15 cents

That´s how much I put in the tip basket that was being passed around at the 4pm sermon at
the El Carmen de la Ascencion Church in Cuenca. I wasn´t skimping but I just wasn´t sure if I should be putting any money towards it, in the first place. So when the basket came to me, I hastily took out my wallet and dug out the first coins I could find.

It was a beautiful sermon in a wonderful Church. Of course, since it was in Spanish, I probably got about 40 words of the 45 minute sermon, but it was spiritually uplifting to be there as part of a 200-300 strong crowd chanting softly. I was reminded of my childhood days when I used to go to the chapel in my school (Holy Cross high school) with a couple of friends. I used to stay over at a friend´s place sometimes on Christmas Eve and have ginger ale and cake with their family and go out singing carols in the night. It was an innocent, curious, simple and instinctive thing to do, at that time.

I still try to retain that curiosity today but the politicization of religion (all religions) is something that tarnishes my memories of those days and makes it harder for me to reach out for those 15cents.