And of course I fell asleep, but that’s ok. Time of rest, of quiet, of peace…
I’ll go for a walk now, outside in the breezes. Walk to Perch Lake, remember the oak…. Walking with family, walking with Trinity ~ never really alone, pleasant companions 🙂 You lead me beside the still waters, You restore my soul…. Thank You Lord, praise You! I’m coming, I’m coming….
The Peshtigo Fire has always intrigued me, especially after learning the story of how the area where the Virgin Mary appeared in Champion, WI was spared from the blaze. I had read a lot about her apparition there, how the people fled to the Shrine and processed around the chapel with the statue of Mary, begging her help, and how that night the rains came. The next morning, the area surrounding the chapel grounds was all charred and laid waste, with the outer side of the fence black and burned, while within the fenced area the grass was vibrant green, and the fence still white, untouched by the fire. It was described as an emerald island in a desolate wasteland.
Somehow I wanted to read more about the fire itself, and on a recent trip to the Shrine, found an account written by Fr Pernin, an eyewitness survivor of the fire. The date of Mary’s first apparition to Adele Brise, the Belgian immigrant girl, was October 8, 1859, and the date of the Peshtigo Fire was that same day in October, in the year 1871. I brought the book home and read it that evening, caught up in the sheer horror described in it. It detailed the tragedy in a very graphic way, as Fr Pernin wrote of his sense of foreboding prior to the actual blaze, and then of the frantic effort to escape when the world around him exploded in flames of hurricane force. Railroad cars were tossed in the air, fire explosions were everywhere.
Although he was caught in the midst of this tremendous storm of fire, with people frantically seeking safety, he felt a certain inner calm that carried him to do what was necessary to save himself from the blaze. He took the wooden tabernacle from the church on a wagon and was able to get to the river, where he pushed the wagon holding the tabernacle into the water.
As the firestorm swept through the area, everything was destroyed. People were bursting into flame with bodies everywhere – his descriptions are horrific. After the rain finally came and the fire stopped, he found the tabernacle untouched, carried by the wind and set upon some logs in the river ~ the consecrated Host inside was intact, and even the silk interior was preserved unscathed. We’re celebrating a year of Eucharistic Revival in the world, and the preservation of the Sacred Host in a wooden tabernacle in the midst of an unprecedented firestorm speaks to my heart of the enduring presence of the Eucharist, residing in the tabernacle of Mary’s womb.
Perhaps what has drawn me so powerfully to this account are the mounting prophetic words about the state of our world today, and the firestorm of God’s wrath that may come through war or some other horror.
Mary’s persistent pleas, from Fatima, from Medjugorje, and other apparition sites keep calling for prayer, especially the rosary. Mary is called the tabernacle where Jesus resides, the only safe harbor amidst the escalating evil.
At a prayer meeting recently, a word that came after prayer and Adoration warned that when we may no longer have Christ present for us in the Eucharist, when our churches may be closed, when our priests may be gone, we will always have Mary and the rosary. October 7th is the feast of the Holy Rosary, celebrated one day before the dates of the Fire and of the Apparition.
A second word that was shared was of an image of being presented with a sword to engage in this spiritual battle, with the sword being transformed into the rosary. It reminded me of the bishop from Nigeria who, when praying the rosary, saw Jesus appear to him holding a sword. When Jesus extended the sword to the bishop, it turned into a rosary, and Jesus told him that the rosary was the weapon that would overcome Boko Haran, the extremist group that had kidnapped hundreds of young girls. The bishop traveled extensively sharing this vision and calling for prayer of the rosary; within 3 years the girls were released and many members of Boko Haran turned themselves in to the authorities.
When I heard these words I had with me my Magnificat Magazine, with a photo tucked between the pages of a statue of Mary which is on the campus of St Thomas in St Paul. It’s a huge statue, and shows Mary with a giant sword in front of her, with the rosary wrapped around it.
This sequence of events calls me to pray it often, and to do what I can to help others in their relationship with the Blessed Mother, our refuge in time of trial, who can bring us to Jesus. Praying the rosary is a safe harbor to help others find safety in this time of spiritual drought, when the landscape is becoming tinder dry and the winds of the evil one are escalating.
