THE OLD ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
IN NORTH AMERICA
[WEXFORD JURISDICTION]
OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM
|
Our Lady of Walsingham Patroness of The Old Roman Catholic Church in North America [Wexford Jurisdiction] 
THROUGH 900 YEARS The Walsingham story dates from the twilight of Saxon England, when with the return of Edward the Confessor [Edward IV] from exile Norman influence was already in the ascendancy. The name of Richolde of Walsingham, in its more familiar form of Richeldis de Favarches, founder of the Shrine, suggests a Saxon lady with a Norman husband having his roots in the Carolingian Fervaques in Normandy and it is not perhaps without significance that the name of Geoffrey, her son, should be found associated with the Benedictine Abbey of Abingdom [of which the Confessor was a visitor and benefactor]. Records are scanty but there are indications suggesting the possibility that Richeldis was connected with the ruling houses of the day, of which both Saxon and Norman were closely inter-related. Geoffrey's name is listed in a return of tenants-in-chief by the Abbot. In it Geoffrey de Fervaques is shown to have been enfecoffed under the original enfeoffment at some time between 1070 and 1135, to render to the Abbot the sixth part of the service of a knight and half a knight [the Abbot was required to render to the King a total of 30 knights' service]. A man of substance in 1108 Geoffrey is found granting lands in Massingham to Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, a gift confirmed by Adelicia de Clermont, wife of Gilbert FitzRichard, Lord of Care. The de Clares are later to take their part in the development of Walsingham. At the threshold of this historical setting Richeldis, a young widow, and her young son Geoffrey first make their appearance in 1061 as described in the Walsingham Ballad. This anonymous composition was first published by Richard Pynson, printer to King Henry VII, about the year 1496. The fact of its publication by Pynson is not only a tribute to the popularity of Walsingham but also suggests that the contents described the generally accepted history of the origins of the Walsingham devotion as believed in the 15th. century. The date of 1061 is further confirmed by a note in a 15th. century Book of Hours in Cambridge University Library. In the year 1061, the ballad relates, Richeldis, Lady of the Manor of Walsingham Parva "in living full vertuous" prayed that she might undertake some special work to honour Our Blessed Lady. In response to her prayer the Blessed Virgin led her in spirit to Nazareth, there to show her the Holy House, scene of the Annunciation. She was told to take note of the measurements of the Holy House and to build a reproduction of it in Walsingham.
This is the Walsingham legend. That Richeldis built the first little Chapel just five years before the Norman conquest and in what she thought to be the form of the Holy House of Nazareth there can be little doubt. That it stood for nearly 500 years and was the focus of English mediaeval devotion to Our Lady until it was ruthlessly destroyed in the sixteenth century is beyond dispute. Geoffrey's confirmation of his mother's act may be read in No 1 of the charters of the Walsingham Cartulary in the British Museum. Whatever one may choose to believe of it, it remains true that Walsingham became a place of pilgrimage, and there is a long record of miraculous cures and wonderful answers to prayer. We learn from the Itinerary of William of Worcester [1479] that Richeldis' Holy House was constructed of wood, and measured 23 ft. 6 in. by 12 ft. 10 in. It was enclosed in an outer building which he speaks of as novum opus, implying either that it was "new" in comparison with the Holy House itself, or that it had been recently repaired or reconstructed. According to Erasmus, who visited Walsingham in the early years of the 16th. century, the Holy House had little light save that of tapers, and gleamed within with the reflection of jewels, gold and silver. "You would say it was the mansion of the saints". Inside there was an altar, and in the corner on the Gospel side stood the statue of Our Lord's Mother. The outer building is spoken of as being "unfinished". "It is a place draughty on all sides, with open doors and open windows ... within the church which I have called unfinished is a small chapel, amide of boards, and admitting the devotees on each side by a narrow little door". Our Lady does not occupy the Priory church. "She cedes it, out of deference, to her Son. she has her own church ... When He looks to the west, He has His Mother on His right hand. When He turns to the sun-rising, she is on the left". Erasmus saluted Our Lady with this prayer: O thou of all women Mother and Virgin, most happy Mother, most pure Virgin! now we impure visit thee pure, we salute thee, we worship thee with our poor offerings: may thy Son grant to us, that, imitating thy most holy manners, we also may, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, be enabled spiritually to conceive the Lord Jesus in the in-most soul, and once conceived never to lose Him. Amen. He left as his votive offering at the shrine a set of Greek verses, which have been thus translated:
