Word of the Day: Our Lady of Knock

KNOCK, OUR LADY OF. Ireland’s revered Marian shrine in County Mayo, dating from 1879. On August 21 of that year, during a pouring rain, the figures of Mary, Joseph, and John the Apostle appeared over the gable of the village church, enveloped in a bright light. Beside them was an altar, with a Cross surmounting it and a Lamb at its feet. No words came from any of the figures. The parish priest was not informed until the next day, as the onlookers were too stunned to leave the scene. Twice in 1880 the apparition was repeated, but the light was too intense to clearly recognize anyone but Mary. Authenticated miracles brought hundreds to the town. The Archbishop of Tuam started an inquiry. Some fifteen testified that what they saw was no painting or illusion. The Church authorities confirmed the testimony, declaring that the apparitions were “trustworthy and satisfactory.” The site is now an object of national pilgrimage. Pope John Paul II visited the shrine on September 30, 1979, to mark the centenary of Mary’s apparitions and rededicate the Irish people to the Mother of God.

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THE HAIL MARY IN IRISH GAELIC

Sé do bheath' a Mhuire, atá lán de ghrásta, tá an Tiarna leat.
Is beannaithe thú idir mná agus is beannaithe toradh do bhruinne losa.
   A Naomh Mhuire, a mháthair Dé, guí orainn na peacaithe, anois is ar uair ar mbás. Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF KNOCK, IRELAND
Eleventh Century Irish Litany of Mary
 

Great Mary, 
Greatest of Marys, 
Greatest of Women, 
Mother of Eternal Glory, 
Mother of the Golden Light, 
Honour of the Sky, 
Temple of the Divinity, 
Fountain of the Gardens, 
Serene as the Moon, 
Bright as the Sun, 
Garden Enclosed, 
Temple of the Living God, 
Light of Nazareth, 
Beauty of the World, 
Queen of Life, 
Ladder of Heaven, 
Mother of God.

Pray for us.