I had been wanting to visit this shrine for years - the beauty & peace surrounding this place had been calling to my heart for some time 🤍
More especially last year when we found out we might be experiencing a missed miscarriage.
We prayed to Our Lady of La Leche in our uncertainty, asking for her intercession, that if God allowed us the grace to carry to term, have a healthy baby & a safe delivery, & that I could hold our baby in my arms to nurse, we would make a pilgrimage to this shrine in thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, we did not receive this consolation.
Our little Avila Vianney stopped growing in my womb at just 6 weeks 👼🏼
We were devastated.
But my dream of seeing this place never left.
During our vacation in St. Augustine this past April/May, my husband Mark surprised me with this visit, not telling me where we were going at first, & as we got closer & I read the sign to the Mission, my heart swelled with such joy & excitement, happy tears filling my eyes 🥹
It was a little bittersweet, thinking of our sweet Avila Vianney, but to come pray here in thanksgiving for the gift of a new pregnancy, everything came full circle.
Holding our baby boy in my arms & carrying our rainbow baby in my womb, entrusting them to the care of our Mother Mary, I never felt so fulfilled as a woman, & so blessed as a Mama.
Scroll to the end to see the stunning statue we bought at the Shrine & how we decorated it, placing it in a prominent place on the wall in our birth room, in anticipation of our beautiful homebirth (can’t wait to share those details with you soon! 🥹)
Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us 🤱🏻👑
Happy feast day! 🤍
#thecandidcatholic
P.S. Check out that 12th photo I took as a peacock followed this priest through the gates towards the Shrine - Mark said “hurry, take a picture!” 😂🦚
1 month ago