 |
| Starting with the sunrise :) (though it was behind us...) |
20 kilometers = 12.4 miles.
That is how far it is from Goiania to a small city called Trindade. This morning, leaving the house at 5:30 AM, I made a pilgrimage with some of Sister Joana's family to Trindade. We started walking in the dark at 5:46 AM and we arrived in Trindade four hours and eighteen minutes later at 10:04 AM. It was really a nice walk, even though it was far. We were not alone on this journey; there were other people walking as well. Young and old alike were making there way to Trindade
a pé (on foot) to celebrate the miracle that is said to have occurred there two hundred years ago when a medal was found with an image of the Incarnation surrounded by the Trinity. This is actually how the city got its name, Trindade, which is just Trinity in Portuguese. The pilgrimage here is popular and so there is a trail between Goiania and Trindade just for that purpose. It was being updated while we walked actually so sometimes we had to pass by workers pouring concrete, smoothing asphalt, and planting grass in the red earth that is characteristic of the state of Goias. The scenery is mostly rolling hills with some trees and farms in between but also small dilapidated houses and places filled with old cars and tractor parts. There were several billboards as the road next to which we walked has a fair amount of traffic. One even was advertising Dow Seeds. What a coincidence for me, being a Michigan resident and living so close to Midland. Along the trail there are six stops where large mosaics are situated depicting the stations of the cross (two stations per stop). They are really beautiful and remind the pilgrims what exactly they are celebrating on the walk. When you reach the city of Trindade, there is a large gate in the shape of a cross at the edge of the city through which you pass with a statue of the image found on the medal. Then, it is QUITE the uphill hike to the Basilica of the Divine Eternal Father where there is mass for the pilgrims every hour. I think it was about a mile uphill, which was definitely the hardest part of the long journey. Until then, the walk was rather leisurely, but we were all very thankful to reach the Basilica!
 |
| The medal said to have been found in Trindade |
Mass at the Basilica was lovely. There was an old priest who I suspect was not Brazilian because he had an interesting accent and rolled all of his "r"s. I bet he was a native Spanish speaker since Portuguese tends to not roll the "r" like Spanish requires. He spoke slowly though, a thing which I much appreciated since it allowed me to understand a lot. The Gospel he read was from Matthew 6. He gave a homily about worrying centered around the verse Matthew 6:38,
"Do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
