Holy Toledo!
With the locals partying until around 6 a.m. on their Saturday night, I'm pretty sure our group were the only people up and around in the city of Madrid by 8 a.m. But we offer no apologies, as we were off to the city of Toledo, which is located a short 31 km outside of Madrid (approximately 50 miles for those of you who are metric challenged, like myself) to visit the ancient See, from which the Cardinal Primate of Spain shepherds.
Upon arrival, we were immediately awestruck as the city literally rises from the hillside with earthen structures consisting of mainly of rock and clay. It is always evident to the naked eye what was most important to the people upon establishing their town, as the largest structures consisted first of the place(s) of worship--Holy Church Cathedral--and then military structures. All the the ancient cities we've visited are well fortified by high walls and water ways surrounding the town.
After walking to the Cathedral and deciding to have Archbishop Naumann celebrate Mass in English (no habla espanol) following all the regularly scheduled Masses, we split up to grab some local cuisine and do some shopping before returning for a 2 p.m. Mass which was held in one of the side chapels. A small group of about 25 youth and a priest celbrating his seventh anniversary of ordination to the priesthood from Sacramento, CA joined us. The Archbishop challenged us in his homily to open up our hearts in prayer to the greater plans God has for us in our lives. Just as Jesus led his disciples and the Canaanite woman in the Gospel to deepen their awareness of who He is and what it means to be in relationship with Him, we too must strive to ever-deepen our realization of who we are in relationship to Christ, and allow him to fill our hearts and lives with much more than we could ever imagine possible: His infinte mercy and love.
Following Mass we entered the main space to take in some of the most inspiring art and architecture any of us have ever seen. Every square inch of this 13th-century gothic Cathedral manifested the glory and mystery of God and his Church in its artwork, relics, and adornments. It is truly something only pictures can describe, and unfortunately for you, we were only allowed to snap photos from the outside.
Following our visit to the Cathedral, we weaved our way through the cobblestone streets just wide enough for a single SmartCar, to visit a small church where the famous Spanish artist El Greco (d. 1614) was buried. Hanging above his tomb is arguably his most famous work: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. Following our brief visit to this space, in which nearly all members of the group took time to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we concluded our day with a visit to the Monestario de Juan de los Reyes, home to a Franciscan community which was established in the late fourteen hundreds. Here our group, led by the seminarians, meditated on the five Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.
Throughout the day, chants filled the streets from youth and their chaperones from all over the world. We met people from Puerto Rico, Brazil, France, Egypt, Germany, Venezuela, as well as from many of the states. The Archbishop was the humble recipient of many requests for photographs and appreciation, all of which graciously accepted with much joy and gratitude. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful man as the Shepherd of our Archdiocese! Tomorrow we pack our bags and move across town in preparation for the official opening of WYD 2011, but not before taking one last trip to visit the town of Avila, where yet another saint and Doctor of the Church awaits!
Upon arrival, we were immediately awestruck as the city literally rises from the hillside with earthen structures consisting of mainly of rock and clay. It is always evident to the naked eye what was most important to the people upon establishing their town, as the largest structures consisted first of the place(s) of worship--Holy Church Cathedral--and then military structures. All the the ancient cities we've visited are well fortified by high walls and water ways surrounding the town.
After walking to the Cathedral and deciding to have Archbishop Naumann celebrate Mass in English (no habla espanol) following all the regularly scheduled Masses, we split up to grab some local cuisine and do some shopping before returning for a 2 p.m. Mass which was held in one of the side chapels. A small group of about 25 youth and a priest celbrating his seventh anniversary of ordination to the priesthood from Sacramento, CA joined us. The Archbishop challenged us in his homily to open up our hearts in prayer to the greater plans God has for us in our lives. Just as Jesus led his disciples and the Canaanite woman in the Gospel to deepen their awareness of who He is and what it means to be in relationship with Him, we too must strive to ever-deepen our realization of who we are in relationship to Christ, and allow him to fill our hearts and lives with much more than we could ever imagine possible: His infinte mercy and love.
Following Mass we entered the main space to take in some of the most inspiring art and architecture any of us have ever seen. Every square inch of this 13th-century gothic Cathedral manifested the glory and mystery of God and his Church in its artwork, relics, and adornments. It is truly something only pictures can describe, and unfortunately for you, we were only allowed to snap photos from the outside.
Following our visit to the Cathedral, we weaved our way through the cobblestone streets just wide enough for a single SmartCar, to visit a small church where the famous Spanish artist El Greco (d. 1614) was buried. Hanging above his tomb is arguably his most famous work: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. Following our brief visit to this space, in which nearly all members of the group took time to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we concluded our day with a visit to the Monestario de Juan de los Reyes, home to a Franciscan community which was established in the late fourteen hundreds. Here our group, led by the seminarians, meditated on the five Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.
Throughout the day, chants filled the streets from youth and their chaperones from all over the world. We met people from Puerto Rico, Brazil, France, Egypt, Germany, Venezuela, as well as from many of the states. The Archbishop was the humble recipient of many requests for photographs and appreciation, all of which graciously accepted with much joy and gratitude. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful man as the Shepherd of our Archdiocese! Tomorrow we pack our bags and move across town in preparation for the official opening of WYD 2011, but not before taking one last trip to visit the town of Avila, where yet another saint and Doctor of the Church awaits!
