Day 2 in New Mexico has not disapointed

I started off by completing the 8 days of cemetery prayer allowed by the Catholic church during the first 8 days of November. It's simple. Pray in a cemetery on any/all of those particular days and you can gain a plenary indulgence for someone who has passed.

This was the first time I was blessed to complete all 8 days, and the last one was at the Rosary Cemetery here in Santa Fe. To fulfill the devotion does not require it to be a Catholic cemetery but what a blessing it added!

After that, I took one of the most incredible drives I have ever taken, through the mountain roads of New Mexico.

I made my way to The Sanctuary Of Chimayo which is considered one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in America, attracting some 300,000 visitors per year. The founder of the site has links to a miraculous image of Jesus known as the Christ of Esquipulas.

The site itself has been declared a national landmark and is a site of many miracles as attested by the dozens of discarded crutches I saw. So many miracles are ascribed to this place that it has earned the title of The Lourdes of America. Whereas the miracles of Lourdes are associated with the miraculous water, those of this place are due to the so-called Holy Dirt.

I made sure to acquire some.

I then made the drive back through those picturesque mountains to see anothe miraculous site. This is the miraculous staircase of Loretto built by a mysterious bearded man who appeared, riding a donkey out of the desert, in response to a novena to Saint Joseph. The Staircase has two complete turns with no center support. all of the weight is bore by the bottom step. It cannot stand...and yet it does.

There are no nails and no visible seems ajoining boards or pieces. the entire thing seems to be made out of a single piece of wood. The type and orgin of the wood is unknown nor how the man aquired it or transported it. In fact, the man never identified himself and disappeared without a trace, unpaid. Many believe Saint Joseph himself built those stairs. I am one of them.

My experience of New Mexico will end tomorrow morning when I cross the border into Texas after driving for about 5 hours but it will remain alive in my heart for a lifetime. I will be going to Mass tonight at Saint Ann Catholic church after Lisa's show.