By Susan Ciancio
On August 21, 1879, in the little village of Knock, Ireland, residents who had been suffering greatly from a recent famine found hope in a most unexpected and extraordinary way—an apparition of our Blessed Mother. And now their story, and the story of our Blessed Mother, is retold in a new book for children by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC, and Patrick O’Hearn. Entitled The Lamb of God: The Story of Our Lady of Knock, this beautiful book takes kids on a journey back to Knock to experience this remarkable event.
O’Hearn explains that he was inspired to coauthor the book with Fr. Calloway because, as they had coauthored two previous books, he knew they both shared a devotion to the Blessed Mother and because he had a “desire to make this apparition more well known and ultimately make Jesus and Mary loved by [their] little readers.”
It certainly succeeds.
Times had been exceptionally difficult for people in the small town of Knock, and many were losing hope. Fr. Cavanagh, the pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, prayed daily for them, asking for God’s help. Not only did he have a great devotion to our Blessed Mother, but he had immense compassion for the poor souls in purgatory. In fact, he had been saying a series of 100 consecutive Masses for the repose of the souls in purgatory. On August 21, he had just finished the 100th Mass.
That night, the book explains, a resident named Mary McLoughlin walked by the church and saw figures enveloped in bright light in front of it. She thought maybe Fr. Cavanagh had ordered statues, yet the figures didn’t seem like statues. Confused, she continued on her journey. Later that night, she passed by the church again, this time with a woman named Mary Byrne, and it was only then that they realized that they were seeing an apparition.
A Catholic Culture article by Fr. Paul A. Duggan explains the apparition: “Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist were present on that gable. To their right, and in the middle of the gable, there was a plain altar and on it a Lamb was standing. A large cross was behind, and above, the Lamb. This scene was enveloped in the brilliance of heavenly light, and angels hovered about the Lamb.”
Word quickly spread throughout the town, and eventually fifteen people, ranging in ages from five to seventy-four, would officially witness the apparition.
The Lamb of God: The Story of Our Lady of Knock explains, “Our Lady never spoke. Her presence alone was enough to comfort the Irish people. Heaven was showing the Irish people: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29).” The book goes on to teach that “Jesus might not take away every famine or difficulty in this life, but He is always with us in our struggles and so is His mother.”
These comforting words touch hearts, young and old, and they help readers grow in understanding of the love that our Blessed Mother has for us. She exhibits a perfect motherhood, and she is someone we can turn to in good times and bad.
Mary didn’t speak during the apparition. She was simply there for the people who had such devotion to her. Her presence must have been incredibly comforting to them, and it teaches us something important about mothers. Society wants to downplay motherhood and to make this vocation seem unimportant or insignificant. It holds jobs outside the home in higher esteem than a job within the home. And it often calls children a burden and an inconvenience, something to discard at will. But Mary’s appearance to her children in their time of need shows the strength and beauty of motherhood. The apparition at Knock is more than just a sweet story of our spiritual mother’s immeasurable love. It is a reminder of the promise that Mary has given us for over 2,000 years: She will guide and protect us, she will pray unceasingly for us, and she will always love us.
That is, after all, what a mother does.
Throughout the pages of this book, children will see what those visionaries saw. They will partake in the excitement. And they will not only feel the love of our Blessed Mother, but they will come to know just how special we must be for her to make herself seen. When children feel valued by their spiritual mother, they will, in turn, see value in others and will come to cherish the role of motherhood itself.
This beauty of motherhood translates into tangible beauty within the pages of the book, and O’Hearn explains that he hopes kids see the beauty in the watercolor images by Catholic illustrator Ann Kissane Engelhart, as they are “simply breathtaking” and what he refers to as “Beatrix Potter meeting Catholicism.”
As parents, we must teach our kids to revere motherhood, to cherish the idea of children, and to embrace our spiritual mother and the role she plays in our lives. If we impart these truths when they are young, they will be more likely to internalize and live them as they grow older.
The Lamb of God: The Story of Our Lady of Knock instills in kids a love for Mary and a love for motherhood, giving them someone to emulate and seek out when they are suffering, just like the people of Ireland. But even greater, it gives them hope—hope in a God who loves them and in a mother who will never leave them.