Witnesses of the Faith | January 2025

The Sorrowful Mother Pilgrimage
Testimony from Fr. John of God Bertin

My name is Fr. John of God Bertin, a priest for Miles Christi, living in our community located in Michigan. Like all the priests of our order, I spend my time in personal and communal prayer, community life, the formation of our seminarians, and our proper apostolate: spiritual direction, spiritual exercises, retreats, youth groups, etc.

Among the many activities for young adults that we provide to ignite their desire for holiness, there is one I particularly love: pilgrimages! Pilgrimages, if done with the right spirit, become an intense and transformative spiritual experience, as well as an opportunity for young pilgrims to bond together in Christ and our faith. Pope Benedict XVI once said: “To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendor and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe.” (Santiago de Compostela, 6 November 2010).

And more recently Pope Francis said: “A pilgrimage is not the same as a vacation… Making a pilgrimage to shrines is one of the most eloquent expressions of the faith of God’s people… It would be a mistake to think that those who go on a pilgrimage live a spirituality that is not personal but rather of the masses. The reality is that the pilgrim carries within him his own history and faith and the lights and shadows of his own life. Each person carries within his or her heart a special wish and a particular prayer. Those who enter the shrine immediately feel they are at home, welcomed, understood, and supported.” (Paul VI Audience Hall, 21 January 2016).

Fruits of conversion and holiness are what we experienced last October when I accompanied a group of Miles Christi young adults to The Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, OH. There are many beautiful places of pilgrimage in the U.S., showing the many blessings that God has poured out on this country and His love for His American children. Just over an hour away from our house in Michigan, there is this beautiful shrine, in the countryside, with a church from 1920 (not the original), more than 40 grottos with different Marian devotions, and an outstanding Stations of the Cross in the middle of a wooded area. Even though this holy shrine is not very well-known, it is very meaningful to us in Miles Christi, because Our Lady of Sorrows is our main Marian devotion.

The group met early on a Saturday at our Family Center. After a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in our chapel, invoking protection for a safe drive, we carpooled in different cars toward our destination. We made a stop to pick up some students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The drive, filled with prayer, laughter, reading, and listening, was already part of our pilgrimage. We read about the history of the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, the revelations of Mary to St. Bridget about the Seven Sorrows, and the story of the shrine we were going to visit. We also prayed five mysteries of the Rosary—our goal was to pray 15 mysteries in the day, which we did—and Morning Prayer (Lauds). We also rehearsed different music parts of the proper of the Mass, such as the introit of the Mass for Our Lady of Sorrows and the Stabat Mater.

It was very nice when we arrived at the shrine at noon, as the bells of the chapel were ringing for the traditional Angelus, which felt like a welcome from our Blessed Mother. Under the sound of the bells, we entered the beautiful, small chapel containing lovely religious artwork. Especially worth mentioning is the Pietà (Mary with Jesus in her arms after He is taken down from the Cross). We immediately prepared for Mass. A few of our young adults are very talented in music, organ, and singing. They solemnized the liturgy with beautiful pieces of Gregorian chant and polyphony. The Mass was definitely one of the highlights of the pilgrimage. I could sense that our Blessed Mother was very happy that a group of her children wanted to honor her in this special way, and certainly, we could feel her presence with a sense of deep peace. Since the chapel was fully at our disposal, we took the time necessary for the celebration, prayer, and contemplation of the artwork.

After Mass, we had a picnic-style lunch in one of the pavilions on the property. We overcame the chilly weather with the warmth of our fellowship and joy. This time gave us the chance to get to know each other better and laugh, bringing cheer to our hearts.

Lunch was followed by some free time that each person could use as they pleased. Many of us went to visit the different grottos and religious sculptures dedicated to the saints or the mysteries of Christ’s or the Blessed Virgin’s life. We walked along the pathways, contemplating, praying, singing, and recalling the lives of the saints depicted in the grottos. It was a great moment to revive our faith through the wonderful stories of so many amazing saints.

We also prayed the second part of the Rosary while walking through the 120-acre landscape of the shrine, and one of the seminarians gave a spiritual talk on the Blessed Mother, using notes from one of his seminary classes. After the talk, we went inside the chapel and, kneeling in front of the Pietà, consecrated ourselves to Our Lady of Sorrows.

There were no plans for the rest of the evening, but it was already time for our return. However, everyone wanted to continue the time of fellowship, so we decided to stop for dinner together on our way back. The spirit of joy was such that we even dared to sing some polyphony after dinner in the restaurant we visited, to the joyful or skeptical looks of the other customers. We returned to our homes with hearts filled with many blessings and graces.

I give thanks to God because He gave me this opportunity to serve Him and to be an instrument for our young adults to honor our Blessed Mother!