SCOTLAND, John Burns. Jim, when he worked in Industry, ran his own business and he was known as a man who usually got what he wanted. Jim has now retired and is not in the greatest of health, but he is still getting results. Big Jim was a man to be reckoned with and this is his story – a story of the grace of the shrine. Jim was a local businessman who had carried out some building work for the Sisters of Mary at Campsie Glen, Lennoxtown, Scotland. He was also fondly remembered as the man who installed the Holy Spirit Symbol in the window of Ballencleroch House, the Schoenstatt Retreat House that so many thousands of people have now visited.
It was during one of these occasions, when he was helping the Sisters that two ladies from his own parish church asked him if he would take them to the Schoenstatt Shrine as they wanted to find their way there to visit the Blessed Mother. Jim duly obliged and took the two ladies to the shrine. They arrived there just as afternoon devotion was starting. Jim has a clear recollection of what happened next. It was in the middle of the fourth decade of the rosary when his eyes were drawn to the picture of the Mother Thrice Admirable and he had a strong feeling that the MTA was asking him to listen to her. The normal smile was more focussed and he knew he was being called to something more than bringing friends to the shrine. It was an impulse of grace and Jim knew he was being asked to spread the practice of the rosary. He interpreted this request as being personal and practical, different from the normal praying of the rosary and a type of request where he knew he could use his own personal skills and energies. As he left the shrine he spoke to his two friends ‘Will you help me to send rosaries to those people around the world who have no rosary beads to pray with?’ and although surprised, they agreed to help.
Post on for Mary
The project ‘Post on for Mary’ was born. Jim seemed to know exactly what had been asked of him, he didn’t have to plan it and he instinctively knew what had to be done. He would travel from parish to parish in his own Diocese, asking permission for a collection box to be placed at the back of each church and requests for old or disused rosaries were placed in parish bulletins. This quickly became other items such as Holy Medals and other religious articles – he couldn’t believe the response. When he looks back to that day in the shrine and tries to remember how it happened, he recalls one of the Sisters speaking to him as he was leaving. “Are you all right, you look a bit strange?”, she asked. After explaining his experience and what it meant to him, she calmly asked, “Well, when are you starting? Remember it was Our Lady who brought you here, she will guide you”. Two of his friends agreed to help with raising money for postage costs and other work. Another friend who offered to help kept meticulous records and a list of all the transactions has been kept from first to the present day. Of course, collecting and repairing all sorts of rosaries was only part of this unique procurement exercise: he needed to identify where the need was, how to make the contacts, how to establish the supply chain and how it could be evaluated.
Three thousand rosaries…
Jim started off by sending holy items to mission stations in various countries, but soon realised he had a big problem when there was little response from them.
Undaunted, he approached a well known local order of Nuns and was rewarded by contact addresses in India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines; this was the start of a reliable network and he could test his plan. During the period from 2007 till the present time, Jim and his friends have posted 3000 sets of rosaries, 4000 holy medals and thousands of holy items including almost a thousand prayer books. In fact the inventory of items is too long to list here and his list of customers is increasing.
As time went on, the cost of postage became an obstacle and Jim looked to a wider circle of helpers for assistance. He found new friends and helpers and his ambition continues to grow. The demand from overseas for his assistance is growing as word of his mission spreads to those people thirsting for Mary and the spiritual bouquet of the Rosary. Jim’s poor health does not in any way hinder his dedication to meeting the spiritual needs of people who now seek his help, a miracle in itself. Jim’s mission is certainly a story of the Grace of the Shrine and the impulse of Apostleship.
Jim can be contacted at: jkiernan365@talktalk.net