To Walsingham came nobles and beggars, saints and sinners. Among the innumerable pilgrims were many crowned heads. Indeed, almost every King of England visited the shrine at least once during his reign. Richard Coeur de Lion was the first to do so. William, the brother of King Henry II, had become a benefactor. Henry III was a frequent visitor, making at least eleven pilgrimages between 1226 and 1272. He was also a most generous benefactor, amongst his gifts being forty oaks for the work of the Church and two years later another twenty trees. His yearly offering was of 40 shillings and, in addition, many gifts of wax and tapers. To mention but one instance - that of 3,000 tapers in the year 1241 offered in the Chapel on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. He it was who provided 20 marks to make a golden crown to place on the image of Our Lady of Walsingham. Edward I had a great devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham and came to her shrine no less than thirteen times, when he stayed for several days at a time. In 1296 at Candlemas - 'le jour de la chandeleur' - Walsingham provided the setting 'en la chapelle de Notre Dame a Walsingham' for the signing of an instrument of alliance between King Edward and the Count of Flanders. Henry VII sent his royal banner as a votive offering, after the battle of Stoke, when he defeated Lambert Simnel.
To look after the Shrine and the increasing number of pilgrims a staff of priests was
necessary. This was provided by the Augustinian Canons. In 1346 the Franciscans came
to Walsingham to assist with the pilgrimages and they built their house at the sound end
of the village. The ruins can be seen as you enter from the Fakenham direction.
On June 13, 1538 Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, had written to Thomas Cromwell
that "our great sibyll" [a statue of the Mother of God] "with her old syster of
Walsyngham, her yonge syster of Ipswych, with the other two systers of Doncaster and
Penryesse, would make a jolly mustere in Smythfield". A month later the royal
commissioners arrived at Walsingham, and, having shown their written order to the Prior,
removed from the shrine "all suche golde and sillver with such other thynges as weare
theare", as well as the image which had been venerated by countless pilgrims for
centuries.
Norfolk men at Walsingham itself protested with their blood against the fall of religious
houses "where God was well served and many good deeds of charity done". They were
reported as saying, "See how these Abbeys go down and our living goeth away with
them", and further that "the gentlemen there had all the farms and all the cattle in their
hands, so that poor men could have no living by them".
This popular discontent had made itself heard in Linconshire in 1536 and subsequently in
the Northern Counties, culminating in the Pilgrimage of Grace. Early in 1537 George
Gisborough and others at Walsingham were informed against and although Sir Richard
Wouthwell, Commissioner, advised Cromwell that there was no likelihood of any
commotion, arrests were made. Nothing worse than unwise talk was proved against them
at their treason trial at Norwich Castle but eleven were condemned to death - to be
hanged, drawn and quartered. Five were executed in the Castle ditch at Norwich, two at
Gt. Yarmouth and two at King's Lynn. The sub-prior Nicholas Myleham had been
implicated and he, with George Gisborough, was executed at Walsingham on May 30,
1537. A hill overlooking the Priory on the West is still known as "Martyrs" field.
Just a year later in the June of 1538 Our Lady of Walsingham was taken away to London,
there to be burnt with other notable images to which special pilgrimage had been made.
The burning of such statues it is said took place at Chelsea in the presence of Cromwell,
Lord Privy Seal.
On August 4, 1538 all the Priory property was handed over to the King's Commissioners.
A rich cope was set aside for Cromwell, but Southwell finding it was adroitly informed
by Prior Vowel "For you if it be your pleasure."
The little Holy House was torn down, the Prior Church stripped of its lead and furniture,
the windows, doors, stone called freestone, glass, iron, slates, and tiles were disposed of
in lots for a total of L55.15.11d. The spoliation was savage. Walsingham's shrine
was no more.
The following lament, composed about the end of the 16th. century, is attributed to Philip
Howard, Earl of Arundel:
On November 7, 1539, Thomas Sydney acquired the Priory site for L90, though much of
the priory property went to Sir Thomas Gresham.
