Divine Intervention

My mom and my very Italian grandmother came 2/3 of the way across the country to visit our house last week. I could write several blogs about the week (and someday, I will) but I really want to make sure this one gets posted.

My grandmother is about as stereotypical Italian catholic as they come. She smells of the odd but heavenly combination of Clorox and garlic at all times. If she is not cleaning or cooking, she is bowling, at bingo, or at church. And if those weren’t enough things to prove her authenticity, well, her name is Mary, and she was named after the Mother of God, of course!

One afternoon during their visit a procession went right by my house with big banners, flags, and about 75 people following this statue shrouded in black. I live near to a busy street, but our street is completely residential, and this parade by my house was COMPLETELY random. I was actually in the shower when it happened and did not see it for myself - I thought my grandma was making it up as she told me, but then my mom came in and said she had witnessed it too. My mom said she saw a priest in the crowd and went out to talk to him and find out what the parade was. Turns out it was an annual pilgrimage from a church out east in Watkins, CO, up to the Mother Cabrini Shrine in the foothills.

SERIOUSLY? This thing walks right by the house at the *exact* time my grandma can see it? WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

So my grandma wants to know “Where is the shrine?” (At least 20 miles west.) “Where is the town they are coming from?” (According to Google maps, it is 20 miles east.) “What? They walk 40 miles? Jesus, Mary and Joseph, there were KIDS in that group! What do they MEAN, they are WALKING all that way?” (I don’t know. I have never heard of this or seen it, but according to the website for the church, it is an annual event.)

And of COURSE she wants to know… “Can we go see the shrine?”

Now, I would never, EVER have put this on the list of Places To See in Colorado. It just didn’t occur to me. It is actually a very pretty place with wonderful sweeping views of Denver and the mountains, I have been there before. But I never even thought about taking my mom and grandma to see it – but boy, they would LOVE IT. Of course they would want to see it! And since Mr. B.P. and I would never draw that conclusion on our own, well, sometimes there is no other explanation than Divine intervention, folks. So yes, Grandma, of course we can go see it!

We drove up to the shrine the next day and arrived just as that same processional that had gone by the house was climbing up the stairs to the statue of Jesus. This little day trip we made must have been the HIGHLIGHT of my Grandma’s trip out to Colorado, and it hadn’t even been on my radar. Thanks for the tip, God!