This article covers La Divina Pastora Devotions for February and March.

In February, Fr Peter de la Bastide and members of the parish of St Francis in Sangre Grande were our guests. As usual, their choir led the singing, the praying of the rosary and did the readings at Mass.

Fr Peter's homily was on the theme Our Lady of Brazil , Our Lady of Aparecida. He noted that there is a resemblance between that image, and that of Our Lady, La Divina Pastora.

He told us the story of the origin of the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida: fishermen cast their nets into the river in their area to catch fish, but caught nothing, until one of them caught the body of a small statue of Our Lady in his net, and on his next cast, the head of the statue.

On their subsequent castings, all the fishermen caught so many fish that their nets were bursting!

The miraculous statue was cleaned, repaired and crowned, and placed in the church. Pilgrimages began, and prayers were answered. Today, the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida stands in the largest Marian Basilica in the world, which is in Brazil.

Devotion to her permeates Brazilian culture. Thousands visit her each day, and she is regarded as the champion of the poor. The late Pope John Paul II recognised her as the one who has most catechised Brazil.

In March, Fr Roger Paponette and the young people of Holy Rosary parish shared with us, with the young people leading the praying of the rosary and the singing at Mass, as well as doing the readings.

Fr Roger's theme was Our Lady, Queen of Holland. He began by stating that whatever title we give to Our Lady, is really a theological statement about her, in that it speaks to us about God's action in salvation.

He went on to explain Mary's role in salvation history. The first point he made was that far from worshipping Mary, what we do is honour her; and this is a tradition handed down from the very earliest days of Christianity.

The history of it originates from Adam and Eve. God made them, and they enjoyed right relationship with Him. Then Satan tempted them, promising that obeying him would make them “. ....be like gods .” They forgot that they already resembled the one true God, and that they were made for close relationship with Him. And they fell.

But God came up with a plan of redemption, and through His prophets, He let us know that He would save His people, making us once more reflect His glory.

In the fullness of time, God sent an angel to a young maiden, Mary of Nazara. Through her, humanity was offered the great second chance to reflect God's glory.

She is Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. God levelled the playing field by making her immaculate, and so the angel greets her as “ .... full of grace. ” Mary said yes, speaking for all creation, and for all humanity when she said, “ Be it done unto me according to thy word .”

God had waited all through the ages for this positive response from humankind, and here it was! She, Our Lady, gave that long-awaited response, submitting her will to the power of God. From that “yes” flows all the titles we have given to her.

This is why the Church holds up Mary as the model of true Christian living. She has shown us the way. It is the hope of all Catholics, in Holland and elsewhere, that we can be like Mary and submit totally to God's will.

Our sincerest thanks to Frs Peter and Roger, and the members of their communities, for guiding us on those devotion days.

We now look forward joyfully to our feast day, Sunday, April 17. We invite all people of goodwill to come in your numbers to our celebration.

Archbishop Edward Gilbert will celebrate Holy Mass at 10.00 a.m. This will be followed by the traditional procession with Our Lady, La Divina Pastora, through the streets. On return to the church, there will be Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

We warmly welcome you!