For an extra special birthday weekend my husband and I took
a road trip to Sainte Anne’s Shrine in Isle La Motte, Vermont. Isle La Motte is
one of three islands on Lake Champlain in Northern Vermont close to the Canadian
border. We took off early Friday morning and managed to get there in time for
morning mass. Mass was held in an outdoor chapel. It was such a beautiful road
trip and the island is gorgeous. It’s quaint and quiet, not at all touristy. Getting
there we passed farms and windmills and more solar panels than I have ever seen
in one day. Go green Vermont! The shrine owns a stretch of waterfront beach and
it’s free and open to the public. After mass and lunch we parked ourselves on a
grassy knoll and relaxed for the afternoon. I also took some time to pray the Stations
of the Cross at an outdoor sort of park area they have set up with the
stations. We both loved it so much we can’t wait to go back and stay for two
nights next time.
The shrine is dedicated in honor of Saint Anne, the mother
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The shrine is nestled among pines and bordering
Lake Champlain. I went there once before with my dad when I was a young girl. I
never forgot how beautiful it was and I always wanted to go back to see it
again. Thanks to my sweet husband, I made it back, 48 years later.
My birthday is the feast day of Saint Ignatius Loyola who is
also the founder of the Society of Jesus, ie, “Jesuits”. I adopted St. Ignatius
as my patron saint not only because his feast day is on my birthday, but also
because his story of conversion sounds so familiar to me. Basically, St.
Ignatius was a man of the world and only converted after he was recuperating
from a war injury and had nothing to read except the bible and some other
religious books. The Word of God softened his hard heart and he was on fire for
the faith. His path was not an easy one and he made mistakes and learned from
those mistakes. Eventually he started the Society of Jesus (16th
century). I am currently reading his spiritual writings and will surely write
about that eventually.
See my pictures below. The pictures at Saint Anne’s Shrine website are even better.
beach in front of the Shrine
Statue of "Our Lady of Lourdes" overlooking Lake Champlain at St. Anne's Shrine
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