.
This is the church where I went to Mass, while on vacation at
Sint Maarten. The island was named after
St. Martin of Tours because it was his feast day when Columbus sailed by and saw the island for the first time. The church is named St. Martin of Tours. The
Divine Word Missionaries serve there. So you can imagine my surprise when I sat in a pew and looked up and saw a tall Dominican. I was sitting under a statue of
St. Dominic.
The smile that exploded across my face, made hubby roll his eyes. :-D
If that weren't blessing enough, I looked across the aisle, and there on that wall pedestal was another Dominican--
St. Rose of Lima.
I have no idea why Dominicans were honored in this church, named after St. Martin of Tours, on an island that was French/Dutch, and ministered by Divine Word Missionaries. I can't find a history of the church and I emailed them and have received no response. Also puzzling, is a statue representation outside the church. There is a representation of the apparition in La Salette France. Why here?
On the left is the entire set up.
On the right is a close up Mary sitting and weeping. Mary is weeping because people are defaming the Sabbath. You can read more about the apparition of La Salette at this
site
There's an Order of priests and Lay People that are dedicated to spreading Mary's message. They are known as La Salettes or the Missionaries of La Salette. I know this because nearby my home town, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, is a shrine called
La Salette Shrine. It is famous for its Christmas lights. I've been there many times, not only at Christmas, but for
Jon Polce concerts, (he's there once a month), retreats, their religious store, other events, and just to walk around their beautiful grounds. They also have daily Confession, which is good to know. I know La Salette Shrine very well, which is why I immediately recognized the statue at St. Martin of Tours Church, in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands West Indies, as Our Lady of La Salette.
It was good to know that this vacation was in line with God's will. I received so-o-o many blessings. Deo Gratias.
I plan to do more Lectio Divina during Holy Week. I hope to get to Confession. I just want to make it better than my usual devotions. Tonight, I was thinking of Our Lord's Passion. In particular, I thought of the thorns that were smacked down in Jesus' skull. It brought to mind the thorns that scratched me, while on vacation.
We were walking around Fr. Amsterdam, on Sint Maarten. There was a dock in the middle of the bay, that I was trying to get a picture of. But my angle made the dock look like it was attached to land. The dock was surrounded by water because it was for divers. The dock had a bar on it, where divers could get a drink, that's why it was in the middle of the bay. So I was walking down the side of the hill, through bushes that were scratchy. The thorns got worse and worse and when I felt blood drip down my legs, I gave up and turned around. I thought of Jesus' crown of thorns then, and I think of them now.
