Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Dublin. The statue is one of my favorites, as it depicts Jesus Christ like the real baby He was, squirming out of His Mother's arms. The sermon by the Carmelite priest included his reading the call to fasting and prayer today by Pope Francis, and if parents missed my list of things to do today, here is the link. goo.gl/IHWdMe Now, I want to describe this beautiful statue and give the history of Our Lady of Dublin from a small pamphlet from the Carmelites at Whitefriars Street Church, where the shrine is located.
The Mass was lovely, although only about 80 people were there. It is raining and about 57 degrees Fahrenheit, which might have something to do with the attendance, but there is another Mass in honor of Our Lady of Dublin at 3:00 this afternoon.
One also gets a special blessing today and a sprinkling of holy water from the priest.
Here is the information from the pamphlet and a prayer below.
"One of the most beautiful statues in the city. The Black Statue of Our Lady is offset by the surrounding white marble and stone work. It is a wood carving in oak. Its original home was almost certainly the Cistercian Monastery of St. Mary in Dublin's north inner city. (I add here the streets around there are called Mary Lane, Lamb Street and so on. Also, the statue is very French Medieval in design, which would again make the Cistercian connected viable. French influence Marys have distinct faces.) At the time of the Reformation monasteries were targeted and destroyed and their contents plundered. One story tell us that the statue was used as a pig-trough in order to escape detection. (It would have been turned over, the priest said today and slurry thrown in the back.)The story arises from the fact that the back is hollow. For whatever piece of good fortune, the statue was saved and ended (up) being bought by Fr. John Spratt in 1824. ( The priest said that Father Spratt found it for sale in a shop just yards from where the monastery had been on Capel Street, so that, amazingly, the statue would not have traveled but yards from the original site on Abbey Street). Sadly, the original silver crown was never recovered. The Feast of Our Lady of Dublin is celebrated on September 8th."
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| Thanks to Wiki for St. Mary' s Abbey, Dublin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary's_Abbey,_Dublin |
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| Thanks to Wiki for the Shrine of Our Lady of Dublin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Dublin |
Prayer to Our Lady of Dublin
Our Lady of Dublin, Intercede for our young people, that they may be holy, wise and prudent; for the mature that they may set a good example; for the old, that they may enjoy contentment and a quiet rest in their declining years. For those gone astray, that they may find their way back to their Father' House. For all our homes, that the peace and harmony of Nazareth may dwell in them. Amen
And, I ask my readers to ask Our Lady of Dublin to help me set up the Adoration House in Walsingham.