Seitai Hoshikai

This is the shrine of Our Lady of Akita, Japan. After our ignominious arrival, we went quickly to sleep with fans blowing to push back the humid night air.

In the morning, we awoke and found that the feast day schedule was the same as the Sunday schedule, so we had an extra half hour to get ready before morning prayer. Another unexpected blessing, allowing the kids a few extra minutes of sleep.

Guest house (left) and Church

Here's what we did during the day:

6:30 - morning prayer in the main chapel with the sisters
7:00 - Eucharistic Adoration
7:30 - Holy Mass
- breakfast following Holy Mass with the other pilgrims
- help clean up from breakfast
9:15 - outdoor walk in Carmel Woods and Joseph's Woods with the younger children
(shower time for Tommy and Patrick)
10:00 - morning discussion: Mary, the Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption; read from Tomie dePaola's Mary, the Mother of God
10:30 - art project: illuminated letters
12:00 - lunch with other pilgrims
1:00 - 3:00 nap time/quiet time/silent reading time
3:00 - Gift shop for most while Matthew slowly awakens from his nap with parental assistance
3:30 - Chaplet of the Divine Mercy in the Mary chapel (the Statue of Our Lady of Akita)
4:00 - Outdoor stations of the cross and walk on the outdoor paths
4:40- quick pack-up and load the van
5:00 - Rosary
5:30 - Evening prayer
6:00 - Dinner with other pilgrims and the sisters
7:00 - depart for Misawa

We spent a hot and humid, but peaceful Assumption day with the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

The sisters are gracious and joyful. They also cook wonderful meals. We had boiled eggs, bread and jam, and tea for breakfast. For lunch, there was spaghetti, which Katie and Joseph said was "totemo oishi kata naze nereba" (delicious because) it had white noodles and the sauce had hamburger in it. For dinner, there were fried chicken cutlets, salad, corn chowder, and rice. The watermelon after lunch and the ice cream after dinner were especially fine treats, considering the extreme heat and humidity of the day.

Stone marker at entrance to Stations of the Cross

The opportunities for prayer are many, whether in the main chapel, the Mary chapel, or walking outdoors. We enjoyed formal prayer, the adoration time, and time to pray silently.
There is a holy silence there, and it inspires one to interior prayer in a way that is difficult to explain. It got me thinking about the uses of silence in prayer. I may post more about that some other time.

Gate at the entrance to the Mary Garden

We also found the family time really fruitful. I especially enjoyed the discussion about Mary. Each could participate; each learned something. The older boys didn't have to answer every question, but they did need to answer some. And everyone illuminated a letter. And everyone put serious thought into it. They were working quietly for over an hour. John and Matthew worked together, and even Matthew stayed with us at the table for most of the time. John and I felt we both needed a lot more time: that our letters were very unfinished. I now see the reason why the monks of old spent so many hours illuminating pages. And I appreciate again the meditative silence that this activity inspired.

Illuminations
(l-r, t-b: Judy, Tommy, Patrick, Katie, John & Matthew, Joseph)

Their explanations afterwards were also illuminating--children reveal much about their faith in their art.

Please keep the sisters at Akita, the Handmaids of the Holy Eucharist, in your prayers. They are a marvelous witness of Catholic Christianity in this Buddhist/Shinto country.

Statue in the Mary Garden