Engaging Faith

December 8, 2010, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, was a momentous day for the Church and for the United States of America. It was on that day that Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay issued a decree that authenticated the nineteenth-century apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a young woman, Adele Brise, in the farmlands near Champion, Wisconsin. A shrine built there, the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, is now worthy of belief as a site where Mary really appeared along the level of Guadalupe in Mexico, Lourdes in France, and Fatima in Portugal. Mary’s appearances to Adele Brise are the first Marian apparitions approved by the Church for the United States. Adele Brise’s story is a remarkable one. At age twenty-four and the oldest of four children of Belgian immigrants, she came with her family to the Green Bay peninsula in 1855. Her father purchased 240 acres of land in the town of Red River for $120 dollars. Adele had intended to join a religious community when she came to America, but her first days in Wisconsin were taken up with the hard work of farming and pioneer life. Adele’s life changed in early October 1859. While carrying grain to a mill about four miles from her home, Mary appeared to her. A few days later, on October 9, while walking to Sunday Mass in Bay Settlement, about eleven miles from home, Mary appeared to her again. After Mass, Adele told the pastor about what she had seen. He said to her, “Ask in God’s name who it was and what it desired of her.” On the way, home, Mary appeared a third time and Adele asked the question as the pastor had suggested. Mary responded: "I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the same. Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and how to approach the sacraments." Adele Brise dedicated the rest of her life to doing what Mary instructed. She gathered the children near her home and taught them the faith. She also traveled to other farms, sometimes as far as fifty miles away, to do the same. She faced challenges of the forest and weather that were often easier to handle than ridicule that came from those who didn’t believe that Mary had appeared to her. Eventually, a school and chapel were built at the site of the appearances. Most of the students were orphans. Adele, who gathered a lay community known as the Sisters of Good Help around her, often went begging for what she and the school needed. When food was scarce, Adele would pray to Mary for help. Inevitably someone would drop by a sack of flour or some meat to get them through the next days. A huge fire known as the Peshitgo Fire threatened the area on October 8, 1871 (the same day as the Chicago Fire). People brought animals and their families to the grounds of the chapel. Adele carried a statue of Mary around the perimeter of the grounds. On the outer portion of the perimeter everything burned. The fire did not advance inside the five-acre perimeter near the school and chapel. Many considered this a miracle. The procession is repeated every year on October 8. Bishop Ricken began looking into Mary’s appearances in 2009, and much of his investigation involved the life of Adele Brise. The bishop said this about her: "What has struck me about the story of the life of Adel Brise is her lifelong fidelity to what the Blessed Mother asked her to do with her life. She dedicated her life to prayer, especially for the conversion of sinners, and to the catechesis of children. She made great sacrifices and attracted other young women to follow her in fidelity to the Blessed Mother’s call." Activities Plan as if you are able to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. Ask students to prepare an itinerary of their pilgrimage. Write a prayer of petition to Our Lady of Good Help. Create a PowerPoint or slide show of the approved Marian apparitions. Investigate other Marian apparitions that have been considered but not approved. Write a report on at least one of these.

Tell the students that they are going to pray for peace. Ask them to think of some family members and friends whom they have hurt (embarrassed, disappointed, teased, left out, disrespected). Then have them think about some people who have hurt them. Next, say: I am going to pass out a note card (3"x 5" slips of paper) to each person. I would like you to use the following sentence starters (write on the board) or your own words to write a note to someone containing three or four constructive ideas for making peace in your relationships. These notes won't be delivered, though you should write them as if they were going to be given to the people you thought about. Some of the items on the note cards will be read anonymously to help us continue our prayer. Write a number or symbol on your card to help you reclaim your card after our prayer. Sentence Starters I promise to . . . I never meant to . . . I am sorry for . . . I can make things better between us by . . . Next, pass out the 3" x 5" slips of paper. Allow time for writing. Then collect the cards. Distribute copies of lyrics to a Christmas carol that speaks of peace. Lead a singing of verse one. Then read anonymously several of the ideas for making peace from the various note cards. Read only one or two items from each card, and replace any names or nicknames with initials. After you have gone through about half of the pile, lead singing of verse two of the Christmas carol. Then continue reading ideas from the other note cards in the pile. When all have been read, ask everyone to stand around a classroom Christmas creche. Conclude by leading the following prayer from a responsorial psalm of Christmas Day. Sing a new song to the Lord! Everyone on this earth, sing praises to the Lord, sing and praise his name. R: A Savior is born, Christ the Lord. Day after day, announce, "The Lord has saved us!" Tell every nation on earth, "The Lord is wonderful and does marvelous things!" R: A Savior is born, Christ the Lord. Tell the heavens and the earth to be glad and celebrate! Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures and the fields to rejoice with all of their crops. R: A Savior is born, Christ the Lord.