Marian Pilgrimage visits our parish

Message from Fr. Mark, welcoming the Pilgrim Statue:

Since the early ages of the Church, and the early beginnings, we look at the Incarnation of our Lord, and reflect on Mary, a woman chosen from all women of all time to be the mother of our Redeemer. In the Incarnation (which is beyond any human understanding or explanation) the Father sent His Eternal Son to be born in time. Fully God and fully human. And so, all of our love of Mary has stemmed from the fact that she was chosen by God. She is a creature (and she had free will) but she accepted the will of God and her response to the Archangel Gabriel (which is a response to the Almighty God in humility) Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me, according to thy word is accepting the divine plan. I think that's important for us, as we are called in various ways (in our own state of life) to respond, positively, to the call of the Lord; whether it is [participating] in a parish ministry, in some type of outreach, or some act of charity or reconciliation, we are called to respond positively.

Ever since the early centuries of the Church, especially with reference to the scriptures, Mary is not divine but venerated with great respect and honor. As the church began to grow and became more organized, after the end of persecution through many years (although there’s still persecutions today in some places) as bishops were appointed to shepherd dioceses and parishes, devotions and liturgies rose; and, over time, all dioceses now have a patron saint, and there are many dioceses that have Mary as their patron saint. It could be a different devotion, many of them were chosen from the Litany of Mary. For example, the basilica at Belmont Abbey is dedicated to Mary, Help of Christians. In Mexico, of course, the patroness of the country is Our Lady of Guadalupe, as she appeared there, in 1531, giving a great instrument (the miracle of the Tilma) for many conversions and great devotions today. In this diocese, which was founded 50 years ago, Mary was chosen as a patroness of the diocese with the name of Mary, Mother of God.

So, it is appropriate to have this statue here, Mary with the Child Jesus, as we look to her as patron saint of mothers, patroness of our diocese. As we go through things in life, we also think of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, or Mary at the foot of the Cross, who can identify with our own times of sorrow and of grief.

In the recitation of the rosary (with reflections on the mysteries, the life of Christ, and of course, the Blessed Mother) we think of Mary in the visit to her kin’s woman, Elizabeth (often depicted in art as Mary being very young, and her kin’s woman, Elizabeth, being very old) reaching out to her place in her time of need. It’s a beautiful image that Mary didn't go alone, but our Lord was in her womb! So, in a sense, Mary was the first missionary, bringing our Lord to a person in need.

It has been my goal for a long time (25 years or more) to pray a daily rosary not only to meditate on the mystery but also to ask for certain intercessory prayers for loved ones, for our parish, for our ministries, and for all of these things that help us along the way.

So we're very thankful for her intercession and even, as we have many needs in our world today, we come to her with prayers for peace, prayers for respect for life, prayers for vocations in the Church, and also for families, especially family unity as we look to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Hopefully these next few days in the parish will also give us all a “boost” in our connection with the diocese, and also of our love for the saints, especially Mary, our Blessed Mother.