Grotto Me This

This year Mrs. Nod and I celebrate 14 years of marriage.

We have a tradition of trading off planning our anniversary and this year was Mrs. Nod's turn. Instead of a big fancy dinner, she chose time away from home and a spiritual theme. This was our first trip away from home without any children since we started having them. Oooh! Aaah! The novelty!

This was an overnighter and mini-retreat for the two of us - just time to spend alone and at our own pace, nothing formal.She chose the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, MD. The weather was fine and the place is beautiful and peaceful. There is a garden walk up to the Grotto that features the Stations of the Cross on one side, and the Mysteries of the Rosary on the way back.


Halfway up is a small chapel, the Corpus Christi Chapel, that is "just big enough to change your mind in" where the Eucharist is reserved in the Tabernacle. Kneeling in front, you are about four feet from His Presence. There is a sign there, saying "You are now alone with Our Lord ... don't you have anything to say to him?".

The Grotto is a replica of the original one in Lourdes, France where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, saint and incorruptible.

There is actually an indulgence of 500 days attached with visiting the Grotto as long as you go to Mass, Confession, pray for the Pope, and say a Hail Mary and invocation. 500 days! And we visited there twice. Yeah, baby, that's 1000 days off Purgatory for free -- I think I may need it.

We visited on the Feast of Divine Mercy, which is our (liturgical) anniversary. We were finishing up the Divine Mercy novena, so we hit Mass at St. Anthony's at the bottom of the hill and Confession at the Grotto. An indulgence trifecta! Woot!
The next day we also visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, which is practically down the street in Emmitsburg. I'm not sure of the architecture type (neo-classical?), but the interior was designed by Italian and German artists.




St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's remains are entombed behind a marble slab in a side chapel in the Basilica. They have a reliquary that you can reverence and a novena to pray for intentions. The stained glass windows above her tomb show her order, the Daughters of Charity, performing the 7 works of mercy. (Click for larger image).

The very top of the dome features a fresco of the holy family. You have to crane your neck for a good look. I got a better look by taking a hi-res photo and looking at that.


All in all, it was a very sweet way to spend your anniversary with the one you love: good job, hon.