This doesn’t bring me anxiety or fear, but rather a strong desire to help others find refuge in the womb of Mary, beneath her Immaculate Heart, cradled there with Jesus. I recently completed the Consecration to Mary by Fr Bonifice Hicks, where he explains that we are baptized into the womb of Mary, together there with Jesus, and we’re to remain there until we are born to eternal life. This consecration has helped me to envision this place of safety, and to enter into it spiritually. His prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary follows:
Almighty God, Heavenly Father, who have placed me, by Baptism, in the womb of the Virgin Mary beneath her Immaculate Heart to be together with her Son and ever more conformed to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, grant that I may whole-heartedly embrace my dependence on you as I place all my trust in my Mother Mary. May I never scorn my weakness which your Son chose to share with me, but may I always be grateful to be little and helpless, knowing that without you I can do nothing. Veiled with her beneath the protective care of Saint Joseph her spouse, may I find in her a refuge against every danger and in her womb a hiding place invisible to the ancient foe. May I know that I am loved perfectly like Jesus by Joseph and Mary, those parents who, receiving everything from You, will always provide for all of my needs, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” These words of Jesus from Luke 12:49 bring to mind not only the refining fire of repentance and purification, but also the Fire of the Holy Spirit! St John the Baptist cries out, “I baptize you with water, but one mightier than I is coming…he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire!” (Luke 3:16). The Holy Spirit is the Spouse of the Blessed Mother, and He too cannot be taken from us. Nor can any word of Scripture that we have hidden in our hearts. God’s Word is powerful, as Isaiah states:
“So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is 55:11) “Our God is a consuming Fire!” (Heb12:29)
I was also blessed to be able to go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help on October 8th to commemorate the anniversary of the Fire and Apparition, to join in the candlelight rosary procession, in Adoration, and to give thanks to God, through the hands of Our Lady of Good Help, for the many blessings received from her intercession. I begin every prayer period with this Holy Spirit prayer: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Enkindle in us the Fire of Your Love!” May the Fire of His Merciful Love fall upon the earth and bring peace to the hearts of all His people….
The Peshtigo Fire has always intrigued me, especially after learning the story of how the area where the Virgin Mary appeared in Champion, WI was spared from the blaze. I had read a lot about her apparition there, how the people fled to the Shrine and processed around the chapel with the statue of Mary, begging her help, and how that night the rains came. The next morning, the area surrounding the chapel grounds was all charred and laid waste, with the outer side of the fence black and burned, while within the fenced area the grass was vibrant green, and the fence still white, untouched by the fire. It was described as an emerald island in a desolate wasteland.
Somehow I wanted to read more about the fire itself, and on a recent trip to the Shrine, found an account written by Fr Pernin, an eyewitness survivor of the fire. The date of Mary’s first apparition to Adele Brise, the Belgian immigrant girl, was October 8, 1859, and the date of the Peshtigo Fire was that same day in October, in the year 1871. I brought the book home and read it that evening, caught up in the sheer horror described in it. It detailed the tragedy in a very graphic way, as Fr Pernin wrote of his sense of foreboding prior to the actual blaze, and then of the frantic effort to escape when the world around him exploded in flames of hurricane force. Railroad cars were tossed in the air, fire explosions were everywhere.
Although he was caught in the midst of this tremendous storm of fire, with people frantically seeking safety, he felt a certain inner calm that carried him to do what was necessary to save himself from the blaze. He took the tabernacle from the church on a wagon and was able to get to the river, where he pushed the wagon holding the tabernacle into the water.
As the firestorm swept through the area, everything was destroyed. People were bursting into flame with bodies everywhere – his descriptions are horrific. After the rain finally came and the fire stopped, he found the tabernacle untouched, carried by the wind and set upon some logs in the river ~ the consecrated Host inside was intact, and even the silk interior was preserved unscathed.
Perhaps what has drawn me so powerfully to this account are the mounting prophetic words about the state of our world today, and the firestorm of God’s wrath that may come through war or some other horror. Mary’s persistent pleas, from Fatima, from Medjugorje, and other apparition sites keep calling for prayer, especially the rosary. Mary is called the tabernacle where Jesus resides, the only safe harbor amidst the escalating evil.
The word that came after Adoration on Monday warned that when we may no longer have Christ present for us in the Eucharist, when our churches may be closed, when our priests may be gone, we will always have Mary and the rosary. October 7th is the feast of the Holy Rosary, celebrated one day before the dates of the Fire and of the Apparition. This sequence of events calls me to pray it often, and to do what I can to help others in their relationship with the Blessed Mother, our refuge in time of trial, who can bring us to Jesus. The Marian Servant community is a graced vehicle to help others find safety in this time of spiritual drought, when the landscape is becoming tinder dry and the winds of the evil one are escalating.
This doesn’t bring me anxiety or fear, but rather a strong desire to help others find refuge in the womb of Mary, beneath her Immaculate Heart, cradled there with Jesus. Fr Bonifice Hicks’ Consecration to Mary has helped me to envision this place of safety, and to enter into it spiritually.
His prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary follows:
Almighty God, Heavenly Father, who have placed me, by Baptism, in the womb of the Virgin Mary beneath her Immaculate Heart to be together with her Son and ever more conformed to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, grant that I may whole-heartedly embrace my dependence on you as I place all my trust in my Mother Mary. May I never scorn my weakness which your Son chose to share with me, but may I always be grateful to be little and helpless, knowing that without you I can do nothing. Veiled with her beneath the protective care of Saint Joseph her spouse, may I find in her a refuge against every danger and in her womb a hiding place invisible to the ancient foe. May I know that I am loved perfectly like Jesus by Joseph and Mary, those parents who, receiving everything from You, will always provide for all of my needs, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
There may be more pieces coming together as this story unfolds. For now, I’m heading for the Shrine on October 8th to commemorate the anniversary of the Apparition, to join in the candlelight procession, and to give thanks to God, through the hands of Our Lady of Good Help, for the many blessings received from her intercession. May the Fire of His Merciful Love fall upon the earth and bring peace to the hearts of all His people….
Spiritual Sun Pennies 