More from Lourdes

Thanks to the Order of Malta we are able to attend an EF Mass daily at 12 noon in the Sacre Coeur Chapelle on the first floor of the Order's HQ.

Yesterday's celebrant was Fr Anthony Talbot who hails from Worcester so we were told.

And now, a correction. I misunderstood EFP2s comment regarding the golden crown of Our Lady.
So, a biretta tip to our PP, Fr JJ, for kindly putting me right.

It is the massive gold crown over the Rosary Basilica that was funded by the generosity of the Irish back in 1924....troubled times for Ireland.

Six decades on Our Lady's Rosary

And Fr JJ has pointed out a fact that, I suspect, not too many know.
That is, that the statue of The Immaculate Conception, also with a gold crown, shows Our Lady holding a six decade Rosary.

This is the type of Rosary that Bernadette used; it was common to the region and the sixth decade was in honour of the Immaculate Conception.

Candles have been lit for the intentions of all

Several things occur to me regarding this visit.

Firstly, it is abundantly clear that French plumbers and electricians are now responsible for the administration of the internet in France.

Secondly, there are many more priests on the streets of Lourdes wearing soutanes - hurrah! Vive le soutane!

And, thirdly, there are also many more professional beggars around.

That does not worry me particularly but they all have very small children in tow and these are used cynically to extract cash from the pilgrims.
Small children should not be sleeping on street corners on scraps of cardboard.

Today was my second day running for the baths and I am back at the hotel awaiting Mme Linen who reappears some two hour after I have surfaced.

The reason?

Many more women than men take the baths; the queues are four or five times as long.

Ponder on that.

Is it because women are more pious than we men?

Or, is it that women are more in need of spiritual healing?

Just a thought.

And, finally, we were greeted, yesterday by the Grand Master of the Lourdes ACTA Lodge Number 666, here he is below.........

 

Lourdes water......and grass

Our Lady's gold crown was donated by the people of Ireland
(Biretta tip to EFPastoremeritus2)
 

Saturday was our first full day in Lourdes and we made several visits to the Grotto and to the information office to enquire about Mass in Latin.

We were met with a rather patronising smile and told that there was only one EF Mass in Lourdes each week and that was at 9am in the Upper Basilica.
Surely,  we said, there must be more than one Mass per week.

A very firm "Non" was the response.

Leaving the Domain intent upon finding a coffee we bumped into our good friend, Julian Chadwick, Knight of the Order of Malta and ex Chairman of the Latin Mass Society.

Knight of the Order of Malta, Fra Julian Chadwick

Julian was sitting with Fr Ronald Creighton Jobe Cong. Orat., and announced that there was a Mass about to be celebrated in the Sacred Heart Chapel of a nearby hotel.

So much for patronising smiles and firm "Nons".

Fr CJ left immediately to prepare for the Mass while we chatted with Julian.

Lourdes is full of members of the Order of Malta and he explained that the USA had chartered three jumbo jets and Britain two, flying in many hundreds of sick and infirm.

So, on our very first day we were able to attend Mass and, afterwards, return to the Domain where we drank the water and I, much to the concern of Madame Toile de Lin, ate the grass.

You see, Our Lady instructed Bernadette to drink the water and eat the grass, acts which brought down great scorn upon her head from the sceptical locals.

So I feel that it is only right to follow suit...although I believe that Mme TdL is secretly planning to use this action on my part to have me detained under the Mental Health Act when we return to the UK.


PLEASE NOTE:
 Due to the uncertainties of internet connections here in Lourdes, I am not always able to respond to comments, my apologies.