Day 8

Thursday

Rafael was right!!! There is sunshine this morning. God is good. I hate getting up in the morning, but BEING up in the morning is glorious. It is so fresh and clean, and quiet.  Birds are chattering away as Angela and I make our way once again to the Accueil. But today Angela has formation at 8:30 so she leaves early. (For the first 4 years of service you have formation each year for half a day.) Then Sandra disappears and I am left to finish the dishes with Celine. The good news? No swiffering today!!

Be back at 11:00, they tell me, but they've told Angela noon, so, what to do? First, I need to buy meal tickets and deliver them to George at the Grotto. Then I wait outside the formation room and write while I wait for Angela to let her know the change of times. That done I try saying the Rosary on the esplanade, but I cannot concentrate. I walk towards the grotto. A Spanish Mass-no quiet there. Even across the Gave, it is too busy. Finally I think of the Blessed Sacrament chapel. There it is quiet. I finish my rosary just in time to get back to the Accueil for 11:00, only to find out that the French responsible meant for me to return at 12:00! I get a snack from the machine and sit in the sun. Four young ladies are singing just outside the Accueil and are invited in to sing for the Irish pilgrims at 12:30. They have voices like angels and two of the girls have a vocation to be sisters. Check out the "Rise of the Roses Tour" in Ireland to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life on Facebook or Twitter. I can't wait to get their 10 song CD!

I am sitting in the sun waiting for Angela. Even waiting in Lourdes is enjoyable! The theme for this year at Lourdes is "The Joy of Mission"' and as I sit I look around at all the people. There is so much joy here! It's not really what I expected when I first came here, but the volunteers and pilgrims alike, even the sick and disabled exude joy. Angela never comes back so I go up to work at noon, only to find she is already there, waiting for me, having snuck in the other

No time for a nap after the lunch shift, so into town we go! Another trip to the ATM and the chocolatier, before heading back for the Eucharistic  Procession, which happens every day at 5:00. Thursdays, the Hospitalite' de Notre Dame walk in the procession together. We gather with pilgrims across the Gave from the Grotto. There are trumpets and singing and a gospel reading before the Blessed Sacrament Procession begins. Row after row of chariots carrying sick, elderly or disabled pilgrims lead the way-literally hundreds of them. They are followed by crowds of pilgrims on foot, then the members of the Hospitalite', many priests, and the Blessed Sacrament. More walking pilgrims join the procession as we continue through the Sanctuary towards the huge underground basilica of St. Pius X. Two things strike as I watch and walk in the procession. First, there are so many people in so much need; why am I so blessed? Second, what a privilege it is to be able to welcome them here and to serve them while they are in Lourdes.

When we arrive at the basilica, the Blessed Sacrament is placed on the central altar with candles and bowls of fragrant incense; surrounded by over a thousand pilgrims and volunteers. The lights go off and it is silent. After a time of prayer, a priest blesses each group of people with the Blessed Sacrament. We sing the traditional songs of benediction in Latin. With so many languages in Lourdes songs in Latin sort of make sense. All the words are on monitors in this cavernous underground church, and everyone is singing. One, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church!

A quick shift and dinner, and we head to an optional "Continuing Formation"- something they have just started this year. George, Angela and I enjoy a discussion of The Joy of Mission here at Lourdes with several other English speakers, and when we go to a cafe for a drink, the others are there. The party grows to include three tables. We meet a group of lay Carmelites from England and Spain. The evening ends with an invitation to share Mass at 7:30 in the morning, at the Grotto. Sadly Angela and I will be working, but George will get to be there, as he will be working in the Grotto. It has been long day, but we are in such a good mood Angela leads us in singing "The Wild Rover" as we head home.