SOME HISTORY FEATURES
HOLY MOTHER'S DAY
When talking about NTM , we must honestly confess that the beginning was just a simple thought, which makes us confident that it is Mary who has enlightened the leaders of our Little Children. Mom.
After the Monthly Heart of Mary and the Movement of Reparation to the Heart of Mary were allowed to be re-promoted by the Catholic Church abroad, we only wanted to organize a day to gather members of the Reparation Movement. to the Provincial Headquarters to honor and make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the occasion of the upcoming Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as a convenient opportunity to spread devotion to the Heart of Mary and promote the carry out the three orders given by Our Lady at Fatima. Because that was the policy of the Founder of the Order from the beginning when he was enlightened to initiate the Vocation of the Mother of the Redeemer Order, as a special means for the apostolic work to glorify the Lord to achieve many good results. , which our Congregation strives to maintain as a good tradition that must endure forever.
When it comes to the organization of this Thanksgiving Day, some of the brethren think that at most 300 or a maximum of 500 people will attend. But when guests come to such ceremony, we need to prepare meals for them. When it comes to this complicated issue, European students who have studied abroad have also experienced: "Pilgrims must be self-sufficient, the Organizing Committee can never provide food. give it to them”. The late Father Peter Tran Dien, who is retired at the Congregation, a person who has a lot of experience in organizing large-scale events in his hometown also said the same: “I used to organize at the La Vang Marian Center in my hometown. During the Congress Days, the food of pilgrims must be self-sufficient, the Organizing Committee cannot take care of that!"
Realizing that the above ideas are reasonable, the Congregation has accepted. Therefore, the occasion of this first Day of Devotion to the Heart of Our Lady, makes the food stalls and markets on the street clean because they have to provide food for pilgrims! From the following years, the Organizing Committee has called on parishes and Vietnamese communities to open restaurants to serve pilgrims, and also to raise funds for their parish or community. Because the number of people attending could not be predicted, the Organizing Committee had to call on Fathers who are in charge of pastoral work in parishes or Vietnamese communities, please send a list of people who will attend the Day of Reparation. before. However, it is only a partial precaution, the priests who come to attend are mostly just brothers of the Mother of the Redemptorist Order who are serving in different places, guiding their parishioners to attend. There are only a few of them outside the community, but the number of pilgrims has reached more than 1,500 people, exceeding all expectations! In Temple Day
I. WHY USE THE NOUNDS OF MOTHER'S DAY?
On occasions to organize Marian Days in the following years, the Organizing Committee only uses the humble name of Mary's Day, not daring to use the name Marian Congress as some people are used to. Because from the beginning, we were aware that our organization was just a small organization, did not dare to have big ambitions like other prestigious and influential organizations, and never dared to think about it. it will become a Marian Pilgrimage Center of national or international stature like other large-scale organizations in the world.
Mary's Day in the second year of the second year attended by up to 2,600 people, with many priests and religious men and women, especially in the presence of two distinguished guests, Cardinal John Carberry, Archbishop of St Louis Diocese and Bishop Bernard F. Law, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girdardeau, Patron and Great Benefactor of the Province. Seeing the good results, they suggested that it be held annually. Although realizing the results and spiritual benefits, but the brothers worked too hard, the authorities of the Province suggested that it should be held only once every 3 years, like the Congress of Our Lady of La Vang in her hometown. . Other comments retracted every 2 years. Or if we find obstacles, unstoppable force, even the opinion of the Ordinary Bishop does not force us to do it. But in terms of the good results that have been obtained through this organization, many people have returned to be reconciled to God, many souls have become more zealous in their religious life, and God and Mother have been honored and served. and love more, why don't we continue to organize? Many apostles had to work hard, toil around here and there to bring some people back to the Lord, so why is this a convenient opportunity, we don't accept the effort to gather many people back to God? gathered around Mary, so that she could easily lead them to God, to love and serve Him? In the end, the Service Council unanimously accepted the idea of “once a year” and decided: We will celebrate Marian Day every year.
