This is a picture of our "Lady of Fatima" statue in our dining room, along with the candle we used for the "Candle-Lighting."  This statue, like our outdoor statue, shown in the "May" post, has an interesting history, also mysterious in nature.  Again, too long of a story to get into right now.....but to make a long story short, it was in our home when I was a child, given away to the Catholic school I had attended, and made its way back to me about 25 years later.  The little plaque on the bottom of the statue unfortunately was gone-it was in memory of my father, who passed away from a heart attack when I was 7 years old-he loved the story of Fatima.  The head had broken off as well, but some wonderful person repaired it.  They could have disposed of the statue and I would never have seen it again, but whoever it was, took the time to lovingly repair it with great care.  I am so grateful!  I cherish this statue with all my heart.  She is wearing a pink mantilla of mine, which I am privileged to share with her.  I felt for the Fatima Centennial, that she deserved some special ornamentation.

The candle, I recently bought at a dollar store in a Latino neighborhood, and the dish it is on was given to me as part of a set, as a wedding gift by my godmother, whose name was Mary (may she rest in peace).  I just wanted to share this with all of you.  You could make your own similar set-up for our next Holy Hour, June 13th!

Speaking of the next Holy Hour, I am re-thinking the promotion of it and some of the details of how it will work.  The format will remain the same.  I do hope to have more comments next time, but if not, even if we don't get any, I know at least 2 people will have prayed the Holy Hour-me and my husband!  We actually completed it in a half-hour, but "Fatima Holy Half-Hour" just doesn't have a great ring to it!  I don't really want to make it much longer-I want it to be easy for people and if you want to take the ball and run with it, adding or subtracting, that is fine.  Nomen Christi seeks to empower people, not to dictate to them.  Also, you really could do this at ANY time.  The Fatima Centennial lasts all year.

See you next month, and please contact us if you would like email reminders.  I felt very enriched by doing this and I hope that it will be a blessing to others as well over the next 6 months!