Every country in which the Catholic Faith has been planted has its holy places. In the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, reported in the Pynson Ballad – the earliest written source on the shrine of Walsingham – a holy place is one in which “All that me seke there shall fynde socoure” (all that seek me there shall find succour).
Just as God is pleased to honour a saint by granting favours asked in the saint’s name, so He is pleased to honour a saint by granting favours asked in a place associated with the saint, particularly if getting to this place came at a cost. And God is never more pleased than when favours are asked in the name, and in a holy place of, the Blessed Virgin.