II. INITIAL OBSTACLES Initial
This small Carthaginian city has only about 12,000 inhabitants, most of them retired people who need quiet, so the organization of great holidays causes bustle, which is a real obstacle for them, because in In the early years, they were not familiar with local customs, specifically showing that every afternoon during leisure time, the brothers playing ball happily also made some neighbors feel annoyed. Then every occasion to prepare for Mother's Day, when testing the radio system, the sound reached the ears of the people, and the neighbor called the police to intervene! An even greater obstacle is that every time we show our devotion to Mary, it is generally an annoyance to the brothers and sisters in the Protestant Denominations, because they consider us to be worship. excessive devotion to Mary, because for them Mary is just a creature used by God as a bridge to bring Christ to the world, so all devotional worship is reserved for only one God. stop.
Because they misunderstand us as worshiping Mary, on each occasion of Mary's Day, some extremists print from 8 to 10 different types of leaflets, with the same content refuting the devotion to Mary. , with leaflets printed in both Vietnamese and American languages; but perhaps those leaflets did not make any impact on the Vietnamese people, even if they received them, they would just throw them in the trash! Sometimes someone even dares to enter the campus to gather for the third year and talk: “I am here to save you from hell, because you worship Mary!”_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_ But in these cases, only a few minutes later they will be invited out of the organization's premises by the police, because it is against the law and violates the freedom of religion of others!
III. EXCLUSIVE GOOD RESULTS
The Marian Days bring good results that are obvious to everyone's understanding and feelings, especially among the local people. Carthage, being a very small city in Missouri with only 12,000 inhabitants, has nothing to attract: Not a scenic spot or a monument of history or art, no entertainment center. attractive location, without a casino or famous eateries, but today has attracted so many tourists from all over the world, making the city become unusually busy! According to the accurate statistics of the Organizing Committee of Marian Days within 10 years, published on the Monthly Marian Heart of Mary, said: The first Marian Day in 1978, the number of pilgrims attending was 1,540 people, in 1979 2,230 people, 4,245 people in 1980, 6,300 people in 1981, 8,500 people in 1982, 16,000 people in 1983, 20,000 people in 1984, 24,000 people in 1985, 30,000 people in 1986 and 40,000 people in 1987 People. Then, the years that followed could not be counted accurately anymore, because the cars had no place to park on the grounds of the Mother's Day celebration, but had to be parked along the roadside or on the football field. of a high school after the Congregation. Furthermore, it is allowed to use the parking lot of the neighboring Protestant Churches, if they do not block them.
Since then, the census is only an estimate of the number of people at the peak hour of Saturday afternoon, at the procession of the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima and Mass of Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart, organized by the City Police Department, or depending on different newspapers or television stations, the number of pilgrims attending is up to 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 by 2017 it is estimated to be up to 100,000.
For many years, there was no more opposition; on the contrary, the neighboring Evangelical Churches are sympathetic, allowing pilgrims to park in their parking lots when possible, sometimes even allowing buses to move people around. the road from the Congregation to Walmart to buy things. The local people around the Congregation gradually became more sympathetic, allowing pilgrims to set up tents on their private estates, and to use their bathrooms and toilets. Sometimes there are families who even turn water faucets to the side of the road for pilgrims to quench their thirst in hot times. Therefore, the local families around the Congregation had many Vietnamese people become their close friends, exchanging letters and phone calls first. That's why, on every occasion of preparing for Mother's Day, those families hang around, making room for their close Vietnamese friends. Currently, some houses around the Congregation have also changed their names to Vietnamese people.
As for the local government, Mr. Harry O. Rogers II, Mayor of the City of Carthage in an official letter to the Order confirmed, Marian Day is a City Holiday, which reads: Considering that, between the city of Carthage and the Province of the Congregation there is a close bond of friendship. In Carthage and I appeal to all citizens (of Carthage) to welcome the pilgrims with enthusiasm and affection.” Signed and sealed, Harry O. Rogers II, Mayor. This is such a beautiful sign of friendship between the Vietnamese people and the local people, that it was Our Lady who intervened so that her children would be so favored by God's providential grace!
