Our Lady of the Snows

The title of this blog brings up some great memories. One of my favorite places to visit is the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois, right across from St. Louis, Missouri. My first visit to the shrine came when I was a little boy in the early 1970's. About the only items on the grounds at the time was the outdoor ampitheater where Mass was celebrated during good weather, outdoor Stations of the Cross, and the Lourdes Grotto. My family and I went back to the shrine in 1985 and there were a lot more to the grounds including a motel, so it was a great place to stay. My memory from that visit was that I was able to serve the Sunday morning Mass at the outdoor ampitheater. I even told the priests that I encountered there, they were OMI's, or Oblates of Mary Immaculate, that I was wanting to be a priest. They would have liked me to join their order, but I felt called to be a diocesan priest. Since I went to seminary at Saint Meinrad in Indiana, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows was a great stopping point. I bring this memory up because the Universal Church celebrates today the Feast of Saint Mary Major. One of the four major basilicas in Rome is named Saint Mary Major. The basilica was erected in Rome by Pope Sixtus III and it honors Mary, the Mother of God. You might wonder the connection between the Basilica and the Shrine. It just so happened that a sign was given on where the Basilica of Saint Mary Major was to be built. It is built on the Esquiline Hill and the sign, a snow covered hill in August, thus Saint Mary Major and Our Lady of the Snows are the same. In a special way, let us pray that on this day and everyday our Blessed Mother will intercede for us with her motherly care. Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us!!!