‘O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.’
(Psalm 63:1)
What Morning Prayer asks, the rest of the day answers – and in our case rather quickly, seeing as just a few hours later many of us headed to a Water Gesture Liturgy at St Bernadette Côté Carmel.
Here, we followed the injunction of Our Lady to St Bernadette to ‘Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself in it,’ cleansing ourselves with water from the same miraculous spring that appeared almost 200 years ago. It’s no wonder the pilgrims were all smiles when we gathered outside the Rosary Basilica beforehand to snap our official group photograph!
After a restorative lunch, we made our way up the hills to the beautiful Cité St Pierre, Lourdes’ open-air ‘Cathedral in the Trees.’ Here, Bishop Nicholas Hudson celebrated Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of All Creation; and as yesterday’s uncertain weather gave way to sun and blue skies, the heavens truly declared the glory of God.
Bishop Hudson gave a beautiful homily on the life of St Bernadette, encouraging those present, after recieving communion, to 'close your eyes; and imagine Mary giving you the Child Jesus to hold. As you hold Him, speak to Him and tell Him everything you want to say to Him about yourself, all the graces you need and hope to receive from this pilgrimage – and you may be surprised how easy it is to do. And, if you find it’s not so very easy, then ask Bernadette, the shepherdess of these woods, to help you – as she most surely will.'
And indeed, after Communion, a great stillness descended on our pilgrims; all that could be heard was the breeze rustling the leaves.
Tonight, the pilgrims will gather at St Bernadette Côté Grotte for a Penitential Service, a chance to experience God’s healing through prayer and the Sacrament of Penance. The service will include a reading, homily and a time of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, followed by individual Confessions and Benediction.
Having witnessed such tangible proofs of Christ’s saving power, tonight we will surely ‘rest with him in peace.’
