I’ll leave it to you, if you wish to do so, to seek out the meaning and the list of places registered as “World Heritage Sites.” We have visited several on this Pilgrimage. I will share a couple of them with you.

On this past Sunday, July 21, we were in Burgos - still following the Pilgrim route to Santiago. Burgos is the capital of Castile and is noted for its Gothic Cathedral which is a World Heritage Site. There were four masses that morning and we decided to attend the Capitular Mass which was a sung mass at noon. The services were not held in the main cathedral but in a side chapel which was as large at St. Paul’s. The ornateness of the altarpiece in the chancel was overwhelming. Yes, that is real gold leaf you see in the photo. The cynic in me thought: “There must be no poverty in the world if the church has enough money left over to do this.” I also thought of the artistry that went into this piece that was created centuries ago.

Once again, the space was packed with worshippers with no place for them all to sit. And, I could tell that those who were in attendance were not tourists. This was a regular congregation of folks who gather each Sunday for this service. Lay readers, both female, came from the congregation. Ushers and those taking the collection were also female. In this male-dominated church this is something. The congregation participated enthusiastically in the service. It was impressive and well done liturgy.

We wanted to go into the cathedral proper but it was closed. St. Jame’s Day is coming and this is a national holiday in Spain as St. Jame’s is their patron saint. All over the country, but especially as we get nearer to Compostela, preparations for this huge event are being made.

Those of you who have heard or read me often know of my love for gothic architecture. Buildings like this often took over a hundred years to complete. The men and woman who worked on them knew that they would likely not live to see their work completed. Attention to every detail regardless of whether it might ever be seen by another was important to the artists and craftspeople who created these structures.

On that Sunday afternoon we went by coach away from Burgos to go to another World Heritage Site. This was to visit the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos. This monastery dates back to the Visigothic period of the 7th century. The buildings we saw were of a later date and the two-story chorister is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art. The carvings on each of the capitals is a different scene and the relief panels on the walls of the chorister are masterpieces. Archeological work, which we were allowed to see, reveals some of what was here from the 7th century. Absolutely amazing. We only saw a couple of the monks in passing but found out later that a CD of some of their chant music was widely and highly regarded a few years ago. One of our group purchased a CD from the shop here and played it for us on the coach ride back to Burgos.

On Monday we left Burgos. We stopped for the day in Leon. This is one of the places I had been anticipating seeing once again. I had been able to visit the cathedral here twice before and it is, in my opinion, perhaps the finest examples of French-style classic Gothic architecture in the world.

Peter had arranged for us to have a Eucharist service in the chapel here as soon as we arrived. A rare treat. Then we had time to tour, with the aid of an audio guide, this massive cathedral.

Trying to convey this structure with a photograph is like trying to communicate what the Grand Canyon is like with one photograph. Can’t be done. The first time I walked into this cathedral many years ago, I had no idea what was in store for me. It literally took my breath away. My involutionary response was, “Where did this come from?” This time I found out that it took only fifty years to build this cathedral. A short period of time comparatively speaking. Spain has recognized the importance of this masterpiece and it, too, is considered a “world treasure.”

The poet Wendell Berry said in an interview I once heard him give that all the world is sacred, we have just desecrated much of it. I agree with that. Every place and every one is sacred. Every place and every one is worth being so-labeled and protected. These places that we have visited, those designated as “treasures” and those that have not, can serve as reminders of this - that we are called to honor all who are and all that is. There is no division between sacred and secular. And yet, and yet - when I walk into a space like the cathedral in Leon, I know that I am inside a piece of art that in its own way is like a piece of music by Mozart - something special. I hope this motivates me and all who experience it to see the sacredness in all who are and all that is. Everyone and every place is worthy of being a “world treasure.”