Walk With Me

P-17075

NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS - BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS

Walk With Me

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

Reproduction on the meditational messages heard at the fourteen Stations of the Cross at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Ill. 62223.

SIDE ONE

Station   1. Jesus Is Condemned

Station   2. Jesus Accepts the Cross

Station   3. His First Fall

Station   4. Jesus Meets His Mother

Station   5. Simon Helps Carry the Cross

Station   6. Veronica Wipes Jesus' Feet

Station   7. His Second Fall

SIDE TWO

Station   8. Jesus Meets the Holy Women

Station   9. His Third Fall

Station 10. He is Stripped

Station 11. He Is Nailed

Station 12. Jesus Dies on the Cross

Station 13. His Body Is Taken Down

Station 14. His Body Is Placed in the Tomb

WALK WITH ME

WALK WITH ME is an invitation to all mankind to retrace the footsteps of Christ and relive the fourteen major steps of His Passion and Death.

By listening to the fourteen meditational messages contained on this record and reflecting briefly on the incidents which took place on Christ's memorable and torturous walk from Jerusalem to Calvary, you can make the devotion of the Way of the Cross right in the quiet of your own home.

When you accept Christ's invitation to "WALK WITH ME", you begin the momentous journey in the palace of Pontius Pilate who releases Jesus to His enemies, thereby condemning Him to death. You watch as the heavy cross is dropped on the already stooped shoulders.

You walk along for only a short distance when suddenly Christ slips and falls with the cross crashing on top of Him. He is pulled to His feet and the cross is again placed on His shoulders. You begin to doubt His strength to continue when suddenly a man called Simon of Cyrene is grabbed from the crowd and forced to help Jesus carry the cross.

The crowd jeers and taunts as a woman runs from the crowd and and wipes the blood and sweat from the face of Jesus. He gives her a momentary look of gratitude and begins to stumble along. He goes only a short distance when He again falls on His face in the dusty dirty road. The soldiers waste no time in pulling Him to his feet and forcing Him up the hill to Calvary.

Christ's journey to the top of the hill is interrupted momentarily when a group of holy women rush forward to express their sorrow. He tries to comfort them but the soldiers shove them back into the crowd and push Jesus forward. He stumbles along and you suddenly gasp as you see Christ, who said He was the Son of God, crash to the ground for the third time. At last Jesus reaches the top of the hill of Calvary. The crowd screams and yells for the soldiers to complete their job. The cross is thrown to the ground and the soldiers begin to strip the blood-soaked clothes from Christ's body. The thorn-crowned Christ is thrown on the cross and three nails, one for each hand and one for both feet, are used to pin Him firmly to the cross.

You can almost feel the pain as the body of Jesus sags when the cross is dropped in a hole between two other crosses bearing the bodies of criminals who were crucified earlier. You listen closely as He whispers a few words in a horse voice. He speaks softly to His Mother and the Apostle John. He asks His Father to relieve His suffering. He promises everlasting life to the repentant thief. And, finally, as He cries, "I thirst", His head falls forward and He gives up His life for us.

Each time you listen to these meditational messages and reflect on the fourteen incidents of the Way of the Cross, you will make one of the most ancient, and meaningful devotions of the Church. "Walk With Me" will no longer be just an invitation. It will mean you have responded to Christ's request to accompany him. It will mean you shared His feelings of complete abandonment and extreme suffering as He carried His Cross to death on the Heal of Calvary. It will mean, too, that you will wait and watch at the tomb until His glorious Resurrection. And you will continue to walk with Him even after He has ascended triumphantly into Heaven.

THE SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS

Although veneration of the Blessed Virgin under the title of Our Lady of the Snows is comparatively new to this country, it is possibly the oldest of all Marian devotions. Traditionally this devotion goes back to the year 352 A.D. According to legend there lived in Rome at that time an elderly, childless, noble couple. They possessed considerable wealth and desired to use their riches in furthering the work of the Church. They told Pope Liberius of their intentions and he encouraged them to pray for guidance in the matter of the disposition of their fortune.

During the hot, sultry night of August 4, 352 A.D., Mary appeared in the dreams of the couple and expressed a wish that a church in her honor be built in Rome on the hill that would be covered with snow the next morning. August 5 dawned and citizens of Rome awoke to the astonishing sight of the Esquiline Hill draped in a blanket of snow. All Rome proclaimed the summer snow a miracle and the childless couple accepted it as the answer to their fervent prayers and provided funds for the construction of the church.

In time the church was completed and it was given the name of St. Mary Major. Restored and refurbished several times, it still stands today and is popularly known as the first Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.

In 1941 the Oblates of Mary Immaculate introduced the devotion to Our Lady of the Snows into the Midwest. It had its humble beginning at St. Henry's Seminary in Belleville, Illinois. An original painting of Our Lady of the Snows done by J. Watson Davis of New York, showing Our Lady of the Snows in the Arctic sky above some kneeling Eskimos, became the center of a small Shrine placed in the corner of the chapel of St. Henry's Seminary.

The appeal of the devotion to Our Lady of the Snows was instantaneous. It became obvious to the Oblate Fathers that is was necessary to find a new location for the Shrine and to build new and larger facilities to handle the continually growing number of persons who wished to visit Our Lady's Shrine.

So, in February 1958, the Oblate Fathers purchased the first 80 of the more than 200 acres of rolling hills that was to become the site for the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. One of the most beautiful areas on the property was selected for the location of the Lourdes Grotto and its construction started in 1959. It was completed early in 1961 and dedicated on May 1 of that year.

Next followed the Way of the Cross, the Annunciation Garden, the Massive Outdoor Altar containing the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Christ the King Chapel, Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, and the Rosary Courts. Other facilities at the Shrine include the Visitors Center containing the Pilgrimage Department, cafeteria and gift shop; Pilgrims Inn, a 39-room motel for overnight guests; the Apartment Community, a retirement center for persons age 62 and over, and the studios and antenna tower for the Shrine's radio Station, WMRY-FM.

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a place of happiness. Every program at the Shrine is designed to put more real happiness in the lives of all those who take part in the various events. So, if you need to be refreshed, if you need to be motivated and inspired, if you're truly seeking happiness, we invite you to spend some time with us here at the Shrine. We're sure you will find the lift you've been looking for. Come--share a happy day with us!

WALK WITH ME

A 33 1/3 RPM recording of the meditational message tapes which are played at the fourteen stations of the Way of the Cross at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Ill.

Produced and recorded in the Studios of WMRY-FM National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois 62223

Meditations Written By Rev. John Marconic, O.M.I.

Voice Rev. Floyd Boeckman, O.M.I.

P - 17075