THE ACCIDENTAL PILGRIM

Karen Dill, Spiritual Director

IN SEPTEMBER OF 2014 I WAS PRIVILEGED TO GO ON A TOUR OF IRELAND WITH FR. SIMEON GALLAGHER AND A GAGGLE OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS. Here is an excerpt from my journal on the day before embarking:

I am woefully unprepared! I was in a lazy funk all summer—sleeping late, watching TV, gaining weight and generally wasting time when I should have been reading up on Irish history. So, I know I will learn a lot in the next few days!

After spending the first leg of our journey in Galway, Fr. Gallagher announced at breakfast that we would be visiting Knock that day. “What’s Knock?” I wondered out loud. My fellow travelers gasped. Fr. Gallagher kindly explained to me that Knock was a small village nearby where the Virgin Mary had appeared to 15 people between the ages of 7 and 75 in August of 1879. I had no idea that I had been scheduled to visit the site of a Marian apparition!

In his reflection on the Fourth Station of the Cross, Bishop Robert Barron describes Mary as “a theologian par excellence, the one who understands.” He explains that Mary’s mission as Queen of Heaven is identical to her mission while she was here on earth. She is our mediator and intercessor with her Son. She wants to draw all people into a deeper fellowship with Him. Many times, throughout history she has broken into our world “strikingly and visibly” with words of comfort, strength and sometimes dire warnings.

Since my conversion years ago I have always revered Mary as the mother of our Lord, but I didn’t know much about her appearances. I knew about Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe but had no idea that she has appeared in many other places to multitudes of followers. Some of these apparitions have been investigated and approved by the Church as being authentic. Others are considered private revelations. Her appearance at Knock is officially endorsed by the Church. Many features about it differ from other encounters that have taken place.

In all of her other official appearances, Mary has given messages. At Knock, she was silent. In her other appearances, she was alone. At Knock, she was accompanied by St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. A lamb on an altar also appeared. Rain poured down the evening of the apparition. The people who witnessed this were soaked, but the outer wall where the scene appeared for nearly three hours remained dry.

Within a few days of this occurrence, miraculous healings began to take place. As word spread, people began to come from neighboring villages to pray and petition. Today, over a million and a half people visit each year. Now I can say I have been to visit Mary there, too.

On that beautiful fall morning, our bus drove through a small Irish village and parked at the site of a large white church surrounded by manicured grounds. As I stepped onto the parking lot, I experienced a sense of profound peace and reverence. Our group spent over an hour exploring the gardens, visiting the Stations of the Cross, praying at the grottoes. Then we filed in to the sanctuary where statues depicting the scene of the apparition adorned the wall behind the altar. We were joined by many others and several priests who had come to say Mass. I noticed the sick, blind, and lame people who were processing up the aisle to receive the host. I reflected on the many ways that I, too, was spiritually sick, blind, and lame. I knew I was in a holy place where healing was being received.

When our bus departed a few minutes later, I knew that I would never forget my “accidental” encounter with Mary. I visited her at Knock, but she visited me as well. I resolved to learn more about her so that I would come to know her and appreciate her role in my salvation. Two excellent resources helped me do this, True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort and the St. Paul Center video Bible study “The Bible and the Virgin Mary.” The book by de Montfort is considered the premiere treatise on Marian prayer practices. The Bible study explores the many passages in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, that confirm her role in Catholic Tradition. Both have inspired me to grow closer to her in my own prayer life. I want to make her “fiat” mine: Let it be done to me according to Thy word.