The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary
It started with a short text message. Just us. Three girls.
“In the course of history, Christians have always walked to celebrate their faith in places that indicate a memory of the Lord or in sites representing important moments in the history of the Church. They have come to shrines honoring the Mother of God and to those that keep alive the example of the saints. Their pilgrimage was a process of conversion, a yearning for intimacy with God and a trusting plea for their material needs. For the Church, pilgrimages, in all their multiple aspects, have always been a gift of grace.”
And the gift of grace was bestowed unto us when we sojourned in faith.
Our first night led us to the “heart” of the Shrine of Fatima, the Chapel of Apparitions. In silence, our hearts cried out loud in the very place where our Lady appeared and spoke to the little shepherds, Lucia, and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco.
Later, as the chilly air permeated the stillness of the night, hundreds of people participated in the walk of faith with candles lit and prayers murmured in expectant faith.
Yet, the night was far from over. We went inside the Basilica of the Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, built in the neo-baroque style. The Basilica is not only a place of worship, but likewise serves as the final resting place of the sanctified cousins who once lived in the bucolic charm of Aljustrel.
On our way to our next major Marian site, we stopped at one of the Unesco World Heritage sites, the Dominican Monastery of Batalha.
The grand entrance of the Monastery of Batalha
The monastery is considered one of the masterpieces of Gothic art. The grandiosity of the architectural wonder lies on the fact that the monastery was constructed in fulfillment of a vow by King João to the Virgin Mary to commemorate the victory over the Castilians at Aljubarrota on Aug. 15, 1385.
Praying inside the historical Catedral de Barcelona is an affirmation of our Christian devotion. The Gothic cathedral “has been renovated in the Neo-Gothic style, which was built over a Romanesque cathedral that was built over a cathedral that replaced a mosque (converted from a Cathedral that was upgraded from a church), which in turn was built over a temple dedicated to the main Roman God Jupiter.”
The rooftop of the cathedral provided us with a spectacular view of the city.
The mountain of Monserrat is home to our Lady of Monserrat. Because of her dark color, she is affectionately called La Moreneta, The Dark Little One.
A historian once wrote: “In all ages the sinful, the suffering, the sorrowful, have laid their woes at the feet of our Our Lady of Monserrat, and none have ever gone away unheard or unaided.” Even if we were not able to read the said lines before our visit, we knew, in our hearts, that, through the powerful intercession of our Lady, our prayers have all been heard and answered.
Our next stop was the Shrine of Our Lady of Torreciudad. The shrine was built by members of the Opus Dei with many carrying out the wishes of Saint Josemaria Escriva. We were blessed to have been given the chance to confess our sins, and thus, have left the place with much inner peace.
Meanwhile, the Grotto of the Apparitions in Lourdes is not difficult to find. A long queue of devotees welcomed us. Just by touching the cold wet stones warms one’s inner most being. It was, however, in the baths that we shed tears.
The individual baths are “filled with water from the spring that flows in the Grotto of the apparitions.” The experience is unmistakably profound. It was verily a cleansing of the soul.
Our Blessed Mother made sure to give us a fitting end to our pilgrimage of faith. She led us to Her Son’s Most Sacred Heart.
Last stop was the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. “Sacré-Cœur” means “Sacred Heart.” As the light from our wickers swayed gently and with our head bowed down, we prayed “….I cannot stay for long in your church. By lighting this candle, it is part of my self which I wish to give you…”
In retrospect, our homage of faith ended where it started. It started and ended with the love of Christ. And through His divine love, Lea, Nanie and I will forever have the memories of faith, love and joy etched in our hearts.