Day 4 (1 of 2), Thursday, May 19, Mont Saint Michel to Poitiers

Part 1 of 2 for Thursday, May 19

Our pilgrimage began today at much the same time as yesterday. We left Hotel Vert at Mont Saint-Michel at 8:30, bundled in rain coats and ponchos and carrying umbrellas. However, by the time we crossed the long bridge that separates the once-island of Mont Saint-Michel from the mainland, the clouds had parted and the sun was out. This stunning place is an island fortress topped by a roman-style monastery, commissioned by Saint Michael the Archangel himself. It rises like a holy mountain from the water, an ornament that points the people who visit to the heavens above.  The streets of the Mont are steep and cobbled, and we got some good exercise hiking up to the chapel of Saint Pierre. It was in this chapel, cut into the barre rock of the island, that Fr. Ray celebrated mass for us. The bells of Mont Saint-Michel rang out over us as we prepared and began mass. Following the liturgy, we climbed to the highest part of the island--the monastery. We spent more than an hour exploring the monastery that became a prison similar to Alcatraz for many years before returning to Christ and the patronage of Saint Michael. Today, four monks and eight sisters live in the monastery. From the vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows of the church, to the shaded paths of the garden, to the gothic style in many of the halls in which the Benedictine monks of old would receive poor pilgrims and great kings who flocked to visit Saint Michael. We were left speechless by the architecture and the grand vistas sprawled out below the monastery. We pray that the blessing and protection of Saint Michael followed us as we left, heading inland towards a small town in the province of Brittany, called Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre. This town is the home of a father of Marian spirituality and the author of "True Devotion to Mary", Saint Louis De Montfort. After a tour of the basilica, we venerated the tomb of St Louis. Many of us had the opportunity to bring our rosaries, prayers, and medals to touch the great saint's tomb, uniting them in a small way to his suffering and his death in Christ. After this experience, we hopped back on our bus for a leisurely (not really) two hour bus ride during which we discovered many of the hidden talents of our group members including but not limited to music, stand-up comedy, and dramatic poetry reading. We reached out destination of Poitiers, ready for an evening of relaxation in preparation for our next adventurous encounter tomorrow.