Spelman who was at school at Walsingham claims that in his day it was said that Sydney
"was by the townsmen employed to have bought the site of the Priory to the use of the
Town but obtained and kept it to himself."
With the death of Henry in 1547 and the accession of Edward VI continental heresies
gained ground in England but were once again arrested with the accession of Mary Tudor
in 1533.
An interesting list of Marian deprivations and pensions of 1555 throws light on the
movement of ex-canons of Walsingham. A number had acquired livings to supplement
their pensions and others "wives." Some seemed ready to avail themselves of the
opportunity now provided to rid themselves of the latter encumbrance.
One, "Sir John Harlow, priest ... unmarried, lately Chanon of Walsingham, hathe an
annual pencon of fyve pounds six shillings and eightpence, paid to him at Burie."
Described as "an honest and catholicke man" he was Vicar of Wighton from 1551, Vicar
of Cromer from 1554 to 1587 and apparently having met the demands both of Henry and
Queen Mary in their turn, had no difficulty in once again subscribing to the enactment of
Royal Supremancy by Elizabeth in 1558.
Twelve years before this date "The Cardinal of England" Reginal Pole [son of the
Countess of Salisbury, martyred in her old age by Henry VIII] was addressing Bishops
and Clergy at the Council of Trent. He said then "It will be found that it is our ambition,
our avarice, our cupidity which have wrought all these evils on the people of God and
that it is because of these sins that shepherds are being driven from their churches and the
churches starved of the word of God, and the property of the Church, which is the
property of the poor, stolen, and the priesthood given to the unworthy ..." and in a
prophetic flash of what was to be the final outcome of the contest in England, added, "If
God punished us as we deserved, we should long since have been as Sodom and
Gomorrah."
On an earlier page it has been seen that devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham was not
extinguished by the overthrow of the Shrine, as Townshend had found in 1539. At least
three families are known to have been living at Walsingham in 1577 and there are
recusant records of others in the neighbourhood and at many places throughout Norfolk
during the centuries following the desecration who kept the Walsingham meaning alive.
The family of Bedingeld of Oxborough preserved the Faith there throughout the penal
days from 1558 and an excellent example of a priest's hiding hole in the house is shown
to visitors.
In 1829 the Catholic Emancipation Acts removed most of the legal disabilities under
which Catholics had suffered and had been driven "underground" it was found
practicable to form plans for restoring publicly the devotion to Our Lady under her
historic Walsingham title with the result that the Lady Chapel of the Church of the
Annunciation in London Road, King's Lynn [Walsingham's then Parish Church] was
constructed in the likeness of the Holy House of Nazareth, the form of the desecrated
Walsingham Shrine.
At this time a pious Anglican lady, Miss Charlotte Boyd, was searching during a visit to
Norfolk for some suitable place of residence to which she might bring the members of a
sisterhood which she had founded. Driving through the Norfolk lanes she came upon
some buildings which incorporated what appeared to be the west front of a 14th. century
Chapel.
She was so taken with its beauty and fine proportions that she stopped to make some
enquiries. She was told it was known as the Slipper Chapel, the traditional point where
pilgrims to the mediaeval Shrine at Walsingham removed their shoes to walk the last mile
barefooted. Miss Boyd was determined to obtain possession and lost no time in entering
into negotiations to purchase. The first undertaking was signed early in 1894. Whilst
legal formalities were still incomplete for its transfer, Miss Boyd following a retreat at
the English Convent at Bruges was received into the Catholic Church on the 22nd. of
September.
The fear that the owner, Mr. Henry Lee Warner, in the new circumstance would go back
on his agreement with regard to the Slipper Chapel was unfounded and the final deed was
signed in June 1896.
Miss Boyd had hoped to see the Chapel in use but although the fabric of the building was
restored she died on 3rd. April 1906 before her hopes could be fulfilled. Not, however,
before she had the consolation of seeing the first public pilgrimage to Walsingham in
which Father Wrigglesworth, Parish Priest [of King's Lynn] together with Father Philip
Fletcher, founder of The Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, and Prior Ford of Downside took
part on August 20, 1897.
For many years thereafter the Lady Chapel at King's Lynn witnessed an annual
pilgrimage sponsored by The Guild of Ransom in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham.
