From the Rector: Mary Invites us to Go Deeper into Christ

24 September 2026

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham. Walsingham is a village in Norfolk, England, and it was there that in 1061, a certain noblewoman, Lady Richeldis de Faverches, experienced a Marian vision showing her the Holy House of Nazareth, inviting her to establish a counterpart in Walsingham. Walsingham eventually became famous throughout England and Europe, welcoming countless pilgrims, and this continues today.

I was fortunate during my sabbatical to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham during England’s National Pilgrimage on the day after Pentecost, the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. Hundreds of people were in attendance for an outdoor mass on the lawn followed by a picnic, a procession through the village of Walsingham, a homily, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It was a joyous occasion on a beautiful spring day celebrating Mary’s devotion to Christ.

St. Mark’s has always cherished a deep devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church has two statues of Mary, and our chapel is dedicated to the Holy Mother. The Angelus is a treasured devotion; many Marian feast days are celebrated with high masses; and the Holy Rosary is prayed corporately on Sundays.

Our Guild of the Annunciation has been instrumental in deepening this parish devotion of Mary. The Annunciation Guild exists to celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary as the premier example of discipleship for all Christians. This is also the Guild that is responsible for the Marian Talks throughout the year, and it is Guild members who lead the Rosary meditations each Sunday. The Guild’s Novena includes the parish intercessions, and this novena is prayed before the daily masses.

As Christians we discover again and again that it is Mary who invites us to deepen our faith in Christ. Her faith in God opened her womb to carry the Christ Child, and she remained faithful to her Son, even when he was crucified on the cross. When Christ had ascended to reign at the right hand of the Father, she gathered the disciples for the Day of Pentecost and the birth of the Church. In every aspect of her life, she shows us what fidelity to Christ is.

The month of October is traditionally known as the month of the Holy Rosary. If you have not joined the Guild for a Sunday Rosary yet, October would be an ideal time to come. On Sunday, October 4, the autumn Marian Talk will be offered after High Mass, and the theme is Mary, Daughter of Zion. If you would like to be inducted into the Guild of the Annunciation, the next induction is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9, at 6:30 pm, when the parish will celebrate a High Mass within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM. Please speak with me if you wish to be officially inducted into the Guild.

In closing, I am sharing one example of many of the magnificent meditations that one of our Guild members has offered on a Sunday. Brother Michael Ida, our resident Julian monastic, offered the following meditations recently for the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. I hope you enjoy reading and praying these rich devotions of our St. Mark’s worship life.

Father Paul Lillie

The Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary with Meditations from the Mystical Tradition

The First Mystery: The Resurrection

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations

I saw the soul of Jesus, between two angels, in the attire of a warrior, brilliant as the sun, pass through the rock into the tomb. I saw the body of Jesus lying in the winding sheet, luminous and transparent . . . The soul of Jesus entered the body. The limbs moved, and the Lord's body, united to His soul and Divinity, arose from the winding sheet, radiant with light. The wounds were now like brilliant eyes of glory.

The Second Mystery: The Ascension

Venerable Mary of Agreda
The Mystical City of God

The Savior of the world, with majestic triumph and unutterable majesty, began to ascend, drawing after Him the souls of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and all the rest of the saints and angels . . . The Mother of the Creator prostrated herself upon the earth and adored her Son and true God, as He ascended into the highest heavens. She was the first to sing the songs of triumph and praise for the victory which her Son had gained over death and hell.

The Third Mystery: The Descent of the Holy Spirit

St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi
Revelations and Ecstasies

O Holy Spirit . . . You are a fire that burns and consumes all self-love. You are a light that illuminates the intellect, driving away all the darkness of ignorance . . . Come, consuming fire, and destroy in us all that is not of God. Come, living water, and quench our thirst for the divine. Transform these souls entirely into Yourself, that they may know only You, seek only You, and love only You.

The Fourth Mystery: The Assumption of Mary

St. Bridget of Sweden
Revelations

When it pleased my Son to call me from this world, my soul left my body with such an excess of divine love that no pain of death was felt. My soul was filled with an inexpressible joy and was carried by the hands of angels to my Son. I lay in the tomb . . . and on the third day, by the power of my Son, my body was reunited to my soul, and I was taken up into Heaven with soul and body, that the flesh which had borne the Son of God should never see corruption.

The Fifth Mystery: The Coronation of Mary

St. Gertrude the Great
The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude

I saw the Son of God, in His infinite love, draw His Mother to Himself, and seat her upon a throne of unequaled glory. And the Eternal Father crowned her with His omnipotence, the Son with His unsearchable wisdom, and the Holy Ghost with His divine love. She was exalted above all the choirs of angels and all the ranks of the saints, standing as a bright mirror of the Trinity, through which the rays of divine grace are poured out upon the whole world.