Mary’s Mission Pilgrim Virgin Walkers — the generous souls who man-power the carossa and catechize souls — prepare the Mission stops both spiritually and materially.
Pilgrim Virgin Walkers
Mary’s Mission Pilgrim Virgin Walkers (PVWs)— the generous souls who man-power the carossa and catechize souls — prepare the Mission stops both spiritually and materially. Led by a team leader who determines speed and stops, the PVWs with Our Lady walk towards the appointed place for the evening Mission. As they proceed, the Catechists, as time and opportunity offer, will speak to folks along the road. If a priest is accompanying the Virgin at the time, they will prepare them for the Scapular, and when the Priest arrives, he will impose the Scapular upon them. If the priest is not present, and supplies last, they will instruct them in the Miraculous Medal, give them one, exhorting them to the prayer of the MI daily. In all cases, they will invite them to Mary’s Mission Mass to take place at 6:00 PM at the appointed place. Sometimes, people are so happy at the passage of Our Lady, that they light candles and stand at attention at the doors of their homes. Occasionally, the sick are visited, confessed and blessed, and where needed, receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. On other occasions, souls who are touched by Our Lady will follow Her for several kilometers. Many times, people offer prayer petitions and donations. It can be quite moving to see the very poor gather together pesos from their own shelter and from their neighbors and press these into the hands of the Priest for Our Lady.
Meanwhile, the Team leader will try to arrive at the appointed place in the early afternoon to allow Catechists to fan out and call people to Mary’s Mission Mass. While the catechists call the people to Mary’s Mission Mass, sometimes accompanied by Our Lady, and often by the sound truck, the server crew hangs tarpaulines and prepares the altar for the Holy Mass. If the Priest accompanies the crew, there will be brief talks at strategic corners, to invite souls to the Scapular, the Miraculous Medal and the M.I.
SIMULTANEOUS SPUR APOSTOLATES
While the PVW team and catechetical crew is plying the route towards the place of the evening Mary’s Mission Mass, other catechetical crews, contingent upon the availability of extra Priests, strike out on apostolic work in Schools, Municipal Halls and big businesses. These have been visited by catechists who presented Mary’s Mission to them and fostered the desire to consecrate their institutions to Mary, as well as offer their constituents the opportunity of consecrating themselves to Mary in the M.I. In this way, in Cagayan de Oro, while Fr. Tim Pfeiffer accompanied the Pilgrim Virgin and looked after the Mary’s Mission evening Masses, Fr. Ghela and Fr. Hora fanned out during one week to 12 schools and gathered into the M.I. 6605 knights for the M.I.! On other occasions, while the statue of Our Lady continues Her route with the PVW team, the Priest goes back along the Mission trail, or in advance of Our Lady’s path, to a Municipality or some other public institution, for the consecration of the Town by its Mayor and officers, often followed by a conference on the M.I. and the ceremony of the enrollment. Although this takes from 2–3 hours, many Municipalities and Schools have generously made this sacrifice to give Our Lady more Knights.
In the course of Mary’s Mission, more than 28 Schools have been visited and been given the Scapular or Miraculous Medal. Some of these schools received the Conference on the MI and 9,190 new Knights were given to Our Lady for Her victory over Satan. May these young knights ranging from 9–20 years of age persevere in their M.I. prayer every day! Due to this apostolate, a considerable number of people walking around Cagayan de Oro, Butuan City and even Surigao will notice children and young people in promenade with blue-stringed Miraculous Medals strung about their necks — the sign of their consecration to Mary in the M.I. This visible influence of Our Lady through Her Miraculous Medal and through the consecration of souls to Her service will have beautiful effects for the salvation of many souls! In the school apostolate, working with classes or school sections, it is possible to deploy the power of the Miraculous Medal, the ensign and weapon of the M.I., in a ceremony of large numbers, recreating as it were the original concept of the M.I., a universal movement under the influence and direction of Mary. Here, however, the follow-up work of the initial grace of consecration is immense, and so we must pray hard that Our Lady stirs up more members for the M.I. to do this important work.
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