On our way from Madrid to Lourdes, we made a quick stop in the city of Zaragoza, a little-known town in the north-east of Spain. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared there to Saint James the Greater and instructed him to build a church. The church he built has grown in size and now stands as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.
This was one of the hidden gems, little known to most of us. Our stay in this city was relatively short, but it has opened a door for at least some of us to do some more research and to learn about the oral tradition that makes this place so significant.
Admittedly, Zaragoza and the apparition that reportedly happened there belongs to the realm of local (probably oral) tradition. It's occurrence is never mentioned in either scripture, the Tradition of the Church or the Magesterium, yet visitors continue to arrive even two millenia after the apparitions are reported to have taken place.
Faith indeed is something beyond reason, so who am I to say that this might not be part of the bigger picture?
This was one of the hidden gems, little known to most of us. Our stay in this city was relatively short, but it has opened a door for at least some of us to do some more research and to learn about the oral tradition that makes this place so significant.
Admittedly, Zaragoza and the apparition that reportedly happened there belongs to the realm of local (probably oral) tradition. It's occurrence is never mentioned in either scripture, the Tradition of the Church or the Magesterium, yet visitors continue to arrive even two millenia after the apparitions are reported to have taken place.
Faith indeed is something beyond reason, so who am I to say that this might not be part of the bigger picture?
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