The Guild by its steadfast persistance has made a tremendous contribution to the survival
of the Walsingham devotion.
Meanwhile, the Slipper Chapel by an arrangement made by Miss Boyd before she died
was transferred to the Downside Benedictines who in turn later gave it to the Bishop of
Northampton. It was not until 1934 that it became practicable to restore the Catholic
Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in the Slipper Chapel itself on the very threshold of
Walsingham.
On August 19th. 1934, 400 years after the national apostasy, Cardinal Bourne,
Archbishop of Westminster, fourth in succession to Cardinal Pole as Metropolitan,
attended by the Archbishops of Birmingham, Cardiff and Liverpool and other members
of the Hierarchy, together with a great concourse of clergy, regular and secular, and over
12,000 pilgrims went to Walsingham in reparation for the sin of our forefathers in driving
Mary from her English home.
In 1921, the Reverend Alfred Hope Patten, an Anglican priest, was appointed to the
living of Walsingham. He set himself to restore the shrine of Our Lady, and in 1922
began in a simple way by placing in the Guild's Chapel in the parish church of St. Mary,
Little Walsingham, a statue of the Blessed Virgin based on that depicted on the old Priory
seal. Although the Mother of God had not yet been restored to her ancient sanctuary, she
had at all event found a home in the parish church. For a year this simple shrine
continued to be a centre of devotion for the people of the village, and then pilgrims began
to visit it from outside. Before long, regular pilgrimages came to be organized, and in
1927 the Hospice of Our Lady Star of the Sea was opened to accommodate pilgrims
during their stay in Walsingham. An official report, written some years after the first
setting up of the shrine, tells us that "much has changed since that day. Eight lamps now
burn continually at the shrine in honour of the Incarnation of the Son of God, presented
and maintained by various groups of people, ... while upon the pillar against which the
Image rests are many plaques testifying to the answers to prayer vouchsafed in our own
days in the Holy Place."
Another great change took place in 1931. The idea had been conceived of making a
facsimile of the Holy House, which had been originally set up by Richeldis, and of
building a protecting chapel around it. The new Holy House was constructed according
to the dimensions of the ancient one recorded by William of Worcester, but it was built of
brick and plaster. The protecting chapel was made in accordance with the measurements
of William of Worcester's novum opus, 48 ft. long by 30 ft. wide. While the ground was
being prepared for the foundations, an ancient well was discovered. It was packed with
several feet of clay, and when this was removed, clear water gushed up, and a supply has
continued to be given ever since.
The chapel was dedicated on 15th October, 1931, and in the afternoon the image of Our
Lady crowned with a silver crown presented by the congregation of St. Paul's Oxford,
and robed in a mantle of cloth of gold, was carried in solemn procession from the parish
church to the new shrine, and enthroned in the niche prepared above the altar. Our Lord's
Mother had come back.
Ever since the new buildings had been opened, it had been realized that one day the outer
chapel would have to be considerably extended, to provide accommodation for
congregations of any size. In 1937 the plan began to be put into execution of building on
to the existing outer chapel, which protected the Holy House and a number of chapels.
The extensions were solemnly blessed on Whit-Monday, 6th. June 1938.
Within the church there are sixteen altars in their several chapels, in addition to the Holy
House and the High Altar. There is also a chapel for the Eastern Orthodox Church, in
which Orthodox bishops and priests who visit the shrine can celebrate their Liturgy.
The Pilgrimage Church has many treasures, which have been given by various
benefactors. The shrine possesses what is probably the largest collection of holy relics in
the whole Church of England, including more than one fragment of the True Cross, and
an important relic of the famous Deacon and Martyr, St. Vincent. A relic of St. Thomas
of Canterbury is contained in a feretory beneath the altar of St. Thomas and St. Philip
Nerei.
This is the story of Walsingham's shrine. Its restoration is indeed "the Lord's doing: and it
is marvellous in our eves" [Ps. cxviii, 23].
"When England goes back to Walsingham, our Lady will come back to England."
England, it would appear, is well on its way back to Walsingham.
The purpose here is to try and discover why pilgrims are drawn to the Shrine year after
year, and to help those who fell it may have some message for them if only they could be
sure what it was.
