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Rome Pilgrimage 2015
(continued)
comes from Nazareth. The Virgin of Loreto is the Patron
Saint of migrants, pregnant women and drivers. The drive to
Loreto from Rome was long, but we enjoyed it, as the scenic
view was awesome.
His Grace Archbishop Anil Couto from India was the
celebrant of the Holy Catholic Mass in Loreto. Pilgrims
from other groups and even individuals joined the Mass. It
was an historical moment of Truth and Unity. Archbishop
Anil Couto spoke about forgiveness. We can ask Our Lord
to erase our deviations, our sins, because a life close to God is
a Life of Holiness. In this spirit of love and peace, he asked us
to pray that Our Blessed Mother will lead us to the Unity of
the Church. Our brothers and sisters from Congo enriched
the Mass by singing wonderful Congolese hymns. After this
lovely ceremony, we got onto our buses and started our return
journey toRome.
16th October - Friday
This was the last day of our blessed pilgrimage. As we
usually do, we started our program by singing Our Lord’s
prayer in Aramaic and His Grace Bishop Felix Toppo
celebrated Catholic Mass at the assembly hall of the hotel.
Father Shaun Von Lillienfeld from South Africa was asked
to say the homily. He is indeed a priest full of wit! Jesus,
he said, is not like a supermarket where we take what we
want and leave behind the stuff we don’t need. He added
that His Word is not just written, it is active in healing all
of us in any part of our lives. The
previous thoughts in his homily
were transmitted to us by him in
a humorous way, thus uplifting
us, offering reels of laughter many
times over.
Fr. Teofilo Rodriguez from
Panama was our next speaker.
He had studied and meditated,
analyzing carefully the Message
that Christ gave to be read to
us at this pilgrimage. What he
said was very significant and it is
worth putting a part of it in this
report. He said:
“I would like for us to reflect for
a moment on what the Lord
said to Vassula: “My Spirit
keeps you secure,” - but He also
tells this to us – “putting both the will and the action in you
to gatherMy shepherds”. Because for Jesus it is so important
to gather His shepherds; because the biggest work that the
Devil is doing is hurting the shepherds and dispersing the
sheep. We are living in times of great confusion and lots of
division. This is why it is of the utmost importance to open
our hearts to this Word, (of Jesus).
Yesterday, I was asking my brothers, have we
asked for Mercy in this Pilgrimage? Jesus said (in
His Message) “to pray for Mercy, for healing your
division among yourselves, bringing peace to the
world and Unity among all Christians;” Christ said
Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls
Clergy attending a speech on Unity at the Conference Hall
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