The Journey's the Thing…

Here in Me?ugorje there are more statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary than I have ever seen. One could buy a rosary for every hour of the day and still not count all the little beads. Crosses of every description, even vestments in shop windows. It is Catholicism run amok, gone mad, out the window!

There are some fearful people here who are quick to lash out against those who do not feel that way. There are those that believe that when a Muslim is killed with a Catholic bullet or sword, they are immediately saved and go to heaven, thereby justifying murder and war. The great majority believe in their hearts that there is a grand puppet master behind the curtain pulling all the strings and designing the firmament.

The other day I was having coffee with some folks and one of them said, ? Isn’t it amazing to look at the stars and realize that we really know nothing about them at all?? I mean, really…No hard science, no research, no radar telescopes or radioactive isotopes that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the distance, age, temperature, speed of decay, etc…? What about that funny yellow star that shines during the day around this part of the solar system? It is my conclusion that many of these people live in a twisted version of medievalism and are happy that way. The less thinking they have to do, the better they feel. These are the exact same people who locked up Galileo for thinking the way he did.

Of course, there are some very nice folks who believe more strongly in ‘thou shall not judge’ and their own version of ‘Live and Let Live’. Nice folks, them, my landlords included. I am also working with some nice folks who do not judge, but are very much into education, the broad world, and living in modernism.

Tomorrow I head out for the day to Mostar to take some pictures, which I badly need to do. Being a singular and new town, there isn’t much to take pictures of. Not much history in this place, at least not for me. A day away will be a needed break. I need to think the way I need to think and visit the real world for a spell.

I have registered for fall classes and will only be taking two courses, both of them at a distance. the first is US /Caribbean Foreign Policy in the 20th century and the second is Digital Art and Design, both advanced level courses. The second means I will have to purchase PhotoShop and learn that! Yay!

More to come…

Johnnyboy

Well, here I am in Me?ugorje! What an experience it is already. I have never been around so many people who feel so deeply about faith. It is inspiring, strange, a little daunting, but also a real example of the differences between tourists and pilgrims. These are pilgrims who have come here from all over the world to restrengthen their system of belief. Hundreds of years ago they would have come by foot, cart, and horse. Now it is by car, motor coach, and airplane. I feel somewhat out of place because I am not Catholic, but I think that will pass. As AA has taught me, one must keep an open mind and respect others. I feel nothing but respect for many of these folks, but at the same time, many are plagued by the troubles of society.

Fear is the most common. I was at a cafe the other night eavesdropping on a conversation between some people who were convinced that the Internet is the work of Satan, etc…Real medievalists at their worst. I imagine they would have been great fans of Torquemada and the Inquisition. They were so concerned with the lives of others that I think they missed out on checking their own spiritual conditions.

Anyway…The group that I am working for is fascinating. We are offering a variety of services to different families who are in different sates of need. Some require real medical and social work assistance, while others ask for only a leg up and an occasional helping hand. Some just need someone to speak to. Tomorrow I head off to Mostar, only about 25km from here to visit some of the Roma people that we have helped with housing along the Neretva River. the government wants to tear down their homes and build condos and there may be nothing we can do, but a caring smile and a shoulder to lean on is sometimes more help than one would think.

I have rented a small apartment here for a high price, but with it comes free Internet access, half-price on the laundry services, and great friendship with the Irish owner, Darren Mullan and his friend and assistant (he says ‘lackey’), Shane. They are both from the North of Ireland (Armagh and Inniskillen, respectively) and run a great place.

To get an idea of Me?ugorje, imagine a tourist town (for whatever attraction), with all the trappings, shops, etc…that one would expect, including souvenirs, but transpose the RC Church and fill the shops with countless rosaries, statues of you-know-who in various postures (on and off the cross), and also of his mother. All for sale, of course. Very surreal. I mean really…How many rosaries does one person need? The only reason people come her is to go to church. So there are places to stay, places to eat (all pretty good), and, of course, a big building in the middle of town where they gather all the time. This is a cult in the truest sense of the word.

I’ll be here for the next two months. I’d better not turn into a Catholic. My mother would kill me.

I have added some new pictures to my Picasa website…they are on the main page and are dated ‘May, 2008’. I’ll try to add more, but it can be difficult…big files, slow computers, etc…I’ll try to shrink some of the pics down to a manageable size.

Johnnyboy