In addition, many Vietnamese people also call Mother's Day as the day of the nation, like the shortened Nationality of Vietnam, because thanks to that, we can maintain the unique culture of the Nation, promote the the unique customs and traditions of Que Huong, causing the love of countrymen to become more and more intimate every day. Not only that, but Mother's Day is also an opportunity to gather for ethnic groups, in addition to many Vietnamese Dioceses, Religious Orders and many other organizations.
IV. EVERY YEAR MORE DEVELOPMENT
The 30-acre site of the pilgrimage grounds had become too cramped to accommodate the growing number of people each year, so the Congregation was forced to decide to purchase another 20 acres across Faiview Street. The place where the new land was located was a convenient place for pilgrims to set up tents because there were many cool shade trees, the road to the entrance was paved and clean, electricity and water were relatively adequate. Moreover, this new land gradually turned into Calvary Hill, as a poetic and pious place of scenic beauty, where it was easy for pilgrims to commemorate the Crucifixion and Mercy. The boundary of Christ to humanity: First of all, there is the Garden of Olives with the Statue of Jesus praying and in turn there are marble statues representing the 14 Stations of the Cross, for each family or group of people. may organize the Way of the Cross. Each place has radios to guide meditation in Vietnamese or English, with suitable hymns that are easy to sing along. Finally, the ceremony of the Way of the Cross was concluded at the Statue of the Risen Lord next to the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord. In the Holy Tomb is also a place to display some commemorative objects taken from the Holy Land in the earthly Homeland of Jesus Christ.
The Marian Day program also increases the number of days, Liturgical Ceremonies, Processions, and Workshops with different themes for each sex. In 1978, Mother's Day I celebrated only one full Saturday and ended on Sunday morning. From 1979 to 1980, Marian Day was inaugurated at the Great Mass of Adoration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday afternoon. From 1981 to 1984, Mother's Day was also opened with Mass Mass in honor of Vietnamese Martyrs on Friday afternoon. But from 1985 to 2011 the Marian Day program was scheduled to open with a Mass of Mass Adoration of the Body and Blood of Christ on Thursday afternoon and followed by a Eucharistic Procession from the stage around the Queen's Square. Binh, worship the Blessed Sacrament at the platform in the square, then carry it back to the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Mary and continue to watch with alternate hours of Reparation for the Blessed Sacrament until morning. A Celebration of the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima and Mass of Farewell to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Saturday afternoon, concluding Marian Day after Sunday morning Mass.
From 1988 until now, on the Wednesday afternoon of the opening day, the Organizing Committee added the program of the procession of the statue of Saint Joseph and the Mass to honor him at the Monument of the Queen of Peace Square, with the aim of honoring St. Even as the Patron of the Mother's Day, may He intercede with God and the Holy Mother of God, grant that the activities of the Mother's Day will be successful, the weather will be harmonious, and security and order will be ensured. Since 2000, on Thursday night, at 10:30 a.m., the Organizing Committee of Mary's Day also added a special program to celebrate a special Requiem Mass at Queen of Peace Square, including a large number of priests and religious of The Province, together with the large attendance of pilgrims, offers special prayers for the deceased, as well as for the living people whose names have been engraved in this Garden of Prayer by relatives.
V. THE HOLIDAY OF THE SATORS AND WORKSHOPS
To organize seminars, the Three-Floor Hall can only be used for the first two or three years or small groups of about 400 to 500 people; Therefore, many years later, the Organizing Committee rented a large tent that could accommodate over 2,000 people with air conditioners and special sound systems, but could not meet the needs satisfactorily. Therefore, it was time for the Congregation to decide to build a large hall.
Mother Mary has understood the heart of her Beloved Vietnamese Children: Wanting to understand better the doctrine to increase love for God, love for Mother and loyalty to build the Church, want to promote and make families are reconciled, are faithful to love each other, help each other to live happily, want to learn to understand how to live religion, to maintain the Faith in the midst of a society which is being corrupted by the currents of reactionary thought. the true morality of the Church, with its perversions taking place here and there in the world. Moreover, my children also want to learn to further improve in their vocation to be children of God, to become perfect as the Lord commanded: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Good” (Mt 5:48.).
