Warming Augustine's heart

We're just back from a weekend spent in Santa Fe, our region's old capital. A city the size of Dunblane, situated in a sub-tropical valley an hour away, it is renown for its Colonial architecture and scarey Catholicism. Even our hotel reception had a statue overlooking customers: Moses holding the 10 commandments and pointing to the second one which in the Catholic Bible prohibits taking God's name in vain. Is it a warning against trying to offer the hotel divine promises instead of paying the bill.

On Sunday evening I stood with onlookers at the door of one of the popular Catholic churches. The priest's diction was excellent, his liturgical leadership faultless and his sermon on the trinity would have warmed Augustine's heart. There was the usual confusing nonsense about Mary, the ringing of bells and, which I though a little unkind, just a rapid Our Father for the dead. What surprised me above all was how few went forward and took the eucharist: maybe 30 out of 160. And the Highland Free Kirk hasn't had an influence here.

On Sunday morning we attended an established Protestant church. There were just six of us in the congregation addressed by a rapid-speaking, Bible-quoting, pentecostal lady. I've been thinking all weekend as to how very difficult it would be to have an evangelistic mission in this city. Maybe in Jerusalem the same thought crossed the apostles' minds. Although they were with that incredible optimist, Jesus.

Photo: St. Barbara's Church and the Catholic Seminary, in Santa Fe's "Bitter Weeping Street"

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