Today our Church celebrates the Feast of our Lady of Lourdes.
When I was about seven years of age, my parents took me on my first pilgrimage that really involved major travelling. Our family pilgrimage trip to Lourdes occurred during a February school break. We flew from JFK in NY to Barcelona in Spain and then quickly boarded a train and travelled for what seemed like an eternity from Barcelona across the Pyrenees to the French town of Lourdes. The trip itself was almost a full twenty-four hours of traveling from the time we left our house to our arrival at our hotel in Lourdes.
I remember it being bitterly cold during our days there, especially when my mom insisted that we all take part in the Spiritual Blessing of being submerged into the Holy Waters of Lourdes at their famous “Baths.” It was the single coldest moment of my life. At the time, I did not appreciate or comprehend any of the symbolism of this ritual in which pilgrims ask for a spiritual healing before entering the Baths. I think I only prayed for survival and not to die from the flu, which was as much as my seven-year-old mind or spirituality could muster at that moment.
What I do remember most and still cherish from that pilgrimage was attending one of the nighty processions to the Grotto of Lourdes. Thousands of Pilgrims sung Ave Maria as we each carried candles and made our way to the famed Grotto. I was amazed by countless crutches left by previous pilgrims who had received a miraculous cure or healing at this sacred Shine. As we sang songs and recited the rosary, I can still recall a deep and profound sense of peace and tranquility that made the long trip there and the freezing water of the Baths seem all worth it. Looking back, it was the first time I really experienced a deep sense of prayer and the presence of God.
Later during my college years, I volunteered on a few occasions to assist a number of folks confined to wheelchairs on their pilgrimages to Lourdes. Each of these occasions were a gift and blessing in my life. I’m proud to say that the St. Marcellin Champagnat Service program from Archbishop Molloy, my Alma Mater, frequently travel to Lourdes to likewise volunteer to assist many disabled pilgrims.
The story of Lourdes occurred in 1858 and was made famous in the 1943 hit movie, the Song of Bernadette. There were 18 actual apparitions at Lourdes. The young girl to who Mary appeared was canonized, St. Bernadette in 1933.
