Awake, my soul;
Awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.
(Psalm 108:2)
And awaken the dawn we did, for this morning it was finally time for our long-anticipated Mass in the Grotto, the very place where Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette!
The Votive Mass of Our Lady of Lourdes was celebrated by Cardinal Nichols, who reflected on what it means for us, like Mary and St Bernadette, to put all our trust in God. In Lourdes, he noted, ‘we learn to lay aside our anxieties... to respond to each other with care and gentleness and not to be overcome by the timidity and suspicion that surround us... we simply have to receive, to be thankful, and to respond in joyful praise.’
After lunch, the Cardinal paid a visit to our pilgrims staying at St Frai, where the medical team surprised everyone with a delightful performance of song and dance! And they weren’t the only ones; a group of our pilgrims were spotted riding through the town on the iconic ‘Little Train’ of Lourdes, singing Ave Maria as they went.
This evening, the Westminster pilgrims are honoured to be leading the Blessed Sacrament Procession, following our Eucharistic Lord through Lourdes into the Basilica of St Pius X. We will be accompanied by pilgrims from across the world; a powerful testimony to the universality of the Church.
After the procession, many of us will gather for a social event, to mingle with friends and reflect on our experiences ahead of our final day in Lourdes.
Until then, please continue to pray for us, as we prepare to usher in the dusk together with our Lord; for whom, as Evening Prayer will remind us, ‘even darkness is not dark… and the night is as clear as the day’ (Psalm 139:12).
View today’s photos here.
