About 200 years ago on a Good Friday, near the little town of Chimayo, New Mexico, a rancher by the name of Don Bernardo was on his knees praying on a hill on his property during the night. While he was praying, he noticed a brilliant glow coming from the ground on the other side of his property, a considerable distance away. He was awestruck by this and decided to check it out. When he finally got there, the glow was gone, but his feet tripped on something partly buried in the dirt. Reaching down, Don Bernardo lifted out of the dirt a beautiful carved wood crucifix. He rejoiced in his discovery by bringing the cross back to his house. He invited his friends and the local priest to come see it. The priest believed that the cross was so beautiful that it belonged in the church, and all agreed.
They moved the crucifix to the local church for all to see. However, the next morning the crucifix was gone. Where did it go? Well, the next time Don Bernardo was on the other side of his property, he checked the patch of dirt where he found the crucifix, and lo and behold, the crucifix was back where it was before. The legend is that they tried bringing it back to the church a second time and even a third time. However, every time they tried it, the crucifix was always gone the next morning and back on the ground where Don Bernardo found it.
Don Bernardo suggested to the priest that maybe Jesus wanted a church built there. The priest and local bishop agreed, and this church has been there now for over 200 years, with the crucifix proudly displayed above the altar. On the side of the church is a room where you can touch the dirt on the spot where the crucifix was found. Pilgrims go there, in part, because healings have been associated with this dirt. In fact, there is a room where pilgrims have left their crutches behind in thanksgiving.
For me, the El Santuario of Chimayo is a shrine that celebrates the triumph of simple faith. As much as we try to deepen our theological knowledge, I believe that sometimes we simply overthink things. In fact, over my years as a priest, I got more mileage out of giving someone a holy card than giving him or her a theology book, and pilgrimage sites like Chimayo are far better catechists than libraries.
It is the invincibility of simple faith that can profoundly change the way we see the world. Simple faith can look at a patch of ground and see a church to be built. Simple faith can help us see Jesus Christ as truly present in the Blessed Sacrament without having to puzzle over it. Simple faith can even help us see the face of Christ in the people around us, especially the poor and marginalized. The triumph of simple faith can forever change our sight, shift our priorities and give our lives far more meaning than life ever had before.
This article appeared in the October/November issue of Northwest Catholic magazine. Read the rest of the issue here.