Saturday Spirit Quest

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to spend a day purely in the seeking of enlightenment. It was a journey of rather in-epic proportions, but my questing buddy and I made every effort to imagine ourselves heroic knights seeking all knowledge, beauty, and truth--it lent a certain gravity to mundane events such as crossing bridges (wild rivers into unknown lands), going to Cracker Barrel (a great bountiful feast set out by the gods for their true followers), etc.

The reason for this trip was that after the horrors of spring break, there seems to be a lingering sense of ill around those of us who went, as if the universe did not give us quite enough bad luck then, so they had to make up for it now. My questing buddy (QB) and I are attending a summer program at Oxford this summer, and were terrified that another experience would be tainted (or let's be honest, devoured) by our bad fortune.

So we sat down and mapped out a plan--there are only so many spiritual places in Alabama. We set off for The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament--a beautiful monastery which is home, not only to some odd monks, but to the Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration, and the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (who keep emus). We attended one of the sessions of adoration, and it was one of the most transcendental experiences I've had--right up there with dancing naked under full moons, and skinny dipping under waterfalls. (It's funny that nudity has played such a large role in the defining moments of my life.) But seriously, we could not see the nuns, they were singing from behind the Shrine, but their voices, harmonized and unaccompanied repetitive in Hail Mary and The Lord's Prayer, wafted over, ghostly for us. We sat transfixed for the longest time, just listening and taking in the opulence.

After exploring for a while, we left offerings in the garden at the feet of the Virgin, and hit up the gift shop for some Saint Medallions. (For me, Michael: for travelers and in general--he's the archangel, guys. And Joan of Arc: for courage and passion.)

Then it was off to lunch at Cracker Barrel and the Ave Maria Grotto, or "little Jerusalem." Brother Joseph spent the better part of his life crafting all the important sites in the world in miniature with such odd materials as bottle caps, marbles, and scrap metal. It is a sight to behold--expansive and intricate. I loved the hanging gardens (of Babylon), as well as the Tower of Babel.

Later we attended the school play of a friend of ours, and made a late night Denny's run--sort of a conclusive way to make peace with the Chicago layover and the resultant hours spent in Denny's, trying to eat as cheaply as possible.

All in all, I felt like it was a highly successful quest--all week I have been buoyed by the things I've seen and I've tried to hold on to that transcendence I felt at the Shrine. I don't know if it was the nature of what we did, or just the very act of going and seeking for something immaterial--but I feel that we found it.

Molly