As I turned my car onto the grounds of The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, I stopped to take this picture.  I was drawn to it.  I had to look at it and admire the beautiful sky behind it; and I thought – I need to share it.  I also thought, I’m late – and I should post this picture on Facebook so that I could say, “I’m here!  I made it!”.

I drove further until I could see the Church and other buildings.  I parked and gathered my belongings (a book of prayer intentions and my tripod).  I started walking and saw a beautiful garden with a statue of Mary, framed by two flower bushes.  I thought:

let me do a Facebook Live video here, and let the viewers know what I had discovered by my reading and prep work and what my plan was for the next few hours.  After all, I did say I would go “Live” at 11:30 . . . and it was almost noon.

As I got closer to the statue I was choosing as a backdrop for my first “Facebook Live” video of the day; I noticed this was an image of Mary I was not familiar with in stone; but definitely one I am familiar with in my heart.

As I reflect on that day, I can see that this was the first lesson or directive Mary, Queen of Heaven, was relaying to me.  The lessons I will outline here are in the order in which I encountered them.

Lesson #1:  Pray for Peace, begin by praying for peace in the womb.

There is a quote, often attributed to the soon Saint Teresa of Calcutta that states:

What can you do to promote world peace?  Go home and love your family

As I thought about Our Lady of Czestochowa, and her role as Queen of Peace – this image was placed right in front of me.  The grounds of this shrine are so vast – it is without a doubt the largest campus I have visited this summer. At one point I moved my car to see the other parts.  This statue stands alone on a hill, and it was the first image I encountered up close. We must pray for expectant mothers.  Me must pray for the unborn and ask Our Lady to continue to pray for them.  I can’t help but recall the hymn so often sang at Mass . . . “Whatsoever You Do” to the least of my people, that you do unto me.

Lesson #2: Welcome others and be grateful when others welcome you.

Walking around these buildings, I could hear people speaking Polish.  Well, I am guessing they were speaking Polish. I should say, they were speaking a language I did not understand.  I had to rely on people in the office and outside to tell me where to go and who I could speak with to ask questions.  Thankfully, I met some friendly, kind people.  One person I met was a priest that was visiting the shrine with some of his parishioners.  He allowed me to “crash” their tour, and even invited me to eat with them.  I didn’t take him up on the offer, but I loved receiving it.  And knowing that most people there were very friendly helped me shake off the old woman by the book shop that yelled at me as I walked into the store, “What is that?  What is it??”  Make sure you read that in a “mad old woman voice”.  She was asking about my tripod; maybe she thought it was dangerous.  I don’t know. It’s funny when I look back on it now though

Lesson #3: Love your homeland.

This one caught me off guard.  As I sat and listened to the Pauline priest point out the amazing stained glass windows inside of the church; he explained that one entire wall of windows, which are more than impressive in size and detail, is an illustrated timeline of Polish history.  The adjacent wall was an illustrated timeline of American history.  It was so cool.  I often separate my love of my country from my identity as a Catholic.  But I was reminded, the land we live in is the home given to us by Our Lord.  It is good to love it, care for it and pray for it.

Lesson #4: Seek God’s Mercy.

From walking into the dedicated Holy Doors of Mercy and hearing the priest explain the symbolism, to seeing the image of the Lord’s Divine Mercy prominently placed on the alter, I was reminded to go to Our Lord and receive His loving Mercy. I also saw many signs that made visitors aware that Rachel’s Vineyard holds retreats there.  These retreats are a time and place where many women (and men) “reconcile painful post-abortive emotions to begin the process of restoration, renewal and healing.”

Lesson #5:  Spend Time in Silence and Prayer

I was excited to go to the downstairs church.  It is there that the altar at the original shrine holding the Image of Our Lady of Czestochowa (in Poland) is replicated.  As I walked into the shrine, I was met with a sign:

As always, Mary leads us to her Son.  Reminds us to love Him, spend time with Him and talk to Him.  I stayed and spent time in prayer. I prayed for my own intentions and those who asked me to pray for special intentions this summer.  I also thanked God the adoration chapel was air conditioned.

Lesson #6: Always, always, always go to Jesus.

As I left the main church building, I found myself debating – should I walk and see how far away the Rosary Garden, Retreat house and other buildings are . . .or should I drive.  Before I decided, I saw this statue and had to get a closer look.  Beneath it, in stone, the words of  Matthew 11: 28

Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.

Lesson #7:  Reflect upon the Gospels and Pray the Rosary.

I then decided to drive up to another parking lot and check out the Rosary Garden.  At this point it was really hot out, and there was little to no shade in the garden . . . but, I couldn’t help but keep walking.  There is a statue every few yards representing a Mystery of the Rosary, and I found myself wanting to see how the sculptor portrayed each Gospel story.  At first, I was just taking pictures.  Eventually, I was praying a Rosary.  I would love to go back on a cooler day with some friends.  I had never seen or been to a “Rosary Garden” before, so this was a very neat experience.

*If you have trouble praying the Rosary daily, perhaps get a Rosary bracelet from Christian Bling!  I LOVE this bracelet – it’s gorgeous and it is a full Rosary.  I talked to Nicole the consultant I work with, and she gave all prayerwinechocolate readers a coupon code for the”Gracious Words” Rosary Bracelet.  Use coupon code GW520 at check out!

