Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church, Playa del Carmen

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Playa del Carmen

The parish where I first saw joining the Catholic Church a real, feasible action was the parish church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Playa del Carmen (Paroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.)  This church (both the building and the people) holds a special place in my heart.  It was (and still is) like a home along the journey.  Perhaps it could be compared to Rivendell somewhat; it's not the destination of the journey, nor is it Paradise or even the most important place in the journey, but it has offered me a place and time of rest, consolation and safety along an otherwise perilous road.

Nestled in the middle of Playa del Carmen's first (and least reputable) slum, its off-white steeple with stain-glassed windows rises above half-built concrete homes with fiberglass roofs, haphazard stores, taco carts and greasy little restaurants where thick smoke pours out of the chimneys from the chicken roasters.

The building itself is beautiful.  This is not because of the contrast to the slum around it; in fact, it would probably be more beautiful standing by itself or in a large spacious yard so you could actually see the whole thing.  But the surrounding neighbourhood is part of the church, as the church is part of it.  Many of the people who worship there live in these homes and the parish offers (to all who seek it) care, education, teaching in the Faith, blessings and the Sacraments of the Church.  The old Irish priest who started the parish about 20 years ago is respected and called "Father" by everyone I know of.  My point is; the parish and the community are inseparable.


Likewise, the building and the beautiful things which have happened there are closely bound to each other.

I think the building would be described as a neo-mission style. (Excuse the out-of-focus images; I'm getting used to using a completely manual lense.)

The Sanctuary

The main image, below the crucifix, is the Virgin of Guadalupe (patroness of the parish, and, of course, Mother of the Church), the Virgin Mary as she appeared to a native at the time of the Spanish Conquest. On each side of the image of the Virgin, you will see:

Christ as a Child with St. Joseph (the patron of our family.)

St. Juan Diego, the native Mexican to whom the Virgin Mary appeared.

 For nearly 2 decades the church was without windows.  Now, little by little, stained glass is being installed:

The steeple, looking south.

The 8 windows in the steeple and the two windows below it depict the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe appearing to St. Juan Diego.  The large one in the picture above shows the Virgin Mary giving the saint roses.  The bishop had been doubting that these appearances actually happened, so the Virgin Mary gave the roses as a sign to be brought to the bishop; at that time roses didn't exist in the area where the appearance took place (Mexico City), so the only explanation could be a miracle.

St. Juan Diego, showing the roses to the doubters. (Below the steeple, south)

Archangel Michael (north side, next to the sanctuary)

This is newest stained glass image, installed this summer, entitled, "Who is like God?"  The words of the Archangel Michael as he casts Satan from Heaven, who had claimed to be like God. (The anguished face of Satan is hidden behind the woman singing in the choir.  But you can see his wings.)

East end, opposite the sanctuary

This image is also dear to our family; St. Joseph, Christ and the Virgin Mary as the Holy Family.

The lower row of windows throughout the nave of the church still do not have glass; however, the upper row of 12 windows (6 on each side) offers some of the titles of the Virgin Mary.  My favourite is this one:

 "Refuge of Sinners"

 

One of the Stations of the Cross

One of the confessionals (There's one on each side, near the back entrance.  Confession is heard during Mass.)

A view from the main entrance, looking towards the sanctuary.

The main entrance.

 The tables in the foreground are where homeless people, low-income workers eat during the week.

Side entrance (north side)

West end of the building.

Another image of the face of the Virgin of Guadalupe can be seen above the windows of the church offices.  The blue tarp is the area where people eat breakfast after Mass. (It's redundant and pointless to call it "socializing" or "fellowship;" for Mexicans every time you eat it's socializing and fellowship!)

This area is actually the plaza which serves primarily as the patio for the parish school, of which I didn't take pictures.  The school will need a post in itself.

Sunflowers

During June, my sons and I planted some sunflower seeds in the flower garden beside the house.  We planted 12 seeds.  We planted them late (I think May is ideal) and it was a very dry summer.  However, with nightly watering and the daily careful watching of my 4-year-old, two finally sprouted.  Both grew up and finally, last week while I was here in Mexico, the flowers opened.  My wife sent me pictures.

First, this is us planting them in June:

Now, three months later, here are my two sons, each with the sunflower that they claimed as their own (well, really the older one dictated which one belonged to whom, but they're both happy:)

Thanksgiving in Canada

Unfortunately, I wasn't in Canada to celebrate Thanksgiving this year; fortunately, my wife "shared" the dinner with me by means of pictures.  Looks delicious:

Table set

Some of the Family

(By the look of these first two pictures - looks like bacon and eggs - I'm not sure if it was breakfast, or the first part of the dinner.  In any case, I wish I were there ...)

Main course

If this is what I think it is, it's a "cooked salad" - some of the veggies are cooked, others are raw, with peanuts and grapes; I'm not sure if this a Mexican thing or my wife's creation, but it ends being pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Another Beer, with a Mexican Snack ...

Tonight's Mix:

Leon Beer
The dark "Munich-style" beer I mentioned in yesterday's post. (see Mexican Beers - 2 of My Favorites.)

