Constant Procession

In this installment we find religious teachings and worship becoming illegal and removing “Sunday” from the week. Also a new calendar begins with “year 1” which is to replace the year “1793.” Militant upheavals and military conquests emanating in one country spreads across the world even to tiny islands far removed. And as for The Madonna, well as they say, the rest is history.     The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves.   The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

Benoit lived out her days helping build and grow the church that was established for the conversion of sinners as requested by the Virgin Mary. Benoit is credited with the gift of getting people to open up about their lives, not so much to unburden their souls to her, but rather to open up to themselves. Our Lady of Laus has helped spread the love of God through the intercessions of the Virgin Mary at this site ever since. However around the time of her death in in the early 1700s, on the world stage tensions begin shifting into various power struggles. From the island of Tinos that is taken by the Ottomans to newly created Serbia, which quickly found itself overtaken once again by the Ottomans.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves

As we move forward along this constant procession is a growing awareness that the Virgin Mary has had an impact on the world of yesterday. Diplomacy is her way. For many, she comes in a gentle and graceful manner as observed by the various seers over the timeline of history. And for me, a connected history begins to reveal itself as we meet “Our Lady of the Good Encounter.”     The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run about 7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves. The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

The constant procession continues as a commissioned replica of the “Our Lady of Guadalupe” apparition’s relic travels across the ocean to meet with destiny as the tables for change on the Mediterranean Sea come to high noon.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on.  There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves. The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

Saint Diego wishes to see his aged uncle and discovers that “uncle” has quite a story of his own.  And at this apparition site today, though surrounded by the hustle-bustle of a major city, this space is where people still come, almost 500 years later. It is a wonderful place of tranquility.  But in reality, once you cross the threshold of the front gates into the main plaza, the outside distractions melt away. Upon entering the grounds, once you get your bearings, the atmosphere changes and for me, once I got my bearings, I found myself right at home.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves. The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

Juan Diego’s task continues in an unusual manner. He finds himself picking flowers in the middle of winter. They include Castilian Roses and other out of season flowers. The Flowers are the sign (for the Bishop) he is told. Tell him everything and all you’ve seen. Today, as you look at the same hill, the people tend flowers there still.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between about 7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves.  The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

In this installment, the Madonna appears to a man in his late fifties who by his own account is a “lowly peasant.” Her request to him is to visit with a Bishop, one of the most powerful people in all of Mexico at that time. Juan Diego, like the Virgin Mary herself, humbly takes on the task. But Juan is more like us rather than the Madonna. He finds himself communicating between the human world and the sublime. Between the Mother of God and one of the most powerful people in the lands. His attitude and his actions are both brave and common as he goes back and forth. What would you do in his position?     The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves.  The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

In this installment we find ourselves back, after the conquest and destruction of the City of Gold, to the newly rebuild area now known as Mexico City. The year is 1531, when an apparition of the Virgin Mary occurs to a native who is on his way to mass in the center of the city. Saint Diego answered a request by the Virgin Mary on a cold winter day as he journeyed by a stone hill that was on his path. Today, almost five hundred years later a sprawling spiritual center stands as a testimonial to that meeting. And today the Basilica to the Virgin Mary called Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most visited spiritual sites in the world.   To Listen from the Beginning   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves. The author values feedback thr

The journeys into the New World are sometimes at odds with the best of humanity during this installment of the book.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves. The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

A King, a Queen and a voyager all pray at the same chapel seeking the Madonna’s intercessions to her son. Lost over time are the details of her involvement on the first voyage of Christopher Columbus into the unknown. The further they sail from land, the more his crew begins to doubt their safety. They second-guess his idea to search for this new trade route. The moral becomes so bad that Columbus starts loosing faith and looks to the Madonna for guidance. Getting home from this new world requires supplies and they are not easy to procure for the long voyage back to Europe. Enduring a hurricane and with more storm clouds threatening, Columbus gathers his sailors and requests they all pledge to honor and thank the Virgin Mary should they make it back home. Lots are drawn and Columbus is tasked to return to the Wolf River chapel.   There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nik

Joan of Arc achieved sainthood for choosing God over Man. During the early history of the Christian church, the constant procession of humanity recognizing perhaps the errors of previous times did return to the roots of Christ’s teachings and Joan of Arc gained sainthood. Another famous person, Christopher Columbus on the other hand has over time lost recognition for his acts of courage. His early discoveries and travels into the unknown now overshadowed by his treatment of the people he governed. I revisit the funding and some overlooked events of his voyages and find the Madonna from time to time in the wheelhouse.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on.  There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves.

