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GAZETTE

A Mother’s Journey Continued

May 2010

         By the time we finished dinner with David and Judy Kocka, we were friends.  We visited their home and they visited our heart.  There were hugs and promises of getting together again, maybe at our home in Victoria.  After dinner they brought us back to the Kintner Inn in Corydon where we waved goodbye as their PT Cruiser rode off into the sunset.  We checked on our precious cargo under lock and key out back in the truck and she was doing just fine.

         The next morning, Friday, April 9th, we took off for St. Louis to obtain the special blessing from Father Bernardine.  It seemed like sort of a baptism, and her baptismal name is Ave Maria, which is Latin for Hail Mary, which is biblical, as you know.  “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” 

         Our statue is not of any other mother and cannot be mistaken for any other mother, not just because of her name, but because she is depicted holding her Son, the Christ Child, the Word made flesh.  As Elizabeth called her, “The mother of My Lord.”

         After the blessing in the parking lot, we tucked our truck and the Ave Maria aside for the afternoon and visited a few hours with Father Bernardine.  His room is small and his material possessions are few, but his knowledge is vast and his prayers are numerous and productive.

         We walked the halls of the friary, visited the archives, sat outdoors in the shade of a big old maple tree and then dined in their refectory.  Their chicken dinner with all the trimmings was delicious.

         Several priests and visitors at the friary went out to see our Ave Maria that afternoon and she didn’t seem to mind all the attention.  She just smiled, held Baby Jesus, and waited for the next leg of her journey home.  The following morning, after spending a night in the parking lot of a nearby Drury Inn, the Madonna went with Allan and me to the Poor Clare Monastery down the road about 20 minutes.  It’s where Father Bernardine drives to say daily Mass at 6:15 for the Poor Clare sisters and people who drop by, like us.

         After coffee and cinnamon rolls, we headed north for the first time on this five-day journey.  It was now Saturday, April 10th, day number four.

         Seven hours later we arrived in Galena, Illinois, a picturesque river town with more shops and eateries than Stillwater.  Flood gates that protect Galena from rising waters of the Mississippi River reminded me of fortressed cities built in the medieval days of Europe.  We stayed at an unusual bed and breakfast that night, the Le Fevre Inn, located on the outskirts of the city where Black Angus grazed not far from our deck.

         Sunday morning, April 11th, we departed for Lewiston, Minnesota, where the granite base had been delivered by ship across the Atlantic Ocean from India.  “It weighs as much as a car,” said Bernie Kennedy, proprietor of Lewiston Monuments. 

         I wanted a spectacular base to support the spectacular Ave Maria in her sentry position near the front door of the St. Victoria Catholic Church.  Teresa Winslow, of Winslow Monuments here at Chaska, had made the arrangements for the granite base per my specifications -- black, polished, circular, 30 inches in diameter, two feet high.

         It was not easy to leave the Madonna behind, in another’s hands, but time was needed to retrofit the granite for the bronze and vice versa.  I told Mr. Kennedy to keep her safe and free from scratches or damage while in his care.  Allan and I arrived back home in Victoria about 3 o’clock that Sunday afternoon.

         The Madonna’s journey to Victoria will occur a bit later, with a semi-truck that can handle all the weight, approximately 3,000 pounds combined, and a crane to hoist it in place.  Exactly when, I do not know.  But one thing I do know, is that it will be in God’s time.  This entire journey has been in God’s time.  It appears that He is choosing May, 2010, for her arrival in Victoria.  Sounds good to me.  It’s Mary’s month and also the month in which we honor all of our mothers.  This could be how God wants His mother honored, too.

         Irene Kerber of Kerber Family Homes here in Victoria arranged for tree removal on the church grounds and will re-plant and landscape that cove near the entrance.  I look forward to seeing Ave Maria in place at St. Victoria, reflecting the brilliance of the Son -- I mean, the sun -- on a beautiful blue-sky day in Victoria, Minnesota.

 

 

 

Click here to see an array on photos taken during this three-year Mother’ Journey.