Julia’s Weekly Shrine Round-up: 12/26

By Julia Rose
ShrineofDivineMercy.org

Merry Christmas! Here's a treat: a video of a snowy Eden Hill, shot using a drone by Br. Mark Fanders, MIC.  Beautiful! Sorry there's no music but maybe you can hum your favorite Christmas carol as you watch!

It's a Wonderful Season
I hope everyone had a wonderful and enriching Christmas!

Here at the National Shrine, Eden Hill was turned into "Bedford Falls" during Movie Night, with a showing of one of Pope Leo XIV's favorite films, "It's a Wonderful Life." Released almost 80 years ago, the film continues to powerfully resonate with viewers, exploring the impact of a single life on not just one family but an entire community, and how we must all persevere with love in the face of hopelessness, always trusting in God along the way! Thanks to John Jones of our video department for the photo! 

Now the Christmas season begins, which concludes with the Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord on Jan. 12. “It is through this holy season that the Church sets out to teach us something truly fundamental," explains Fr. Ken Dos Santos, MIC, "that the Light of the Christ Child, our only hope of salvation, should reign in our hearts not just during the Christmas season, but all the days of our lives!” 

Watch Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC, deliver the Christmas blessing on behalf of the Marian Fathers!

Check out Fr. Ken Dos Santos, MIC's books on ShopMercy.org.

The Holy Family
As we approach the end of the year, we can’t forget one very special feast day (I’ll give you a hint: it involves Jesus, Mary, and Joseph): The Feast of the Holy Family, celebrated on Sunday, Dec. 28!

Here on Eden Hill we are blessed to have the outdoor Holy Family Shrine, which features statues of the Holy Family, the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph holding Jesus, and the grandparents of Jesus, St. Anne and St. Joachim. All are encouraged to visit as it’s beautiful even when blanketed with snow, and light a candle.

“Through the Holy Family, everyday life and all its little piddly tasks are transformed into stepping-stones to the heights of Heaven. We meditate on the Holy House of Nazareth to discover how to achieve great intimacy with Jesus in ordinary, everyday life." So write Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, and Scott L. Smith, Jr. in their amazing new book, 33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  

What a perfect resource for us all as we enter 2026, striving to live more faithful and Christ-centered lives! This consecration is going to be my New Year's resolution!

To order 33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, visit ShopMercy.org.

Friendsgiving!
Speaking of beautiful people, here's a couple I’m eager to highlight this week: Deb and Phil of Our Lady of Knock Parish in Farmington, Connecticut.  They recently hosted their annual "Friendsgiving" pilgrimage to the National Shrine, a gathering of 15 friends (below).

For this year's Friendsgiving, the group stayed at the Saint John Paul House (above. That's Deb seated in the second row, left, and Phil standing, second from right). They enjoyed attending Mass together and praying the Chaplet. They also had the chance to see the inside of the Marians’ Residence as part of the Stockbridge House Tour. 

“It’s just that chance for us to get away, refresh, reconnect, and spend time at the Shrine," Deb says. "We're rock-solid on coming back next year!" 

Deb and Phil are no strangers to Eden Hill. For many years they have volunteered at the Shrine, inspired by Deb's uncle Arthur. And for three decades, they have been involved with promoting holier families through Marriage Encounter, the Church-sponsored marriage-enrichment program. Father Timothy Roth, MIC, was active with the group for many years. 

"The goal is to make good marriages better," Deb explains. "It helps reignite couples in their faith and in their marriage with the tool of communication."

For more information on staying at the Saint John Paul House, click here.

A Sacred Place
The Shrine also means something special to Lisa from St. Patrick’s Parish in nearby West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. A landscape designer in four towns, she was first introduced to the Shrine through the Stockbridge Chamber Commission about 10 years ago when the Marians were honored for their community service.

“I was so moved by the music at Mass," Lisa recalls. "I had come maybe three or four times, and I just said, ‘Oh, I would love to be able to sing here.’” With experience cantering at a few churches in the area, she eventually began singing at one of the Masses, leading to one extremely memorable opportunity: singing at Midnight Mass on Christmas Day!

“Singing is an intimate part of my worship," she says. "And talk about singing in Heaven in that choir loft up there in the Shrine!" 

While Lisa no longer sings at the Shrine, she  frequently visits. “I love the grounds," she says. "It’s such a sacred, spiritual place. Because I’m a landscape designer, I look at the bigger picture and can encapsulate the whole feeling of the property. I think of how many thousands of people who visit every year. So many people that you get to talk to from all over the world — I mean, it’s just a magical place to be.”

Reflecting on Divine Mercy as well as New Year’s Resolutions, Lisa has been focused on trying to extend the mercy God shows her toward others. “And also keeping ever-present that we need to keep focus on the Kingdom, and we need to look to Christ for our salvation," she says. What wonderful resolutions!

Mary, Mother of God
The New Year means the first Holy Day of Obligation of the year: The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, on Jan. 1.

“Mary is the one who gave birth to Jesus. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus and hence, no Christmas,” Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC, explains, “Our salvation begins with Mary. So, our New Year should also begin with Mary. What makes it special for us Marians is that Mary is the Mother of God, but our Mother also.”

Brother Stephen Camara, MIC (above, praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with Fr. Richard Shuaibu of the Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria), adds that, “For a lot of people, New Year’s is much more a secular holiday, whereas for us, the secular holiday is imbued with religious significance…We see the connections between Christmas and Mary’s motherhood. I mean, they’re a week apart!”

Join the Marians for Midnight Mass on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, or on New Year's Day at 9 a.m. (livestreamed here and on Facebook), 10:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. All are welcome!

Join Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, in person or online (YouTube and Facebook) at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Dec. 27, for his "Explaining the Faith" talk on "Mary: Jewish Promise to Christian Reality."

The Mother of God Novena is under way. Please join us and enroll your loved ones! 

Wishing you and yours a very joyful beginning to the Christmas season and a Happy New Year! See you next year!
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