191/499 … there are no Others (10/02/08)
Jose Luis Anton, the “manager” (for lack of any better term, though he is far more than that) of the hostel is the first true, “real live” Saint I have ever met. His entire being smoothly emits a warm Kindness to everyone he meets, as he totters about his day singing Latin arias to God almost incessantly (and what a wonderful voice he has!) …
Pictured is the “sacred sanctuary” he helped renovate in the attic of the hostel, where every night a ceremony takes place for all the pilgrims who have arrived on that particular day. The ceremony is one of reverence and gratitude, and culminates with every pilgrim present reading a prayer from a pilgrim who has passed through the hostel sometime before. The prayers are organized by language and kept in the glass case at the foot of the altar.
(The handouts on the floor contain the texts of several of the most commonly sung hymns, written in five different languages.)
“It is well to remember that the entire population of the Universe, with one trifling exception, is composed completely of others.” ~ Andrew J. Holmes
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