Grand Canyon Pilgrimage - August 2011

I just spent the most awesome day at the Grand Canyon with my daughter and her friends.  It was kind of a last minute thing, they were camping up there for the weekend, would I like to meet them?  Hmm...how much gas is in the car?  Yup, I'll be there.  I really needed a day off from my worries and anxieties and I can't think of a better therapy than a day in one of the National Parks.  Of course the fact that I live only 90 minutes away helps, also.

 

Our adventure started in Tusayan, with a visit to the Indian PowWow Swap Meet.  While the younguns shopped for beads and baubles I chatted up some of the Navajo vendors and even found one with whom I shared a mutual friend.  I wished I had some spending money, because the silver, turquoise and beading was authentic Navajo, exquisite, and inexpensive.  Next stop, the IMAX Theater for a showing of Grand Canyon: The Movie.  I enjoyed the film for its reenactment of the Anasazi occupation and Major John Wesley Powell's river exploration of the Canyon.  Afterward we took in the Condor Encounter in the courtyard.  Hoping to see actual California Condors up close, we were disappointed to find out that only injured and non-flying California Condors were allowed and none were currently available.  However, we were entertained and delighted by the "smart" raven who took a dollar bill from an audience member and dropped it in the donation box; and the dancing crane.

    

Finally we proceeded to the park.  Prepaid passes are the only way to go during peak season.  Our cars were ushered straight into the prepaid lane and our entry into the park expedited.  The first stop, as usual was Mather Point and the main Visitor's Center.  Boy, have there been alot of changes in the six months since I was last there!  Extra parking, more bathrooms, and a complete remodel in progress on the visitor center.  I walked in and back out, making a beeline for the bookstore.  At least everything is still familiar there.  The boy and I picked up our summer visitors guides and stamped them with the commemorative stamps (free).  We browsed the new offerings, and played with the raven puppets, then regrouped with our peeps and went for a 2 mile stroll down the paved, safety-railed Rim Trail.

Several times we noted tourists trying to feed the squirrels.  Bigtime no-no!  Those cute little friendly furballs have fleas and ticks which will jump onto humans just as happily and transmit lovely souveniers such as bubonic plague, lyme disease and if little furball decides to bite, he could be transmitting rabies as well.  Not to mention that feeding them does them no favors, as they become reliant upon human handouts and will not survive the winter on their own.  Best to enjoy the wildlife with your eyes, not your hands!  Okay, rest now, my rant's over.

Though I much prefer to visit the Canyon mid-week in the off season, this particular Saturday was glorious.  There were crowds, but they were friendly and not overwhelming.  I think the presence of extra park rangers on the trails greatly contributed to the relaxed, genial atmosphere.  Our recent rains seem to have given the sky a more sparkling blueness, and made the air more fresh and sweet.  The view from the Rim Trail is dramatic.  Some spots drop straight down over 5,000 feet.  Others are deceptively inviting, yet treacherous and slippery.  You can walk the trail a hundred times and get a different perspective every time.

It was such a refreshing day, and totally occupied my mind, relieving anxiety, and relaxing tension.  Once back in my car at the IMAX, with a cup of coffee, I was ready to get back to reality, though perfectly willing to stay at the canyon if that had been an option.  I know that God, who made such a glorious wonder as the Grand Canyon, also cares about me and my seemingly insignificant troubles.  In getting my mind off of them for a day, I found some solutions and rediscovered gratitude.

Confession For Spiritual Direction

I have an ongoing debate with a friend about Confession.  It goes something like this:  "I'm going to confession, you wanna come with?" (strength in numbers).  "I don't need to go." "Huh?" "I haven't committed any sins." "Hah! What about...?" "No mortal sins!  I just confess my venial sins straight to God." etc.

I can kinda see her point.  For the most part we committed our mortal sins in our "wasted" youth.  I'm sure some priests would agree with the late Fulton Sheen that hearing our confessions now would be "like being stoned to death with popcorn".  I guess it takes a special kind of priest to sit through the confessions of people whose sins don't involve tragedy, chaos and breaking all 10 Commandments. 

People who are looking for a deeper relationship with God. 

People who want more help and direction in imitating Jesus and correcting their character defects. 

I've been lucky since I returned to the church.  I haven't yet been laughed out of the confessional.  Even when I haven't prepared very well, I can think of at least one thing that plagues me and that can be enough.  Resentment.  Impatience.  Entertaining distractions during Mass or personal prayer.  Foul language.  The list goes on.  There is always something to wrestle with.  Even if I just bring up one issue, whatever priest I am confessing to, whether he knows me or not, has been able to address that fault and suggest the steps to take to correct it.

I trust  in the seal of the confessional.  That my anxieties and failings aren't going to be gossipped about.  I trust that most priests have been trained to give appropriate guidance and spiritual direction.  I also know that they are imperfect men.  But in the Sacrament of Penance, as at Mass, they are an open channel to Jesus Christ.  To bestow grace and forgiveness.  Forgiveness we sometimes refuse to give ourselves.  In the confessional, the Holy Spirit should influence any advice the priest imparts.  It should always lead one to a closer walk with Jesus.  One of my resolutions was to go to Confession more often this year.  I've already started.  Won't you come along with me?

Canticle of the Sun - Thoughts on Wind and Weather

"Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance."

I try to call to mind this verse of St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun when the wind is ripping shingles off my roof, or blowing sheets of dirt into my face and hair.  Meditating on it at these times helps calm my irritation as I accept that such winds are usually blowing gloomy weather away from my little homestead, or bringing nourishing rain and playful snow to it - depends on my perspective, doesn't it? 

When I am hiking in the wind, if I stand still and close my eyes, I can feel Brother Wind embracing me, Brother Air infusing my body with healing oxygen, sensuous scents of evergreen, rain or snow, and sweet musky fragrances of flowers and mosses.

There is an anecdote about John Muir, the great naturalist, who was said to go for one of his "walks" in a storm, climb a tree and swing from the branches, just to let the wind and rain buffet and refresh him.  In his own words, he felt "...free to take the wind into my pulses and enjoy the excited forest...I kept my lofty perch for hours, frequently closing my eyes to enjoy the music by itself, or to feast quietly on the delicious fragrance that was streaming past."  (John Muir, The Mountains of California). 

I too have had the hours pass swiftly as I sat upon a lofty peak (though not up in a tree!) feeling the wind wash me of my anxieties, cleanse me of my materialism and make me ready to face my human brothers and sisters again, with renewed tolerance, compassion and love.

All praise and glory to God, the awesome Creator!

How to Fast

As I ponder fasting, abstinence and "giving up" things for Lent, I am given insight in Friday's first reading:  Isaiah 58:6-7:  "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:  releasing those bound unjustly...setting free the oppressed...sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own."

These seem to be very clear instructions.  God is telling Isaiah to tell the people that it is not sackcloth and ashes he requires, but for them to care for each other.  Strive for fairness, free the oppressed, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of your family, friends, community.  All these things I should be doing all the time, now is the time to really focus on them.  To make it a habit once again.  Maybe it will be working at a food bank or soup kitchen; maybe packing an extra sandwich and giving it to the panhandler who approaches me in the parking lot at Walmart.  Sacrificing my own agenda to help provide care for the friend or relative who is facing the prospects of a nursing home.  Offering temporary room and board to friends or family trying to get back on their feet.

I could get worried about being taken advantage of;  yet what did our Lord do but give His very life for me?  He asks me let go of my anxiety and just trust Him.  The funniest part is that when I start to give I am the one who receives the most benefit;  I think I have a clearer idea of what I"m supposed to be doing now.