One drop of Crimson

Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles is located in Cartago (about 25 minutes from San Francisco de Dos Rios). It was originally built in the mid 1600s, but has subsequently been rebuilt several times over the years due to earthquakes. On August 2, 1635, Costa Rican folklore says that the Virgin Mary showed herself as a small, black doll to a young girl named Juana Pereira. After the doll disappeared and reappeared several times at the creek where Juana had found it, the Catholic Church agreed that the Virgin wanted a cathedral built on that spot. The Basilica is today considered the holiest church in Costa Rica, and every August 2, the faithful make their way from all over the country, many walking for days on the side of the road, to pay homage to "La Negrita", the little black statue of the Virgin Mary found by the little girl over 370 years ago. The statue can still be seen today on the same rock it was supposedly found on.

People come to the Basilica in hopes of redeeming their loved ones from purgatory. You can purchase gold charms in front of the church to receive a healing. You can purchase charms in different shapes like arms, legs, stomachs, hearts, etc... Holy water runs from a spring there at the church and many people believe that it has special healing powers. Just about anything can be purchased in front of the Basilica... charms, holy water, rosaries, toys, even lottery tickets. I wondered if Jesus would have cleared the place like the temple 2000 years ago.

Probably the most moving sight for us when we visited earlier this month was that of people coming to the door of the church and immediately dropping to their knees to begin the long slow procession towards the front of the church on their hands and knees. Many are petitioning for healing of an illness. Some are pleading forgiveness for past sins. Sadly enough many are making this painful crawl for loved ones that have died in hopes they will be released from purgatory. All of this moved me to tears. As I sat in a pew and just took it all in, my oldest sat next to me and asked me why they were crawling to the front. I explained, "They don't understand, honey. All they need is the blood of Jesus. This statue can not bring them their healing, remove their suffering, or save their loved ones. Only Jesus."

The song is "Crimson" by Nicole Nordeman.