Lourdes was breathtaking. There's really no other way to say it. We began this morning with an early Mass in the grotto, concelebrated by Fr Ray and several other English speaking priests. We had Mass in the place where our heavenly mother stood, with two cathedrals towering above us and a third below our feet, the river roaring at our back. During the offertory, a cloud bank rolled overhead and the rain started. Unfortunately, that rain continued throughout the day. It made us wet and cold, but it didn't dampen our spirits or our thirst to see Lourdes. After Mass and a lovely communal breakfast, we headed out into the streets of Lourdes. Our walk took us up into its rainy alleys, past hundreds of pilgrims and what felt like hundreds of little shops selling rosaries and umbrellas and just about everything else needed for a spring trip to Lourdes. Eventually we reached a small house, with just two little rooms and no insulation. It was the place Saint Bernadette lived when Mary started appearing to her. This little jail was too cruel a place even to hold prisoners, so it was abandoned until it became little Bernadette's home. It was even more humble compared to the house Bernadette was born in, which we also got to visit. With these little homes on our minds, we headed back to the shrine, where we visited its three cathedrals. We began with the underground on, simple yet grand in its sheer size. The place could hold upwards of twenty thousand people. Its walls were lined in banners depicting saints from every time in the church. We were so excited to see many of our patron saints as well as many of the new friends we've made on this pilgrimage memorialized above us. The two upper cathedrals, along with the crypt that was the first chapel built on the site, were all far more ornate, and we rested in each for long moments of prayer. Then our group activities for the morning ended and we parted ways, going to eat lunch, to wash in the healing waters of Lourdes, to shop a little, rest, and pray. We concluded our day as we met for dinner and returned once again to the underground cathedral. Because of the ongoing rainstorm, this was the place all the pilgrims gathered for a candlelight procession of the Rosary. A sea of candles and faithful hearts raised their voices in prayer and in song, in every language spoken in their homes around the world. Then, as quickly as it started, it ended. We emerged into the drizzling night, hearts full and resting in the gift of our Mother's peace. After the procession, a number of our group met up with a group of college students from Texas A&M, who shared our morning Mass and are nearing the end of their pilgrimage. Then it's to bed and up early for a 6:30am breakfast and 7:30am departure for Spain.
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