“What happened to us these days was not an accident -- and it was not something we brought about,” Father Cameron said. “It happened because a presence came into our lives and we said ‘yes’ to it -- and that ‘yes’ took a special form, and that form was love, that form was charity.”

The priest said he had a special prayer for those who have trouble with charity. “Oh Lord, help me to love other people the way I love my new car.”

This behavior is virginal love, he said. “To love virginally is to love in such a way that you delight in the pristine beauty of the other to such an extent that you never want it to be spoiled.”

It means that you never want to manipulate, possess or pre-judge what is put in front of you, he said.

“Good parents are good parents because they are virgins,” he said. They love in such a way that they know one day they will have to tell their children good-bye, instead of always trying to hold on to them and begging them to stay.

Saturday’s afternoon session was filled with specialized break-out sessions on a variety of topics such as “Praying with Sacred Images: Illustrations from Christian Art” given by Father Michael Morris, OP or “Hope Does Not Disappoint: The Forgotten Theological Virtue,” given by Father Romanus Cessario, OP.

Throughout the pilgrimage, there was music, both at the Masses and the prayer services and as musical interludes performed by musicians and singing groups, including the Archdiocese of Boston Boy’s Choir.

Saturday evening there was a full concert, “Magnificat in Music,” a canticle from the Gospel of Luke recalling Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and Elizabeth feeling John the Baptist stir in her womb at the presence of Christ in the womb of Mary.

Looking back on the Pilgrimage of Hope 2008 in Boston, Dumont said it was a great success because of the pilgrims who came to Boston to be a part of it. “I was very taken by their Christian spirit, their sense of devotion and their simplicity of heart.”

His wife Bernadette said, through a translator, she was moved by the experience. “I was especially taken by the spirit of reverence among the Catholics of Boston. I am so impressed that American Catholics devote so much energy to learn more about their faith.”