A Gift from the Blessed Mother

Milk Grotto Devotion Inspires Local Baby Boom

Nestled near the ancient Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem stands one of the most hope-filled yet little-known shrines in the Catholic world: the Milk Grotto. Tradition holds that this humble cave sheltered the Holy Family as they fled King Herod’s Massacre of the Holy Innocents. There, in the quiet darkness, the Virgin Mary nursed the infant Jesus. A few drops of her milk fell upon the stone floor, turning the rock to a milky white color. What began as a simple act of maternal love became, through centuries of devotion, a beacon for couples longing for children.
A structure was erected over the site in 385 A.D. In the seventh century, fragments of the white stone were carried across Europe and enshrined in churches far from the Holy Land. By 1872 the Franciscans had built a church to protect this precious site. Today the Milk Grotto is a renowned pilgrimage destination for those seeking fertility aid. Visitors can obtain a small amount of the chalky white powder scraped from the cave walls, take it home, and pray. Hundreds of letters and photographs now line the grotto walls — testimonies from families across the globe who credit the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the safe arrival of their babies. The powder cannot be ordered or shipped commercially; it is available only at the shrine itself, a tangible link between the faithful and the sacred ground where the Mother of God once fed her Son.
Yet in recent years this ancient devotion has taken on new life thousands of miles away here in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. The spark was kindled by Father Jason Keas, currently the pastor of Holy Apostles Parish. In 2020, Father Keas joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by Cardinal Raymond Burke. Among the many sacred sites he visited, the Milk Grotto left a strong impression. He learned how countless couples travel there to venerate Mary and beg for her help with conception, healthy pregnancies, and breastfeeding. Moved by the stories, and having some members of his flock in mind, Father Keas acquired a few small packets of the “milk powder”.
Back home in Colorado Springs, he began suggesting the powder to couples who had shared their struggles with infertility. The instructions were simple: drink a tiny pinch of the powder in water each day and pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary — especially the Third Joyful Mystery, the Nativity — while beseeching the Blessed Mother’s intercession. Father Keas would pray over each couple, hand them a small packet of the powder, and entrust them to the Mother of God.
Within months, babies began to arrive. Some conceptions happened quickly; others took longer. Word spread quietly through the parish community. Couples who received the powder shared their leftover portions with friends who were also longing for children. Father Keas is currently aware of 26 babies born after parents faithfully devoted themselves to this observance. He never sought publicity, yet the miracles multiplied through simple word-of-mouth. Holy Apostles Parish is now preparing a permanent display inside the church featuring a relic from the Milk Grotto and metal plaques engraved with the names of every child conceived through this pious practice as an enduring witness to the powerful intercession and tender maternal care of Our Lady.
Kris Hardesty, a Natural Family Planning instructor who teaches engaged couples across the Colorado Springs diocese, first heard about the Milk Grotto through her clients. Many of the couples she sees struggle with infertility, and Hardesty recommends trusted scientific methods to address possible causes. Yet she also witnessed how spiritual practices can bring peace and surrender to God’s loving will in a way that leads to new life. “Faith and science go hand in hand,” she says. A few of her clients had success in becoming pregnant after seeking Our Lady’s intercession through the Milk Grotto spirituality. “God sometimes uses these things to increase faith; it helps to center us in prayer and submit to God’s timing.” Kris began recommending the practice to a number of her Catholic clients. She describes it as “a devotion that God has perhaps saved for our time" — a time in which human life is not always treated with reverence. Hardesty’s simple advice to those struggling to conceive is: “Fertility is not a right or entitlement, but a gift from God.”
No story illustrates that submission more beautifully than the journey of Kris’s own daughter, Amy. Amy has cherished a deep piety towards Our Lady since making a Marian consecration in college. After marrying in August 2024, she and her husband conceived quickly — only to tragically miscarry at nine weeks. Maintaining their openness to life, they conceived again the following year. This child too was sadly lost early in the pregnancy, which occurred during Holy Week. The Passiontide timing pierced Amy’s heart, but instead of being angry at God, she united her grief with the sorrow the Blessed Virgin must have felt at the loss of her own Son. After a time of intense sorrow, followed by a season of healing, Amy was finally ready to try once more.
A month earlier, her mother Kris had subtly obtained milk powder from Father Keas and had been praying for the right moment to share it with her daughter. When Amy reached out to her mom with her hopes for another baby, Kris joyfully shared the story of the Milk Grotto devotion. Amy and her husband embraced the idea wholeheartedly. Every night they prayed the Third Joyful Mystery together while consuming a tiny bit of the “milk powder” in water. Even when her husband’s work required travel, he carried the powder with him; each evening they would pray together over the phone. Incredibly, in just a few short weeks Amy discovered that she was pregnant again! The couple continued the nightly prayer, refusing to stop until the baby was safely born. “Mary is the biggest evangelist for her son,” Amy says. “My heart has grown so much closer to her.” Amy’s advice to other couples is simple yet profound: “Put your trust in God and allow your devotion to grow through your uncertainty.”
Another powerful testimony comes from Christina and Andy, married for 28 years. Early in their marriage Christina had not wanted children, viewing them as an inconvenience. As her Catholic faith deepened, her heart opened, and after years of struggling with infertility they welcomed a son. The postpartum experience, however, was so difficult that Christina decided she could never handle that experience again. A few years later she even scheduled a tubal ligation to prevent future pregnancies.
On Mother’s Day 2019, her three-year-old son looked up at her and asked, “Do you have a baby in your belly? Do you want one? Then go ask God.” The innocent question pierced her soul. She turned to Jesus in prayer and felt him gently speaking to her: “Be open and trust Me.” Christina immediately canceled the surgery that would have rendered her forever infertile. Being once again open to life, but having trouble conceiving, she eventually sought out fertility treatments. In vitro fertilization was recommended, but knowing the Church’s position on this treatment, she preferred to place her trust completely in God’s hands. Christina meanwhile had been sharing her turbulent story with Father Keas, who prayed over her, gave her the Milk Grotto powder and encouraged the couple to invoke Our Lady’s intercession.
For one month, the family prayed together. Christina spoke honestly to Jesus: “If postpartum happens again, I still love you and I still trust you.” A few months later she discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Joliet, whom Father Keas had the honor of baptizing. Today Joliet is a beautiful 19-month-old. “My children are the greatest joy of my life,” Christina says with a gleam in her eyes. “Being a parent is the hardest thing, but the most worth it!”
Father Keas continues to receive packets of milk grotto powder from friends in the Holy Land, as hope spreads across our community. In an age when many couples face the anguish of infertility and turn to science for aid, the Milk Grotto devotion inspires renewed trust in God’s merciful love through the maternity of Mary. The tradition does not promise instant results or treat fertility as a transaction. Rather, it invites couples into deeper prayer, greater surrender, and a closer relationship with the Mother who fed the Savior of the world. Hundreds of families across the globe —and now dozens right here in Colorado Springs — have discovered that the Milk Grotto is more than a shrine. It is an active reminder that the Mother of God eagerly waits to pour out abundant blessings on those who turn to her with childlike trust.
(Milk Grotto photos from istockphoto.com)