Companion of Christ Cathedral - Cuzco, Peru - August 19th, 2013

                                             Companion of Christ Cathedral

   It was at this time that the rest of the group took off on the Inca Trail. I was last minute as far as my going to Peru and to do the Inca Trail you have to sign up at least a month ahead of time. In total about 500 are allowed on the trail a day. This was not a bad thing, as I would learn later, I was in no condition to do the trail. I had not trained on Mt. Rainer like the rest of the group had. Thankfully though, 2 days later I would do my own easeier version of the trail with one of our guides. Before that time though, I had a day and a half in Cuzco.

      With a half day in Cuzco (and it being a bit too late to visit the museums) I decided to visit one of the Cathedrals in the Square. I would happen to do Companion of Christ Cathedral. The Cathedral itself is beautiful inside, but very Spanish. All the Saints and figures from the Gospel are made to look like white Spanish shepherds or medieval style mothers. It fit for the time period when it was built, and also due to the fact that it was the Spanish conquest that brought over Catholicism in the first place.

   What role does Companion of Christ Cathedral play today? Well part of what it does is provide schooling for the homeless kids on the street in Cuzco, and also provides a market for the local people to present their wares. It is very much a part of the Cuzco community.

    Later on I'll get into more of the darker side of what was done, and also the fact that everything I write about here was what I saw or read about it in the museums. There are no doubt things at all the holy sites (be it Pre-Incan, Incan, or Catholic) that I don't know about. 

Pachamama Rock and Ceremony - Chinchero, Peru - August 18th, 2013

   

                                                                The Ceremony
      After the Sacred Valley we went to our guides hometown of Chinchero. Chinchero is about to go through some major changes. A US Company recently got the rites to build an International Airport there so this town where there are not many tourists is about to change drastically. There is definitely a lot of fear in relation to this considering the economy is largely agricultural and the land that the airport will be built on was once farmland that was bought from the farmers.

     It was in Chinchero where our guide and another one of the member's of his people did a Shaman Ceremony to the group.

     It was on altar that was made that I noticed the diversity of identity in Peru. There was a Peruvian Jesus, next to 3 Inca Gods as well as a Saint figure too and parts of animals. It reminded me of how the present and past are so easily connected together, and how it takes a lot to completely do away with the old ways, which means at least some traditions will always be around. Just as the ceremony we did has existed in one form or another even before the Incas.

     The Ceremony itself involved tobacco, being pressed and blown on the chest and head and a plant that was burned to add an incense. Incense tends to be a pretty common religious practice I realize now in hindsight.

     What the ceremony did, if anything was energize me. On the lead up to it I was still recovering from jet lag so was walking between wakefulness and sleep pretty deeply. The ceremony centered me since I think partially I didn't know what to expect.
 

                                                             Pachamama Rock
       After the ceremony I checked into members of the group before all of us headed to Pachamama Rock. On the journey there we passed an Inca Ruin where a Church had been built on top of it. When I returned to Cuzco I would see even more of this. Much of what were important Inca sites in cities now only exist as parts of a wall to a monastery or cathedral.

      First I should mention, Pachamama means Earth Mother.The rock is seen as holding the heartbeat of the world. Whether this is true or not, the cave in the center is really peaceful and I was able to meditate there for a while.

     On top of the rock I talked to family and did one last meditation, though I think I'm still very much learning how to do so...my mind at this point has not learned to completely settle into silence. There are always more thoughts to think.

The Inevitability of Change - Saint Aloysius Church - Spokane, WA - September 3rd, 2012

     This is going to be a blog that is a little bit different. St. Aloysius was not having a service when I visited the Church...but by visiting it I still got to experience it's significance in the conversations I had with my friends during the visit and after leaving. 

    First, I am going to mention why I was in Spokane because of the close friends who live there who went and go to my College. My friend and I are graduates from the college that they attend and before he goes across the country for an internship we saw it as a last get together for the four of us to do. Suffice to say it was amazing. The experience of getting together with old friends is a difficult thing to describe, but whenever it happens it brings some of the best memories. 

     We were visiting Gonzaga University because one of my friends who lives in Spokane taught a class there and also went to the prep school there too. He was showing us around the campus and with it came the stories. 

    One of the major services that Churches do is bring community together. At private religious schools this is most obvious, but even outside of religious schools church can play a big role. Whether it is hosting community events or recognizing accomplishments within the community it serves, while at the same time providing a service...the community aspect that Churches and specifically St. Aloysius accomplish can not be understated. 

       During our time in the Church I lit a candle for those who have died and recalled how the Temple's in China served a similar purpose. Whether it was weddings, funerals, births or deaths...the Church offered a place to remember and to honor in a small way those who have passed. 

    Change, the very existence of life is a monument to the inevitability of it. Matter is always changing, we are always changing, even if parts of our base personality stay mostly constant. It's this change that gives me hope about the future. 

    Change does happen in institution and always is. No organization is static. No person is static. It's in this very neutral truth that I realize possibility, and with that, how our power is greater than we know.