A Deo et Rege

After the Tomb altar, I went a statue of St. Therese, the Little Flower and said a prayer from the pilgrim’s manual. The realism of the statue was utterly amazing, almost as if she was standing right there with us.

Then, I moved to an altar and a cabinet that held many holy relics and said a prayer before the altar. As an Anglican, I had never known relics personally, just in history books. That is one aspect of Catholicism (as well as shrines) that was completely new to me. It was amazing to see the relics in person of many of those holy people I’ve admired over the years such as Maria Goretti, the Apostles, Perpetua, Francis, Clare, etc. Once again, this was another vivid reminder of the Incarnation.

Next, I said a prayer before a statue of St. Anne and traveled to the other side of the Lower Shrine where there were cabinets full of testimonials from people who had been cured at the Shrine and other reminders of their former states in life. A large number of crutches and braces filled the cabinets and lined the walls. Photos of babies conceived after visits to the Shrine were plentiful too. On top of the cabinet was a basket that was used to carry in a blind man. After his visit to the Shrine he could see. God still works today; the Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation is a vivid reminder of that.

After examining the testimonials, I made my way over to the Souls altar, perhaps the most beautiful and intriguing of all the places in the Shrine. I said my prayer there and then went to another altar with the Blessed Sacrament and prayed to Our Lord. I then said a prayer before the altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who has special significance since she is patroness of the Americas and I became engaged on her feast day (December 12th).

I prayed before statues of St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padua before ending my pilgrimage of the Lower Shrine before a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I’ve always loved the devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, perhaps because it emphasizes the love of Jesus.

Finally, we made our way upstairs and across the street to the Shrine cafeteria to partake of the Lenten seafood buffet.

The Final installment coming soon…

Left photo is of the Souls Altar and right photo is the Sacred Heart of Jesus