The Shrine is not a private venture for a select few: it is not a trap for the unwary. It is a
stepping stone on life's pilgrimage, a help and inspiration for those who are privileged to
find the key. Visitors can go round the church and garden in there hundreds, seeing much
of interest and beauty, and yet the message of Walsingham may pass them by, just
because they do not know its real meaning.
This, then, is to help you understand. Crowds of people go to Walsingham every year. It
has become well known - one of the 'sights' of Norfolk. Many go out of curiosity, but
there are others too, in increasing numbers, who visit Walsingham because they love it
and have made it part of their lives. It has a magnetic attraction for them; they
understand, or are beginning to understand, its significance. Its influence has been at
work in their lives, perhaps disturbing them, perhaps bringing peace.
Since public devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham was revived the work of the Shrine
has grown almost daily, and it is now ever better known that it was in the Middle Ages.
The hand of God can be seen molding each development - sometimes slowly and
secretly, sometime suddenly and for all to see; sometimes, it would seem, easily and
according to human plan, sometimes in face of many obstacles calling for vision,
perseverance and sacrifice. Nevertheless it is a sure thing that Almighty God has worked
and is working in Walsingham, for it is His Will that we should know and love Him
better and have a strong faith in the Incarnation, [and, in case this is a difficult word for
some, it means the 'taking of flesh' of the Son of God, Who became Man in order to save
man].
And that is the whole purpose of the Shrine.
But it is necessary first to explain Our Lady of Walsingham.
Some people are afraid to call Mary 'Our Lady', but the same people will speak of the
'Madonna', which is almost exactly the same, as it is the Italian for 'my Lady'. Perhaps
they prefer 'the Blessed Virgin'. If so, it is a happy choice, for they are admitting that
Mary is blessed and that she is a virgin, and in those two words one could find lessons to
teach the whole Faith.
Mary is blessed because God has made her so, from the beginning of her being and for
ever. She is called 'Virgin' because God decreed that she should be the Mother of His Son
and yet remain a virgin.
She, having free in common with all other human beings, could have refused this
vocation of Divine Motherhood, as many of us turn a deaf ear to God's call; but, being
'full of grace', she consented. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to her who became
the Mother of our Saviour and who co-operated with God in the tremendous Mystery of
the Incarnation. What a scandal there must have been when the neighbours discovered
she was with child! And yet how overcome with joy she must have felt that God had
chosen her to be the door through which Our Lord was to enter humanity!
Many people confuse the Immaculate Conception with the Virgin Birth. From the
foregoing it will be seen that the former refers to Mary's soul, while the latter means that
Christ was born 'of a pure Virgin'.
The Blessed Virgin, then, is 'Our Lady': His Lady first, Whose Mother she was, but our
lady too, for we must love what He loves. Lady above all ladies, because her vocation
was the highest accorded to any lady, and purest of women in order to be worthy of that
vocation.
Why is she called Our Lady of Walsingham when she is Our Lady of all the world?
Because in the year 1061 she appeared to a certain Richeldis in that village and asked her
to build a little house like her own home at Nazareth, which was to be a centre of
devotion and pilgrimage for years to come: because, as a result of pilgrimages to
Walsingham in response to Our Lady's bidding, through her intercession many prayers
have been answered and many miracles performed. Our Lady is the same, whether of
Walsingham, of Lourdes or of Fatima; but her titles are many, and the addition of these
place-names means that she has shown favour to that particular place for some particular
purpose - and always for the greater glory of God and to draw souls closer to Him.
The central point of Walsingham, from which all other activities radiate, is the Holy
House. It represents the house at Nazareth where the Mystery of the Incarnation took
place, when in response to the Archangel's message Mary said "Behold the handmaid of
the Lord". there is also a tradition that it was to this same house in Galilee that the Holy
Family returned after their exile in Egypt, and that Jesus spent His childhood there. True,
it is only a copy, but a copy can have sacred associations, and although the present
building has only been standing since 1931 it is already saturated with prayer.
May want the Holy House to be founded in honour of the Incarnation of God the Son.
Perhaps she also wanted it to be a constant reminder of a good home life - a reminder so
much needed in these days of hasty, unhappy marriages and lack of family disciple.
