By Sr. Joy Le,
Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln
As summer is approaching, families are planning where to go for summer vacation. Disneyland. Mount Rushmore. The Grand Canyon. My family never had to plan, because we went to the same place every year: Marian Days, in Carthage, Mo.
Marian Days is hosted by the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer, a Vietnamese male community who came to America after the Fall of Saigon in 1975. The church in Springfield-Cape Girardeau sponsored 178 priests and brothers who came as “boat people.” They were able to rent the vacant Oblates of Mary Immaculate Seminary for $1. The pastors from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Lincoln come from this religious community. Thousands of Vietnamese come annually to their campus as a Marian pilgrimage. Marian Days started as a way to ask Mary for peace for the Vietnam War. Now, it’s a place of prayer and reunion.
Ever since I can remember, the first weekend of August, my family would drive five hours to Carthage. As a kid, I hated it. We slept in tents. With more than 50,000 people in one place, I would often get lost. I would sweat through my clothes. The lines to the shower seemed like they never got shorter. My phone never had service. Plus, Mass was always two hours long.
Every day consisted of going to Mass, talks, praying the rosary, and a procession. We would process around the town of Carthage with blue and white flags, singing Marian hymns with the Our Lady of Fatima statue. One constantly hears “Tung Hô Mẹ Maria,” which means Hail Mary. As Mary is brought back to the main area, balloons are released and fireworks are lit.
As I got older, my parents let me roam around Marian Days on my own. That meant I would skip the talks to go hang out with my friends from out of state. We would only go to talks as a way to get into air conditioning. I would skip the procession because that meant the lines to buy food would be shorter.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that I finally took to heart the reason for Marian Days. That summer, I was blessed to go on a Marian pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje, with my own Marian Sisters in formation. This trip fostered my relationship with Mary. I was surprised when I realized Mary was always there for me, but I never talked to her. “Why go to Mary when I can just go straight to Jesus?” I would say to myself. “I said my prayers to her. Isn’t that enough?” I thought.
My first encounter was in Fatima, when I looked at her face. I was astonished by how tender and motherly she looked. In Lourdes, at the Mass for English-speaking pilgrims, I was overwhelmed by emotion, seeing how full the grotto was with the sick and elderly. Who am I to think Mary cannot take care of me, when these people have sacrificed so much to be here. They knew she could heal them.
Since these encounters, I can’t imagine a day without talking to Mary. There are many times where I am impatient with Jesus and go to Mary first! I am awestruck by how she always does God’s will, even when it’s difficult. Yet, she never questioned him. And she continues to see us offend her son by our sins, but she always advocates for us.
I am filled with gratitude as I attend Marian Days now. I am delighted, knowing 50,000 people come every year because they love our Blessed Mother. The procession resembles the one at Lourdes (I thought the priests in Missouri came up with the idea themselves!). I am proud to walk in the blazing hot sun, praising Jesus for the gift of his mother while saying “Tung Hô Mẹ Maria” during the procession. The best part is still running into Vietnamese people from all over the United States and Vietnam who are there because Mary provided for them and their family coming to America.
Mary has been there for me all along. She was patient. She knew I would eventually turn to her. She didn’t give up on me and provided numerous opportunities for me to encounter her.
Marian Days has impacted my family in more than one way. What began as a Marian pilgrimage, became a place where my vocation started. Being able to get to know the priests and brothers made me fall in love with religious life. Though I complained about it, the prayer and Mass schedule helped me appreciate the structure of prayer. This past summer, my brother entered the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer. Though we were “forced” to attend Marian Days, it has changed our life and continues to be a place for us to grow in our relationship with Mary every year.
