Sunday started a bit slower here than at home. The Mass wasn’t until 12:30 p.m. I may have to talk to the vestry about a new time for church! There were eight in attendance, but for a very Roman Catholic community, that was pretty good. Wasn’t quite as nervous today as I was the first time.
I did remember to take a picture of the church…
I also found my way to the small balcony…
It is quite lovely.
This afternoon I spent nursing a very sore back and editing six chapters of Birdy. This evening, the back is better after I located a pharmacy for a little something to salve it with.
I also spent more time this afternoon researching the artwork in San Fiz. I’m planning on putting together a small booklet to share with the Anglican community so that others might benefit from it. In the process, I came across a very curious symbol at the bottom of the retable, just below the statue of Mary…
No. It is not, “Show me the money!”
An S pierced by what at first appears to be an arrow. The key is recognizing it as a nail—clavo in Spanish. Together they form a visual wordplay: S + clavo = esclavo, “slave.”
The emblem was used by Spanish religious confraternities whose members described themselves as esclavos of Christ, the Blessed Sacrament, or the Virgin Mary. Here “slave” expressed complete, voluntary devotional surrender rather than literal bondage. Examples of the S-and-nail device can be traced to Spanish religious practice at least as far back as the late sixteenth century, with particularly clear Marian examples in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Thus, what looks like a curious decorative mark at San Fiz is actually a small theological declaration: I belong entirely to God.
I like that! And I may need some ink.
After a Middle Eastern lunch at Jerusalem, very tasty, I wandered around and attempted to be artsy.
Came back to the Casa to unload the pack and cassock and then back out for dinner. I had a real hankering for curry, but all the places I found were closed, so chose Ramen Okaeri. Guess what? They serve curry and it was delicious!
I started with an Asahi and the Takoyaki (octopus balls):
And finished up with Curry rice with prawn tempura:
Feeling particularly fat and happy. Oh… and there was a “CUTE” cat that watched over it all:
That was my day. Tomorrow I am “off” and will be taking a tour through Finisterre, Muxía, Ézaro & Coast of Death (I’ve no idea what that is).
They are singing down in the garden here, so I may have to go see what the peregrinos are up to.
Looking out the window from my room.
And today’s selfie (it was taken in what will later be known as my artsy phase)…
Have a blessed day.