Above the altar is the image of Our Lady of Walsingham. Some of the titles of Our Lady
have their own representations, often made as near as possible to the description of
someone who saw a vision; for instance, Our Lady of Lourdes was modeled according to
Bernadette's description. She is crowned, as she is in most mediaeval statues, for she is
Queen of Heaven. Now, this does not make her equal with god; that is the last thing she
or any instructed Christian would claim her to be. She is a creature; God is the Creator.
The Book of Revelation tells us that all who overcome shall win a crown of life, and, as
we hope by God's grace to win a crown, so she by God's grace has already won her
crown. But 'as one star differeth from another star in glory', so her glory exceeds that of
all the other Saints in Heaven.
Do we worship her? Not in the way we worship God: but remember that 'worship' means
simply to give someone the honour due to them. To worship Our Lady, or for a man to
worship his wife, are quite different things from the worship of the Supreme Being,
God.
The Rosary is a devotion of which many people are frightened. But it is quite simple and
quite sensible; it is like looking at a picture book on our mother's knee. Fifteen pictures,
all connected with the Life, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord, are shown to us by His
Mother and our Mother, who prays with us and for us. Each of these 'pictures' is known
as a mystery, and for each Mystery we say one Our Father, ten Hail Mary's, and one
Glory be, using the beads to keep count. Again, each main picture can be divided in our
own minds into ten little pictures of that particular subject, one for each Hail Mary.
So there is plenty to think about, and at the same time we are using our lips and our hands
- and our hearts too, for we cannot meditate on Jesus Christ without learning to live Him
more. Meditate? Yes, by using the Rosary we are already beginning to meditate.
You must realize that the recitation of the Rosary need not be a meaningless gabble,
neither is it 'vain repetition' to say the Hail Mary ten times running. When our requests
are urgent we repeat them over and over again, be it to God or man, and repetition is only
empty or vain when it has no meaning.
We should always have an intention when we say the Rosary. It is such a good way of
praying for other people and of asking Our Lady to pray for them. We believe in the
Communion of Saints, and know that the Saints in Heaven are close to God; they can
pray far better than we can, and are continually interceding before the Throne of Grace
for their brothers and sisters on earth. So in saying the Hail Mary's we are asking the
Queen of the Saints to plead for us and for our intentions. 'Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners.'
We must storm the gates of Heaven with prayer, especially in these days when the light
of Faith is dim and few people pray at all.
Does God always answer our prayers? Yes but not always in the way we want. He Who
is Eternal Wisdom sees past, present and future as one timeless Now; He knows what is
best for us and what the future has in store, and, often, to answer our prayers in our way
would be bad for us. That is why it is so good to ask Our Lady to intercede; her prayers
are always tempered with the phrase we so often leave out: "Thy Will be done."
Why pray [perhaps you will say], if God knows already what is going to happen?
Because in many instances, God is waiting for our prayers. He holds back, as it were, His
favours till we have learned to pray for the, and at the same time learned the lessons of
faith, patience and perseverance. He, the Omnipotent, limits Himself to depend on human
agency. He expects our co-operation. What a responsibility we have to God and to our
fellow creatures! And we must pray because we have been told to pray. our Lord taught
His disciples the Our Father, and set an example of constant prayer, and this alone show
us that prayer is an essential part of the Christ life which must be persisted in even when
we find it most difficult.
THE SEVEN MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY
BEFORE THE ROSARY
PRAYER FOR A SPECIAL FAVOUR
O my dearest Mother Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, behold me, your
child, in prayer at your feet. Accept this Holy Rosary, as a proof of my
tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in
atonement for the offenses committed against your loving Heart, and
for this special favour which I earnestly request
[here mention your request]
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son. If you will pray for me,
I cannot be refused. I know, dearest Mother, that you want me to seek God's
Holy Will concerning my request. If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my souls.
Dear Mother, Our Lady of Walsingham, I offer you this spiritual "Bouquet
of Roses" because I love you. I put all my confidence in you, since your
prayers before God are most powerful. For the greater glory of God and for
the sake of Jesus, your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Amen.
