Rosary on the Coast

Dear Friends and Family,

At 3:00 PM this afternoon Catholics gathered all along the coasts of England, Wales, and Scottland, to pray the rosary--begging God, through the intercession of His Holy Mother--for the conversion of England to the Catholic Faith, for the protection of innocent life and an end to abortion, and for true peace, the sort that can only come when a country is obedient to God.

I gathered with a number of young families from Lanherne and Plymouth on at Holywell Bay, pictured above. I cropped out of the photo the wonderful young children because, in these days, I'm never sure when a parent would object or not to such photos being posted online. But it was wonderful having the young children there!

The prayer comprised about an hour in total. Before beginning the rosary there were special prayers of protection, including the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and an act of contrition, then the rosary, then the Litany of Loretto, and finally a Litany to the Saints of the British Isles--a beautiful, and long!--litany. It is striking how many wonderful saints England has. The sand was excellent for kneeling, and at the end the children were able to run about a bit on the beach, as pictured below. Some ventured to get their feet wet in the ocean, but the water, outside temperature (51 degrees) and strong wind were too cool for my taste!

Then one of the local families very generously welcomed us to the local village hall for refreshments, which included homemade pasties, and a host of homemade desserts, including scones and saffron buns... When I left, at 5:45 PM, everyone was still there and seemed to be having a great time.

It was a wonderful day, though at the moment I feel rather drained, perhaps not primarily by the day's activities, but rather primarily by the events of this past week in England--all that transpired in the life of little Alfie Evans this past week, the terrible evil it presented to the world: young parents told by the court they could not even care for their own child, not even when Italy made him an Italian citizen and sent a helicopter to transport him for hospital care in Rome. No, the English courts and medical system insisted that this 2-year-old disabled boy had to die. I terribly sad thing, beyond sad... But in God's providence, it seems to be helping at least some people awaken to the fact that parents should be able to have the ultimate decision in caring for their child, and that every child's life is precious.

Well, I'm too drained to write more now, so I will sign off. I will write you next weekend from the United States, where I am heading to renew my visa for England.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari