A Traveling Statue

When I was in Portugal and saw Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine, little did I know that a few blocks from my house I would have another encounter with the beautiful Lady.  I was invited to pray the rosary at a friend's house. "On Tuesday, an Italian lady will have the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at her house and she is having friends over to pray the rosary," I was told.  I wondered how odd it would be to hear the rosary prayed in Italian.  Imagine my surprise when I saw four of the persons that had traveled to New Mexico on a recent pilgrimage present at the rosary. I knew four other friends and thought, this is certainly a small world.

An altar with twinkling lights, flowers, candles, green plants and netting draped over the altar was beautiful. The rosary was exciting as voices blended together and different persons led the prayers. Songs were sung in English and Italian.  One song sounded Spanish and when someone said it was De Colores being sung in Italian, I knew why I had recognized the music!

After the prayers were completed, the evening turned into a social hour. Some of us talked about our trip to New Mexico, some talked about gambling, some about illnesses, some about our pastor leaving Spirit of Christ and some about Italy. A delicious lemon cake was served with coffee as we sat around a large table. A mural painted on a wall is of the small village the Italian family had lived before coming to America.

A spiritual evening filled with friendship and fun. For those that are not aware, the statue of the Blessed Mother is requested by different families. A name is written on a request form and then the family is notified as to when they will have Our Lady visit the home. If you have the statue, you invite friends to your home to pray the rosary. I felt privileged to have been asked to attend this special evening.

"If men knew what eternity is,

they would do everything

to change their lives."

Our Lady of Fatima