You can tell Tommy wrote this .. I always correct typos .. he does not like when I change things … Enjoy!
Bon Jour:
Saying goodbye to our host and hostess…Dave & JaneA B&B is one of the great parts of our pilgrimage….especially with great hosts.
We awoke refreshed and ready to go. We had a long drive today and 2 stopsalong the way. Dave and Jane had our breakfast on the table for us before 8. We had already showered so after breakfast we said our good byes, took a couple photos together and we were off. Dangerous Dave came throughagain and the bags were at the car in no time. I carried one down because we ate the food and I didn’t want to appear to be lazy.
It was Pentecost Sunday and our plan was to make the 10:30 Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Dreche. “The queen” got us there early so we explored the grounds and went into the church as the 9:00 AM Mass ended. This was a beautiful place and they were refurbishing the exterior. The Statue of Our Lady and Jesus sat high above the altar and to the right they had a replica of Her where you could place your candles for your intentions. To the left of this copy in a bucket was the Miraculous water from the spring below the altar. Of course we got a bottle (this makes 5 and we missed 1, some ofour things are going to be left behind to get all the water home and we haven’t been to Lourdes yet.)
Statue in the Basilica
Mass was beautiful and after the mass we got to venerate the silver replica of Our Lady and Jesus. We went to the gift shop and purchase a memento for our shrine at home. They had a toilet here so I did Utilize it since we had about 2 hours to our next stop. Yes I did take the mountain roads. (Saving a lot of euros on tolls but spending a lot of money on xanax for poor Susan.) Susan actually enjoyed most of the ride as I tried to keep the speed limit. On the way we stopped for a picnic in the center of a small town. We didn’t care…. we were hungry. The sandwhich was marvelous.
Sister Jane Dominique at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary
We were supposed to meet Sister Jane Dominique at Our Lady of the Rosaryin the Monestary in Prouille, the place of the apparition to St. Dominic received the rosary from Our Blessed Mother,for a tour and we were invited to lunch if we could make it on time, but we didn’t. One of the Sisters let us in to the cathedral that was started in the Early 1900’s and is still a long way from being finished. We got chased out since they were preparing for the 800-year celebration on Mon. of the order but they did invite us back for the mass and lunch which was going to be piella. I was in, until she said they expected over 1000 people! UGH. To many people for us, we like our quiet time in the mountains.
We were disappointed that there wasn’t anything on the grounds in memory of St. Dominic who had been given the Rosary here in 1206 by the Blessed
Mother. I have enclosed a long story but it is worth the time.
Our B&B in Esperza
Having planned to say our Rosary there we decided to pray it on our way toour next stop of 2 glorious days in our next B&B in Esperza, France. We
met Jo and Roy the owners who were out for a walk and returned just as wearrived. Roy showed us to our room (and yes I did carry a bag up with me) and we proceded to unload all of the car and drag all the bags up toreorganze. There is something to be said for hotels but you can’t replace thefeeling of being in 200 year old home with a wonderful room and friendly owners. (British by the way so English was the language of the day.)
Re-organizing at our B&B in Esperza
We unpacked and repacked and piled up the dirty laundry which we will haveto address soon. Around 6 we shared the small stub of the left over
sandwhich we had eaten earlier each fighting over the last crumb.
Best to go to sleep early, we were hungry again, probally because we had
nothing to eat and everything was closed. (another Sunday in Europe). Roy invited us down for a glass of wine, (as we went we hoped they would have something to eat, even just a bowl of nuts, cheese would have been good). I wanted to bring a sign we work for food just to give them a hint! We sat and chatted for quite awhile until the wine kicked in (we were on an empty stomach) and it was time to go to our large queen beds, yes we each had our own, We were both going to sleep tonight after we gnawed on a couple pillows. With all the growling I don’t know how we fell asleep.
Au Revoir
Holy Mary,
help those in need,
give strength to the weak,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for God’s people,
assist the clergy,
intercede for religious.
Mary all who seek your help
experience your unfailing protection.
Amen
MELILLO – SATURDAY, MAY 23 – VILLEFRANCHE DE ROUERGUE, FRANCE
As always, I begin with our evening pre-retiring story:
Before I hopped into bed last light, I took a couple of photos of our Host & Hostess as they walked around their property evaluating plants, the gardens and the grounds. You could just see and feel the love they have for their home … and for each other. It was a great way to end the day.
Got up in the morning and we went downstairs for coffee and a quick “smoke”. We greeted our hosts and they invited us into their “Gathering Room” (which Susan named “The Club Room” and they loved it!). It is actually a room attached to their garage under the house. It is set up with a table and chairs, lights for the evenings and shades to be drawn to hide the other areas of the garage. A very comfortable and welcoming “social center” to say. It appears that this is also a retreat for them during the day … or to visit with guests over wine and cheese in the evenings. We enjoyed a great conversation with both of them over what was probably a full pot of coffee. But I still wanted coffee with breakfast, I hoped we were not on rations!
We went back upstairs to shower and finish packing as Ina went off to prepare our breakfast. We came down to a lovely dining room and a table set with all sorts of “goodies” for breakfast and a full pot of coffee. (I’m getting used to being wired) I think we have had a croissant for breakfast every morning since we arrived in Europe. But today was different … Ina & Kees treated us with fried eggs, prosciutto (jambon), other meats and cheeses. Being the “pro’s” that we are, we both made ourselves a wonderful “Egg Croissant” SANDWHICH … absolutely delicious! Wired up we went back upstairs to finish packing and took some time for some photo ops with Kees, Ina & Bo … bidding farewell and hating to leave. We are most grateful to them for making our time at their Bed & Breakfast so enjoyable and memorable. Kees asked that we add them to our email address for our Daily Trip Reports during our “personal pilgrimage” and we have done so … welcome to the van Der Sandt’s. By the way … did I tell you that I loved this bed and shower?
We headed out toward our next stop … Villafranche-de-Rouergue, France … to Notre Dame de Treize Pierres les Clerksde Saint Viatuer (the Path of the 13 Stones) where a beautiful story is told about Our Lady and the Apostleshelping some workmen get across a river in the area by laying 13 stones so that they could cross over the waters with theirs carts and their oxen. Of course, the purpose of the workmen’s efforts was because they wanted to build a Chapel to Our Lady which still stands today and we were Blessed to visit.
On our way to Villafrance-de-Rouergue, we wanted to stop to stretch our legs and for Susan to remove her fingernails from the car’s leather arm-rests that she was trying to hide from me as I had my “fun” through the mountain “S-Turns”. We saw a road sign on the side of the road that said “Notre Dame de Quezac”. The two of us, within seconds, said … this is a Shrine that the Sisters and Priest at Notre Dame L’Hermitage in Noiretalble hadtold us about. This was not on our “radar” for our trip … we had also learned that it is a pilgrim stop for those walking the “Way of Saint James on the Road to Compestello”. I made a quick right turn, not knowing if we had a long ride ahead of us and not knowing anything about the Shrine. Within less than one minute, the Shrine was directly in front of us on the left … we pulled into the empty parking spaces and entered the grounds … there was absolutely no one around. I was wondering if they had a toilet?
The Church of Quexac was beautiful and gave us another opportunity to visit a Sacred Statue of Our Blessed Mother and Jesus which are so prevalent inFrance especially this area. The finding of Sacred Statues, I believe is one of the catalysts that has led so many people to the Chapels, Churches and Cathedrals that have the honor of Our Lady’s grace and presence in the form of these mysterious statues. They have been Prayed in by so many believers. We have seen “ex-votos”(testimonial plaques) adorning walls, chapels, