Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Fatima, March 16,2006

Fatima

The bus trip took about tours from Lisbon and arrived at 10:45 a.m. I have been awakening rather early in Portugal. I left my unit at 8:a.m. and not had my coffee.
So the first thing that was to stop by a small coffee house and have my cup with the typical breakfast for the morning…. a chocolate croissant.

Once I was somewhat filled, I went on my way to Fatima....the basilica. I entered this rather large square. It looked somewhat like the Vatican. I never been to the Vatican…at least not yet, the square looked like a square.

Once in, I read the schedule of Masses and one was just starting. I walked into the basilica. It was very simple, but powerful. It was being video taped. I am sure there are many live feeds to various parts of the world. It was a sung mass and only the fourth one to be said in the church on that day. There were several other Masses being said in the chapel where our lady appeared.

Once the Mass was completed, I walked up both sides of the church. Facing the altar, on the right side of he altar was the tomb of Francisco ,and on the left was Jacinta Marta, the girl who died at a young age of eleven. The oldest of the children who later became a nun, Sister Maria Lucia died just last year, but it was not until this past February that her body joined the other young two children in the basilica.

Outside, I strolled around the property taking photos of the church, chapels, people and almost anything that moved. It was finally a dream came true. I always wanted to visit here. It had been a guiding light in my own life and a fundamental principle for me in my political activism.

I then went to the chapel where another Mass was starting and I decided to wait for my entrance. For me, I wanted some quiet time there and so I returned later. Those moments for me were very special. It was a very quiet and deep time for me. I had imagined that my thoughts would race by me…but they didn’t. The experience was serene for me. After my many years involved in politics and a follower of Fatima, my moments were finally at hand.

Back in 1979-80, I was a member of the National Democratic Party Convention Platform Committee. My assignment at the time was a member of the Foreign policy subcommittee where I served along with Theodore Sorenson (former President staff member) and many party notables.

Later in the day, I visited the museum, As I entered, a nun asked me in English if I could return later in the day…I noticed that she spoke fluent English so I asked her where she was from and her reply was the Philippines. I told her that we had a huge population in Los Angeles. She responded, of course. She then turned to a young Italian man and asked him in Italian if he could show me around and so he did. He gave me a somewhat of a private tour. Although, the museum was open, there is a rule that if there are schools visiting the museum, then everybody else takes a back seat. The guide took me to most of the sites and told me emphatically that photos were not permitted.

He then eagerly took me to a glass cabinet where he showed me a gold crown with diamonds and gold. Here he said was the first crown that the people from Fatima made for Our Lady. In the middle part of the crown was the bullet that entered the body of Pope John Paul ll in the assassination attempt upon his life from the 1980’s. (Just last week, I read in the International Herald Tribune that the Italian authorities had found the Soviet KGB responsible for the plot to kill the Pope). I turned to him and started to ask him “if” and he jumped the response “only one”. So I took three. I consider myself a good Catholic. He said one, so I took three, knowing that at least one of the three would come out good so I believed I was following his demand and I do not feel guilty about it.

The balance of the afternoon was filled with numerous conversations with tourists and photos. I took the bus back to Lisbon and met a woman from Bolivia. Her name was Maribel. She had taken the train all night just to visit Fatima before her return to her country. She was in awe. I offered to take a photo of her and e mail it to her family so she would have it…

Once we arrived at the bus station I met another person who had been at Fatima all day. His name was Ricardo Cesar. He was working on his masters in sociology. We talked all night and into the next day about Fatima….

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