Reflection by: Marian Chow
Chronicles of a pilgrim – Day 9 – AVILA
#sequelachristi2024
It is Day 9 of our pilgrimage trip. We are heading to Segovia, known for its medieval architecture and rich history when it was once conquered by the Romans and Arabs.
During our brief visit at the Alcázar of Segovia, I would never have imagined that I would get the opportunity to see King Felipe VI of Spain in person. Today marks the 550th anniversary of Queen Isabel of Castille’s inauguration in Segovia, making a significant impact on Queen Isabel’s legacy, whose influence marked both Spain and Europe.
It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience in person without watching from the screen. You are living in the moment.
While it is exciting to “meet”the king of Spain, it’s equally extraordinary that we are all on this spiritual journey to grow closer to our heavenly king.
In the afternoon, we stopped by at the Monastery of La Encarnación (Monastery of Incarnation) for Mass and tour. During Mass, I could not help but notice a statue of an archangel peering down with its ceramic-like angelic, merciful expression as Mass takes place. There is something about it that captivates me. Maybe it is my Confirmation namesake or it is my love for art history kicking in.
During the tour, we got to see the sacred relics of St Teresa and St John of the Cross’ skins. Although I was aware that every cathedral and church has a sacred relic of a saint, it never occurred to me till now how questionable that certain parts of saints were distributed for its sacredness and spirituality that it makes me question what is considered ethical. The saints are human like us and having their body parts divided can come across as “disturbing the dead”.
Later on, we got to see the rooms and how the Carmelites sister communicated with the parishioners. It reminded me of the time when my family would visit the Carmelite Monastery at Bukit Teresa Rd to ask the Carmelite sisters for their prayers. I remember being sent to the room with a rotation wall where parishioners can distribute their offerings to the sisters. I was fascinated by its mechanism. When getting to know about their lifestyle back then, I can’t imagine how lonely it must be to not see your loved ones face-to-face despite communicating with them once a month with a few exceptions on certain occasions.
Overall, I enjoyed myself and I can’t wait for what has been installed for tomorrow.