This past Saturday, August 18th, I woke up early enough here in Ithaca, NY to make it to Doylestown, PA and participate in the 3rd Annual Traditional Latin Mass pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa. The weather was perfect and the drive through Pennsylvania was very picturesque. I wasn’t sure what to expect, except for a great homily from Fr. Miara, but any day devoted to “prayer and reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of Fatima” has to be a great day.

The grounds of the Shrine consist of a large hill where the church stands looking out over a small valley. In front of it is an outdoor Stations of the Cross, which all of us would pray later in the day. Having noticed that parts of the signs on the grounds were in Polish, I suspected that a monument of some sort to the late Pope John Paul II had to be near. Sure enough, there is a statue of the late Pontiff next to the church. At the base of the statue was his papal emblem with its characteristic blue “M” showing devotion to Our Lady as well as his personal motto in Latin, “Totus Tuus (Everything Thine)”. In addition, the words “Open the doors to Christ (Otworzcie szeroko drzwi Chrystusowi)” were also part of the monument.

The Church itself is medium sized and under construction. The facade was completely stripped of its original artwork and I don’t know what it will look like when the renovations are done. The artwork at the main altar presents Our Lady of Czestochowa in Her rightful place in salvation history, being exalted by the Cherubim and Seraphim in the presence of the Triune God. Except for the painting of Our Lady, the other elements of the artwork were crafted in a textured bronze. While this church was constructed in 1966, the necessary provisions were taken to offer the Extra-ordinary Rite with the utmost reverence.

After most of the pilgrims had arrived and gone to Confession, the outdoor Rosary procession began. The procession was led by a company of approximately 12 altar servers followed by 10 young ladies in white dresses and veils. Like I saw in the Pilgrimage to Chartres, a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried on the shoulders of two men; Fr. Miara and the crowd filled out the procession. As this day’s pilgrimage had been billed, the accompanying prayers for the Holy Rosary helped focus our prayer intentions on reparation to Our Lady of Fatima. One sample: “… But for thy merciful message of Fatima we would have continued in our forgetfulness of God and His commandments. Thou hast warned us again; thou has pointed out the way to propitiate the just anger of God. Deign now, O most beautiful Virgin of virgins, to accept the office of mediatrix between earthly children and thy heavenly Son….”

After the procession was over, there was a Solemn High Mass in the Church. The Mass said was of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Salve, Sancta Parens. Fr. Miara did not disappoint with a homily that helped us understand how the history and meaning of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa can help deepen our commitment to the Faith.

After a brief history about the origins of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, he recalled a certain event that took place during a burglary attempt on the sacred image. Upon exiting the castle with the image, the robbers jumped into a wagon being pulled by a mule. The mule would not budge. Out of anger, one of the robbers slashed the face of Our Lady in the image and image began to bleed. Luckily, the burglary was not successful, but the scars from the vandalism could not be repaired after many attempts.

Fr. Miara used this account to illustrate that first and foremost Our Lady is the Mother of Sorrows. In her co-redemption of the human race, She carried her own cross on Earth with her divine Son. She is a model for us to carry our own crosses. Fr. Miara also reminded us that a cross is a *must* for salvation so that we too must expect to carry a cross. We cannot choose our cross, rather, it will be assigned to us. Our Lord will send us a cross for us to bear according to His Will. No servant is greater than his master. Christ suffered and died for our salvation, therefore, we must die with Him before we are saved. Christ called Peter a devil because he got in the way of His Cross.

After this spiritual “wake up call,” Fr. Miara reminded us that in viewing suffering on Earth with Faith and an eye towards discerning the Divine Will, there is no such thing as a “bad event.” It is better to suffer on Earth than in the fires of Purgatory. Our cross on Earth is actually a beautiful cross if it is a reparation to Our Lord and for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Therefore we should be joyful and rejoice in the triumph of Our Lady. In closing, Fr. Miara reminded us that through Holy Mother Church we have a means of Salvation. So we should receive the sacraments, pray the Rosary, do penance and

“FIGHT FOR THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS.”

As I expected, Fr. Miara did not disappoint.

The stations of the Cross according to St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori were the next item on the agenda. The Stations were outdoors. Fr. Miara was flanked by five altar servers. The Stabat Mater was chanted in full and the Stations concluded with the commemoration of the five wounds of Christ: an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be were repeated five times.

The pilgrimage concluded with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the main church. Fr. Miara was accompanied by the deacon, sub-deacon, MC, thurifer, and torch bearers. The Benediction went according to the 1962 Missal, but before the Divine Praises and the Tantum Ergo, we recited the prayer taught by the Guardian Angel of Portugal to the three visionaries during the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. As mentioned in the accompanying booklet, an angel appeared to the shepard children of Fatima with the Blessed Sacrament suspended in mid-air. Bowing deeply, the Angel began to recite: “My God, I believe in Thee, I adore Thee, I hope in Thee, and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who neither believe nor adore nor hope, nor love Thee….” This prayer was recited three times by the angel. Likewise, the faithful at the Shrine repeated this prayer at this point during Benediction. This prayer is most appropriate because the lunette is placed in the Monstrance and “elevated” on the altar. The ties between the apparition at Fatima and the liturgy were very strong throughout the day.

The benediction concluded with a farewell to Our Lady of Fatima Statue, which included the Portuguese custom of waving white handkerchiefs as the Statue left the Church.

All in all, devoting an entire day of prayer and reparation to Our Lady should be integral to the spiritual life of any Catholic and this pilgrimage provides a great opportunity for those of us on the East Coast. I could not finish this account of the day without mentioning the brilliant choir and organist for providing beautiful music throughout the day. If there is one parting thought I have from the pilgrimage, it is that a “Traditional Catholic” is a kind of misnomer. To me, using the term “tradition” conjures up the idea that certain things are only done today because they were relevant in the past and people cling to that time. But the Catholic Faith does not change over time. Salvation history is not a thing of the past but is going on even today, and only prayer, penance, and devotion to Our Lady can keep it fervently alive among faithful Catholics.