Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity Vocation Team were recently invited for a formation session with the Spiritus Evangelization Team at Mount Tabor, Menasha, WI. Given that it is the season of Advent and our Blessed Mother has significant feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe in December, the plan was to do an inside pilgrimage using different rooms with a focus on some images of Mary from our Motherhouse, Holy Family Convent, in Manitowoc, WI.
Here’s what we did.
One image was taken off the wall in our Art hallway on first floor. This painting portrays the espousal of Mary and Joseph. Adding a bridal veil used at one time by our Sisters at the time of Reception and an engraved IHS ring of one of our Sisters, this pilgrimage stop focused on commitment.
A picture of a St. Francis Chapel stainglass window depicting the Presentation of Mary in the Temple was enlarged into a good size poster and placed in the Mount Tabor Chapel. Here young adults were presented to God while others prayed for them silently.
The pilgrimage also included two powerpoint slide images: our Sister Victoria Masil’s Our Lady of Hope statue found in a parlor near our priest dining room and a Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth wood carving hanging in a first floor lounge, part of the Joys of Mary collection.
Important to the pilgrimage stops were exerpts from encyclicals, poem In Mary-Darkness by Jessica Powers, Danielle Rose music ‘See you in the Eucharist, reflection questions, a theme song based on the Holly and the Ivy melody invited pilgrims to “come embrace the Promise. O come and live the joy. O come and love the Living Christ, Our God born of Hope!”
What would your Marian pilgrimage include?