Lesson #8: Enjoy the View.

God’s creation and what man has done with his talents are both incredibly gorgeous.  Enjoy it.  For God created everything for man.  The beautiful skies, the green hills and everything in between is here for us to enjoy.  Notice it, admire it and enjoy it.

Lesson #9: Return.

I definitely want to come back to this place.  The next time will be for the Polish Festival next month which I know my son and husband will truly enjoy.  But I also want to return with friends and hopefully for a retreat.  But I also feel that Our Lady is not only telling me to return to this place, but to return to her in prayer and to trust her with my heart.

Lesson #10:  Ask others for guidance.

I often had to ask where something was or how to get one place or another.  We are here for one another.  I am wondering, what has the Queen of Heaven taught you?

The post 10 Lessons I Learned From the Queen of Heaven appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

When I heard Father Pio Mandato recount this story, I could not help but chuckle.

Father Pio Mandato was the celebrant and homilist at the Padre Pio Festival held at Saint Bede’s Church in Holland, PA.  As a part of my “summer shrine tour” I went to the festival with scores of intentions for many in my Hail Mary notebook.  I was excited to venerate the relics of such a holy, fascinating man.

Listening to someone preach about Padre Pio who is not only a dynamic speaker, but also knew this intriguing saint, was anything but disappointing.

In the past month or two, Padre Pio has somehow struck my intention in a number of ways. On the television, meeting his distant relative in Church and becoming friends with her, getting an inbox on Facebook Messenger from another Catholic blogger that said, “Padre Pio would like to speak with you.”; and the church that my husband and I were married in ten years ago hosted this first annual Padre Pio Festival.

All of this happened in less than 3 months.

Weird, right?

I don’t really know why Padre Pio keeps popping up on my radar.  But, I will tell you an extraordinary story Father Mandato told at the Healing Mass . . . and then what I read the next day.

Maybe there is a message for all of us.

Father Mandoto told all of us at the healing service about a man who had a son that was blind.  The man and his son went to see Padre Pio.

When people went to see Padre Pio, they went to him for confession.  So many people went to see him that there were very long lines, and at one point you had to register for a ticket.  Some people would wait for over a week to see him.

This man and his blind son made the journey and got in line.  His son went to confession to Padre Pio.  When he came out, he was still blind.  His father was sad.  He asked his son, “didn’t you tell Padre Pio you are blind?”  “Didn’t you ask him to heal you?”  The son answered his father saying that when he saw Padre Pio, he was given the grace to see how to embrace his blindness for the sake of the kingdom.

Father Mandoto told one more story.  He spoke of a woman who had a son that was “deaf and dumb”.  The son could not hear and could not speak.  The woman was a faithful Catholic, but her husband was an atheist.  The woman pleaded with her husband over and over again asking him, please, let us take him to Padre Pio.  Finally the husband said, “I will go, but I will not go inside the church”.  When they arrived, the husband kept his word.  He would not enter the church.  The woman got in line for confession with her son.  The son, like any child, could not wait patiently in line.  He went out of line and played in the church.  Padre Pio saw him and motioned for the child to come over to him.  The child went.

Padre Pio said to him, “Go get your father and tell him to come in here”.  The child went out to his father and said,”Padre Pio wants to see you”.  The first words his son ever heard were the words of Padre Pio.  The first words his son ever said were “Padre Pio wants to see you”.  The father went in.

Father Mandoto asked . . . which was the greater miracle?  The son that could not hear and speak, or the father or hardened heart was now softened?

I can’t help but think of Jesus and the Gospel.

The next night, I began Day 14 of the “Do-It-Yourself” Retreat 33 Days to Morning Glory by Michael E. Gaitley, MIC.  This day’s reading is focused on St. Maximillian Kolbe’s desire that Mary use him as her instrument to extend the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the love of the Heart of Jesus.  Each reading ends with a simple prayer.  The prayer that ended this reading was:

Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary.  Prepare me to give all to the Immaculata for the sake of the kingdom.

I thought, there it is again.  That phrase

For the sake of the kingdom

Maybe that is what I am called on to reflect upon at the end of each day.  What did I do today . . . for the sake of the kingdom?

Maybe I should ask myself each morning . . .

What can I do today . . . for the sake of the kingdom?

What will I do today  . . . for the sake of the kingdom?

What can we all do . . . for the sake of the kingdom . . . today?

I feel like we are very aware of what we do for the sake of our neighbor.

We, as a society, are very conscious of what we should do for the sake of our world. We may not always agree on what is the most loving way to act, but we are very intent on loving others and following the golden rule.  Which is good. We should be very aware of our actions and thoughts and how they effect the people and world around us.

But isn’t it even more important to think about what we do for the sake of the kingdom?  Are we not called to love God with all our heart, all our mind and all our souls?

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

Maybe, if we focused more on the greatest and first commandment, we would be able to love one another more.  Perhaps that is the lens that allows us to see love more clearly . . .

What do you think?

The post For the Sake of the Kingdom appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.