Just after graduating college, I went on pilgrimage to Ireland with the Passionist Fathers of Archbishop Molloy Retreat House. One of our first stops was to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in County Mayo. The story of Knock is an old and beautiful one--a group of peasant people, young and old, saw a silent vision of Our Lady with St. Joseph on one side and St. John the Evangelist on the other and the Lamb of God on an altar attended by angels. What stands out most clearly in my memory of the trip is that while I was there--at all of 21 years of age--I prayed for my future husband and children. This sort of prayer was not really my habit, which is probably why I remember it so clearly. Right there beside the soaring relics of old monasteries, wearing a navy blue dress and white gloves, I said a prayer for a man I did not even know and children who had not yet been born.
Five or six years later, I found myself at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in East Durham, New York, with my young husband and two baby daughters. We were on one of our first family vacations to Sunny Hill Resort, and it was the closest church for Sunday morning Mass. It was there, on my knees in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I felt truly and deeply called to home educate our children. We had been kicking the idea around a bit, not all that seriously, but inside that church on that day, I felt it was not merely a passing fancy, but something Our Lady was calling us to do.
Every once in a while, I find written on an old book or paper in my little daughter Allie's wobbly print, "Our Lady of Knock Homeschool." Our Lady of Knock is sometimes called the "Golden Rose," so I always kept gold foil rose stickers to put at the top of good work. I had a recurring joke with the kids that our homeschool was sometimes more like "the school of hard knocks," but, honestly, looking back, I only remember joy and hope they would say the same.
About a year ago, we had visitors from Ireland staying with us. They were friends of Father Bernadino, our beloved Franciscan friend, visiting New York for his ordination. I loved them immediately and felt as if they were family. One of the women was a descendant of a Knock visionary, so we knew we were entertaining royalty. Our daughter Mary spent the summer studying at Trinity College in Dublin, and one of our new Irish friends visited her with a gift to bring home to me--a statue of Our Lady of Knock.
This Christmas, we added a new decoration to our Christmas tree--golden roses, over a dozen of them covering the tree. The moment the children saw them, they all said, "Roses for Our Lady of Knock!" Our Lady of Knock Homeschool (est. 1996) is still in operation, and the students love their patroness and her symbol.
Someday soon, I would like to return to Knock Shrine in Ireland to thank Our Lady for all the golden roses she has given me.
My father in law is from Ballina which is the next town over from Knock. We've been to the shrine many times- it's so beautiful.
Posted by: Jen | January 17, 2017 at 11:34 AM
Beautiful!
Posted by: Cajuncottage.blogspot.com | January 17, 2017 at 06:57 PM
You fill me up with such lovely images and a few sweet tears.
Posted by: Lorraine | January 17, 2017 at 07:03 PM
Thank you Jen, Cay, and Lorraine. Lorraine, I thought of you as I wrote this. xo
Posted by: Alice Gunther | January 17, 2017 at 08:41 PM
Oh what a lovely family tradition. I love the statue and the golden rose ornaments.
Posted by: Melanie B | January 17, 2017 at 10:15 PM
Alice , a story of inspiration, devotion, hearing and following God's will. Such wonderful fruits as a result. Love this!
Posted by: Nancy | January 18, 2017 at 05:51 AM
A beautiful story of faith and faithfulness. Thank you for sharing it. Your statue and roses are such treasures.
Posted by: Kimberlee | January 18, 2017 at 09:57 PM
Lovely story Alice. The only time I was at Knock Shrine in Ireland was Sept 11, 2001. I was in the gift store and the woman had on the radio, that is where I heard the awful news from that day! It was very hard to process all being said from the radio! I took a deep breath and said a Special Prayer that everyone I know be Safe and OK! "The Queen of Peace" had answered my prayer and everyone I know was safe and OK! I know a few people that worked in the Twin Towers but they somehow where not there at that time like they should have, they were late for work that day!
Posted by: Deirdre | January 21, 2017 at 10:25 PM