I arrived at the Basilica of the Annunciation but the grotto in which it is believed to be THE spot of the Annunciation was blocked off. I sighed.
I knelt down and began my Rosary. I was in the lower basilica and the concrete made it look dark and a bit rough, one might even say, wild or untouched. As I prayed, grace washed over me.
I recognized we were in the lowest place, the depths of the basilica but also the depths of Our Lady’s heart and the depths of my heart. St. Francis of Assisi, the man who always sought to follow Christ to the lowest place of poverty and humility, was also here (in a statue), since his feast was only a few days ago. How appropriate that he would be here.
The cement certainly helped to make the Church look poor. I then saw a huge opening extending to the roof into the sky, representing the channel of God’s love, shooting directly into this depth of Our Lady’s heart… and of my heart. A priest came out to pray the Angelus and then opened the grotto. Streams of tourists walked through, nabbing a picture and moving on.
I waited. I got up slowly, and as the last few tourists walked away, I walked into the grotto and knelt. The world stopped. My heart flooded. Here I worshiped my God with my mother Mary and here, God poured His love into the depths of my heart.
I felt entirely understood and known and loved. I have no other words for the intimacy of that moment. I was another Mary, a little Mother, a Poverella (a little poor one) whom He filled with His riches.
- Sr. Lisa Marie Shatynski, T.O.R.
