Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near F√°tima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. Mary asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners, and for the conversion of Russia.

Mary gave the children three secrets. Since Francisco died in 1919 and Jacinta the following year, Lúcia revealed the first secret in 1927, concerning devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second secret was a vision of hell.

The 1950s-era New York dailies, masters of hyperbole when it came to viewing their sports heroes through the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately lens of hero or goat, called it “the shot heard ’round the world. ”

Bobby Thomson’s three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on October 3, 1951, at the Polo Grounds lifted the New York Giants to an improbable 5‚Äì4 victory over their bitter rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, giving them a ticket to the World Series as National League champs.

For some, it’s the call of adventure or the challenge of reaching a goal. For me, it’s the power of sacramentality that washes over me and refines itself with each spirit-testing trip.