We were very fortunate to spend the last two days in Bavaria with a group of students. This was our third time crossing the border from Austria into the south-eastern state of Germany. (The first time was to Berchtesgaden and the second was to Dachau and Munich.) This time our route took us from Augsburg to Munich to Altötting. It was our first time traveling on a double-decker bus and we loved it! (We rode downstairs where we had a table for the four of us).
The nine days leading up to our trip we prayed the Novena to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots in preparation for visiting the church of St. Peter am Perlach in Augsburg, which houses the painting of Mary's image. The painting has been venerated at St. Peter's since 1700. It was originally inspired by a meditation of St. Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202) based on the parallel made by St. Paul of Adam and Christ. St. Irenaeus, in turn, made a comparison between Eve and Mary, saying: "Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it."
In Augsburg, we also visited the Basilica of St. Ulrich and St. Afra and saw the tombs of these two saints in the crypt.
It took about four and a half hours to get to Augsburg and we watched the movie Sophie Scholl: The Final Days on the way. It is a German film (with English subtitles) about the last days in the life of Sophie Scholl, a 21-year-old member of the anti-Nazi non-violent student resistance group The White Rose. She was found guilty of high treason by the so-called "People's Court" and executed the same day, February 22, 1943. The movie is excellent, we highly recommend watching it (and you may even pick up some German as you do!)
In Munich we all had Friday night and most of Saturday to do whatever we wanted. Our family visited the University of Munich where Sophie and her brother Hans distributed the anti-war leaflets that cost them their lives.
Outside the University building you can see replicas of the leaflets permanently positioned on the ground.
After visiting the University we walked through part of the huge English Garden. We stopped to play at a playground before seeing the wave that people surf on all year round (it was in the low 30s and snowing shortly after we saw the two men surfing).
We then walked to the Residenz, which we visited last time, and Brian and Ellie posed for some photos at the monument nearby.
Here's a closeup view so you can see Brian holding Rainbow Dash more clearly.
From there we went into Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan. Of note in this church, as pointed out by a friend who used to live in Munich, is the one thousand cherubs - all bearing the same face of the newly-born prince at the time.
We met up with all the students that afternoon and headed to Altötting. Altötting is called the "Lourdes of Germany" due to the thousands of pilgrims who visit every year in search of healing. The shrine's reputation began in 1489 when a three-year-old child drowned in the nearby pond. His mother rushed his dead body to the altar where the statue of Our Lady, the Black Madonna, stood. As she pleaded for his life to be returned to him, he opened his eyes and was restored to life. Another similar miraculous healing occurred a few years later when a distraught mother brought her child who has been crushed by a cart to the chapel and again the child's life was restored. Today the shrine attracts over one million pilgrims each year.
No pictures are allowed of the statue inside. However, outside you can see the many paintings of those who have been healed as well as the crutches and other devices left behind by those who have been miraculously healed by Our Lady of Altötting.
We had Mass at the church right next to the chapel, followed by dinner, and then made the three hour trip back to Gaming.
Many prayers were said for those in need of healing and a miracle! May God bless you all!
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