Saturday 10 February 2018

The Day Ireland Was Encircled by the Rosary

February 10-11  2018 :  6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Rosary on the Borders, an event in Poland that gathered a large number of Catholics on Saturday, October 7, 2017, has been replicated. First by a the National Rosary in Italy on Friday, October 13th, "to follow the teachings of Mary and to follow the very good example given by our Polish brothers," then more recently in Ireland on Sun-day, November 26, 2017, feast of Christ the King, with a "Rosary on the Coast for Life and Faith." Why on this day? Quite simply because, according to those who organized it, Ireland was the first country dedicated to Christ the King, in the 1940s. 
All along the Irish coast, people prayed the Rosary at 2:30 pm, followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3 pm. More than 250 prayer locations were designated for this event, including places in Northern Ireland, far exceeding the original goal of 53 locations! 

At least four bishops and many priests had announced their intention to participate. The goal of this great national prayer was the restoration of the Catholic faith in Ireland and the protection of children from the moment of conception. The organizers evoked the words of Pius IX: "Give me an army that recites the Rosary and I will conquer the world.” They asked the faithful to bring miraculous medals with them to have them blessed by the priests and bury them on the seashore, while asking the Virgin Mary to intercede to protect Ireland against evil.

Olivier Bault    Source: Coastal Rosary Ireland
 
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Our Lady of Guadalupe:
 
 
On December 12 1531the image was imprinted on a cactus-fibre work cloth (tilma) worn by (now Saint) Juan Diego. Science continues to be unable to explain the image. There is  no paint. Chemical analysis is unable  to identify the elements constituting the colour.  Cactus fibre has a maximum life of forty years before   disintegration.  
 
The tilma is almost five hundred years old, has been  handled by hundreds of thousands of people, has had thousands of candles burn before it, and shows no sign of deterioration or discolouration.
Magnification of the eyes in the image reveal reflected images of thirteen people present at the December 12 encounter of Juan Diego with Bishop Zumarraga in  Mexico City.
Come and hear Christina King tell the story in detail next Sunday afternoon in the hall. Reach out and invite your friends. This story has the capacity to open people to the wonders of God who enters our history, especially through the Mother of Christ, to alleviate our sufferings.
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