Chicharron
This is fried pork skin, that is dry kind of like chips.  As unappetizing as the description usually sounds, it's delicious.  Not the healthiest thing in the world, but tasty.

Valentina Sauce
This is a favourite Mexican sauce, good for just about everything from eggs to popcorn, french fries to pizza (if you're Mexican, that is.)  Tonight it's going on the chicharron.

Not a bad Mexican snack.  The beer is my favorite part.

The unusual part of the mix is Leonard Cohen.  Not very Mexican.

By the way, I go the chip for my camera (well, actually for my wife's camera; I don't own cameras.  If I do, she expropriates them.)  So, today I have a better picture.  Tomorrow I'll have more pictures of the city and other stuff, once again.

Mexican Beers - 2 of My Favorites

I don't have a whole to do on weekend evenings these days.  I'm in Mexico, without my family.  I've forgotten what it's like to be alone and go out and do stuff.  I feel like I should be changing a diaper, or doing the laundry. (Come to think of it, I do need to do the laundry.  Funny how I forget about that when I'm alone.)

In order to save money, I've limited myself to visiting some old acquaintances here (who also seem to stay at home with nothing to do), or, in the case of this evening, buy some beer to take home and drink it while reading (and writing) blogs.

Today, while reading some good pages, I've been enjoying two of my favourties: Leon, and - probably tied as my favourite Mexican beer - Negra Modelo.  The other favourite is Noche Buena, which is a special Bock beer sold only at Christmas time; the name means "Christmas Eve" and "Poinsettia," which is the logo of the brand.  Unfortunately, it's still much too early to find Noche Buena.

All of these are dark beers, which tend to be my preference.  However, a good Mexican light-coloured beer is Pacifico, which was originally a contribution from German (or more correctly, German Bohemian) immigrants in the north-west of the country (specifically Mazatlan) who also gave Mexico it's famous Banda music; this music - even in it's countryfied, popified versions - still carries the tradition of the triple beat (ump-pa-pa), the accordion and bass which are so characteristic of the famous Polka brought by the unMexican immigrants.

For most of us, it's rather strange to make any connection between German and Mexican cultures; the seem to be rather polar opposites in so many ways; but there it is, real and unmistakeable - both in the beer and the music.  (Incidentally, my own Germanic roots have come through Mexico.)

The German taste for strength, flavour and distinction combine well with the Mexican taste for easy smoothness and a happy life. (Yes, that's my description of Noche Buena, and applies to Pacifico as well; it could also be a description of parts of my life.)

Cheers!  Prost! and Salud!

(P.S. Still no memory card for the camera; but I remembered that my laptop can take pictures too!  The only problem is it's not convenient for taking pictures in the street.  The memory card will come tomorrow.)

How to be an Evil Overlord, and NOT be Overthrown

This is old, but it's fun! From Peter's Evil Overlord List:

The Creator's Copyright Notice:
This Evil Overlord List is Copyright 1996-1997 by Peter Anspach. If you enjoy it, feel free to pass it along or post it anywhere, provided that (1) it is not altered in any way, and (2) this copyright notice is attached.

The Top 100 Things I'd Do
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.
2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.
3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.
4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.
5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.
6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
7. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."
8. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.
9. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such.
10. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.
11. I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.
12. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.
13. All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.
14. The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request.
15. I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.
16. I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."
17. When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.
18. I will not have a son. Although his laughably under-planned attempt to usurp power would easily fail, it would provide a fatal distraction at a crucial point in time.
19. I will not have a daughter. She would be as beautiful as she was evil, but one look at the hero's rugged countenance and she'd betray her own father.
20. Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly.

... 

Read the other  80 items on his page (Peter's Evil Overlord List)  (I don't "get" them all, but enough of them for it to be funny!)

Thanks to Fr. Z's blog for the link.

Back in Mexico ... for Now

A typical store in Colosio

As I mentioned last post, I'm back in Mexico for a few weeks.  Since I'm here alone, I spend most of my time working; for brief times in the evenings I walk through Colosio, the neighbourhood my family and I first lived in when we arrived in Playa del Carmen.  The community is disorganized and dirty; it's full of half-built homes and shirtless men sitting on the sidewalk.

Right now my neighbor across the street is loudly singing passionate love songs; does this mean his girlfriend left him?  This is what it meant other times.  Who knows.  Today, in the middle of the week I can hear loud music from at least one house; while I was walking, I weaved my way through a house party that had overflowed into the street.

However, among all the dirt, chaos and noise, there are so many little things to discover; even the music and parties might be considered something good, so long as you're not trying to sleep.

Tonight I went to a bakery which has gained such a good reputation for its fresh bread that in the evenings there are perpetual line ups of people waiting to buy the bread as it comes fresh out of the oven.  Tomorrow I will write about this bakery.
 
This morning I walked past the community's church; it was dark and rainy out, and the inside was lit by a mix of candles and the electric light illuminating the Virgin of Guadalupe (for whom the church is named.)  Inside, the rain could be heard on the roof and there was a silent beauty.

There are more.  But for now, in the middle of such an unsightly neighborhood, I remember why I love Mexico.

(I need to get a memory card for the camera I have so I can add some pictures. The one I have here is recycled.)