Mission Santa ClaraAfter splitting up, we headed to the Mission closest to us, Mission Santa Clara. It is located on the campus of Santa Clara University. We took the short drive and stopped (for some reason that only Mariah and Adam understand) at the art museum before entering the Mission itself. Because the Mission is on the campus of the University, it has been modernized a little but retains some of the historical charm. The whole environment outside reminded many more of Southern California than San Jose, but still.
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We spent some time exploring the different altars, statues, crucifixes (see the picture above particularly), etc. before continuing with our long standing tradition of chanting the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The acoustics, like at most Missions, was amazing. Click here for a video combining some pictures and some audio recordings, both of our chanting and of Adam singing to give you a feel of how beautiful it is. Even though, with the exception of the two musicians, Stevie and Adam, the majority don't have great voices, combined I felt that we sounded quite heavenly. The music brought our minds back to the important part of the entire day, God.
We ended our day, before heading back to Modesto, with a quick trip for some ice cream at a parlor not far from the campus. We passed quite a few fraternities on the way and were amazed that a supposedly Catholic campus would have so many young adults playing beer pong. We took advantage and sang happy birthday to Victor with ice cream. Both Victor and I assumed that the owner, who stood next to Victor as we sang, would do something to congratulate him, but all he offered was, "I would have if I had known beforehand."
As always, I felt that we spent a beautifully blessed day on our pilgrimage. It reminded all of us about what is truly important, and really did not involve much time or expense. I hope that more of you reading this are able to join us on future pilgrimages, including the one in July to Abbey New Clairvaux in Vina, CA. Read especially about the sacred stones. We get a plenary indulgence for visiting this site designated by the Bishop of Sacramento and then are going to indulge in some beer at the Sierra Nevada brewery nearby that financially supports the abbey.
We ended our day, before heading back to Modesto, with a quick trip for some ice cream at a parlor not far from the campus. We passed quite a few fraternities on the way and were amazed that a supposedly Catholic campus would have so many young adults playing beer pong. We took advantage and sang happy birthday to Victor with ice cream. Both Victor and I assumed that the owner, who stood next to Victor as we sang, would do something to congratulate him, but all he offered was, "I would have if I had known beforehand."
As always, I felt that we spent a beautifully blessed day on our pilgrimage. It reminded all of us about what is truly important, and really did not involve much time or expense. I hope that more of you reading this are able to join us on future pilgrimages, including the one in July to Abbey New Clairvaux in Vina, CA. Read especially about the sacred stones. We get a plenary indulgence for visiting this site designated by the Bishop of Sacramento and then are going to indulge in some beer at the Sierra Nevada brewery nearby that financially supports the abbey.