Over the winter, my former coworker’s wife Marilyn had asked me if I was familiar with the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. That’s in Champion, Wisconsin, less than 20 miles from Green Bay. She heard about it on Relevant Radio and said miracles happened there. My mom wasn’t sure if she’d be up for the trip, which is about a four and a half hour drive one way. However, she changed her mind, so we went in April 2016. I knew visiting wouldn’t guarantee my mom’s healing, but I thought it’d be good for her to go.
If I’d had a reporting job, my mom and I probably wouldn’t have gone to the shrine. It’d been a year since I worked in TV news, and I realized being a reporter wasn’t what God wanted me to do with my life. I also realized how silly it was to think I was throwing my life away if I didn’t get back into reporting. I knew if being a TV reporter was God’s will, I would’ve found a job by then. Once I found out my mom couldn’t have surgery, I decided I didn’t want to move again. I was worried her cancer would spread. My mom was grateful to only need monitoring. Since she wasn’t having chemo or radiation, life felt more like it did before her cancer diagnosis.
Going to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is the only approved Marian apparition site in the U.S. The Blessed Virgin May appeared in 1859 to a young girl named Adele Brise and asked Adele to teach children in the Catholic faith. My mom and I left on Saturday morning and arrived in the afternoon. It was a cold day. We walked around outside where there’s a Rosary walk and Stations of the Cross. We also stopped in the Apparition Chapel and Oratory. The shrine is a peaceful place and I was thankful my mom and I were able to spend some quiet time with God in prayer.
After we left the shrine, we drove to Green Bay to check in at our hotel. Neither of us were very hungry for dinner, because we had a late lunch. So, we went to Culver’s and had cheese curds and ice cream. When we got back to the hotel, my mom and I prayed the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. My mom hadn’t ever prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and I learned about it the year before from Marilyn.
Going to Mass
On Sunday morning, my mom and I went to Mass at a church in Green Bay before heading home. What I remember most from Mass was a joke during the homily. An usher was seating a woman in church who wanted to be in the front row.
“You don’t want to sit there. The deacon is giving the homily today and he talks really loud,” the usher said.
“Do you know who I am? I’m the deacon’s mother,” the woman said.
“Do you know who I am?” the usher said.
“No,” the woman said.
“Good,” the usher said.
The joke made me laugh. I wondered if that was a true story? Something else I remember was the recessional song, “How Can I Keep From Singing?” I hadn’t thought about this at the time, but that hymn was definitely relevant for what was going on in my life, “No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I’m clinging. Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?” I also think about how my mom and I probably wouldn’t have visited the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, if I hadn’t met Marilyn. God puts people in our lives to allow us to grow closer to Him.
Trying Something Different
That spring also provided me with new opportunities. I started taking voice lessons. Then, I was in the musical “Mary Poppins” with Richfield Lutheran Theater Company. I played Katie Nanna and was in the ensemble. During the winter my parish’s music director at the time Barb suggested I take voice lessons. When I started trying out for musicals I decided now was the time to take lessons to better prepare for auditions. I’ve enjoyed theater since my mom signed me up for a drama camp the summer after I finished 1st grade. I also liked being in school plays, especially our 8th grade class did “Mary Poppins.” I played Jane Banks.
However, I ran cross country and track in high school, so I wasn’t able to participate in theater. If I hadn’t run, I definitely would’ve been involved in theater. I took some theater classes to fulfill my fine arts requirements for high school graduation.
When I lived in La Crosse, a woman who used to have my job got involved with theater after her mom died. She talked about how much she enjoyed performing. Reading about her experiences on Facebook made me decide I wanted to get involved with theater. My motivation to audition also stemmed from the fact that I never got to be in shows in high school. Since I had more free time, because I didn’t have a regular job, I decided to go for it and I’m glad I did. Being part of “Mary Poppins” gave me so much joy. It was great having my parents and people from my parish come see the show. Little did I realize, “Mary Poppins” marked the beginning of a string of several more musicals.