That is why, I have awakened in the hearts of my children, each of them is aware of the responsibility to build the common good, so they generously contributed financially, many or few according to God's ability. ban. Because of those great hearts, a large Hall and Pastoral Center of Vietnamese Martyrs with sufficient facilities, able to accommodate more than 3,000 people, was completed and inaugurated on the occasion of the celebration. Mary's Day, celebrating the Great Jubilee of the Universal Church in 2000, before everyone's joy.
BECAUSE. ORDER AND SECURITY
In order for the Mother's Day to be orderly, and all activities to go well, in addition to relying on God's grace given through the special intercession of Mary and Saint Joseph, the Organizing Committee of the Marian Day must also propose With the necessary rules, meticulous instructions and the prompt cooperation of pilgrims, by following the directives on places, programs and activities, there has not been a single incident in the past 42 years. Any dispute, fight or argument, of course, people "have no reason to be perfect" with only a few problems, a little bit of insignificant friction.
However, in order to ensure security, the Organizing Committee had to closely communicate with the Council and the City Police Department and were enthusiastically helped by all necessary means: the City Police Department had to mobilize Acting on the Federal Police and the Government's FBI Agency, which is responsible for security protection and criminal investigation, so that they control and prevent rogues from entering Mary's Day. For the past 42 years, all activities have been going well, except for a single unexpected incident that happened on the occasion of Mother's Day in 2003. At the end of Queen Hoa Binh Square, a young Vietnamese man, A new family residing in Wichita, Kansas, was murdered by the enemy in the middle of the night, right near the Police Station. It was later known that his previous family was in California, he was discriminated against by his friends when he went to school, so he had to gather in groups to defend each other, causing his parents to decide to move back to Wichita KS to avoid spoiling their children. But, unfortunately, this young man was just promoted to the top of the group by his companions, so he was followed by the enemy, looking for payment opportunities on this special occasion!
After 42 years of celebrating Mother's Day, with the number of tens of thousands of people from all over the world gathered in this small pilgrimage area, in difficult circumstances, lying on the shore, in hot weather. When it was hot, when it was pouring rain again, but there was no accident or fire, big or small, except for the "single grief" incident above, which is a very great and strange grace. it's weird!
VII. IS IT THIS MYSTERIOUS LAND?
At the Provincial Headquarters of the Province of the Mother of the Redeemer in this small town, there is no special spiritual event, like the nativity of Our Lady at Lourdes, Fatima, La Vang or any other. anywhere else in the world. But why are people so eager to come here to make pilgrimages to honor Our Lady, during the Marian Days celebrated for many years? Has this small piece of land turned into "A Holy Land of Our Lady", a place where she uses to bestow many blessings on her children, always trustingly running to call on her and rely on her. Many sinners have been blessed by Mother's love to return to make peace with God and the Church, many people have found peace through her grace, many families have been healed by her from broken discords to love. loving and faithful to each other, many young people guided by her mother became close friends and became good families and children of hers, many hearts were enlightened by her to live more holy, or more special, moral lives. , there are many young people who, guided by Mother, have courageously dedicated their lives to serving God and serving the Church in their vocation to a consecrated life as a Priest or as a Religious in Congregations, to carry out the apostolic mission. Conqueror of souls to God. It is because of feeling how many blessings she gives during the Marian Days that many people say: "What a blessed day!"
