Feb 23, 2025: Braga

The Sacred Way

The area around our hotel is known as The Sacred Way with life sized carved statues of Our Lord’s Passion. These sacred stairs have been a site of devotion for pilgrims since 1811. My new friend Joyce and I walked it together praying along the way.

The stations were each inside these buildings:

The final scenes of Jesus on the cross are inside the church.

Bom Jesus

I had the honor of being lector for Mass today in this amazing church on Our Lady’s holy mountain. This also means I got to sit right up close!

Rosary Crusade

Things are slowly connecting for me with the Fatima timeline linked to world events. Last year I didn’t catch that part of how communism was spreading in the early 1900s.

We heard from more sisters from Alianca de Santa Maria. One of them is an original!

Brief background: in 1958, Maria Aurea, a teacher in Portugal, attends an educational conference in Belguim and has an experience that makes her realize that the Message of Fatima is much more significant than she previously thought. In the coming years she forms a prayer group of ladies to spread the Message of Fatima. The third lady to join is Sr. Marie Alice, whom we got to hear from!

In 1974-1975, another Revolution happened in Portugal that brought the menace of a communist-atheist government. The Holy Spirit and Our Lady were inspiring the now 5 women in this small prayer group to boldly announce the Gospel and the Message of Fatima. They traveled the country like our original apostles in what came to be known as the National Rosary Crusade - Pray the rosary daily to fight off communism. The ladies not only faced risk from the communist government but also didn’t all have their families’ support at the time. This very risky campaign paid off. On the eve of Christ the King in 1975, they obtained the one millionth pledge to pray the Rosary daily. The next week a new socialist government took power removing the influence of communist-atheism in Portugal. The power of prayer. 

In 1996, they start another national rosary crusade to fight off on-demand abortion. Again the Lord answered prayers and abortion laws are very strict with a 3 day waiting period within first 10 weeks. 

This group of holy women officially become a religious congregation in 2002.

…

I spent the afternoon walking around the park and taking a much appreciated nap!

Feb 22, 2025: Balazar & Braga

Blessed Alexandrina at Balazar

This lady’s story really stuck me the first time I heard it. This year I’m making the connections better. She lived the Message of Fatima perfectly. She was devoted to Our Lord and offered her suffering for poor sinners.

The Life of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa (with the help of AI writing)

Blessed Alexandrina, born on March 30, 1904, in Balasar, Portugal, is a remarkable figure in the Catholic Church, known for her deep mystical experiences and profound love for Christ. Her life can be seen as a beautiful journey of faith, suffering, and love.

Let’s walk through her home and life:

From a young age, Alexandrina exhibited a strong spiritual inclination. However, her life took a dramatic turn at the age of 14 when she was home with her sister and friend when men with bad intentions broke in. The girls blocked the doors and pulled a sewing machine on top of this trap door. 

The guys still got in. 

To preserve her purity Alexandrina jumped out of this window.  Im guessing there weren’t bushes here then.

She’s hurt but still gets up and is able to save the other girls before anyone was hurt.

Her health declined from the injury until she was completely bedridden by age 21. 

Her mom and sister shared the bedroom through that small door.

This physical limitation could have led her to despair, but instead, Alexandrina embraced her suffering as a means to unite herself more closely with Christ. She often referred to her suffering as a way to express her love for Jesus, embodying the spirit of sacrifice and reparation for the sins of humanity. 

From 1932-1942 she had mystical experiences including visions of Christ and the Virgin Mary.  

Every Friday from noon to 3pm she’d go into a trace like state were she was able to get out of bed and relive the passion of Christ on this very rug.

Doctors would try to pick her up but they couldn’t. Later when questioned she said that’s when she, as Christ, was carrying the weight of the world’s sins. 

She spoke with Jeuss many times. He told her, “let devotion to My Real Presence in the tabernacle be preached and spread abroad because for many days no one comes to visit Me; they don’t love Me, they don’t make reparation to Me. They don't believe that I live there.”

For the last 13 years of her life, Alexandrina lived on the Eucharist only, no food or drink. The Church was skeptical and she was taken to a hospital in Oporto for observation for a month. Two body guards stood at the door 24/7 to ensure no food was getting snuck in. 

At the end of the month an agnostic doctor also couldn’t believe it. Her vitals were normal. He kept her an extra 10 days for observation and concluded no foul play. This is a miracle.

This profound connection to the Eucharist and her willingness to suffer for the sake of others exemplified her deep love for God and humanity.

Alexandrina's life was marked by her commitment to prayer and her desire to lead others to Christ. She became a source of inspiration for many, encouraging them to find meaning in their own sufferings and to turn to the Eucharist for strength. Her motto, "suffer, love, make reparation," encapsulates her approach to life and faith. 

She passed away on October 13, 1955, (recall Oct 13 is the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun!) and her legacy continues to inspire countless individuals.

Alexandrina was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II on April 25, 2004, recognizing her as a model of holiness and a testament to the power of love and sacrifice in the Christian life. Her story serves as a reminder of the transformative power of suffering when united with Christ and the importance of the Eucharist in the life of a believer.

I myself still struggle with the idea of suffering being a good thing. I like comfort. But in this journey toward heaven I pray I’ll get it eventually. 

Consoling the hearts of Jesus and Mary for the indifference so many people have toward them makes sense. God made each person yet so many don’t even acknowledge Him! Or they say they know Him but don’t really spend any time with Him. This was me for a long time. I try to be aware of His presence throughout my day.

