Yesterday was tricky – it was cloudy all morning and I wasn’t sure whether it would get worse or clear up. By the time we left for our day trip to Fatima, it was intermittently sunny but it looked like even one of Christianity’s most revered pilgrimage sites wasn’t immune to bad weather. Why, Lord, why?

Even though our group of 10 hired a private van to take us there, for better or for worse a stop at the souvenir super store was still apparently part of the itinerary, and it seemed to be a good idea given the number of bags that came along with us. I, on the other hand, didn’t get anything for fear of hearing it to no end from my partner. Not that I was interested in anything though it dawned on me for a second that some members of my family in California might be interested in a rosary or two. I did find it interesting while walking around the warehouse – it’s that big a market that it requires a warehouse – that so much commerce goes hand in hand with religion. And yes, that near-lifelike image of Mary is 315 Euros. Makes me wonder what Jesus would think?