It is our original night in Lourdes, France. From the open window of my hotel room, I could glimpse the tiny flickers of candle lights tardily moving in the dark. The church bells are pealing deafening into the cold night. Then, I listen the cantillating of Ave, Ave, Ave Maria by a multitude of pilgrims.
I feel like I have gone back in time. Lourdes gives you that timeless feeling. Perhaps it is because the faith is fervently alive in this town; it is the central focus of life which, for me, is noteworthy taking into account in this age of materialism.
No one comes to Lourdes by chance.
As soon as I enter my room at La Solitude Hotel and see Van Gogh’s painting, Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, hanging on the wall over the bed, I start out to understand why no one comes to Lourdes by chance. How may I explain the coincidence of finding the precise painting of Van Gogh hanging in my own bedroom back in the Philippines? It is no accident that I am here in Lourdes.
You were called by our Lady of Lourdes. She has a message for you.
For three days, we listen an English mass each 9:00 am at the Chapel of St. Cosmos and St. Damian. The mass is concelebrated by a number of priests, and on the initial day I have the honor of reading the Gospel before an audience of a lot of nationalities – American, English, Indian, Filipino, Australian, Canadian, etc. The priests in Lourdes are very passionate when it comes to their Catholic faith, and by God’s grace they shed light on the pilgrims with wisdom in their homily. Fr. Marian, the resident chaplain, tells us that no one comes to Lourdes by chance. We are called by Our Lady with a message. It is up to us to distinguish that message.
Penitence, penitence, penitence. Pray to God for the conversion of sinners.
Our Lady’s words to Bernadette still rings true today: Penitence and Conversion. Inspired by the sacrament of the Eucharist, my friends and I walk to the Reconciliation Chapel, where confession begins at 10 am everyday. We sit down to meditate on our sins, guided by a leaflet on the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
You have come to experience the Lord’s forgiveness and compassion. It is a very personal moment in your kinship with God. Sin is not plainly a series of failures. It is also our sharing in what is genuinely evil: unbelief, indifference, selfishness, violence, contempt for the weak, eroticism, racism, neglect of the poor, cash seeking, wastefulness, a spirit of pride and superiority. The call to reconciliation is portion of the message of Lourdes.
Go and drink from the spring and wash yourself in it.
At the heart of Lourdes is the Grotto at Massabielle. Like other pilgrims, we line up to get close to the miraculous spring which Bernadette unearthed in 1858. I grant a Croatian pilgrim to insert in line so that she could touch with her handkerchief the rocks of the Grotto. I feel a drop of water land on top of my head. No, it isn’t raining. It comes from the crevices of the rocks in the Grotto. ‘Blessing’ says my friend Aida behind me. Seconds later, a drop of water lands on her shoulders. Soon, we come to the blessed spring which is visible through a glass plate on the ground. It’s an unbelievable sight! My heart swells with joy and awe at this heavenly wonder.
I have my heart set for the Baths but the next day my menstruation arrives, making it out of the question to bathe. But I am happy because it’s a little miracle. I have missed my menstruation for some months prior to the trip. Too much stress, worry and work have taken it is toll on my body’s normal cycle. Yet, it comes back when I am in Lourdes. So, we do the Water Walk instead, composed of various drinking fountains where one may wash or drink the same spring water, with biblical passages and prayers in each fountain. Despite the freezing weather and rain, my twin sister Joan and I determine to take photos of each fountain. I know it sounds ridiculous but I wanted to fetch home something from Lourdes. The biblical passages remind me of our trip to Israel a decade ago, and I wanted to do not forget the quotes for future meditations.
Tell the priests to let the persons come in procession and let a chapel be built….
The weather in Lourdes is strange, according to the resident priests. Where other elements of France are sunny and cool in the springtime, Lourdes remains cloudy, rainy and freezing cold. Despite this each night we see a heap of pilgrims, bundled up in winter clothes and carrying lighted candles, walk to the Rosary square for the Marian night time procession. The road to salvation isn’t easy, I thought, even for pilgrims.
We join them on our third night. How may I explain the sentiment of belonging to a humane race that loves God above all things? A gathering of souls who are devoted to Mary, the Mother of God? Imagine the darkness, thousands of lighted candles, the chorus of Ave Maria and Salve Regina, the rosary recited in dissimilar languages, the moving silhouettes, and the cold rainy weather. In Lourdes, the pilgrims in truth storm the heavens with prayers, night and day. The Marian night procession is an experience of a lifetime.
I am the Immaculate Conception…
We listen mass in French at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, built amidst 1862 and 1889. Sitting on the front pew, there’s no prospect for us to admire the stain glass windows depicting the apparitions. The Basilica has only one nave, with some arches surrounding the altar and a tall, arch-shaped ceiling. Aside from the priest, only one man is singing for the duration of the mass, but his voice soars and echoes all around the whole church. After the mass, the priest walks to an effigy of Our Lady of Lourdes on one side of the church, blesses it and everyone prays a Hail Mary and a short prayer to her. It is very touching, solemn.
The Rosary Basilica, underneath the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the crypt, holds all the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary in finelooking mosaics. Each mystery has it is own altar, and I go to the Assumption altar to offer a rosary in thanksgiving for our birthday which falls on the Assumption. It is no coincidence either that we were born on this day.
This flame proceeds my prayer….
Near the grotto are candle stands containing rows of candles offered by pilgrims. I am struck by these words over the flames. If you ever wonder how heaven will feel like, you may closely imagine it in Lourdes. It is one of the few places on world where God reigns first, where humans of a lot of races, and even religion, gather together in deep prayer and worship. As in any pilgrimage, it is not without sadness that one leaves such a holy place, but like the burning flames, it only takes a spark to invoke the spirit of God and the intercession of Our Lady. I hope that someday you may also go to or return to Lourdes.
