a year of prayer: 365 Rosaries

Earlier this week, on October 12, we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar (Nuestra Señora del Pilar), the earliest recorded apparition of Our Blessed Mother. Tradition tells us that in the early day of the Church, Saint James the Greater was spreading the Gospel in Spain, but making very little progress. He was dejected and questioning his mission. In the year 44, the Mother of God, who was still living in Jerusalem at the time, bi-located and appeared to Saint James in a vision to boost his morale. During this vision, Our Blessed Mother appeared on top of a column or pillar, which was being supported by angels. That pillar is now venerated in the Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza, Spain. Numerous miraculous healings have been reported in its presence.


Holy Legend—much of it recorded by the Venerable Sister Maria de Agreda, visionary who recorded six volumes on the life of The Blessed Virgin, directly from mystical visions and communications with Our Lady-- tells us the following story of Our Lady of Pilar. Before Our Blessed Lady departed from Jerusalem to take up her abode in Ephesus, she ordered and arranged many things, both by herself and the holy Angels, to provide for the needs of the Church in her absence. The most effectual service Our Blessed Mother offered was her continual prayer—prayer that has continued unceasingly for all Christians since that time. The Blessed Virgin—help of Christians-- offered special prayers for Saint James, head of the Church in Jerusalem, as she knew that he would be the first to shed his blood for Christ as a martyr.

While Mary was in Ephesus before her Assumption, Jesus appeared to her during her daily prayers for guidance, and asked her to go with the angels to visit James in Zaragoza. Jesus instructed his mother to tell James that he was to return to Jerusalem to be martyred. The tradition of the shrine of El Pilar, is that Our Lady was carried on a cloud by the angels to Zaragoza during the night. While they were traveling, the angels built a pillar of marble, and a miniature image of Our Lady. Our Lady gave the message of Christ to Saint James and added that a church was to be built on the site where the apparition took place, as Jesus had instructed. The pillar and the image were to be part of the main altar. She instructed: “This place is to be my house, and this image and column shall be the title and altar of the temple that you shall build.” Special graces and protection would be granted to the people of Zaragoza in exchange for a pure devotion to Our Lord and Our Lady.

The church was built as instructed, commissioned by Saint James, and the citizens of Spain began to celebrate Mass at the little church and to venerate Our Lady through the image left there by her and the angels. For twelve years before Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven the people of Spain were venerating Our Lady as Our Lady of the Pillar. Numerous reconstructions followed, and the present church (Raised to a Basilica by Pope Pius XII), was completed in 1681. It is the first church to be devoted to Our Blessed Mother.

In November of 1987, Pope John Paul II undertook a pilgrimage to Spain where he visited the Basilica at Zaragosa. On that occasion he said: “Today I have fulfilled my desire to kneel, as a devoted son of Mary, before her holy pillar… The Christians of Spain have seen in this pilar a clear analogy with the pillar that guides the journeying of the people of Israel towards the promised Land (cf. Nm 14:14), that accompanies the new Israel, the Church, in her pilgrimage towards the promised Land, Christ the Lord. Our Lady of the Pillar is a radiant beacon… The Pilar is considered a symbol of the Spaniard’s strong faith, and is also an indication of the journey that leads to knowledge of Christ through apostolic predication.”

The holy pillar of Mary itself is miraculous in that the jasper from which it is constructed cannot be matched anywhere in the world. The statue, which is fifteen inches high, depicts representations of Our Lady with the child Jesus, Who holds a dove. Many miracles have been reported before the statue and pillar. Among its many prodigies is the fact that, in almost 2,000 years, the statue has never needed dusting. In 1936, during the Spanish civil war, bombs were dropped on the shrine. Miraculously, the two bombs that landed on or in the basilica failed to detonate, whereas all the bombs in the surrounding areas exploded. The bombs are housed in the basilica today, a powerful demonstration of Our Lady’s protection.

We are reminded, as we venerate Our Lady of Pilar, of the unending intercession and prayer Our Blessed Mother offers for us. This prayer and heavenly care—watching over the Church and each of its members—began before Our Lady left the earth, and continued following her glorious Assumption into heaven. We pray today for continued protection, grace, and refuge in the loving and sacred heart of Mary.


O Virgin Mother of El Pilar, deigning to appear to Thy beloved disciple, Saint James, promising him the victory over paganism, and blessing so abundantly his labors for the spread of the True Catholic Faith, secure for us also, who are the children of that same Faith, the victory over our many foes and the paganism that is laying waste the harvest of souls in our day.


Through the intercession of Thine Apostle, Saint James, the "Son of Thunder", may we as clouds flying through the air at the least breath of the Holy Ghost, establish everywhere the true devotion to Thy Immaculate Heart that Jesus wills for the conversion of all sinners. Amen.



Day 288 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Grace, protection, and refuge from Our Blessed Mother.
Requested Intentions: Son’s employment (K); Discernment of the Lord’s will (A); Mother’s full recovery from a stroke (K); Employment (P); For family’s prosperity and employment (M); For a husband’s addiction (F); Health in a relationship, literary representation (D); For a mother struggling with cancer (P); Employment and financial assistance (L); End to work troubles, return to health (R); For a husband’s recovery from alcoholism (M); For a pregnant sister in the ICU (J); For a family’s safety, health, and successful education (S); Successful employment and relationship (E); Reconciliation with a friend, sanctity of a relationship (G); Increase in Rosary prayers by youth and students (S); Successful outcome of court case and employment (L); For guidance and righteous love (K); Restoration of a relationship (H); For successful employment (I); For a daughter’s successful relationship (M); For a relationship sanctified by God (M); For health of father; For canonization of Pope John Paul II (A); Those suffering from depression (J); Successful adoption (S); Healing of a father battling cancer (S).