LAKE JAMES
NORTH CAROLINA
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LAKE JAMES NORTH CAROLINA
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OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM Monday, September 24th is a very Anglican feast, that of “Our Lady of Walsingham.” To understand this feast, and the devotion which undergirds it, one goes back to the 11th century and the year 1061. According to ancient tradition, the widow Richeldis de Favarches sought to pay special honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In a dream, she was instructed to build a replica of the tiny house in which Mary had received the angelic message that she was to become the Mother of God’s Son. Richeldis immediately set about erecting a wooden chapel of 23’ 6” x 12’10” which became a special place of prayer. Later, a community of Augustinians came to the little village of Walsingham and built a great Priory Church, enclosing the little chapel within its walls. Soon, pilgrims began to come to pray at that chapel, coming not only from the local area but from all over England and the Continent. Many kings and queens came, leaving lavish gifts, and the shrine became known as “Mary’s Dowry.” Throughout the middle ages, the shrine was one of the largest and best known places of pilgrimage in the Christian world.
In 1931,
a separate shrine church was built and a copy of the holy house made of brick
and stone was erected within the church. Walsingham is once again the largest
Anglican shrine of St. Mary in the world and attracts a steady stream of
pilgrims where devout Christians can join their “yes” to God in union with Mary
at the Annunciation. Many Anglican priests throughout the world (including me)
are “Priests Associate” of the Shrine and pray for it daily.
[Adapted from “A Walsingham Prayer Book” by A.T.K.Z.+] A Collect for the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham Lord, open our hearts to your grace. Through the angel’s message to Mary we have learned to believe in the Incarnation of Jesus your Son; lead us by his Passion and Cross to the glory of his Resurrection. We pray through Jesus your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. -------------------------------
To learn more about Our Lady of Walsingham from
Wikipedia.org, click
here.
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This page last modified on Friday, April 11, 2008 09:40 PM |
In 1528,
along with the dissolution of the monasteries, the shrine was destroyed and the
distinctive statue of Mary holding her Infant Son was burned. The Holy House was
was leveled to the ground and the great Abbey Church was left to fall into
ruins, but in 1875, the Pynson Ballad, a poem telling the story of the
foundatiom of Walsingham was discovered and printed. Interest in Our Lady of
Walsingham was revived among both Anglicans and Roman Catholics. In 1921, Father
Alfred Hope Patten was made Vicar of the parish of Walsingham and, having found
a seal depicting the ancient statue, had a new statue made and it was installed
in a chapel of the church in 1922. Within a short time, pilgrims were coming to
pray there and the custom of shrine prayers in that parish continues to this
day.