The following post is part of a nine-part series of emails being sent out to those who wish to make a 21 mile pilgrimage on May 4th from the St. Joseph Shrine in De Pere Wisconsin to the Our Lady of Good Help in Champion. It is wonderful opportunity to pray for conversions and America. Click here for details: Walk to Mary
Part I:
1. Not just a lady and not just a mother, but a queen! Wisconsin has bragging rights it has never capitalized on before. A real queen came to visit a young Wisconsin girl named Adele Brice in October of 1859. Indeed, it was the Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, who appeared to her. But she referred to herself- not the queen of any particular nation –but the “Queen of Heaven.” And if she is queen of heaven, she has to be the queen of all of those who reside on the earth as well. We ask her to accompany us and guide as we draw close to Christ.
For this reason, she has been given the name of “Our Lady of Good Help.” Seeing that her children were malnourished in the Faith in 1859, she sought out Adele and instructed her to do the following: “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation…” This is Catholic education at its finest. But more is needed. This is why the Blessed Virgin added, “Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners.” So that the teachings of her Son would take root in souls, she asked Adele to act as an intercessor. To be sure, Our Lady of Good Help not only made Adele into a teacher but she also made her into a living conduit of God’s grace for others. Like Adele, we are not just called to be a beacon of Christ’s light, but also a vessel of his very life.
The walk to Mary on May 4this a summons to become a better instrument of Christ’s light and life for a world that so desperately needs it.
