April 29 - “Ask anything in prayer and it will be answered” is the legend behind praying in the Santuary of Saint Michael the Archangel at Monte San’Angelo, the oldest western shrine dedicated to the Archangel Michael. Bearing in mind the answer could also be no or later, I offered up prayer for family, friends, ministry and community members, people who were sick or recently departed.
Prayer is what Mother Mary always advocates whenever she appears, and especially prayers for the world at large, so it has been much of what we have done, be it travelling on the tour bus or visiting shrines and basilicas filled with relics.
Prayer can change the future, our futures, if we let it infuse our hearts and natures such that we allow ourselves to be grafted more strongly on our Lord, growing in His image and likeness. This has been a strong recurring theme on this pilgrimage surrounded as I am by the myriad examples of saints who prayed unceasingly and changed the worlds they lived in. I, too, can change the world I live in, through constant prayer and being more Christ-like in behaviour.
I felt incredibly blessed that same afternoon to celebrate mass in the place where the communion host and wine transformed into flesh and blood in Lanciano in the 8th century. This Eucharistic miracle confirmed by medical science is a real example of what Catholics believe in: transubstantiation. Every mass or Eucharistic celebration is an opportunity to receive the true body of Christ and be strengthened by His real presence, and as Father Michael Lim puts it: to fully allow ourselves to be loved by the Lord. Every mass is a communion between us and the Risen Lord, something it is easy to forget or take for granted.
April 30 - Loreto is the ‘Lourdes’ of Italy and it is home to the house of Mother Mary, where she grew up and where the Annunciation took place. It is a place of miracles for the house, minus its fourth wall, was purportedly moved from Jerusalem to its final resting place in Loreto by angels.
While sceptics may disagree, the truth that moves me is how she courageously said yes to being the ark of the covenant, to being the mother of the incarnated Christ. If only my yeses can equal her in generosity, gentle submission and robust faith. We were also blessed to be able to celebrate mass in the place where Pope Benedict XVI himself celebrated mass twice. Loreto is indeed a place where pilgrims can find a resting place filled with peace and God’s grace. I felt nourished richly.
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