One week in Spain: Catholic Mass

I like to go to Mass every day, when I can. As my sister says, we like our Masses short and frequent. And my Spanish is rusty but I was not about to let the language barrier in Spain stop me.

Orgiva, my ancestral home, has a big, famous Cathedral that hosts a festival during Holy Week (the week before Easter) every year. Here we are in front of it.

See the lady in the black leather jacket, 2nd from the left? That's my Grandma Elsa. Don't be fooled by her age -- she is unquestionably the coolest person in this picture. She raised 6 children, and then went back to college to become an engineer. Now she travels the world with her 20 grandchildren (NOT all at once). I just hope that someday I can be half as awesome as she is.

This is Our Lady of the Pillar. The Spanish name "Pilar" comes from this statue.

This is the central altar, with its huge Crucifix. During Holy Week, the townspeople march Jesus through the town in a procession. Then they bring him back and yell out all their prayer intentions. THAT must be a sight to behold.

One day the Cathedral ("La Catedral") was closed, so we hiked to the top of the town (Orgiva is built on a mountain side) for Mass at the tiny Hermitge of St. Sebastian.

I've always loved St. Sebastian, the only saint to be martyred twice. Mass there should have been amazing, but I was sad to see that most of the people present were old ladies. The religious crisis in Spain and England has me convinced that mixing Church and State only leads people to rebel against religion. Separation of Church and State, baby. It's the only way to go.

I love my Church AND my State, Tess