THE HOLY ROSARY
On the Crucifix: In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died, and was buried. He descended in hell the third day He arose again
from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the
Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the living and the
dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the
communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
On the first large bead: Our Father,
who art in heaven: Hallowed by thy name: Thy kingdom come: Thy will
be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: And
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And
lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
On the next three beads: Hail Mary,
full of grace; the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
On the next bead: Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is
now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
THE FIRST MYSTERY
THE ANNUNCIATION
MEDITATION
Mary I venerate you as the Mother of God. Through the power of the Holy
Spirit you conceived Jesus and yet remained a Virgin. You were chosen
from all eternity for this exalted honour. You alone were conceived
immaculate among all the children of men, born full of grace, and blessed
among women. I thank the Holy Spirit for working in you the great miracle
of the Incarnation of Jesus. Through the Holy Spirit Jesus takes up His
abode in me in Holy Communion. Jesus continues to dwell in me by letting
me share in His own divine life by grace. Make my heart glow with the
same love that filled your heart when you adored the living presence of Jesus
within you. Help me to imitate your humility, sinlessness and love, for
which God chose you to be His Mother.
PRAYER
O God, Who willed that Your Word should take flesh in the womb of the
Blessed Virgin Mary at the message of an angel, grant that we, Your
servants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, Our Lady of
Walsingham, may be helped by her intercession with you. Through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE SECOND MYSTERY
THE VISITATION
MEDITATION
Mary, on hearing your voice, your cousin Elizabeth is filled with the Holy
Spirit. She recognizes the great mystery of the Incarnation in you, and the
infant in her womb rejoices. Elizabeth then gives you the praise you rightly
deserve: "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb." Because of Your Son Jesus, you are the greatest and holiest of all
holy women. The deepest sentiments of your Heart are always turned to
God and completely centered in Him. You wish for nothing but for God and
His holy will; you seek nothing by His greater honour. With Elizabeth I also
admire the consideration you showed for Elizabeth. You are my model in
carrying out the second great commandment of charity. Give me the grace
always to imitate your example in loving God and my neighbour.
PRAYER
Bestow on Your servants, we beg You, O Lord, the gift of Your heavenly
grace, that we, for whom the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of
Walsingham was the beginning of salvation, may be blessed with peace
through the Mystery of her Visitation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE THIRD MYSTERY
THE NATIVITY
MEDITATION
Jesus, with Mary and Joseph I worship You lying in Your crib. You wish to
enter the world as a child in order to prove Yourself to be true Man. You
became human that we may be able to see You, listen to You, imitate You
and unite ourselves to You. Even though You are God, You are now able to
suffer, atone for our sins and merit graces for our souls. Through the flesh
man turns away from God; in taking on the flesh God delivers man. But
You became Man also that man may become like God. In exchange for the
Humanity which You takes from us, You wish to make us share in Your
Divinity by sanctifying grace. May the mystery of Your birth bring me the
grace to be born again spiritually, and live a new divine life. A life for God
alone free from sin and from all attachment to myself and creatures. As it
was Mary's joy to form You in her own body, may her joy now be to form
You in my soul.
PRAYER
O God, You have given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation, by the
fruitful virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, we
beg of You, grant that we may feel her intercession for us, by whom we
received the Author of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with
You, and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns forever. Amen.
THE FOURTH MYSTERY
THE FINDING IN THE TEMPLE
MEDITATION
Jesus, You gladly submit to be taken home to Nazareth again by Your
parents. You "were subject to them." Help me to imitate You in keeping the
Fourth Commandment of God by loving and respecting my parents. You
chose to pass thirty years in silence, obedience and labour - truly, a hidden
God! Your own example sanctified and dignified labour as an expression of
God's will. You pointed to the need of religion as the foundation for happy
family life. Through Your grace and the prayers of Mary and Joseph, may
our families be sanctified with virtues. May my own family be reunited in
the family of God in heaven. Teach me to be obedient to your Mother's
guidance as You always were. In imitation of You I give her all my love -
my whole life.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, by Your obedience to Mary and Joseph, You sanctified
family life with splendid virtues, grant that aided by their intercession and
instructed by their example, we may become partakers of the eternal
happiness of Your Holy Family, who live and reign forever. Amen.
