Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Sanctuary
Today’s meditation from Richard Rohr quotes a man who has been to a small town in Northern New Mexico called Chimayo. It is located about an hour away from Santa Fe, is 90 miles from Albuquerque, and is known a place to go for healing. The exact spot is a small Catholic church, El Santuario de Chimayo. The church is old and weathered since it was finished in 1816. It is considered a National Historic Landmark due to its age and its traditional Spanish colonial architecture. It is one of the most visited holy sites in North America, hidden in plain sight in a small, unassuming town. Over 300,000 faithful souls journey to Chimayo every year.
Native Americans considered the land on which the church stands to have properties of healing, meaning that the site has been revered for centuries. Today if you visit you will find a small room attached to the chapel whose walls are full of crutches, canes, glasses, and written testimonials of healing that happened right there at the church. There is a small room with a hole that contains a soft soil said to have the power to heal. Thousands of pilgrims collect a small amount of dirt to take with them and use for healing purposes. It is estimated that they collect 25 to 30 tons of dirt each year. I am one of those pilgrims.
Once when I visited Katie and Kemet at their stunning small home in Abiquiu, New Mexico, we ventured forth on the road to Taos. That is the best way to get to Chimayo. The drive there is beautiful. We found the sign indicating where to turn to get to the Santuario and followed the twisting road. We came to a stop before long and parked in the almost empty lot next to the church. It was a beautiful New Mexico blue-sky day.
The adobe church has a small courtyard outside its front door. There is a walkway paved with flagstone leading to the weathered, rustic open doors. As I crossed the threshold into the church my breath became a quiet sob. I sat in the dimly lit room for a long time, with tears streaming down my face. The power of that humble place absolutely overcame me and I was compelled to sit for a long time and take it all in.
When I composed myself I entered the testimonial room, and was overcome again by the hundreds of objects and notes hanging on the walls. After I read as many as I could I went into the tiny room where the holy dirt is ready to be collected. I took a small amount and put it in a Ziploc bag – hardly an appropriate container, but the best I had. I brought the dirt home and gave it to a friend who was facing major abdominal surgery. She rubbed the dirt on her belly and immediately felt some relief from the cramping pain that she was enduring. That was proof enough for me.
True pilgrims walk to arrive at Chimayo on Good Friday. Some come from as far away as Albuquerque. Some walk barefoot. Some carry a big wooden cross. All are faithful believers in the power of the holy site. In fact, it has been called “the Lourdes of North America”. It attracts hundreds of thousands of people during Holy Week, people who are seeking to pay homage to the beauty and mystery of the Santuario. I have never walked there from anywhere but the parking lot next to the church, but I have been as overcome with the sacredness of the place as any other sojourner.
Not to take away from the Santuario, but another worthy place to visit is the restaurant in town called Rancho de Chimayo. It features the very best of Northern New Mexico cooking and they make a mean margarita. I promise that I always go for the church first and then the restaurant. The day promises to feed my soul as well as my body and it doesn’t get much better than that!