virgin Mary. While in Burgos, my group from St. Francis Xavier in Gettysburg was able to witness a particular event that honored Mother Mary.
On August 14th we arrived in Burgos. After a long bus ride we wanted to stretch our legs and explore famous Burgos for the one night we would be there. Only a few minutes´ walk from our hotel was the cathedral of Our Lady of Burgos. As we approached the cathedral, the steeples were no longer peeping from over the rooftops, but towering over us in the night sky. We marveled at the grandeur of the exterior against the moonlight and sensed the great love these people have for Mary and her Son.
Of course this was the perfect time to have left my camera back at the hotel, I was thinking, but something else had soon caught my attention. Around the corner of the cathedral there was the sound of singing and clapping. There was a large crowd of young people on their way to Madrid gathered in a plaza and singing and dancing along to various bands. It looked like they were having a great time, so we obviously wanted to join them. However, we were stopped by some volunteers who were warning us to get out of the way for some reason. We thought the concert was over and everyone was going to leave. But then we saw what everyone was making way for. Men were carrying large, red flags, women and children were dressed in traditional Spanish garb and dancing, and others were playing an uplifting tune on flutes and drums. In the midst of it all, a statue of Our Lady of Burgos, seated on a golden chair, was being carried in procession to the cathedral.
All of a sudden we were in the middle of all the noise and dancing and praise. We stood on the steps of the cathedral as the procession came quickly to the front doors and stopped. The women kept dancing to the music, giving glory to God for their spiritual mother. Then as quickly as the procession came, it went into the cathedral with the dancers leading the way and the statue of Mary being carried away. When the music stopped, I looked at some of the people in my group next to me with as much amazment as they looked at me. We certainly weren´t expecting such a fanfare at 10 o´clock at night!
As the doors to the cathedral had been opened for the procession, we thought we´d sneak a peak into the cathedral before the next day. They people in the procession had placed the statue of Mary respectfully next to the beautiful main altar and there she watched over us at Mass the next morning for the Feast of the Assumption.
When I think back on this beautiful surprise we had, I realize that it was all Mother Mary´s doing. She had already called us to Lourdes to receive many graces there, and now she was calling us to Spain to welcome us to her land. As she opened the doors to the cathedral in Burgos for us, so I expect her to open even more doors for us as we continue in this pilgrimage! Our Lady of Burgos, pray for us.
Also, check out this new website! It was just launched on the 15th for the Feast of the Assumption. The website encourages young people to spend 1 minute a day with Mary: www.marianminute.org
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