Opening
Prayer
Mary, patroness of travellers and
aviators, you who carried Jesus across distances and into the unknown, guide us
now as we reflect on your presence in our lives. Help us to find home, wherever
we carry your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Reflection
The House That Travelled
Angels lifting a small brick house off
its foundation in Nazareth and carrying it through the night sky, across the
Mediterranean, to land in a grove of laurel trees in Italy. It sounds like a
fairy tale, doesn't it? And yet for centuries, pilgrims have flocked to Loreto
to stand inside those ancient walls, to touch the stone where tradition says
the angel Gabriel appeared to a teenage girl and changed everything. Whether
you take the story literally or see it as sacred poetry, there's something
electrifying about it. Mary's home, the actual space where she said yes to God,
refused to stay put. It travelled. It landed somewhere completely unexpected. It
became a beacon.
Here's what gets me about Loreto: it's
not a grand cathedral or a mountaintop shrine. It's a house. A small, ordinary
house now enclosed in marble and gold, yes, but still recognizably a home. You
can see the hearth, the simple altar, and the narrow walls. This is where Mary
cooked meals, where she prayed, where she heard the most impossible news a
person could hear, and somehow found the courage to say, "Let it be."
Standing in that space, you can almost feel her presence, her humanity. She
wasn't untouchable. She was real. She lived in a real place with real walls.
And God chose that ordinary place for the most extraordinary moment in human
history.
The flight of the house, that wild,
miraculous journey, tells us something we desperately need to hear: the sacred
moves. God doesn't stay locked in the past or confined to holy sites marked on
maps. The place where Mary encountered the angel didn't fossilise in the Middle
East. It went on pilgrimage itself, as if to say, "This mystery needs to
travel. People need to experience this. They need to stand where she stood,
even if it means the walls themselves have to fly." And so, Loreto became
a destination for aviators, for travellers, for anyone who's ever felt unmoored
or in transition. Mary gets it. She knows what it's like to journey into the
unknown, to trust when the ground beneath you shifts, to carry something
precious through uncertain skies.
What amazes me most is how the house
became a meeting place. For hundreds of years, people have made their way to
Loreto, walking for weeks, crossing mountains, leaving everything behind just
to pray inside those walls. They come seeking healing, seeking direction,
seeking Mary. And she meets them there. Not because the bricks are magical, but
because something about that space invites encounter. It's intimate. It's
humble. It's a reminder that Jesus chose to begin his life on earth not in a
palace but in Mary's simple home, and later in an even simpler stable. God
loves small spaces, ordinary places, the everyday moments when we're just
living our lives. That's where he shows up.
So, what does Loreto mean for us, here
and now? It means home is wherever we carry Jesus. It means the holiest moments
often happen in our kitchens, our commutes, our regular Tuesday afternoons. It
means we're all in flight, somehow moving through life, navigating transitions,
trying to land safely in God's will. And it means Mary is with us in all of it.
She who said yes in a little house in Nazareth. She, who watched that yes, took
her on a journey she never could have imagined. She, who understands better than
anyone what it means to trust when you can't see the destination. Our Lady of
Loreto doesn't just sit in a shrine in Italy. She travels with us.
Reflection
Questions
Take time with these questions. Write
freely. Let your heart speak.
1. Where do you feel most "at home" with God? Is it a physical place, a practice, a relationship, a
moment of the day? What makes that space feel blessed for you?
2. What does it mean to you that Mary's house, the site of the
Annunciation, didn't stay in one place?
How might God be inviting you to carry your faith into new territory?
3. Our Lady of Loreto is the patroness of aviators and all who
travel. What journey are you on right now, literally
or figuratively? Where do you sense God leading you, even if the destination
isn't clear?
4. Mary said "yes" to God in the privacy of her
home, in an ordinary moment.
When has God asked something of you in the midst of your everyday life? How did
you respond?
5. Pilgrims travel to Loreto seeking encounter and healing. What are you seeking on this retreat? What do you hope to
find in this sacred time and space?
Closing
Prayer
Our Lady of Loreto, you carried Jesus
within you and made every place you walked holy ground. Teach us to be dwelling
places for your Son. When we feel displaced or in transition, remind us that we
are being carried by God's grace. Help us to say yes as you did, fully,
trustingly, generously. May our lives become homes where others can encounter
the love of Jesus. Amen.
Take a moment of silence. Rest in
Mary's presence. You are home.
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
