Bless the cow... because, Lord, we all love nachos

 Bishop Ramirez blesses a nervous milk cow, who ran off during the blessing.

Who doesn't enjoy a religious leader with a sense of humor?

Emeritus Bishop Ricardo Ramirez certainly fit the bill at the annual Blessing of the Fields today. In a procession that stopped for blessings on the animals and the irrigation water, the bishop kept things light.

An annual event at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, the Blessing of the Fields commemorates the Feast of San Ysidro, patron saint of farmers.

At least 100 people participated in the procession. The crowd made the museum's milk cow nervous. She  raced around the pen and refused to approach the bishop. Undeterred, he blessed her and praised her products. "Thank you for her cheese, because, Lord, we all love nachos." He was most emphatic about the importance of ice cream.

The blessing honors a saint whose miracles included completing more fieldwork than his co-workers, partly with intercession from angels. He prayed, others worked, and the angels helped him plow.

Statue of San Ysidro, carried in the procession by four, gloved attendants.

In Las Cruces, the procession includes not only the bishop's traditional attendants, but also the Cacique of Tortugas Pueblo and his attendants, who sing and drum after each of the bishop's blessings.

The bishop, leaders from Tortugas Pueblo (in orange), and Catholic school children process from the blessing of the bulls and horses to the blessing of the sheep and goats. The Organ Mountains loom in the background.

The bishop's tone was light, but the devotion of an entire event to our non-human partners in agricultural life conferred an underlying feeling of solemnity, as well. There was real respect and gratitude for the animals expressed throughout the service.





























With the last farm blessing, the white-clothed girls toss their rose petals into the irrigation water as the bishop blesses it. Then the whole procession troops back across the museum's bridge to its outdoor kitchen, where the bishop blesses the communion bread.

The bishop's work done, the spectators meander off to the museum's theater to watch baile folklorico, this year performed by Las Perlitas del Pueblo.

Las Perlitas del Pueblo

Such an event could easily come across as crass or touristy. Participants in the Blessing of the Fields in Las Cruces, however, are clearly a group of people of faith honestly celebrating their community and good fortune. It was lovely.