To make the story of Alexandrina even more real our local guide has a direct connection to her!

When she was still alive, people would come to her to pray and ask for advice. A young girl and her boyfriend visited once. Alexandrina told the girl privately this isn’t the man you will marry. She broke up with him and years later she married a widower with 7 children. She had 10 more children with him. Number 15 is our guide’s wife! They are a devout family with a load of kids themselves. So many lives connected to Blessed Alexandrina.

There’s a new huge church being built across from her home.

Down the street from Alexandrina’s home…

Little Chapel of the Miracle of the Cross

In 1832, just 100 years before Alexandria picked up her cross, a cross appeared in the dirt. 

The local Priest said to cover it up but it kept reappearing. The man pictured asked to build a chapel over it. 

And so he did. 

Now it’s a pilgrimage site where people can dig up some of the dirt to take home. 

The dirt never runs out… there’s always enough.

…

Another pilgrim and I were discussing suffering. I don’t get it. I don’t want it. I’m definitely not strong enough for it. 

Lesson from Fr John: We shouldn’t ask for suffering but we should accept whatever suffering does come our way and offer it to Christ as reparation for sins. 

…

Next stop:

Braga, Portugal

We move hotels to a mountain in Braga. Next to the hotel is Bom Jesus (Good Jesus) church.

The grounds and view are breathtaking. We’ll be back to this later.

Around the mountain from our hotels is…

Shrine of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

My phone died when we arrived at our last stop of the day at the Convent of the Holy Cross. Again breathtaking views.

Feb 21, 2025: Santarem & Lisbon

This is one of the highlights on the trip! Although everyday kinda has a lot of highlights. But today we get to see up close the Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem from 1247.

It’s well documented and has been studied by atheistic scientists to verify that yes, it’s real blood - living blood. Read the story for all the scientific details. Read below for my retelling of how it came to be.

St Stephens

A lady thought her husband was cheating on her so she went to the local fortune teller. The fortune teller asked for her to bring her a consecrated host (the holy Eucharist) and she’d tell her. The lady went to mass and instead of consuming the Eucharist she stuffed it in her headscarf.

On the walk back to the fortune teller people kept asking why her head was bleeding! She beelined for home instead and stuffed the bloody Eucharist and scarf into her dresser.

That night the dresser shook and shone a bright light! She then confessed to her husband what she’d done. The got the parish priest who took the bloody host back to the tabernacle.

The faithful can now go pray here.

Royal Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Commissioned by the Queen, this Basilica was the first church in the world dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Behind the tomb of the Queen is…

Largest nativity scene in the world.

Commissioned in year 1781, read full story and description here.

My own observance:

The slaughter of holy innocents is the first thing I see - it’s right at eye level for me.

Then tucked back around the corner is a bar scene with men gambling and drinking. It shows that the world is still going on. Not everyone is aware that God Himself has come down to earth!

The colonial guy seems out of place. I’m assuming he represents the present time and how the birth of Christ is for each one of us.

The shepherds are awakened by the angels

The best scene in the middle of it all:

Poor Clare Convent and

Orphanage

Back in 1920, this was simply an orphanage and not a convent. When Jacinta became ill with the Spanish flu she was brought to Lisbon for surgery. Lisbon had the best children’s hospital around.

They say the infection on or near her lung (I didn’t pay good attention here) was so bad she smelled and people move away from her on the train ride.

Her mom had other kids to take care of so she left Jacinta in Lisbon at this orphanage.

She spent 12 days here at the orphanage before being transferred to the hospital.

This is her bed.

The only time the nuns saw Jacinta cry was when the sister went to move that chair next to her bed to another spot. “Oh please don’t move that chair. That’s where Our Lady sits when she visits me.”

Jacinta was comforted by the Blessed Mother throughout her suffering.

No disney princess can top this “tower window” to look out. Little Jacinta was able to open this and look into the church that had the Blessed Sacrament there in the tabernacle.

Today, this is a convent for Poor Clare nuns. They make most of the holy bread for mass for the entire country!

Estafani Hospital

In mid-19th century Lisbon, amidst cholera and yellow fever outbreaks, Queen Stephanie sought to establish a dedicated children's hospital. Though she died prematurely, King Peter V honored her vision, resulting in the construction of the renowned Queen Stephanie's Hospital, considered a model of its time.

Our Lady had asked Jacinta if she was ready to go to heaven or wanted to stay a little longer to suffer for poor sinners. Jacinta, still a child, chose to stay.

She was brought to this hospital for surgery and because her heart was weak didn’t get anesthesia. She was awake the whole time 2 ribs were removed. She dedicated her pain to the conversion of sinners.

Can you imagine!

She died the next day.

We prayed in the place she died which is now a hallway then it was a large ward with beds lined up. Then we visited the hospital’s chapel and heard from the priest.

What’s with suffering?

I’ve been getting questions. And it’s not something I fully understand myself. I’m not about to seek out suffering. Let’s try to break it down from my understanding.

Colossians 1:24

Nothing is actually lacking in Christ’s suffering of course. We can unite our sufferings - big and small - to His for the salvation of souls. Some people are asked to suffer more than others. Fr Mike talks about it a bit here. I’ll share as I learn more.

…

That was a big day! We came back to the hotel for debriefing in the hotel bar with my new friends!