My Pilgrimage to the National Shrine: Part III
Catholic, Shrines
We then moved along to more of the beautiful side chapels including the Blessed Sacrament chapel. There is nothing more intimate and beautiful for me than praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Sadly at this point, we were in a bit of a hurry, so we couldn’t stay here long.
At this point we came across the altars devoted to the mysteries of the rosary (without the luminous). As one who prays and loves the rosary, this was a fascinating part of the pilgrimage. Every Catholic shrine I’ve ever visited gives its assent to (licit) devotional practice through the different altars and grottoes. Private devotion is very important in the Catholic Church, more so than any other group except perhaps the Orthodox. It’s great to see our parishes and shrines give voice to that.
As we approached the sanctuary and the chancel, my eyes started to move upwards and notice the massive size of the basilica. The image of Christ Pantocrator is nothing short of haunting, perhaps due to his piercing blue eyes. This image and the dome are reminiscent of Eastern architecture, but the marble and the others designs are uniquely Western. It’s very appropriate for a Church that is both Eastern and Western and allows
the two to co-exist.
We worked our way around to the rosary altars and chapels on the other side. Two of the first things we saw were mosaics to the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. It was cool because the first was donated by Benedict XV and Pius XI. The second was donated by Venerable Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII. It’s fascinating to see these, especially since the Assumption mosaic was donated by the Pope who infallibly declared it dogma!
Next, we visited more of the side shrines, including Our Lady of Siluva, one of my favorites because I have Lithuanian heritage. Lithuania is 85% Catholic and becoming Catholic, I felt, brought me back somewhat to my roots. It was great to know that there is a devotional practice dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary that is unique to my homeland. It’s based on an appearance of Mary that helped turn the tide against Protestantism in Lithuania.
Finally, we did the creed and other things to join our intentions with the holy father’s and of course I prayed for the intentions of those in the blog as promised. Then it was time to leave the basilica. I took one more photo of the building and the grounds and then we drove to the hotel where I would stay before my job interview. I didn’t get the job, but I had a great trip to the National Shrine and a renewed appreciation of God’s grace and the intercession of our blessed Mother.
Photo on left of Christ Pantocrator; photo on right of Immaculate Conception mosaic
All photos by Jonathan Bennett
