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"Almighty and merciful God, as we start our Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Your Beloved Mother in Piat, guide us on our way and give us the strength to withstand the rigors of our journey. Shower your blessings on all of us, especially on our driver, direct his steady hand that we may reach our destination safely. Strengthen our faith and enkindle in our hearts the flame of Your divine love that our prayers and our deed may always begin from You and by You be brought to a happy end." "Loving Mother of God and Our Lady of Piat, we are about to start pilgrimage to Your Shrine. Prepare our hearts and our minds that we may be worthy to receive God's gifts and favors that He may bestow on us through Your intercession. Make our body a fitting temple of the Holy Spirit, purify our intentions and sanctify our aspirations that we may inherit the kingdom that your beloved Son has prepared for us for all eternity. All these we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen." After the pre-departure prayer, the Recitation of the Holy Rosary is encourage and we suggest that a few minutes be devoted to the meditation of the next mystery. In between the mysteries some religious songs can be sung among which we recommend the singing also of the official Hymn of Our Lady of Piat. When you have reached the shrine you may wish to make arrangement with a parish staff for some religious services you may want to avail of, such as masses to be said for some special intentions. If you have some petitions to make or favors to ask from God through the intercession of Our Lady of Piat you may write them on apiece of paper and drop them into the Petition Box. To gain the plenary indulgences a devotee must make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Piat, go to confession and receive the Holy Communion. After the visit and after having attended the religious activity on schedule, you may wish to visit the Museum and the Rosary Garden. After all activities in the Shrine has been completed and you are about to prepare your trip back home, you may request an available priest to bless the delegation or group after you have said the pre-departure prayer for the journey back home. The following is a suggested prayer: "Our Father in heaven, we beseech You with all humility and love to continue showering upon us your blessings. Inspire us by your Divine Wisdom to understand the meaning of our faith and strengthen it by the manifestation of Your Divine Providence through the intercession of Our Lady of Piat. We offer to You our journey back, protect and guide use that we may safely reach our homes. We give you thanks for all the blessings and favors we have received throughout our journey. Direct, O God, our actions by Your holy inspiration and carry them on by Your gracious assistance that every prayer and work of ours in this journey may always begin from You and by You be happily ended, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen." "Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary and Our Lady of Piat, we flock to you as your children and beg you through your kind intercession God's response to your prayers (mention you special intentions and favors you wish to ask). Help us to increase our devotion and love o you by our prayers and by the way we live our lives according to God's will. Make this pilgrimage meaningful to our lives that we may be worthy of what God in His mercy have in store for us. Protect us with the mantle of your love as we journey back home. Be with us now and for all eternity. All these, we ask through your powerful intercession in the name of Jesus Our Lord and Saviour. Amen." On the way back to your homes, you may wish to say again the Rosary in the way you recited it on the journey going to the Shrine. The Holy Rosary is a prayer that has brought many favors and blessings to those who are devoted to it. We encourage you to convince your friends and neighbors to make pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Piat. Narrate to them the favors and "miracles" received through the intercession of our Mama Mary. In this way you take part in the evangelization of the faithful and where our Holy Mother plays a vital role. Should you wish to make arrangements for a scheduled pilgrimage to the Shrine with an overnight stay, please, contact the Basilica Office for particulars. Our Pilgrims Inn accommodations, Canteen meals and Gift Shop items are available at modest prices.
