Marian Valley continued

Here we are, back at our beautiful Marian Valley, truly a hidden treasure nestled amongst the mountains around. Here are three of my blessings, lighting candles at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

All year round there are beautiful, devotional days for all the special feasts. People come by their thousands, in cars and tour buses. They have a retreat centre with little units for people to say in while they are on retreat and a little Eucharistic Adoration Chapel near them.

The retreat centre is run by two beautiful ladies who have devoted their lives and services to this holy place and their presence, like that of the Fathers is a loving one. There is a homeschooling day every 2nd Sunday of the month. This was started by Chemai's husband (please remember her in prayer at present) and it has been a great blessing to our community.

Mass is about to begin and we are sitting just out of the undercover church area at the back as the two little boys are in high jinks today but we can still see the altar clearly and as we look around we are surrounded by the beautiful, lush countryside of the valley. It is so peaceful!

Behind the church is this beautiful shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, the jasmine is just beginning to peep over the top now that Spring has finally arrived. In a few weeks time the valley will be filled with flowers and frangrances so typical to this place.

It is a true valley, see the rim of it above in this shot? Years ago they would have terrible trouble with flies decending down here at certain times of the year and you would have to wear one of their fly nets on your head. I use to think that the devil was having a field day in annoying the pilgrims. But it has stopped now, and I asked Father and he said that up on that ridge, there was a dairy farm that only closed recently and it was the cows that had attracted the swarms of flies.

If you look at the middle of this photo, you just see the path that winds it's way through the valley, along the way there are shrines that greet you, where you stop and pray and light a candle...

Here is St Therese's shrine, she is on a little hill not far from St Joseph...children like to run up and play/hide on this little hill and I am sure that is just how St Therese would want it.

This is one of the new shrines built this year, to St Gerard...YEAH! Mums really need him!

Another fairly new shrine to St Anthony of Padua and we need him too! We like to thank St Anthony for the many, many, many lost things found each year!!

This is the shrine to St Pio (Padre Pio) it was donated and built by the Italian community and it has it's own altar for when the Italian's come on pilgrimage for his feast which is later this month.

Our Lady of Valenkani, which is an Indian title and I believe it is a title of Our Lady for health and healing.

This shrine I have photographed in the distance is the last shrine in the valley (well there is a rainforest walk beyond it to an enormous tree where there is a statue of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is nestled) This shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe!

This is one of the oldest shrines in the valley, Our Lord has no hands and there is a sign at the bottom that says:

"I have no hands, but yours."

This is another new shrine erected by the Maltese community, I don't know alot about it but it has this lovely statue of the Lord, falling on His way to calvary...for our sins.

I have not photographed all the shrines in the valley, there are more but they are not crowded together, they are spaced nicely as you wind your way through the valley.

To end part 2 of our special visit to the valley, here is a picture of one of the Fathers waiting for his penitents to come to confession.