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