Going To a Spanish Mountain

Built on tall, jagged cliffs is Montserrat, Spain.  Take time out to Google images of this magical place!  What a view!  E. John Long gives us an account of this most historic place in Montserrat, Spain's Mountain Shrine, National Geographic Magazine, January, 1933.  "A medieval Benedictine monastery clings to the face of a fantastic stone peak that rises boldly from the brown foothills of Cataluna (Catalonia).  It is Montserrat, the nation's holiest shrine, to which thousands of Spanish faithful make pilgrimage each year to what is called the Black Virgin," (p. 121).

From the Middle Ages, Montserrat is the site of the castle where "Ignatius of Loyola, a wounded soldier, knelt in prayer and went away to found the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits, a very large Catholic religious order)," (p. 121).

Montserrat is approximately 35 miles by rail, northwest of Barcelona, Spain.  Mr. Long heard that it was possible to stay with the Benedictine monks there.  He inquired if one needed to be a Catholic and was told, "Oh, no, senor. . . the Benedictine fathers are most hospitable to all, whether one comes to pray, or atone, or meditate, or just to see.  And there is no charge for lodging, although one is expected to leave a small contribution for holy work," (p. 121).

"The monastery itself dates from 976.  Tradition says the Holy Grail (the chalice used by Jesus Christ at his Last Supper) was once hidden in the recesses of one of Montserrat's rocky caves," (photo caption, p. 123).  For the last five miles of the trip, the author switched to a "rack and pinion railway," (p. 124).

So faithfully have the monks followed the lines the older parts of the monastery in making additions that even the new garage, for modern pilgrims who come by motor, has an age-old air of permanence," (p. 125).

Here's something new for the traveler: Spain has a group of interpreters, "dressed in khaki uniforms, who meet boats and trains from foreign countries and are not permitted to accept pay or tips," (photo caption, p. 128).

Mr. Long had come to experience monasticism.  He registered at the monastery office and was led to a small room by one of the monks.  "As his echoing footsteps receded down the corridor, something of the blissful peace and quiet of the place stole over me.  The clear sun poured through the window, dazzling bright against the whitewashed walls.  The keen mountain air was invigorating, conducive to meditation.  The workaday world seemed far away," (p. 129).

The sacred image of the Black Virgin, "according to legend, it was carved by St. Luke himself, and brought to Barcelona A.D. 50 by St. Peter.  During the Moorish invasion and occupation it was hidden by Christian monks in one of the caves of Montserrat near the site of the present monastery," (p. 129).  It is displayed at the 10 a.m. Mass.  When the image was shown, Mr. Long remarked, "I gasped!  Even though I was told that the image was blackened with age, I had not expected anything like this.  White vestments and a light background made the face and hands gleam like jet!  For a silent moment everyone gazed," (p. 130).

Next, the author ventured outside to take in the view.  "Here is one of the finest panoramas in Montserrat.  Almost half of Cataluna is spread below.  Surprisingly near is the sparkling blue water of the Mediterranean, while the white peaks of the Pyrenees (mountains) seem but a good stone's throw away. . . It is a view to stir the imagination and to make the head swim," (p. 130).