The Van Vandals & Our Lady of Guadalupe

I had a very nice and eventful weekend (actually, it began last Thursday). I flew down to Austin, Texas to watch my high school's basketball team play in the state tournament.

Van High School is located in the tiny East Texas town of Van. The name of the school's sports teams is the "Vandals". Well, the Van Vandals have been good at a lot of different sports over the years (mostly football, in which we won a state championship in 1979 and have been a playoff contender in most years since), but in the modern era, basketball ain't been one of 'em.

Which is why it was such a big enough deal for this team to be at the state tournament that I wanted to fly down to Austin to be a part of history. To make a long story short, the Van Vandals won their semi-final game on Thursday and the state championship game on Saturday. Congratulations, guys.

If that was the best part of the trip, a very close second was the opportunity I had to visit my favorite city, San Antonio. My best friend, who provided me with the ticket to fly down for the tournament, lives just outside of San Antonio. If you've never been to San Antonio before, there is so much more to the city than the Alamo. Don't get me wrong, the Alamo is a special place, but sometimes you can get so much more from the culture of San Antonio by going off the beaten (i.e. "touristy") path.

On this trip, I did something I had never done before. This was my first time to be in San Antonio since I became Catholic. And it was a Friday during Lent. So, I headed for the Cathedral of San Fernando - the see of the Archdiocese of San Antonio - for noon bilingual Mass followed by bilingual Stations of the Cross. Despite the fact that my Espanol is spotty at best, this was a wonderful and moving experience. I spent 2 hours in this holy place, engaged in some of the best prayer I have experienced in a long time.

Now, a little about the Cathedral. It is very small. Shockingly so. I walked in and couldn't believe the seat of an Archdiocese could be so small. I imagine that the reason for its size is that San Fernando has the oldest cathedral sanctuary in the United States - founded in 1731. But, in this instance, great things come in small packages - the Cathedral is quite beautiful, in Spanish mission style with a high vaulted ceiling and lots of gorgeous statuary and stained glass windows. Behind the altar is a pretty chapel, visible to those sitting in the pews, which houses the Tabernacle, a large vividly detailed Crucifix, and a beautiful mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This mural inspired me to purchase something I had wanted to buy for a long time. After leaving the Cathedral, I headed for the Mexican market ("el Mercado") to obtain a black t-shirt with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe emblazoned on the front. I paid about $14.00 for my shirt - there were other "fancier" ones going for about $20.00 or more.

My long-winded tale concerning my journey to Texas concludes with the cookout that my friend had at his home on Friday night (and yes, I did abstain from eating the delicious-looking beef and chicken fajitas that were on the menu). My parents and my best friend's parents, who had all come down from Van for the basketball tournament, were there. And I was wearing my brand new t-shirt. My mom and my friend's mom, both devout Southern Baptists, had cried when they learned that I was converting to Catholicism a few years ago. So, needless to say, they were somewhat unimpressed with my new attire and the image of Our Lady thereon.

Note that they also think my wife and I are nuts for wanting more children than the 2 boys we currently have. I didn't know whether to be an apologist with these 2 women, who I love very much, or whether I should just keep my mouth shut and leave well enough alone. My wife and I have discovered that one of the biggest drawbacks to being converts is that our families really aren't there for us in order to provide the Catholic support structure that we'd like. And that was all too evident on Friday night.

But, what the heck. The Vandals won the state championship the next day, and everyone was happy.