Although I am not of the Catholic faith, I can appreciate this annual trip of gratitude and prayer. Matt's mom, Glenda, explained that years ago when his older sister Becky was a small child, she suffered from an inexplicable and seemingly incurable infection. During this time, Glenda visited the monument and prayed that if Becky would be healed, she would continue to visit once a year for the rest of her life and so she has.
The day usually consists of mass at 10:00 and then downstairs to the chapel underneath which houses cases full of declared miracles. The cases are full of written testimonies of answered prayers, crutches, and prosthetics that people have left behind as a way to symbolize their healing through God. Beyond the representation of physical healing, these cases represent something we tend to forget, but is the most critical part of any religion: FAITH.
After leaving the chapel, the crew crosses the street to the gift shop and then lunch with family and friends. The goal is to have a picnic style lunch in the park that hosts the large monument down the street; however Mother Nature's gift of 50 degree weather forced us into the cafeteria.
A few of his Grandma Emma's friends and family (originally from Italy) joined us; and we spent the day surrounded by tons of Italian food (of course), stories how things should be these days, and plenty of kids expelling their youthful energy.
The pictures in this blog are taken from their website Our Lady of Consolation Basilica and National Shrine because as much as I'd love to marvel and document the amazing architecture, I have found it quite difficult to snap well composed pictures after mass while trying to chase 3+ kids around :)
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