Let's talk about faith

Lets have a little chat about religion. All right, I will do most of the talking. I came home last night to find an alter had been erected in the upstairs bedroom, which happens to be the room I spend a lot of time in at night using the computer. On the alter there are 3 wine glasses filled with water, 3 apples, 3 candles, a small plate full of sugar and another full of salt, and some beautiful white flowers. I did not know what to make of it at first, but I wanted to check my email, so I just proceeded as normal. No sooner did I get online then did my host mother come in (of course she knocked and asked "con permiso" first. Here it is unacceptable to enter a room without asking permission from whoever is already in there, even if it's your house). She told me we were going to have visitors, so I naturally assumed that meant actual guests. Wrong. We now have three Arcangels staying with us for the next three days, spirits.

My host parents performed a deeply religious ceremony, and then taught me all about it afterward. Basically they summoned the help of Arcangel Rafael, Arcangel Miguel, and Arcangel Gabriel. Each one has several different functions; for example one combats demons, another is the angel who pronounced the coming of Christ, etc. The three apples are offerings for them, the sugar is added to help them trap the bad spirits in the house in the cups, and the salt helps destroy them. At the end of the third day the cups of water, along with all the negative spirits of the house are basically dumped down the toilet.

It was really an amazing thing to watch. I think peoples faith is too often intertwined with the social aspects of the church and influenced by outside pressures. But here were two people, proceeding through this intricate ceremony, for no other reason than that the completely and totally believe in it. Now that is faith.

I also learned that my host mother did not always have this faith. About 15 years ago she had a two pound tumor on her brain. All of the doctors basically told her that she was not going to make it, and that surgery was too risky. They offered her several different treatments to make her more comfortable, but she insisted on having it removed. They told her that she would probably not be able to walk, may end up with brain damage, or blindness, and that was only if she actually lived through the surgery. Well she proved everyone wrong and lived through the surgery with no serious lasting side effects. They credit this miracle to the strength of her husbands faith, and this is where she found hers. She really is a strong amazing woman and I find myself liking her more and more everytime we have a conversation. More to come about that. Adios amigos.