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"Truly, it is the indescribable sweetness of contemplation which you give to those who love you. In this you have shown the tenderness of your charity, that when I had no being you made me; and when I strayed away from you, you brought me back again to serve you and commanded me to love you." The Imitation of Christ
I was up ridiculously late last night, desperately trying to learn the
sequence for our Corpus Christi High Mass this morning. When, at
3:30am, I dropped off for five minutes, and woke with a start still
clutching the hymn book, I realised that it was time to call it a
night...
This morning's Mass was back in the parish church in Lourdes. The
acoustics in the crypt covered a multitude of errors, and we managed
somehow. I also sang Mozart's Ave Verum.
It was incredibly moving to have Mass in the parish church on the day
that St. Bernadette made her First Holy Communion. We shall be back
next year too, if they'll have us. We finished up with a procession
around the crypt (the steep stairs, and the stream of tour groups made
leaving the crypt with the Blessed Sacrament impossible) followed by
Benediction. I was too busy singing the propers and sequence to take
photos during Mass, but I got some at Benediction...
I shall post some photos as soon as I get back...
A leisurely lunch ensued, and then I wandered back to the hotel ( via
several shops) for a brief siesta. The Blessed Sacrament procession
was the only scheduled activity for the afternoon - it finishes in the
Basilica of St. Pius X, and I got some good photos. Sadly, the
preponderence of ladies of an overly mature age acting as incense
bearers made it feel more like a pagan ceremony than Benediction. I
offered it up...
There's the final procession tonight, and then an early night for me, I think...
The visit to the Baths yesterday involved a very penitential wait (I
didn't have any children or obviously disabled pilgrims to accompany
me) but it was well worth the effort.
This morning started with the official group photo in front of the
Rosary Basilica, and then people made their way to the parish church.
As we have three priests on the pilgrimage, it seemed an excellent
opportunity to celebrate Solemn High Mass.
Unfortunately I am not a proper musician, and the only people really
competent enough to sing the Gregorian chant were all saying or
serving Mass... which left me to sing the propers according to the
Rossini psalm tones. The glorious acoustics in the Crypt prevented it
from sounding too thin, and the congregation joined in for the
ordinary chants of the Mass, so that was good.
In the afternoon, we went to Bartres. This was the village where St.
Bernadette's wet-nurse lived, and where, just before the first
Apparition, St. Bernadette worked as a shepherdess. I took photos of
the house and the parish church, but had to give the sheepfold a miss,
as the walk over the hills to the barn where St. Bernadette was too
steep for me.
Fr. Tim met and chatted to the Sacristan, and I now have the
delightful task of contacting the Parish to arrange a Mass at Bartres
for next years' pilgrimage...
Jonathan, our senior MC, had packed most of Blackfen's sacristy, and
the use of two proper candles immediately upped the reverence quotient
(in my humble opinion - but then again, some of you may prefer the
asymmetrical, faux candle effect) !
Fr. Charles said the Mass, and Fr. Tim provided a few catechetical reflections.
Afterwards I went to register our group with the Information bureau,
pay a donation for the group, collect our ticket for the afternoon Way
of the Cross, and meet up with our guide for the tour of Lourdes. This
provided the first little hiccough... there wasn't a spare guide, as
ours had reported sick or something. No possibility of a tour until
Thursday. Alas, Thursday is one of our solemn High Masses in the
Parish church. Then they asked if we minded joining up with another
group. We didn't, so everything was back on course. I delivered the
members of our group to the guide (I have done the tour many times
before, and my ankle was playing up, so I decided the hilly town walk
was not a good idea) and then went for a cup of hot chocolate.
Pausing to drop some stuff in my hotel room, I then wandered back down
to the Grotto for some personal prayer time. I also took a few photos.
The sight of me taking photos I'm the Rosary Basilica brought all
sorts of people over to ask me to take photos of themselves, something
I was very happy to do.
Lunch then beckoned: magret de canard, one of my favourite dishes.
I'm now off to the Baths. Hopefully the lunch of roast duck won't make
me sink without trace...
I didn't manage to get any posts prepared in advance, so I'm pretty
much restricted to what I can send from my iPhone... And, unless I am
very lucky, I doubt that I will be able to upload any photos or video
clips until I get home.
Still, I shall do my best to keep you up to date!