Superior forces created by the people

by Patrick Evert (Germany)

I didn't expect to find Bosnia & Herzegovina

I don’t consider myself a religious person. But I have a deep respect for those who are able to believe that there is a superior power that controls the paths of our lives. So, when I’m travelling I’m always confronted with the different strong believes of the local people. I still don’t think that walking around a big black stone in Mekka, praying five times a day or standing and crying in front of the Wailing Wall would help me or make me a better person. I think the good thing about religion and church is, that it brings people of all kinds together and that there is a strength that can develop which could be considered as a superior force. As I mentioned before, I’m really not a believer, but I can’t ignore the fact that I experienced some sort of spiritual happenings. In 2017, I travelled with my wife in Bosnia to Medjugorje, a quite famous pilgrimage destination where six children reported the sighting of the Virgin Mary in 1981 and they still claim that they are regularly in contact with her. However, we walked up the stony path to the statue of Virgin Mary. First, there were only a few people there, sitting with us in silence. Then more persons of every age arrived from all sides. I was impressed how eager the older ones with reduced mobility wanted to reach the statue although they had to walk on this very steep and uneven ground. Now a hundred or more people were gathered around Virgin Mary and it was still very quiet, until one after the other started to cry or pray intensively. I also felt that something was going on, but I can only describe it as a strong superior force that made us all very emotional. After we left the place, my wife also told me that she experienced something extraordinary. Just a few weeks ago, I happened to experience a different kind of religious force. This time we travelled with our backpacks through Colombia and made a halt at the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquirà. This cathedral is an underground Catholic Church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 meters underground. On the way to the center part, you pass three sections, representing the birth, life and death of Jesus. All decorations and ornaments are hand carved in the halite rock. By walking through these tunnels and arriving in the vast dome it hit me, how strong these Colombian people must believe to create a spectacular underground temple like this. Up to 3000 people attend the Sunday mess every week. I don’t know how many visitors were there among us this day, but when we were sitting there in front of the big cross behind the altar I felt again that something superior had brought these people together. But I believe it’s the people themselves who create this ambiance. I know, it’s always very difficult to describe. As a sports fan I’d like to compare it with one example: A soccer team seems to have the advantage when playing on home turf, although the pitches are the same anywhere. The difference is the crowd that cheers for you. The opposing team is perhaps better, but still this crowd gives the home team an extra push, the extra 5% to win the game anyway. As you know, this doesn’t end up always like that. This is why I love sports, because it’s unpredictable. Therefore, I see it with these superior forces in religious places. Sometimes they happen, sometimes they don’t. But when they appear, they are created by the strong belief of the people.