Blessed Virgin Mary

Traveling for Christmas

/ scbilder / 4 Comments

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all! We reigned in the new year with the Solemnity of Mary while recuperating from a long journey. Our little family recently returned from our first ever Christmas adventure as three. We left the Shire-like fields of the Midwest in search of snowcapped mountains and family we haven’t seen in months. We spent the days leading up to Christmas playing tourist in my childhood home after an 18 hour drive across country with the little one. Though it was a big ask for our baby girl, still less than a year old, she was a trooper throughout the trip and was showered with love from her grandparents when we arrived. The hubby and I sent up countless prayers before and during this journey to Mary to intercede for our daughter and soothe her along the way. As usual, the Blessed Mother was listening. Although we didn’t see quite as much snow as we were hoping to or have as many hiking opportunities as we’re accustomed to, this Christmas vacation to Colorado was a wonderful blessing which I’ll be talking more about in the coming weeks. For now, I pray everyone had a holy and happy Christmas.

A Visit from the Pilgrim Virgin

/ scbilder / 2 Comments

Apologies once again for the lack of Monday posts over the past couple of weeks. I am still learning the juggling act which is motherhood. Today’s post is all about the ultimate mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although there are many sights of Marian apparitions throughout the world worthy of pilgrimage, for one week the Holy Mother blessed our home with a pilgrimage of her own. While we hosted her we prayed a rosary and litany in front of her statue as a family every day. This was all in participation of a tradition very near to my husband’s heart. 

During his upbringing my husband and several of the men in his family spent their Saturday afternoons processing the Blessed Virgin from one house to another, praying the rosary in front of her with each family as she traveled to a different home every week. This holy work was performed by a group of devout Catholic men known as the Ambassadors of Mary, a group dedicated to promoting devotion to the Blessed Mother. As my husband and his family moved away from their hometown the tradition petered out for a time. 

However, we recently watched a documentary, Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton, which details the life of this incredible priest from Ireland. Of his many accomplishments, Fr. Peyton maintained a special and infectious devotion to the rosary, leading millions in prayer during massive rosary rallies. He is also responsible for the phrase “the family that prays together stays together.” His is a truly inspiring story which is still sure to ignite a fire for the Blessed Mother in the hearts of those who hear it. Such was the case for my husband and I. He immediately set to work coordinating a new Ambassadors of Mary ministry in our home parish. 

This was also the week in which I officially became a stay at home mom and it was an especially poignant blessing to welcome the mother of Christ into our home during that transition. Our house was filled with the peace and joy of her motherly intercession. Even our three month old daughter was overcome with awe for the beautiful Blessed Virgin, unable to tear her eyes away from the statue. We look forward to hosting her as often as we can.