Last Year, Chimayó This Year, Tomé

Today, throughout the Christian world, people are celebrating Good Friday, in memory of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is for many, a day of prayer and reflection. It is also the most popular day of the year for pilgrimages.

New Mexico is a land of shrines and sacred spaces. Three years ago when a client wanted to sell his big house with small garden in the city to retire to a smaller house with acreage in the country, I found him his new home with acreage in Los Lunas, Valencia County, http://www.loslunasnm.gov/home.htm , not far from Tomé Hill a destination for pilgrims. Three tall crosses reaching up to the sky were always visible whenever I drove by, and I made a promise to myself to do a pilgrimage to the top of the hill at the appropriate time.

Last year, I chose to go to Chimayó Albuquerque-a great place to call home - Part 2, instead. But today, I woke up at 5:00 a. m. and drove south on Interstate 25 for half an hour to arrive at the foot of Tomé Hill just before the sun emerged from behind its peak, and before the anticipated crowds descended. Even so, at 6:30 a.m., several people had already made the ascent and were on their way home. Some of the news media were already there.

I started hastening up the hill, huffing and puffing, glancing up every few seconds to see how close I was getting to the top. As I passed a fellow pilgrim laboriously making his way up on all fours, I had an epiphany. The journey up that hill was as important as arriving at the top. I slowed. I started to simply put one foot in front of the other and to think of all the people I was thankful for. I also thought about the morning paper's (Albuquerque Journal's) depressing headline on a subject I had been discussing all week on Active Rain, New Mexico's Water Outlook. Seeing it in black and red with pictures is sobering. But may be what we need to take the drastic measures needed. I prayed going up the hill and stopped ocassionally to look back at where I had come from. I was rewarded with spectacular views of the city and surrounding countryside.

My heartbeat slowed, the climb became much less arduous, and before I knew it, I was at the peak of Tome Hill. The sun had risen fully, and I was in the shadow of the three huge crosses beside a rustic altar already strewn with offerings, and I was rewarded with an incredibly beautiful 360º view of lush green, checkerboard fields, the city of Los Lunas, the cerros beyond, and other townships.

I left the peak refreshed. The descent was easier than the ascent. I passed the penitent still making his way slowly up the hill on all fours. As I stopped at the foot of the hill for a free hand out of a cup of ice-cold water, I noticed that the number of pilgrims of all ages had increased. Driving back through town to I-25, all along the way, I could see groups of people converging on foot along Main Street and from lanes and byways. They would be walking a much longer distance than I had. I hoped that they would find their journey as rewarding as mine.

Happy Easter!