We are in week 3 of the empty nest (dd is still in France) and we decided to drive to the Divine Mercy Shrine, about a 3 hour drive from home. We got there just in time for the trifecta - Mass, Benediction, and Devotions. Since there was a Spanish speaking tour group there, we said part of the Chaplet in Spanish. We then visited the gift shop, went to confession, toured a small part of the site, visited the gift shop again and filled a couple of bottles with holy water. It was a wonderful way to spend the day - and the drive gave us an opportunity to talk about all kinds of stuff.
While we were in the gift shop I got into a conversation with a lovely young woman - we got to talking about books and marriage and being Catholic. She is contemplating marriage to a young man but is concerned about the fact that he is not Catholic. Please pray for her and for him.
I am so pleased that this shrine is reasonably close by. There are some others locally that we would like to visit on day trips. In California, I would often go visit one of the mission churches to pray (we lived only a couple miles from Mission San Fernando) but in Oregon, and here in New Hampshire, it has been more difficult to do that kind of mini-pilgrimage. Still, it restores the spirit much more than any trip to an amusement park could.
Hey, that's our Shrine! I should be there in a few days.
Maybe we need t-shirts that say "Catholic Nerds Unite!" I'd buy one.....
I'd like to see that. I'm up for all kinds of shrines, because the older I get, the less judgemental I become about the varieties of piety within the church.
Bring on the shrines. Bring on the devotions. I now know I need all the help I can get.