On Monday, we drove to the southwest border of Germany to see the Heilig Rock at the Cathedral in Trier. Fred has been to Trier many times. This was my third visit and the first time for me to enjoy it in the sunshine - we had some really lovely weather on Monday!
My favorite attraction in the city is the cathedral. You can click the link and read about it at length, if you wish, but I think I can set up the wonder I feel in this one fact: construction began in 329 and was completed (after a set back in 882 - the Normans destroyed it) in 1512. FIFTEEN TWELVE!
Stuff like that just blows my mind.

So, like most churches in Europe, this one has a relic.
I have mixed feelings about relics because...well, you can't really PROVE they are the real. The skeptic in me wants to scoff at relics. On the other hand, the philosophical part of me says that maybe it's not really about the object. Maybe you just gotta take it on faith and/or maybe you'll never know if it's real or not. And that's okay. Sometimes, I think, it's just lovely to walk past a (so-called) relic and simply reflect on my life and how humbly I fit into a story that's not really mine.
Here's one example of a thought that goes thru my brain whenever I visit really old sites: in this case, "they" started building this church in 329. It's really hard for me to wrap my brain around a bunch of lives that were happening so many centuries ago - people who ate and pooped and cried and laughed and made love and buried loved ones and...fill in any other activity of your choice...all on this same ground that I am walking on in 2012.
See? Mind blown.
Anyway, the relic at this church is the Seamless Robe of Christ - the one that is referred to in John 19:22-24 and (nerd alert!) is often cross-referenced as a fulfillment of prophesy through Psalm 22:18.
Now, I can't tell you whether or not this robe is the real thing. The story is that Roman Emperor Constantine's mother, Helena, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was given the robe as a gift in the late 320's. She bequeathed it to the Cathedral in Trier.
It is rarely on display. In fact, in the last 100 years, it has only been available for a look-see by the public a handful of times: in 1933, 1959, 1996 -- and now in 2012.
Well, we HAD to go!
I don't have any pictures. There was a sense of reverence in the space and a tacit agreement by all that it would be tacky to pull out your iphone inside the church.
Here's a link from a news report in 1996 with a good picture, though:
CLICK HERE
The line wasn't very long when we went on Monday. We were lucky. I have heard that the wait can be up to 2 or 3 hours sometimes! We waited about 20 minutes. You shuffle down the center aisle of the church and file past the robe on either side and then you "exit through the gift shop"...
...no, I'm not kidding.
At first, I was put off by that. And I have to confess, I had a liiiiittle judgemental chuckle about it. However, then I got to thinking about the hiring process and wages of extra security guards and maintenance/janitorial work during the brief time that the robe is on display. There's no admission cost to see the robe. Where does the money to support this event come from? The regular operating budget for the church? Hmmm. I decided to change my mind set: perhaps the gift shop makes the event self-funding, or at least off-sets the cost somewhat.
We bought a magnet for our kitchen fridge.
(hah!)
Here's two things that I appreciate about my experience:
1) The brochure that was given to us upon entering the cathedral said this:
"...the robe itself (doesn't) lie at the center of the journey. Rather, the Holy Robe stands as a symbol of its Wearer."
I like focusing on the idea behind the relic instead of the actual relic itself. Dare I say it? ...Let's not get nuts off drinking the cool-aid. It may be the actual robe Jesus wore when He prayed so fervently in Gethsemane that He sweated blood, and He was arrested and brought to trial and stripped and beaten and crucified....? But perhaps the bigger idea is that He was briefly human and very brave to go through with this outrageous plan for the salvation of mankind, eh? I'm not gonna piddle over whether or not the robe in front of me in real or not when I think about that. Perspective.
2) The Holy Robe is only on display for a month (thru May 13) and in this time, the church is also putting on an Arts Festival:
"The Church and the Arts enjoy a close and exciting relationship. The Holy Robe pilgrimage has stimulated lively exchange between the spiritual and creative worlds. Working with the motto << and join together what is separated >> artists have prepared an attractive programme including architecture, fine arts, music, literature, dance and theatre."
WOW.
Mind blown in a personal way on that one. Some of the program is "church-y art" and you know what? Some of it isn't. I am really touched when church people acknowledge secular art as "worthy". Also, I wish that I didn't have to put the word worthy in quotes so that readers get the ridiculousness of that statement.
Without getting too soapbox-y about it, the Arts Festival in tandem with the pilgrimage makes me feel very happy.
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Other activities in Trier included eating ice cream out of a freshly made waffle cone, buying some new cigars and eating a cone of crispy (and piping hot!) pomme frites.
Yup, that's a big ol' glop of mayo.
Gluttony! And right after CHURCH, y'all.
