Our Lady of Lourdes

I attended Catholic school – and was subsequently taught by nuns – from kindergarten through 12th grade. (What’s more, I’m one of the people who have remained a Catholic throughout my life.) I remember very well the stories told by the nuns of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in particular, Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima. So it was with great joy that I anticipated the visit to the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France.

First of all, let me say that Lourdes is a beautiful town. It is set at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains so the vistas are magnificent. The people are very friendly, and for the most part, very patient with Bill and my lack of knowledge of the French language. They sort of sigh and roll their eyes and figure out what it is that we are trying to say. I’m grateful to them because they really don’t seem to speak a lot of English.

This morning we set off on foot into town about 9:30, and stopped at a café in the city center and had a croissant and café au lait. Yum. We then set off for the grotto. To get there, you must walk through a SEA of consumerism, with merchants selling vast numbers of rosaries, pictures, statues, and various vessels in which to hold the water from the spring at Lourdes. I admit that I purchased a very tacky container in which to put some of the spring water.

For those of you who don’t know the story of Our Lady of Lourdes, here is a shortened (and unsanctioned by the Catholic Church) version: In February of 1858, Bernadette Soubirous proclaimed that a beautiful lady who purported to be the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her. This lady appeared a number of additional times, with her major message being to pray the rosary. At first, the priest of Lourdes didn’t believe Bernadette, but after a couple of visits, Bernadette (who would go into states of ecstasy when she saw the Blessed Mother) convinced him that it was true by (at the request of the beautiful lady) digging into the dry ground and bringing forth a spring of water. That water continues to flow today, and is believed by many Catholics to have healing power. Bernadette never withdrew her claim to have seen the Virgin Mother, and died at the age of about 35 after serving a number of years as a nun. Her story is beautifully told in the fabulous movie, Song of Bernadette, starring Jennifer Jones. Rent it!

In honor of Bernadette’s vision, the priest built a beautiful church on the site of the vision. However, he had no idea of the number of people who would come to visit the church to experience the healing powers. Eventually, a larger church, the Basilica of the Rosary, was built to serve the large numbers of people who visited the grotto. The Basilica has rotundas with mosaics of the mysteries of the rosary. The Joyful Mystery of the Rosary that is "the finding of the Lord in the Temple" has always been my favorite, because as a mother, I have always been cognizant of how frightened Mary must have been when Jesus went missing, and how relieved she must have been to find him amidst the elders who were watching over Him. This photo depicts that particular mystery of the rosary.

And we saw the large number of people today, a Thursday. I can only imagine what the crowds are like on weekends. The really startling thing to me was the number of people who were ill or in wheelchairs who were visiting the grotto, apparently hoping to be healed. Bill and I washed our hands and faces in the spring water, and drank the water from our hands. We also filled up our tacky container to bring water home. You never can tell.

The grotto itself is simple and very beautiful. People approached it in a solemn and prayerful manner, touching the rocks where Mary is purported to have stood. I, too, touched those rocks, and was very moved as I said my Hail Mary. Later this afternoon, we will visit Bernadette’s house and the places where she was baptized and received her first communion. By visiting all of these places, Pope Benedict XVI has stated we will receive a plenary indulgence, which means fewer years in Purgatory. Who knows, but why turn down the chance?

We stopped at a big supermarket which looks to me to be France’s version of a Super Wal-Mart. They had EVERYTHING. We picked up the particulars for a wonderful picnic lunch – meat, cheese, fruit, and wine. We had picked up bread earlier at a boulangerie. It was so delicious. Two things of note: (in keeping with my observations of the various types of potato chips in different countries) we had the chance (but didn't do it) to buy Lay’s Potato Chips in Roasted Chicken and Thyme flavor; and, as we ate our picnic lunch outdoors at our hotel, we were visited by a big yellow dog, who, when Bill tossed him a potato chip, sniffed it, and put up his nose as if to say, “We dogs don’t lower ourselves to eat potato chips; do you have some of that Roquefort cheese that you were munching on earlier?” Perhaps if we had purchased the Roasted Chicken and Thyme flavor…..

I suggested to Bill that we save all of the corks from the wine we drink. He pointed out that we might then have to throw out some of our clothes in order to fit all of the corks into a suitcase!