The May procession and crowning is a way of saying, "WE LOVE YOU, MARY!" with a coronet of flowers and lots of song and pomp. The local Catholic school lined up their first Communion children (in suits and dresses), Confirmation class (red ribbon), and graduating seniors (royal blue boys and sky blue girls) to present roses, petitions, and a crown to the Blessed Mother. The whole procession, starting at the church door and winding its way to the grotto (modeled after Lourdes), was very idyllic and felt like it should have been set decades ago in some picture-perfect film. Its beauty and simplicity contrasted both with the charismatic turn some groups within the Church have take and the "traditional" solemn ceremony that counterbalances it.
Before the procession, we got a tour of the church that contains the Shrine. Because the church holds the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, it has a distinctly Vincentian flavor. And because I have been learning the Vincentian tradition, including the Saints and holy people, I could almost have given the tour myself. The side chapels, in honor of various Vincentains, were beautiful, but they faded away in comparison to the Shrine.
A larger rich blue side chapel, it stood out in color from the rest of the Church. The imagery, from the statue of Mary showering grace upon the earth, to the Immaculate and Sacred Hearts, flowed from the Miraculous Medal. It also depicted the apparitions of Mary to St. Catherine Laboure. In the chapel, I could feel the peace of my Mother and the presence of the thousands of prayers that had been prayed here. In a tiny room next door, thousands of tiny electric candles twinkled, votives of some of these petitions.
The Shrine immediately pulled me in to pray, and I fully believe I could spend an eternity there, at Mary's feet, asking for her intercession and her Son's love.
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