Father Clifford Graham fittingly recited one of the oldest prayers of the Church, ”We fly to our patronage”, to honour Mary and to end his homily at the Mass at the first of the 2006 Marian Devotions, held at the Laventille Shrine on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14.

The statue of Our Lady stands majestically overlooking the city of Port of Spain and a better view can hardly be found than the one along the route by which the hundreds of pilgrims ascended the steep Laventille hill in a procession. In addition to those who came from nearby, hundreds came also from all over the country, as evidenced by the presence of maxi-taxis of varying colours.

The elevated church and huge Marian shrine, with blue skies and white clouds as a backdrop, were the perfect setting for this celebration. 

Four tents were erected in the church’s yard to shade pilgrims from the scorching afternoon sun, but a strong gust of wind toppled two of the tents. Fr Dwight Merrick, with his gown flapping all around him, put back up the tents with the help of some young men.

The procession, led by Sangre Grande parish priest Fr Ian Taylor holding the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament, entered the church’s compound around 2.45 p.m. to Songs of praise and worship from Winston Garcia’s People of Praise community, who performed magnificently all afternoon.

Archbishop Edward Gilbert gave a short welcome address, singling out mothers for praise. He said that the procession was experimental and that further dialogue must be had to decide on whether it should be made a fixture.

The Divine Mercy rosary was recited at 3.00 p.m. followed by songs of worship, including Lord I Lift Your Name On High and What a Mighty God We Serve.

A noted absentee was Errol Cooper, a stalwart of the Laventille Devotions, but a special prayer was requested for him and his wife.
Among the many present were Simon Rostant, principal of Presentation College, Chaguanas, and some of his students, who assisted in the readings and prayers of the faithful. 

Sr Una at the devotions

Eighty-six-year-old Sr Una of the Cluny sisters, who is very proud to be a “West Indian” as she has spent 25 years in Grenada and 14 years in Trinidad and Tobago, was also there enjoying the occasion. With rosary in hand, she said she attended the Marian Devotions annually.

Sr Adriana and her team led the recitation of the five glorious mysteries of the Holy Rosary, which was followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament conducted by Archbishop Gilbert.

Holy Mass was celebrated by Fr Graham and other priests. His splendid homily was devoted to Mary, whose importance as mother of Jesus, the mother of the Church, mother of all mankind and the new Eve could not be over-emphasised, Fr Graham noted.

He shared highlights of Mary’s life that were both uplifting and reassuring: her entire life was her journey of faith, she was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, to nurture and protect him all his life and to be even present at his death on Calvary.

Fr Graham recalled that when Mary visited Elizabeth, the latter exclaimed: “How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me!”
“Blessed is the fruit of thy womb” were words inspired by the Holy Spirit, he added.

Fr Graham went on to say that the Church was the only institution that defended life and other matters so stoutly. He told us to be wary of all the blasphemies and heresies floating around today. 

He paid special tribute to mothers by saying that while they might not be able to build cathedrals and other structures, in their womb is built the great human body.

At the end of Mass, Fr Merrick presented to Fr Graham a plaque to mark his 25th anniversary as a priest, Fr Graham said he felt very blessed and grateful to have been incardinated to the diocese of Port of Spain.

Pat Fletcher, one of the co-ordinators, gave a vote of thanks and invited the gathering - estimated to be about 4,000 - to the next Marian Devotion to be held on June 11.  That day’s procession will begin from the Piccadilly Greens at 1.00 p.m.