Dear Readers,

My husband, Larry and I recently made a personal pilgrimage to the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians in Hubertus, WI to thank Our Lady for answering a prayer. Pulling our camper, we travelled about 2,000 miles in 17 days and ended up visiting four shrines and experiencing the intervention of “angels” along the way. Jesus was definitely our navigator! As we passed into Indiana, I saw a billboard for the Shrine of the Passion of Christ in the city of St. John. We decided to add it to our itinerary. While it’s non-denominational, it was Catholic to the core. The Stations of the Cross led up a hill and ended at the parking lot of a large, gloriously beautiful Catholic Church, St. John the Evangelist.

It was early afternoon and, as we made the stations, I commented that it was a shame we hadn’t been to Mass and suggested we make a spiritual Communion in the Church. When we entered, to our surprise, Mass was in progress and the priest had just reached the Communion. It was as if Jesus kissed us and said, “I want you to receive me in full Communion. Here I am for you.” We were filled with wonder and gratitude at the great gift of arriving at that holy moment.

From St. John’s we travelled on to Remington, IN where we were greeted by a violent thunderstorm as we registered at the campground office. We set up in the rain and had a huge puddle in the camper as the rain continued. Water streamed in through the refrigerator and furnace vents on the back of the camper. Yikes what a mess! After the rain stopped, our neighbor, Terry, offered to help set up and taped the vents. He camped in a huge fifth wheel. The next morning as I put rugs and towels out to dry, he offered to throw them in his dryer. We were taking a travel break day and invited him to go to a vineyard with us and have dinner at our campsite. The weather had cleared and was lovely. It’s amazing how much you can learn about someone in a short time. Please pray for Terry and his family. His little boy was born with a hole in his heart that required surgery. Fortunately, he recovered well and is a normal, healthy five-year-old today.

From Remington we traveled to Big Foot Beach State Park in Lake Geneva, WI where we camped for a week as we visited two shrines and enjoyed the park’s beauty. But first we had to face another challenge. Larry backed into our campsite and tried to take the camper off the car, but the hitch lift had broken. Yikes! It was dusk and the car was blocking the camp road. Big problem! That’s when another angel came to our rescue. I went down to see the camp host who came over with a jack and a block and raised the camper enough to get it off the car hitch. Immediate situation resolved, but it put “a hitch” in our next day’s plan to visit the shrine.

First thing next morning we looked for a new lift. The nearest camp store according to Google was in Kenosha about an hour away. We couldn’t get the store on the phone to check for the part, but set off anyway. About ten minutes from the park we spotted a camper repair place and pulled in. They had a new hitch lift but with the wrong crank placement. The salesman said he might have a used part in back, which he did. We called Good Sam insurance earlier. They offered a local mechanic who charged $185 an hour with a guaranteed two-hour minimum. We declined. So, what could have been an almost $400 fix, cost us $25. Angel Bob, the camp host, who had every tool on the planet in his fifth wheel helped install it!

On Friday, October 15th we set off for our original pilgrimage destination, the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians nicknamed Holy Hill because it’s on a big hill (LOL!). The day was misty, appropriate, we thought, two days after the anniversary of the miracle of the sun at Fatima. When we arrived to pray our rosary before Mass, we found it was their patronal feast day, St. Teresa of Avila. (The shrine is operated by discalced Carmelites.) Mass was celebrated by half a dozen priests and several lay brothers. The music was beautiful. The responses were in English but using Gregorian chant. Once again we felt blessed by Providence. Our camper “problem” turned out to be a gift. Following our original plan, we would have missed that incredible Mass. Later we made the Stations of the Cross which had life-sized figures. I especially noted the statues of children. A little boy in the tenth station knelt with his back to Jesus who was being stripped. He examined the nails to be used for the Crucifixion. Another young boy in the first Station held the bowl for Pilate as he washed his hands. Both made me think of the seriousness of scandalizing children. They learn what they live.

We visited two other shrines on our trip: Our Lady of LaSalette in Twin Lakes, WI and the Shrine of the Relics in Maria Stein, OH, both inspiring prayer and meditation and well worth a visit. Our Lady of LaSalette is the one apparition where Mary wept, in anguish, over the sins of the villagers and their ingratitude to her Son.

God reminded us on our trip that we never leave our neighbor at home when we travel. He gave us several angels and invited us to pass on the blessing. A homeless man, Mike, was staying in the park living in his car. He had lost his grandparents’ house because he couldn’t pay the taxes. I offered one morning to make him an omelet. He responded sharply and told me he had plenty of food. He clearly had a lot of pride and was independent, doing odd jobs to support himself. He never asked us for anything, but we spent one morning on the phone looking for local assistance for him. He already was in touch with some of the contacts, but appreciated our concern.

I think the most important thing we did for Mike was listen. We had several conversations with him during our stay and he was always reluctant for us to go. Please pray for him. He touched our lives and we touched his, only briefly, but I put his name in our prayer box and we will remember him for the rest of our lives. The first thing Mike said to me when we met was to ask if I knew Jesus. He was a man of faith who didn’t focus on his own problems, but on helping others. He asked us several times if we needed anything. He was cheerful, friendly, and totally trusting in God’s care. May we all be like him and may St. Raphael become his guard and protector.

Table of Contents