From San Juan Bautista, we made the short drive to Santa Clara where we visited Our Lady of Peace, one of only two Marian shrines on the west coast. It is a beautiful location with a large shrine to our Blessed Mother visible from Highway 101. It has also had perpetual adoration for 40 years! It makes for a great stop during a pilgrimage because of the variety of things that can be done there.
We began our stop by visiting the statue and praying the Stations of the Cross, which are placed around a large lawn area in front of the statue. Most of those that were with us had been to the shrine before (4 lived in the San Jose area for years and 2 of us had visited on pilgrimage multiple times). |
We decided to pray the Stations of the Cross with three Hail Mary's for each station while meditating on what we could do to sacrifice for the benefit of others as Jesus had sacrificed for our benefit. I was a little worried for some of the older pilgrims (one is in his mid 70s and 2 are in their mid 60s), but each of them continued to respond positively when asked if they wanted to continue. It felt very moving to be in a relatively large group (8) that were spending the day from the very early hours dedicated to prayer and pilgrimage.
After completing the loop around in prayer, we walked across the large lawn (I invited all to run, but no one followed my lead) to the statue of St. John Paul II. I have always had a big devotion to JP2 and was happily surprised during my last visit to see that they had installed the statue. This time we were all able to see it during the daytime and devote some time in prayer, asking for St. JP2 to intercede for us from his place in heaven.
Next, we walked into the church for a short time in adoration to our Lord. It still impresses me to think that the church has had perpetual adoration since the 70s. With all of the things that happened within the Church during the post Vatican II period, here is one parish that has maintained perpetual adoration continually since then!
Before leaving Our Lady of Peace, we took time to visit the rather large bookstore. On the way there, we saw advertisements for the parishes Nativity diorama, but it was not going to open until 5 PM, and we had to be in Los Gatos by 6 PM for Vespers. I was able to buy a nice Christmas present for myself from the store, a book on the history and champions of the holy rosary, written by Father Donald Calloway. I had been thinking about it for a while, and when I found out that the copy I found was there last one, I knew that it was meant for me.
You can continue to read about our day by clicking on the links below and view photos in the slideshow below.
After completing the loop around in prayer, we walked across the large lawn (I invited all to run, but no one followed my lead) to the statue of St. John Paul II. I have always had a big devotion to JP2 and was happily surprised during my last visit to see that they had installed the statue. This time we were all able to see it during the daytime and devote some time in prayer, asking for St. JP2 to intercede for us from his place in heaven.
Next, we walked into the church for a short time in adoration to our Lord. It still impresses me to think that the church has had perpetual adoration since the 70s. With all of the things that happened within the Church during the post Vatican II period, here is one parish that has maintained perpetual adoration continually since then!
Before leaving Our Lady of Peace, we took time to visit the rather large bookstore. On the way there, we saw advertisements for the parishes Nativity diorama, but it was not going to open until 5 PM, and we had to be in Los Gatos by 6 PM for Vespers. I was able to buy a nice Christmas present for myself from the store, a book on the history and champions of the holy rosary, written by Father Donald Calloway. I had been thinking about it for a while, and when I found out that the copy I found was there last one, I knew that it was meant for me.
You can continue to read about our day by clicking on the links below and view photos in the slideshow below.
Mission Santa Clara
Next we headed to Mission Santa Clara
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St. Basil Byzantine Catholic Church
We ended the evening praying Vespers in Byzantine style.
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