Prayer of Fr. Paul Coutorier 1891-1953 Lord Jesus, on your death you prayed that all your disciples might be one, as you in the Father and the Father in You. Make us feel intense sorrow over the infidelity of our disunity. Give us the honesty to recognize and the courage to reject whatever indifference towards one another, or mutual distrust, or even enmity that lie hidden within us. Enable all of us to meet one another in You and let your prayer for the unity of Christians be ever in our hearts and on our lips, unity such as you desire and by all means that you will. Make us find the way that leads to unity in You who are perfect charity through being obedient to the Spirit of Love and Truth. Prayer of Fr. Jean Marie Tillard O.P. God our Father, may Christ's disciples have the grace through your Holy spirit to discover that the most profound joy within your Church lies in our coming together, and the same faith and love in order to prepare resolutely for the day in which we may share in a common Eucharist. Blessed Pope John XXIII O Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of Jesus to assist the church and to keep her from error, put out your gifts upon her Gentle teacher and comforter, enlighten the minds of her bishops and inspire them to work together in unity and strength for the spread of the Kingdom of God. Grant that the apostolate of the Church may prosper, that the life and strength of the Gospel may fill the lives of men, that the Catholic religion and its missionary activity may take on new vigor, and that men may come to know more fully the teaching of the Church and realize it more profoundly in their lives. Strengthen our minds in truth, dear guest of the soul, and make our hearts obedient that we may accept humbly and sincerely what the bishops decree and willingly carry out. We pray also for the sheep who still remain outside the one fold of Jesus Christ, that they too who are proud to be called Christians, may finally unite under the guidance of the one Shepherd. Let this age of ours, like another Pentecost, see one more the evidence of your power and grant that your holy Church, guided by Peter and united to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in constant and unceasing prayer, may spread the kingdom of our divine Saviors, the kingdom of truth, justice, love and peace. Amen.
ELEMENTS OF MAKING A SINCERE CONFESSION Elements of Making a Sincere Confession 1. A thorough examination of conscience since your last confession is necessary. "Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28). 2. Inform the priest of the approximate length of time since your last confession and your basic vocation in life (i.e. single, married, widowed, etc.), as this helps him place your confessional information in some context.
3. More serious, or mortal sins, are, as best as possible, to be named specifically and with some indication of their frequency. Less serious, or venial sins, ideally are mentioned specifically too, but may be mentioned more generally for the sake of brevity. "While the prodigal son was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was deeply moved. He ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20).
"God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:17).
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE Following is a suggested way of examining your conscience in preparation for a fruitful confession of sin. It focuses on the Ten Commandments and gives examples of the kinds of sins that tend to be committed against each of those divine precepts. I. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have false gods before me. Have I rejected God's revelation as it comes to me through the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church? Have I served money, power, sexuality or any other lesser good as if it were the supreme good to be sought? Have I despaired of God's help? Have I presumed upon God's mercy? Have I placed faith in superstition? II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Have I disrespected the holiness of God and of things or persons specially associated with God? Have I made false oaths or failed to keep vows made in God's sight? III. You shall keep holy the Sabbath day. Have I Failed through my own fault to worship God on Sundays or designated Holy Days of Obligation? Have I kept Sunday holy by using it as a time for recreation and family, as a day of charitable activity and by making extra time for prayer? Have I rested sufficiently to renew me for the tasks of the remainder of the week? Do I pray regularly and attentively throughout the week? IV. You shall honor your father and your mother. Have I fulfilled obligations towards my parents, especially in their advancing years? Have I been respectfully obedient to those who are legitimate authorities in my life? V. You shall not kill. Have I contributed to or concurred in any way with the taking of human life through abortion, euthanasia or other threats to human life? Have I done damage to another's reputation or well being in any way? Have I jeopardized my own well being through the use of alcohol, drugs or some other self-destructive behavior?
Have I engaged in willful sexual intercourse outside of marriage?
Have I respected the property of others?
Have I told serious lies?
BASILICA SHRINE Votive Candle Offering As this candle consumes itself even as it is lit in your praise, Allow me, Lord Jesus, to be consecrated to your service, Not counting the cost, nor asking for reward or recompense. Like this candle, grant that my light may scatter darkness. Grant that the warmth of my heart may protect others from the cold. Make of my life an offering to the Father in your name. Grant me constancy in prayer, with Mary, my Mother, Who listened to all you said and All that was
said of you and kept it in her heart. |
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For
more than 400 years the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of
Piat has been a significant event in the lives of devotees of the
people in the Cagayan Valley. More than anything else, the Pilgrimage
to Our Lady of Piat is a devotional and spiritual journey from one's
home to the Shrine of Our Lady of Piat to venerate Our Blessed Mother,
to ask for Her intercession or to thank Her for favors received
from God through Her intercession. A pilgrimage normally takes place
once a year where a group of devotees of Our Lady of Piat agree
to travel together to visit her Shrine and undertake some devotional
or spiritual activities. The pilgrimage, in order to be more meaningful
and give it a religious significance should start with a pilgrim's
prayer before departure. A pilgrims prayer should be simple and
could be similar to this:
