I took myself to Portugal at the end of September 2021. It was an odd time to travel because of the pandemic and there was still great fear, but you see, I wanted to go. I have been the minister at a Unity© Spiritual Center for several years. The responsibilities of holding it together during the pandemic finally wore me down. I took a well needed sabbatical to rest, recoup, and recover.
The opportunity to take a trip to Portugal with a group presented itself. My family and friends thought I had lost my mind to travel at that time, but I wasn’t afraid. It wasn’t easy getting there you see because you couldn’t travel without proof that you were covid free. My test results didn’t show up in time. but I flew to Atlanta anyway in complete faith of being on the international flight. There I sat waiting and checking my phone every few minutes to see if my test results were in, wondering if I would be able to go. Then, at the last minute, a miracle occurred, and I was offered a test right there at the airport and was able to board the flight. That is a whole different miracle story and I’ll get into that another time.
On the journey, I saw beauty everywhere. The weather was perfect and the coast, especially the westernmost point, Cape Roca, was breathtaking. Fatima, although touching, was not what I expected. It had a bit more modern feel than I would have thought, and the small town was highly commercial because of the numbers of tourists. Regardless, there was a sacred feel to the church where so many had prayed for miraculous outcomes in their lives. This site was where the Divine Mother had appeared to three young children in 1913 and then became known as a place of miracles.
What really touched my heart though, wasn’t the place itself but seeing so many people walking on their knees for who knows how far in penitence, self-punishment believing that this would gain God’s forgiveness and favor. It pained me to see with my own eyes that people still believe they must humble and punish themselves in such a way to receive God’s Grace.
It was a learning and humbling experience. I wanted to say, “Please stand and show your face. Your beautiful body and soul are ready to shine with their magnificence. Declare yourself free and walk.” It reminded me of the words of Mary Oliver in the poem Wild Geese[i] on how to have a good life.
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves….”
Oh, yes, simply love. When you express love from your heart space, you are expressing God. You needn’t walk a hundred miles on your knees through the desert repenting. You only need to love and in doing so, you are expressing God, acknowledging your inner light.
I wouldn’t want to leave you with the impression that this was the norm there. No, many like me were in awe of the feel of the sacred, basking in the light of love. I enjoyed every moment from arriving in Porto, through the cork forests, onto the beaches of the southern coast and ending in Lisbon. I came home especially grateful for experiencing all the magnificent people and beauty along the way.
I’m grateful to believe in a powerful good in the universe, a presence, a loving light of which I am a part. This belief makes all the difference. Lovingly, JudyV
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Oliver