On the 12th of May, the month of Mary about 50 pilgrims joined the Family Pilgrimage with Mary to pray for the needs of families.
Aside from the number of pilgrims that attended, the miracle was the beautiful cloudy day sandwiched in between two days of wet weather that saw the pilgrims journey from one church to another visiting sacred sites associated with our Blessed Mother.
The Family pilgrimage began with 8:30 am mass celebrated by parish priest Fr. James Lyons at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. This was followed by a trip to the Our Lady of Fatima Church at Tawa where the pilgrims received a blessing from Fr. Marlon Tebelin, the new Filipino chaplain. From there, the pilgrims journeyed to the statue of Our Lady of Kapiti at Paraparaumu, then to the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Waikanae. The pilgrimage culminated with lunch and a visit to the historical St. Mary’s Church in Otaki where children led in Pope John Paul II’s Prayer for the Family.
At each sacred site, a decade of the Joyful Mystery of the Rosary was prayed corresponding to a particular intention: (1) For Men and women and young people to discover their true identity and dignity in Christ; (2) For human life to be respected from conception up to natural death; (3) For an increase in marriage, priestly and religious vocations; (4) For love and unity in the family, and for an increase in the number of Christian families living and passing on the Christian faith; and (5) For support for the weak, the elderly and those marginalised in society
The scripture that served as inspiration for the Family Pilgrimage was the Wedding at Cana from the Gospel of John, where Jesus turned water into wine for the newly married couple at the request of His mother—though his “hour” had not yet come (John 2:1-12). It shows the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother and her maternal care for families.
The Family Pilgrimage was organised by the Legion of Mary and the Centre for Marriage and Family (CMF). It is an offshoot of the Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Auckland that was held at the end of September and early October last year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima.
Source
Supplied
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