CATHEDRAL PILGRIMAGE TO FATIMA AND LOURDES, POST 1
We had little to none internet availability in Fatima, except for Matt, who always seemed to be able get through. After several days off line, here is a quick synopsis of our pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes at this time (Friday at 6:30 pm Central European Time).
TUESDAY, AUG 6:
We arrived on time at Lisbon and were greeted by our guide for Portugal and Spain, Rui. Our first prayer of thanksgiving is that everyone’s luggage arrived!
Rui took us on a bus tour of Lisbon with a few stops for picture taking. After that we hit the highway in our very nice custom coach to Fatima, which is about an hour and a half from Lisbon.
We arrived at Fatima shortly after 7 pm and checked into our hotel, the Hotel Fatima, located directly across the street from the Fatima Basilica and Shrine. Had a great dinner at 8:30 in the hotel. Most folks were very tired and went to bed, but some stayed up for the Candlelight Procession which begins at 9:30 pm every day.
WEDNESDAY, AUG 7:
After an early breakfast we all went to the Basilica/Shrine, where I was privileged to be the principal celebrant of Mass in the Chapel of the Apparitions, which is the outside chapel. There were hundreds of people at the Mass.
Following Mass, we went on a bus tour of several of the important sites including the homes of Jacinta and Francisco, and Lucia, the three young children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared beginning on May 13, 1917. We also visited the parish church of Fatima, the places of the three apparitions of the Angel of Portugal to the children, which took place for about a year before the apparitions of Our Lady. We also visited a beautiful park which had the Stations of the Cross and the site of the middle apparition of the Angel, and also the site of the special apparition of Our Lady on August 19, 1917. She did not appear to the children on August 13 that month because the children were in custody and being questioned by the authorities.
In the afternoon we visited the Basilica, and also the special museum at Fatima. There we saw many things, but most important is the crown that is put on Our Lady’s statue for special occasions. It contains the bullet that struck Blessed John Paul II in the assassination attempt at the Vatican. He brought it to Fatima on this thanksgiving visit. Miraculously, it fits perfectly into a space in the crown, and needed no extra drilling or engineering. That evening we all went to the Candlelight Procession. It was very moving with thousands of people in attendance. It began with the recitation of the Rosary in several different languages. It was marvelous to hear all the people responding in their own languages, no matter what language was being used for the particular mystery. Then followed the Procession of the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima (Our Lady of the Rosary) around the open-air courtyard. Again following the Virgin, and singing Marian hymns, were probably 8 to 10 thousand people. It was quite a moving experience.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8:
I celebrated Mass for the group at the Chapel of the Holy Family, newly constructed on the left side of the portico of the Basilica.
Following Mass, we checked out of the hotel and boarded our bus to go the northern Portuguese city of Oporto. The story continues in the next posting!
The Concho Padre
THE CONCHO PADRE POST 
Friday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
In today’s gospel Jesus returns to His hometown not simply as the son of the carpenter but now as a rabbi with disciples. Every week Jesus goes to the synagogue to worship and on occasion to read the scriptures and comment on them to the people. His kababayans (town mates) listen very carefully on this occasion because they heard about the miracles he performed in other towns. Indirectly they are looking for a sign. But Jesus startles them by saying that aprophet is not without honor except in His native place and in His own house.The people of Nazareth are offended at what He has said and therefore refuse to listen to what he has to say.
They refuse to listen for three reasons: First, because he is a workingman. He worked with His hands in wood, and stone, and metal. He fixed doors and windows, built houses, and made plows. Some people then, like some today, thought that those who work with their hands are incapable of any intellectual level which could command respect. But in the Talmud, however, carpenters are praised for their knowledge of the Torah.
The second reason why they reject Jesus, it is because He is so close to them as their neighbor. He is a mere layman. And the third reason they reject Him is because of His family. He was related to some of the townspeople. The Semitic words used here for brother and sister can be used of cousins or even more distant relatives. They remember Him as Joseph’s kid or maybe as a baby conceived illegitimately. Their memories of His youthful immaturities distracted them from seeing His true identity as the Savior of the world. This is how familiarity can breed mistaken contempt.
In a similar manner, we are rejected too by those who know us too well. But rather than get angry about this let us take this situation as an opportunity to further our humility. Being accepted by God should be our highest goal and it is only His opinion of us that really matters. Somebody had said that as long as God approves of us, the fact that others accept us or reject us is a moot point.
It is good to us if we are rejected by people especially those who have known us well because it is for the benefit of our spiritual growth as true Christians. A priest in his homily said that as St. Teresa of Avila, in her The Way of Perfection (chapter 12) had said: “God deliver us from people who wish to serve Him yet who are mindful of their own honor.” When we want to be accepted because it feels good, we are caught in the trap of self-centeredness. St. Teresa called it the temptation of “vainglory” (vanity); to do God’s will and then expect others to praise us for it is a “poison” that is “fatal to perfection,” it destroys the love and holiness within us.
We should want nothing but to please God and we should expect no reward but His happiness.
From justmehomilies.com