Commercialism?

The only disadvantage in going on pilgrimage to Lourdes is that coming back can be a bit of a shock ! Driving to church this morning was a little surreal: not a single rosary or holy statue to be seen...

At the risk of merely appearing to repeat what Fr. Tim over at Hermeneutic of Continuity said on the subject, I don't think you can call the streets lined with shops selling rosaries and statues commercialism - for me, the term implies reducing everything to profit-and-loss, and trying to fleece the suckers who fall for whatever line you're selling. The atmosphere in Lourdes is very different...

For a start, although each shop is selling basically the same things, there doesn't appear to be any of the cut-throat rivalry going on - none of the feeling of "we've got the same item as next door, only we're selling two for the price of one, and our one is better anyway, his is rubbish." The shop fronts are completely open, and different shopkeepers can often be seen on the pavements chatting to each other as their respective customers wander round inside. There's a sort of patience involved... there's no feeling that you're being dragged in off the street to visit one shop in particular, it's almost as if it is expected that, sooner or later, you'll end up visiting every shop.

This slightly laid-back attitude to browsing is emphasised by the layout of the town itself. There is a one-way system in operation in the streets near the Domaine, and on certain days in the month, the direction of travel is reversed so that everyone has a fair crack at the passing trade!

Another reason I don't think of this as commercialism is that the prices are so very reasonable!

Having said all this, the shop displays are really something to behold. Bet you didn't realise that the one statue you absolutely had to have was a luminous Virgin Mary. Fr. Tim tells me that he even spotted a statue of Pope Benedict XVI ! Now that's one I have to see!