The Grotto in Portland, Oregon

The Grotto in Portland, Oregon  reminds me of the occasional pilgrimages  my family made to the shrine of our Lady of Manaoag (pronounced as manna-wag) in Pangasinan in the olden times  when I was still making the signs of the cross  and praying lots of Hail Mary’s. The most I could remember of those pilgrimages had always been the unwilling participant that  I was and still am. I hated waking up early in the morning and being herded south to  the next province on a bus that filled itself up to the rooftop with produce and livestock. When we got to Manaoag, we behaved by aping the adults:  kneeling, standing and pretending to recite the same prayers over and over again. After the all the candles are lit, more novena prayers were recited: for the souls of some dear departed hanging out in purgatory; for good health and eternal life;  or for miracles and divine interventions  such as  winning  the lottery, big time! 

There might not have been a pilgrimage site like the 400 year-old Manaoag shrine  close to Kitchener, Ontario in Canada  when  young Ambrose Mayer needed to go and ask God to save his mother who was in critical condition after giving birth to his sister. He supposedly ran to his parish church and made a deal with God. The deal was for Ambrose to repay God when he grew up, that is, if his mom and his sister lived. Both Ambrose’ mom and baby sister did survive  so Ambrose became a priest of the O.S.M, an Italian friars' order who call themselves "Servites". The order propagated the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mother specializing on her sorrows.

Father Ambrose who was sent to Portland, Oregon came upon the  65-acre property that was owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1923. He found the rugged, untamed wilderness perfect for the shrine he had in mind in order to repay God in full for sparing his mom’s and siste’s life. The former quarry site that included some elevation had an asking of $48, 000.  Father Ambrose bid all the $3, 000 he had personally saved  for his congregation to acquire the property and God  provided the rest of the amount through the intercession of some special apostolic divine intervention from Rome,  an evidence-based proof of Philippians 4:19.

The former quarry site that used to supply rocks for rail beds was carved out one last time for a grotto. To Catholics, a grotto is usually an artificial cave for religious icons and statues.  From the basalt cliffside of  the hilly property,  the grotto became an altar that sheltered a statue  of the Blessed Virgin Mother holding the body of Jesus upon his crucifixion and subsequent death. The grotto was carved out in the same same year that the property was acquired. The following year, three thousand people gathered and attended the first mass and dedication of the sanctuary of Blessed Virgin Mother. 

The grotto centered on the sorrowful mysteries of the holy rosary. The grotto was also consecrated as a sanctuary of world peace. The replica of the sculpture  depicting the  blessed virgin mother cradling Jesus one last time composed by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and titled Pieta is the centerpiece of the meditation chapel in the upper level of the grotto. Accessed by an elevator that costs each  visitor a $6 token, the meditation chapel is a also a 180 degree view deck for the western portion of Portland. 

A walk on the  upper level garden trail of the sanctuary is like a review of all the mysteries of the holy rosary for me. The first joyful mystery began when Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that the Holy Spirit knocked her up. Then Mary visits Elizabeth who happened to be  expecting  a post menopausal baby herself.  Elizabeth begot John the Baptist and Mary then gives birth to Jesus on Christmas Day and his parents brought him to the church some months later. The last joyful mystery was when Jesus got lost in the church when he was twelve years old. He was not really lost, he was trying to contact his dad, the Holy Spirit.

In 2002, then Karol Wojtyla (Voy-tea-la) aka Pope John Paul II made an upgrade to the holy rosary. Pope John Paul II added the luminous mysteries which would focus on the ministries of Jesus for his dad, the Holy Spirit. The luminous mysteries of the holy rosary began with Jesus being baptized by John, his cousin at the bank of the Jordan River. After the baptismal ceremonies at the Jordan River came the wedding of Cana where Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus later announced that one  should be born again if he wants to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. To unwind from his ministries, Jesus then invited Peter, James and John to go to the mountains with him to pray but while they were praying, Jesus turned luminous and transfigured himself. The last segment of the luminous mysteries was the last supper which would later be reenacted in every holy mass.

The sorrowful mysteries focus on the passion of Christ and contrary to what protestants claim, are actually based on the bible. Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane was a narrative of Luke in the New Testament.  Matthew’s gospel revolved on Jesus scourging of the pillar, being crowned of thorns and carrying his own cross. John took care of the rest of the story  and this included the crucifixion and death of Jesus on a good Friday. 

The glorious mysteries began  at an Easter Sunday, three days after Jesus’ QRS waves widened and went into agonal rhythms. Jesus came back to life without CPRs nor defibrillators. After several days while he and his buddies went back to their Jesus is Lord Ministry, Jesus suddenly went up into a cloud and vanished. Seven Sundays after Jesus came back to life and vanished in a cloud, the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ real Dad,  came down to earth from heaven to fetch Mary.  

The peace pole, a concrete erected like a mini obelisks in the middle of the upper level grotto gardens commemorates the message: May peace prevail on earth. The idea for a peace pole obelisk started in Japan by Masahisa Goi who dedicated his life spreading the message of peace after the destruction of Japan as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima. The Peace Pole Project had been taken over by the World Peace Prayer Society as a non-profit, member supported non-sectarian organization with a United Nation non-government (NGO) organization status.

And some two thousand years later, Gelena invoked world peace just like any other day while hiking a  Lands End trail in San Francisco.  She found  an old bottle that had washed ashore,  and of course, you've heard the story before! Gelena held the bottle adoringly until a bored looking genie  who had  the face of an emoji  appeared. Genie hurriedly asked Gelena to get it over with, so he could go back to Facebook.

Gelena:  IKR...I pray for world peace!
Genie: Cheesy but difficult. Give me something easier.
Gelena: Make.....
Genie: GFY Gelena and keep praying for world peace!

I have  since defied Catholic religiosity perhaps even long before I opted for search-ins instead of attending Life in the Spirit Seminars that well- meaning friends encouraged me to do  so I could be baptized and  be born again. I may be acting like a raging atheist or a blasphemous  pagan but I have kept tab of my rosary praying Legion of Mary brothers and sisters amidst  seeming irreverence and obvious skepticism. But between bible-thumping and offering roses in the form of Hail Mary's to the blessed virgin mother now hail holy queen, mother of mercy,  I wouldn't mind reciting all the Hail Mary's because the Catholic faith to me still matters,  now and at the hour of death, amen.