After a standing room only crowd at the close of the La Divina Pastora devotions, our Marian devotees now turn their attention to the Fatima Devotions at Laventille.

It’s been about ten years since I was privileged to visit the town of Medjugorje and receive first hand what millions of Catholics and non-Catholics have been experiencing since the early eighties.

One of the most memorable features of visiting that place is the great difficulty in getting there more often than not. Even through the political melt-down of the “iron curtain,” pilgrims continued to brave trials and even real danger at times just to get to that little oasis of peace and an environment clearly saturated with the presence of God.

Without ever having Our Lady appear here as at other Marian shrines around the world, Laventille hill has continued almost like a relic from the past to draw pilgrims from all over this country and at times even abroad.

And much like Medjugorje and several other Marian shrines, our national shrine could well be evolving into an oasis of peace and hope amidst a national landscape of unabated crime, violence and moral decadence. Just as many of us have done far away at foreign shrines often at great personal sacrifice and cost, let us come together at our own national shrine and seek our Lady’s intercession particularly for our nation.

At our devotions of 2006 the National Charismatic Renewal led us through our monthly devotions as we also introduced that year a Eucharistic procession preceding the actual devotions at the Shrine.

 In 2007 we began to challenge our various Commissions to share with the national Catholic community their work and how we could be of greater help and support to them. For each of our devotions last year therefore, we were most impressed and well informed about the challenges and work of the Family Life Commission.

This year we have challenged the Social Justice Commission to share with us, over the next six months, their work and what part we could play in fulfilling their ambitions.

Our devotions this year begin with our newest ordained diocesan priest, Fr. Robert Christo, sharing with us both during the Holy Hour and as celebrant and homilist at the Mass.

Fr. Robert, who hails from St. Mary’s, Mucurapo parish, was ordained last December and is appointed to the parish of San Fernando where he serves as Fr. Ventour’s assistant for several communities as well as at the various Catholic schools in the parish. We look forward to welcoming Fr. Robert for the first time as priest at the national shrine.

Our first devotion gets started this year on May 11 with the Eucharistic procession beginning at Spree Simon Junction in John John. This first one is probably the shortest of our processions so we would encourage those who plan on trying at least one of these to make this your choice.

At the Shrine itself our Holy Hour begins at 3 p.m. with Confessions being heard from 2 p.m. Holy Mass should begin around 4 p.m. and we should be completed by about 5:15.

Students of St. Benedict’s College, La Romaine, will be serving us for devotions as well as Mass. We do look forward to seeing our regular faces as well as many new ones for who could doubt that our nation is in dire need of serious prayer.