THE FITH MYSTERY
THE RESURRECTION AND THE ASCENSION
MEDITATION
Jesus, I believe that in Your Resurrection Your body is glorified by being
united again to Your glorified soul. This is the beginning of the glorious life
that was due to You as the Son of God. Your Resurrection was the reward
of Your life of suffering. Your Resurrection strengthens my hope in another
and a better life after death, an eternity of happiness. On the fortieth day
after Your Resurrection, You prepare to ascend on high to where the glories
of heaven await You. After having trained Your Apostles to establish the
kingdom of God on earth You go with them to the Mount of Olives. You
bless Your loving Mother and Your Apostles and bid them farewell. Now
you ascend into heaven to enter into possession of Your glory. The blessed
spirits whom You have released from Limbo accompany You as the first
fruits of the redemption. All heaven's angels come out to meet You. Let me
ascend into the heavens with You now by faith, hope and charity. Help me
to detach myself from all the passing things one earth, and seek only the joys
that are true and lasting. When I also appear before Your Father to give an
account of my life on earth, have mercy on me.
PRAYER
O God, through the Resurrection and Ascension of Your Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, You filled the world with joy; grant, we beg of You, that through His
Virgin Mother Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, we may obtain the joys of
everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE SIXTH MYSTERY
THE ASSUMPTION
MEDITATION
Mary, by your Assumption, God honoured your body that was always the
temple in which He dwelt by grace. Your body was a gate through which
the Son of God passed to earth and became Man. It was fitting that your
holy body, which gave flesh and blood to the Victor over death, should
never experience the corruption of the grave. Death and corruption are a
result of original sin; but you were preserved from original sin and its
effects. You offered yourself to suffering and your beloved Son to death; it
was fitting that you should be united with Him in glory. God asks of me just
what He asked of you - the doing of His Will on earth. For this constant
choice of God you are now taken to heaven, body and soul. He also
promises to me eternal blessedness of soul and body in the life to come.
Help me in my life's true work; to choose virtue and reject sin. Protect me
from the danger of temptation, and lead me in the path of virtue, that I may
share your glory forever.
PRAYER
May the prayer of the Mother of God, Our Lady of Walsingham, help Your
people, O Lord, and though we know that she passed from this life as every
mortal must, may we feel her intercession for us before You in heavenly
glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE SEVENTH MYSTERY
THE CORONATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
MEDITATION
Mary, I greet you as the Queen of heaven and earth. You are the beloved of
the just, the refuge of tender mercy to sinners. You are the cause of terror to
evil spirits. All ages bow to you in respect; you are blessed among women.
I join in the love shown you by God the Father to His beloved Daughter, by
God the Son to His sweetest Mother, by God the Holy Spirit to His Spouse.
I join in the love and praise given you by the angels and saints to their
glorious Queen, and by the just to their most kind Mother. I offer you all the
thoughts, words and actions of my life as so many acts of love, praise,
thanksgiving, atonement and prayer. May we all be devoted to you, that you
may lead us to Jesus. Together with you may we praise Him forever.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, our Mediator with the Father, You deigned to make Your
Mother, the most Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Walsingham, our Mother also
and intercessor with You, mercifully grant that everyone who comes to You
asking favours, may be gladdened for having received all through her
intercession. Who lives and reigns forever. Amen.
PRAYERS AFTER THE ROSARY
The ancient prayer of pilgrims to Our Lady of Walsingham
O Thou, alone of all women, Mother and Virgin, Mother most happy, Virgin
most pure, now we sinful as we are, come to see thee who art all pure, we
salute thee, we honour thee as how we may with our humble offerings; may
Thy Son grant us, that imitating thy most holy virtues, we also, by the grace
of the Holy Ghost may deserve spiritually to conceive the Lord Jesus Christ
in our innermost soul, and once conceived, never to lose him. Amen.
v/ Our Lady of Walsingham
r/ Pray for us.
v/ Our Lady of Walsingham
r/ Pray for us.
v/ O Mary, the Mother of God,
Our Lady of Walsingham.
r/ Intercede for us.
O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has
purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech You, that,
meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, we may imitate what they contain
and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
v/ May the divine assistance
remain always with us.
r/ Amen.
v/ And may the souls of the
faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
r/ Amen.
The Walsingham Mass
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