What Century Am I In?

The priests walk in, the organ music starts and I immediately lose my foothold in time. Unlike at Navarrete when words failed me, they now come rushing forth asking, “what century am I in?”

I look at my pithy wrist band which reads “Now Is All You Have,” and I’m not so sure about that. I am aware of the eons this ritual has been taking place, of the countless people before me, and of the countless to come. It’s as if time has collapsed and I am falling . . . somewhere . . .

There a voice in my head that demands I stop videoing. I feel like a jerk. I am reminded of people taking selfies in front of the Pietá in St Peter’s Basilica. Some things you just don’t do.

I have to close my eyes. The single tenor voice in a predominantly minor key along with the visuals of another time is pulling too hard.

I open them to the sounds of the sermon. I see my shorts, the sports top of the women in front of me. A cell phone ring-tone goes off and a scramble ensues. The spell is broken, and I land back in this century.

See below for photos of the spectacular León Cathedral of light.

©Theresa Elliott, All Rights Reserved

Three rooms captured by tilting the camera at an angle.

Botafumeiro

Sarcophagus of a bishop.