Stephen J. Binz
June 1, 2019 at 3:57 PM ·
No, this is not Lourdes or Fatima. It's a candlelight procession last night in Chicago.The event, entitled “There is Hope for the Broken,” was inspired by Kevin Matthews, a longtime Chicago radio host who had a spiritual awakening after he stumbled across a broken Virgin Mary statue sitting next to a dumpster outside a flower shop.
Before the procession began, Matthews gave his testimony at St. John Cantius Catholic Church to an overflow crowd. Matthews had just lost his job and had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. While driving home one day, he had an urge to pick up some flowers for his wife. Outside the shop was a blue dumpster, and, to his dismay, lying on the ground next to the dumpster was a statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue was covered in trash. Her body was split in half and her tiny hands chipped.
Matthews took the broken statue home and put it back together. But the cracks and fractured hands remain. He believes the defects of the statue, which he calls Broken Mary, are symbolic of a flawed people, a people in constant need of healing. “The message of Broken Mary is we’re all broken,” Matthews said. “Everyone. We’re not perfect, we’re flawed. But we’re loved.”
Matthews is bringing Broken Mary and a message of unity and healing to Chicago. "Our Lady of the Broken" was carried on the shoulders of those sworn to protect and serve others, including Chicago police, Illinois State Police, Chicago firefighters and National Guard members. Behind her, the flames held by thousands of people flickered, and the soft yet unified voices in song and prayer were heard through the streets. The procession walked 1.5 miles east along Chicago Avenue to Water Tower Place.
Matthews has traveled across the country with Broken Mary, visiting prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, hospitals and hospices.The message is simple: Everyone is broken and in need of healing. “She’s gone from a dumpster to being carried on men’s shoulders Friday on a bed of roses with a crown,” Matthews said. “We all can aspire to that hope. We’re not garbage. We’re God’s children.”
Take a look at the story of Our Lady of the Broken here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=141&v=K9KsrOyBENw
Great way to live
Awareness Act
December 2, 2017 at 4:00 PM ·
You can always change the ending!