Our Lady of Consolation
On Friday February 25th, Jonathan, Maria, and I visited the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. It was my first pilgrimage, and was a source of much-needed spiritual refreshment; I needed consolation in a real way. Jonathan has blogged on this pilgrimage already in three parts: I, II, III, IV. Much of what he says I repeat. His is more detailed.
We arrived in Carey in the afternoon. The day was cloudy, cold, and some flurries flew through the air while we walked the grounds.
We began our visit by praying before the before the Our Lady of Consolation altar (pictured to the left). Then we moved to the other altars, including the Our Lady of Sorrows altar. We bought shrine prayer books for 1.50 each, and used the prayers appropriate for each altar. They were great deals!
In the lower shrine area, we visited more altars and prayer areas, including the prayer area to St. Theresa the Little Flower (shown to the right, below; Maria can be seen to the right). The Our Lady of Guadalupe altar was beautiful as well (see lower left photo).
After we left the shrine basilica, we went across the street to a special Lenten seafood buffet put on by the Shrine Cafeteria. The seafood tasted great, and Lent aside, I have been craving fish a lot. The cafeteria and buffet were cool tastes of Catholic culture. It was neat to see such a vibrant Catholic community in such a little town.
We returned to the Shrine for more prayer after the dinner. I kept feeling drawn to the Basilica! We then visited the old parish for the Stations of the Cross. The architectural style reminded me of the Protestant churches I grew up attending. We arrived late to the Stations, because we didn’t know where they were being prayed (maybe we should have checked a little more closely!).
After praying the stations, we prayed once more before the Our Lady of Consolation altar, finishing up Jonathan and I’s first pilgrimage. On the way home, as on the way up, we stopped for some Speedway coffee, and thanks to my brand-new "Speedy Rewards Card" we earned some free coffee!!
February 28th, 2005 at 8:53 pm
Sonia Maria and I visited this shrine a year after our marriage. Consolatrix Afflictorum is Our Lady of Luxembourg, the patron saint of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, my mother’s homeland. The statue is copied from the original in the Cathedral in Luxembourg City.