Photograph: Miguel Vidal/Reuters Published in today's Guardian, this photo is from Ribarteme, Spain and shows a participant in the annual "Procession of the Shrouds." According to the Guardian, the procession allows people who have escaped death during the year to thank God for keeping them alive. Since they are processed and carried in coffins, it looks to me like it's an opportunity for the people carrying them to also acknowledge gratitude for the lives of those they carry. What a powerful gesture of gratitude and a powerful reminder of mortality.
2 comments:
I've heard of Santa Marta de Ribarteme (Festival of the near-death experience). If I had been healthy enough in 2007 (and a few other times in my life), I would have loved to have participated because I am certainly grateful to God for repeatedly bringing me back from the brink of death.
My first thought was: How morbid!
My second thought was: How beautiful!
I guess my reaction is proof that it's good to move beyond those initial impressions.
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