 |
| Our Lady of Lourdes |
“We are pilgrims, not tourists.” That’s the oft repeated reminder
of our Marian Pilgrimage leader and head at The Feast, Arun Gogna. After Fatima,
Lourdes was our next main pilgrimage destination. To prepare us for our Lourdes experience, he
discussed two of Mary’s seven words in the bible:
“How can this be since I have no relations with a man?”
Mary’s question was from faith not doubt. Mary was ignorant of sin, of evil. Like her, we shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions of God with childlike faith. Maybe the reason why the visionaries of both Fatima and Lourdes were children is because a child’s faith is purer. They have not been tainted by the world’s cynicism.
“Let it be done to me according to
your word.”
The “yes” of Mary is the “yes” of humanity. Imagine what would have happened to humankind if Mary had said, “No.” Our salvation was hinged on her humble obedience to God’s plan.
After mass the next morning, we
were given a guided walking tour around Sanctuaire de Notre Dame de Lourdes
(Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes) or the Domain. It is the area surrounding
the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes where the Virgin Mary appeared to
Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. Bernadette saw a vision of the Immaculate
Conception standing next to a rose bush at the entrance of Massabielle grotto
on the left bank of the stream. It is the most important Marian shrine in
Europe.
 |
| The Basilica – collective name for the Upper Basilica, the Lower Basilica, and the Crypt |
The Sanctuary of Lourdes has several churches, and we
visited 3 of them:
The Basilique Immaculée Conception (Basilica of the Immaculate Conception) or the Upper Basilica was the second to be constructed and is directly above the grotto. Its style is traditional French. Beneath the Basilica is the Crypt which is the first church that was built in the Sanctuary.
 |
| Upper Basilica |
The Notre Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes or the Rosary
Basilica (also called the Lower Basilica) is located in front and below the
first 2 churches. The design is influenced by Byzantine architecture and was
built with 1,500 seats to
accommodate the growing number of pilgrims.
 |
| Rosary Basilica |
It has a gilded crown and cross on its dome which were
given by the people of Ireland.
An underground church, the Basilique Saint Pie X (Basilica of St. Pius X), was built to
accommodate 25,000 people who were expected for the centenary of the apparition.
Its design is more universal – a
modern concrete building that is almost entirely underground hidden beneath
Boulevard Pére Rémi Sempé.
 |
| Basilica of St. Pius X |
We also visited places where St. Bernadette grew up in:
Le Cachot (The Dungeon) - a former prison where Bernadette’s family lived when they fell into hard times. It was while living here that Bernadette saw visions of the Virgin Mary at the grotto in Massabielle.
Maison Paternelle de Ste. Bernadette (Father’s House) or Lacadé Watermill – the house of Bernadette’s parents after the visions.
Moulin de Boly: Maison Natale de
Bernadette (Boly Watermill) – the house where Bernadette was born.
Back in the grotto, as I gazed up at Mama Mary’s statue and
touched the water trickling down the smooth stones, I remembered the movie, Song
of Bernadette we were shown on the bus coming over. In the movie, when asked why she was chosen, she said
something like, “I don’t know. I am just a poor girl. Who am I? I am a nobody.”
 |
| Original Spring |
Like her, I felt both humbled and privileged. Who am I that
I should be so blessed to kneel where Bernadette knelt? I can only praise and
thank God who decided to delight me with this pilgrimage.
As I prayed for my petitions and for my family, friends and relatives who sent theirs, I felt my tears well up like the water from the spring. I prayed not just for physical healing but more of a spiritual one. It was one of the most heartfelt conversations I’ve had with Mama Mary.
Before we left Lourdes, we were blessed to be able to immerse in the spring water of the Baths. It was a quick and chilly dip but still a tearful encounter as I stood in the water praying to Our Lady.
 |
| At the Baths |
From Lourdes we made our way to Toulouse for lunch.
 |
| A charming ivy-covered house in Toulouse |
It's a three-day travel to our next pilgrimage destination. It was a long way to go but I was thrilled to be able to say of our last day in France that we had breakfast in Montpellier,
 |
| Montpellier |
 |
| Cannes |
and dinner (and breakfast) in Nice.
 |
| Nice |
No comments:
Post a Comment