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November 2007
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OUR TRIP FROM PORTUGAL (FATIMA) THRU SPAIN TO LOURDES, ON THRU FRANCE TO ITALY
As we have returned from a very exciting trip with Father Ray Ratzenberger and 25 pilgrims as well as our guide Roberto I thought it would be good to share a few of the highlights of the trip with you this month.
As we reflect on All Saints Day we were very fortunate to visit some homes of some very well known Saints including St. Therese of Avila in Avila, St. Francis and St. Clair in Assisi
St. Anthony in Padua, St. Padre Pio as well as going to the Cave of St. Michael. There are way too many to name in Rome but one of our favorites is St. Paul as well as St. Peter just to name a few.
One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to Lanciano and celebrate mass in front of the Eucharistic Miracle. That one was not on the itinerary but we know Our Blessed Mother arranged that one for us and with the cooperation of our guide it was a reality.
We always look to Our Blessed Mother on All Saints Day (as well as every other day of the year) and we had the opportunity to visit her shrines from day One in Fatima until our last mass in Rome at St. Mary Major . We were in the procession at Fatima as well as in Lourdes.
Two of us climbed the high “hill” and prayed the stations of the Cross while others went in the baths.
We visited Our Lady of Pilar and along with our other Saints venerated St. James.
There are too many memories to share with you today but there will be a slide show shortly to view as well as a DVD. We had some special times in Rome as we visited the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Stairs.
We also met up with Father Jose Luis and Father Steven Watson on our two evenings in Rome. We visited the Holy Stairs, the Four Churches as well as so many other sites that I would have to show the video to share all with you. We ended the trip with an audience with the Holy Father. There are no words to share what kind of feeling there is when you are in his presence.
We had some problems along the way, the bus broke down but with prayers and the intercession of Our Lady, we continued on in the same bus and with the same driver. We had illnesses but that was all taken care of as well. As we prayed for all of the intentions of the ministry, I am aware of one major miracle that happened while we were there. I will share that at a later date.
As we approach All Saints Day and All Souls Day my prayer for you is that you reflect and ask your own family Saints to intercede for you. I think we lose site of the fact that we have Saints in our own families (our Grand-parents, Aunts, Uncles, babies, children etc) and we can rely on them to help us in all our needs.
We can never assume anyone is in heaven unless he or she is canonized; however, we can always pray for all on All Souls Day and I am sure if they have already spoken to St. Peter and he has ushered them into eternal glory, they will use our prayers for them for another good cause.
God Bless You
Gayle
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