Trip to Sigüenza with the Red Cross

The Cathedral - Sigüenza

This is one of the three doors that align the front of this amazing cathedral which can be found in Sigüenza. The name given this grand entrance is "La Puerta del Perdon", or translated: "The Door of forgiveness."

Our tour guide explained to us that there was given but one day a year that you could enter through this door and have your sins forgiven for the whole year. After which, you were subsequently "free to sin" until the next year without a guility conscience or any remorse!!!! Of course, little did our very knowledgeable guide know, we actually do have such an access, yet it is continually available .......

Even though I know that the throne of Grace is always approachable, I found the symbolism of this door and many other things explained to me and Deb and other Red Cross volunteers on our visit to Sigüenza, very inspiring and enlightening. Such detail and meaning was given into each architectual and decorative artifact; from the direction the cathedral was facing, to the highest window where the first rays of sunshine came through bathing the cross on the main alter in dazzling sunlight; to the paintings of famous artists such as Grecko of the Angel Appearing to Mary and the awesome ingraved oak drawers that lined the chambers behind the alter.

It made me realize how superficial our modern society has become, with our attitude of "¿que más da?" (what difference does it make anyway?) what way the building faces and where the sunshine first comes through window...I mean ..."whatever!!!" Does God really care about this anyway? Isn´t that just religiosity, tradition.....and vanity?

History has proven that these holy buildings in many ways have been reduced to just that....empty forms and rituales that take place in meaningless golden cages where God feels anything other than close. Rather Jesus is aloof and unreacheable, surrounded by statues and candles, and an air of, " Sorry, God moved out centuries ago!" (and we have no forwarding address!!!)

Yet, in me was awoken, an awareness of depth and colour that in re discovering the great lengths to which our forefathers have had in thought and excellence with regards to the major and minor details of this precious cathedral, I found this characteristic to be dormant in me. It was like seeing in full technicolour after years of black and white!!

It seems that in our modernday Christianity we appear to have lost something very vital to our faith: Symbolism. In our afan to bring God close and in some degree "to our level " , we may have exchanged the one extreme for the other and thus lost the value of both realities.

God paid special attention to detail and this thread of His character can be traced all the way through the bible. Only which upon closer inspection becomes more and more evident. God goes to great lengths to express His love and truth with excellence and attention to detail. May we not let pass by opportunites to enrichen our lives with the depths of these realities, giving special attention to the art of symbolism that we have allowed escape us for the fear of bondage that these rituales may lead to death.

I am glad God cares about detail and about me and how many hairs are on my head and what I shall eat and what I shall wear. Hey, I am a woman... what I wear definitely is important to me.... Thanks God for the new additiones to my wardrobe....

ally