The pilgrimage for next year is already beginning to take shape. Chris and I invite you to follow us on Facebook as preparations begin.
The pilgrimage for next year is already beginning to take shape. Chris and I invite you to follow us on Facebook as preparations begin.
Fresh from the trail of #BikeToMary, Chris and I are packin’ our bags and asking for prayers as we prepare to leave on the 3rd annual #Bike4Marriage pilgrimage.
I have been notoriously bad about posting on the website this year. Please forgive me.
Well… Here we are. B4M will roll out on our 3rd pilgrimage just over 3 weeks from now.
The morning has slipped away, it seems, so I’ll try to return to write a proper update this evening.
Have a blessed day!
God our Father,
we give you thanks for the gift of marriage:
the bond of life and love,
and the font of the family.
The love of husband and wife
enriches your Church with children,
fills the world with a multitude
of spiritual fruitfulness and service,
and is the sign of the love of your Son,
Jesus Christ, for his Church.
The grace of Jesus flowed forth at Cana
at the request of the Blessed Mother.
May your Son,
through the intercession of Mary,
pour out upon us
a new measure of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
as we join with all people of good will
to promote and protect
the unique beauty of marriage.
May your Holy Spirit enlighten our society
to treasure the heroic love of husband and wife,
and guide our leaders to sustain and protect
the singular place of mothers and fathers
in the lives of their children.
Father, we ask that our prayers be joined
to those of the Virgin Mary,
that your Word may transform our service
so as to safeguard the incomparable splendor of marriage.
We ask all these things through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.
(Source: USCCB’s website, “Marriage Unique for a Reason”)
I have been asked if B4M will take place again this year. The short answer is… Yes.
However, this is a very unique year. 100 years ago, Blessed Mother Mary appeared to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal. She came with a message of hope for the world.
This year, B4M will be the last leg of a pilgrimage known as #ReparationRide . We will ride this leg of the journey in reparation for sins against marriage and the family. Our general timetable will be the same as last year, arriving at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help on June 26, 2017.
On that day, we will lay down the prayer intentions we have carried at her feet and renew our consecration to Our Lord through the Immaculate of Mary.
Please pray for us!
If you are on Twitter, please use the hashtag #ReparationRide and share your prayer intentions and messages of HOPE for the world.
We are called to battle evil in ever changing and powerful ways today. Social media can be a blessing, but we must reclaim it for Christ! There are so many hashtags that bring darkness. Let’s flood Twitter and Facebook with His Eternal LIGHT!
Well… I’ve been trying, anyway. 😉
I can only say that when you make a decision to stand up and defend the family, you can be certain of one thing… You will be attacked.
I set about planning B4M because I felt called to do so.
I still feel that call and, indeed, it has been clarified by an intense battle to defend my own (nuclear) family over these past eight months. We may have been down but, by God’s grace, we are not out.
My husband, son, Chris and I are looking forward to completing this pilgrimage. We have made a promise to Our Lady and we will keep it.
Please continue to pray for us…
God’s will be done.
It’s been quiet around the page for a while, but work continues behind the scenes.
Mass will be celebrated for the intentions of B4M. Prayer warriors are being enlisted. Hours of Eucharistic Adoration are beginning…
We are considering the Thomas More Society (TMS) as a potential beneficiary of any funds raised by B4M (over and above the actual costs of the pilgrimage itself). It seems most fitting, not only for the work that TMS does, but also because our journey begins on the vigil of the feast of Saint Thomas More (a martyr who gave up his life for the truth of marriage). Chris and I will be headed to Chicago at the end of August to finally meet the face behind the voice I’ve been hearing on the phone.
By God’s amazing grace, we have a logo that is almost complete…
Even as the artist continues his work, we’ve begun designing business cards and other promotional material. (Please pray that we will find a printer with a heart that is open to take on this project.)
Oh, and did I mention that we made the papers (well… one paper 😉 ) already?? You can read the story here.
A HUGE thank you goes out to Chris (and “Bike to Mary“) for inviting me to take part in that interview and for introducing B4M to the diocese!
It seems that God is continuing to provide at every turn, ideas that we never could have imagined on our own. (I hope to share more about this soon.)
Our first real organizational meeting is less than a week away. Please pray for us…
God’s will be done.
Routes are being mapped.
Letters of invitation are being sent out.
A logo is being designed. (Thanks be to God for providing the gifts needed! 🙂 )
Social media is taking shape.
God’s will be done.
How do I describe yesterday??
Inspired. Challenging. Joy-filled. Hopeful. Sacred. Humbling. Filled with awe and wonder. Tiring…
Chris and I left the La Crosse area very early in the morning. With map books in hand, we left the “talking box” (as I’ve grown to lovingly call the GPS) off and drove east along a probable course for the pilgrimage next year.
As we considered potential routes, road conditions and rendezvous points, there seemed to be an absolute joy and peace in our hearts. There was (and still is) a sense of certainty in what we are to do.
We stopped at one parish along the route (still in the Diocese of La Crosse) to take a break and make a quick visit to Our Lord in the tabernacle. As we considered the location of this parish, we knew right away that it will be one of the rendezvous points. Reverend Monsignor was not in the office, but we left a message for him and were surprised by the response of his staff. There was immediate interest in the mission of the pilgrimage and a joy that seemed to rise up again in all our hearts. One woman’s eyes just shined as she excitedly asked if she could bike with us.
When I introduced Chris, one of the women smiled in sudden recognition and said, “You’re the Chris from Relevant Radio, aren’t you!? From ‘Bike to Mary?'” Seeming a bit bashful, Chris smiled and said that he was.
Chris really is an inspiration. Praise God!
We mapped a good portion of the course, stopping just west of Green Bay and driving in to stop at the Chancery of the Diocese for a moment.
From there, we drove to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help.
What I hadn’t realized until we approached that humble place along a quiet, country road yesterday was that Chris had never before visited the Shrine.
As we arrived, there was a sense of the presence of Our Blessed Mother such that I’d never felt (to that degree) before. I looked back at Chris and the look on his face spoke more than I can put into words. He smiled and asked if I could feel it too… Absolutely!
After tending to some business at the Shrine office, Chris and I made our way over to the Chapel.
On the way, we met the chaplain and he gave us a blessing.
Okay… I need to stop here and share a grace that (again) I may have trouble putting into words.
Remember that I am a “re-convert” to the faith. Although it happened almost 12 years ago now, I still remember what it felt like when the priest who heard my first confession after so many years placed his hand upon my head and gave me absolution. I “knew” it was the hand of the priest, but I have to say this very clearly… That was the hand of Jesus Christ. I could not see it (as my head was bowed in prayer), but I could feel it and I have never forgotten it.
Yesterday, I felt the same Hand. This time, His hand was upon my shoulder as we received that blessing. Later – in the car on the way home – Chris shared his sense of having felt it as well.
After sitting in the stillness with Our Lord for a time (in the chapel), we walked downstairs to the crypt.
While we’d brought other prayer intentions as well, one particular request was placed at the feet of Our Lady…
If it is God’s will, we will return to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help next year. We will have been faithful – to whatever degree we may be called – and will return to Her.
Hopefully, our journey will have touched many lives with beauty and truth.
It has already begun.
God’s will be done.