On Friday the 22nd we went to the Grotto. It is the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. It was designed for a place of solitude, peace, and prayer. The day we were there was not a quiet day. There were many families with small children and they were just glad to be outdoors on a sunny day and the peace went away.
When we arrived it was about noon so we searched for some food but they did not have any available excepts bagels and broccoli soup. So we went back to the car and asked Lizzie, our GPS, about were we could get a small lunch. Well, we chose the Calico Cafe which was .2 miles from the Grotto. Well, it was a funky place decorated in very unusual shabby sheek design. We had a delicious seafood omelet which we shared. Um.
Then we went back to the grotto and spent the afternoon touring the grounds and ended with a special service in the church with the Stations of the Sorrowful Mother. When we left the grounds we were ready to drive home. It was a great day.
History of the grotto---
The Grotto story began just before the start of the twentieth century, when a young boy learned that his mother lay near death after giving birth to a daughter. In tears the boy ran to the little parish church in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, where he prayed for his mother's life, promising that if she were spare he would one day undertake a great work for the church. His mother survived and the future Father Ambrose Mayer never forgot his promise.
Father Mayer was sent by his Servite superiors to minister in the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. Always looking for a site on which to build a suitable tribute to Mary, the mother of Jesus (and thus fulfil his promise), Father Mayer came across some acreage in 1923 which was owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company and scheduled for sale as residential property. Father Mayer determined that this property was ideal for the realization of his dream. Although the asking price was $48,000, Father Mayer made a bid of all that e had-$3000-and his offer was accepted. On May 29, 1924, the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother was dedicated by Portland Archbishop Alexander Christie.
A grotto was hewn from the base of the 110-foot basalt cliff where an altar was constructed, above which was placed a full-sized replica of Michelangelo's Pieta. This became the sanctuary for an outdoor church where Sunday Mass has been celebrated during the summer month ever since. In 1933 the first Marian Congress ever to take place in the United States was held at the Sanctuary and a bronze statue of Mary, Our Mother, was dedicated. The statue and stone monument were a gift from the Catholic daughters of the Americas.
Here are some pics. ----
The statue at the entrance---
The grotto carved from the basalt cliff
The church on the grounds--The Chapel of Mary--inside view
The Blessed Mother Statue which was in the chapel on the upper level
View from the second level
The chapel on the second level is called the Marilyn Moyer Meditation Chapel. This chapel was built in the memory of Marilyn Joyer, opened on St. Patrick's Day, 1991, and dedicated to Blessed Mary, Mother of Jesus. Marilyn lived from 1924 to 1988.
View of the chapel on the lower level from the upper level
We walked through the woods on the upper level--you could find many places where you could sit and think.
They had areas to pray--stations, rosary mysteries
Sorrowful mysteries
Quiet pool for mediation
One of many flowers in the area
The paintings of Stations of Sorrowful Mother in the Chapel of Mary