In 1326 a cow herder makes a startling discovery as he tries to move a cow he thought dead. Also in this episode is a statue of the Black Madonna unearthed and a memorial built that brings even a King to request the Virgin Mary to intercede for him in his prayers to Jesus. It is but one of the many times people come to call at this site, translated into English as “Saint Mary by the Wolf River.”  One feature of apparition history also surfaces during these early times. There appears to be no place where selfish gains are remembered during apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Joan of Arc, though her visions are of three saints, held fast up to her death to her faith in God and honoring the Virgin Mary.     There are forty-9 contiguous installments that run 7 minutes in length each and read by the author, Nikos Steves. The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

During her life on earth, the Virgin Mary witnessed miracles as the Mother of God when he lived among humanity. She endured his dying on the cross. The Virgin Mary experienced the miracle of Jesus the Christ returning. And she was there to see the beginning of the Christian church. Late in her life, Saint Luke created an icon and/or a painting of her. Stories of miracles surround these images of the Madonna and remain part of the history of humanity in this installment of the Constant Procession.   The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on.   There are forty contiguous installments that run around 7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by me, Nikos Steves.   To listen from the beginning   I value feedback through the comments section or Better - via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

At night, from the site near Atlanta, Georgia, I spotted in the vista at my eye level a half-dozen or so red lights that would appear then disappear. What could this be? What did it mean? Then I realized these red globes out there off in the distance from my line of sight were the lights atop radio towers. Their constant flashing -on and then off was warning airplanes of how tall each tower stands from the ground below them. As this site is on a rise, I remembered many apparition sites across the globe are found at high points in their surroundings also and as proof, both “The Farm” and “Mother of God” church sit above “High Roc(k) Road.” And today who come to this site on high? These places were built by humanity, to honor the Virgin Mary. It is a wide-range of devout Christians and others. There are some who come from distant countries on pilgrimages, and also dedicated Ukrainians as well as pious people from the Latino community to name just a few… Many look to the Madonna to intercede on their behalf to h

My curiosity peaked, what had become of this site? I decided to drive out to take a look now that twelve years had passed since that day when Nancy Fowler had spoken to the 100,000 on-lookers. What would I find? Who would I find? These thoughts came up as I pulled over and stopped next to the front gate that lead up a long dirt road. Assessing my situation, I reflected on the fact that I had traveled here alone. Should I enter these grounds? Almost before I realize it, adrenaline started pumping through my body. Instinctively my five senses had gone into high alert. As I started driving up this dirt road my sense of sight helped me re-establish my bearings. Opening the door of my van, a gentle breeze crossed my face. Before getting out, I listen hard for any sounds that could help. The leaves in the trees that surrounded the grounds rustled in the breeze and then I could distinguish a great variety of birds sounding off. Suddenly I realized how dry my mouth had become. Tentatively, I stepped out, feeling like

It was a fall day in the late twentieth century when my family traveled through a pine forest to gather along with 100.000 of our closest friends at “The Farm” to hear the words received by an area seer, Nancy Fowler. Though controversial even to this day, people from all over the globe had come to hear this final message Ms. Fowler received from the Madonna.  In part her message, as revealed, requested people to “walk in faith, live in full union with God and be ready for heaven. ” Excitement and elation filled the air that day, though it got lost on the local public as TV news stories dutifully reported on the inconvenience of traffic jams for area residents.

Within this installment, the concept of messages of hope and of love, of praying as a way to unite us falls more closely into the ways that divide us. Bernadette finds herself under the gun for stating her beliefs, a belief in the Madonna speaking to her. Though initially embraced as real events she experienced, and though miracles start to occur, her credibility takes hit after hit and she is brow beaten by her religious community, jailed and threatened by the government and taken advantage of by tricksters... And then, we're off to a recent undocumented apparition occurring in the United States of America, at the end of the twentieth century. I travel to attempt to witness the publicized final visitation for an area seer.

In the installment, two intellectuals on the run during WW2 can't help but notice the constant procession of people who were at Our Lady of Lourdes apparition site. Why did they come? During their time in hiding they soon found out!   There are forty-nine contiguous installments that run 7 minutes in length each and read by the author, Nikos Steves.   The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

Previously in episode 4, I stumbled upon the film world embracing the Virgin Mary with an Academy Award! For that moment in war time the constant procession marched into Hollywood. The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on.  There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves.  The author values feedback through the comments section or via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com

Previously in installment 3, I began to consider why some people go to church more than just on Sunday. I started recalling how many churches are named after the Virgin Mary in some way and I sensed there is an ongoing line of people who come to church daily that are unnoticed in our fast paced day-to-day. In this episode I begin to discover some curious paradoxes in the recent history during World War 2 in relation to the Virgin Mary. The Constant Procession is a book, a personal memoir about the history of the Virgin Mary or the Madonna since she passed on. There are forty contiguous installments that run between 5-7 minutes in length each. They will be published every Tuesday morning beginning in August 2016 and read by the author, Nikos Steves.