Based on the stories told at the shrine office on Marian Days, through phone calls from all over the world, or through monthly letters sent to the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Mary to ask for prayers, please feast or thanksgiving, is enough to demonstrate the trust of beloved children in their Mother Mary, their Good Mother; at the same time, we also attest to the many wonderful blessings, both in the spiritual and in the body, that she has bestowed on her beloved children. There are souls that are confused because of accumulated suffering and don't know how to solve them, only know how to put their trust in Mother, and have been lovingly comforted, supported, and helped to overcome difficulties by Mother! There were very serious illnesses such as heart disease, lung cancer, liver cancer... there was no cure, doctors gave up, but when they put all their trust in calling on Mother, they were healed. strange way! There are pregnant mothers, doctors say that the fetus has dangerous problems, or is born, the child will be disabled, or dangerous to the mother's life, so the doctor recommends abortion ... but because of the salary Catholic mind cannot accept the proposal, can only trust and rely on the help of Our Lady, when the baby is born, everything is fine, not as the doctors foretold, there are many people drinking water from the faucets around Our Lady's Station at Queen of Peace Square with faith and they were healed by her from illness and disease! We can read those letters of thanks in the section “Eternal Gratitude to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” which was published in the Shrine Newsletter of the Sacred Heart of Mary or on the Monthly Heart of Mary. This is the good result of organizing the annual Marian Day that the Congregation has received.
VIII. A HOLIDAY CENTER
During this sponsored visit to the General Congregation of the Congregation for the General Assembly in Carthage, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, then the Ordinary Bishop, in his first address, he. gave us a few words of heart: “Whoever is chosen by God and Our Lady to live a consecrated life and bestow special favors on them, they must long for them. actually volunteered to respond. God-given favors have their own purposes and reasons. You are being blessed in a very special way by God on this blessed occasion, God and Our Lady must have wanted to do something very special in your Community, I do not know what it is. ; but somewhere in the future, in your apostolates in this new country and way of life, in your development in this United States.”
The cardinal further emphasized: “There is something very special that God and Our Lady want you to do, I could never have foreseen! So you don't just sit back and wait to see what God and Our Lady want you to do; but pray, study, and improve spiritually, to prepare yourself for that apostolate in the future, to bring many benefits to the Vietnamese people and also to the Americans, because: “Who can God gives much, and God will ask for much in return” (Training from July 1, 1975).
Is this affirmation, as a foretelling of the "Mother's Day" that the Lord and Our Lady foretold him, because it is in harmony with the word of God Father O'Connell, Former Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach, PL, in a homily on the occasion of the priest's ordination, in front of a large Vietnamese and American community, he affirmed: "This is like a miracle. Great Miracle" of Our Lady, in the celebration of Marian Day in Carthage, Missouri. Since Carthage is a region of Protestant denominations with 48 Protestant Churches (in 2000 it increased to 55), there is only one Catholic Church, the Parish of St Ann, which has now become the "Capital of Our Lady" , making it a "Holy Mother Pilgrimage Center" of Vietnamese people, just like "Mecca" is a pilgrimage center for Muslims".
Conclusion: As we have noted, from the very beginning, it was only a small thought that was aroused in the minds of the Authorities of the Province of the Mother of the Redeemer Overseas Province to organize a Day of Reparation to the Heart of Germany. Mommy. To be honest, none of us had the experience and ability to plan the establishment of a large "Mother Marian Pilgrimage Center" of national or international stature. Moreover, in every large organization in today's civilized society, people must form a committee, sit together to study and discuss for many months and years, make plans, outline programs, find ways to solve problems. implementation, especially must have a large budget suitable for the project decided.
But in the organization of Mother's Day, from that small initiative, there was no plan, no grand scheme, no adequate budget according to common human wisdom, yet today has become like great National Days, dare not say to have international stature as some people have assessed, because it has gathered a large number of Vietnamese brothers and sisters, both Catholic and Catholic. like pagans, from most of the states in the great United States poured into this small city, turning it into a Marian Pilgrimage Center! What is the cause of that project? Surely we must admit that: Mary is the one who initiated, guided and supported her Little Children to do. Although, in the implementation, we always discuss, listen and work together, but we must sincerely confess: All of us only obediently followed the light of Our Lady's instructions. complete trust. Therefore, it must be absolutely convinced that: All success and results are due to her, because her sole purpose is to attract people to God, so that God can be known, honored, served and loved!
Shut up. Ming Yun, CRM _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf-5bb3d__