Rosa Mystica

Visiting my best friend in Austria in Ulmerfeld-Hausmening-Neufurth parish. Today we (our host, Marek I came with from Krakow, and myself) set off in the morning to make our personal, private pilgrimage to the most famous pilgrimage site in Austria, the shrine of Our Lady in Mariazell (Wikipedia - here). It was a great spiritual, cultural, geographical and environmental experience. I loved the shrine, loved the place, loved the countryside, loved the picturesque road leading to Mariazell from our base in my friend's parish. But apart from the spiritual main reason for going there - which was to pray to Our Lady for my beloved ones and friends, for the intentions of their hearts, for myself and Kiabakari and for all heavy stuff in my heart, apart from the beauty of the prayer in a beautiful shrine, I left Mariazell mesmerized by another experience of beauty...

This is an experience of a beauty of flowers on window sills of numerous houses and in the streets of Mariazell. I had no time to wander around more in the streets to get more photos of beautiful floral arrangements, but I hope these few pictures I post here will do some justice to the place and its people sensitive to all kinds of beauties - be it spiritual or natural...And it is most fitting to adorn the place belonging in a special way to Our Lady, who we rightly honor in her Litany as a Spiritual Rose (Rosa Mystica) with a sea of flowers...

All these wonderful colorful floral arrangements were leading us to and telling us about the beauty of the shrine of Our Lady, Great Mother of Austria. All Marian shrines have special meaning to me, this one in Mariazell too, and so deep indeed, as it was my first ever pilgrimage to this shrine. I spent some time in secluded prayer, telling Our Mum in rosary everything that was weighing on my heart, praying for all beloved ones, friends, people I care for and am worried about, for all their and mine intentions, committing all of us to the maternal care of Our Mum in Mariazell.

But, all this amazing beauty of the shrine and the Mariazell town with its fabulous flowers is just a mere, poor and far cry sign of the real beauty and splendor of Our Mother in heaven, especially when we finally arrive to the Father's house and meet our Mum in person...