A highlight for many, today we walked the Shrine’s newly restored Way of the Cross, joining Our Lord in prayer and song on the Way of His Passion. Our young pilgrims were superbly led on their own version of the Stations of the Cross by Cerian, shortly behind the main group. The day had started off ominously wet but the skies cleared in time for our devotion to begin. Amazingly, at the 12th station (Jesus Dies on the Cross) the skies did indeed darken again only for the sun to reappear (quite literally) at the empty tomb and Resurrection Stations. It was a powerful devotion, one that consumed all our senses and met us all deeply.
Our afternoon was spent by some on excursion to nearby Wells-by-the-Sea, while others rested at the Shrine or saught retail therapy in Norwich!
Back at the Shrine in the evening we had our Mass of our Lady, with prayers offered at the Holy House. Fr David continued his thematic homily by asking us ‘What do we hear?’ and ‘what do others hear from us’? This in the context of the Gospel reading where Elizabeth, on meeting her newly pregnant cousin Mary, sees in the Child to come the work of God Himself: not for Elizabeth the obvious scandal of the circumstances Mary found herself in. Rather, that Mary was ‘Blessed among women’ and had found favour with God – a part of His Divine plan. And in Elizabeth’s greeting Mary herself hears the vindication of her own trust in God’s purposes, and is moved to proclaim her great song of faith: the Magnificat.
As we reflected on this we spent time before Mary asking her help and her prayers for the needs of our world, our parish, for the departed and for our own journey in faith.
Our Lady of Walsingham
Pray for us
Comments are closed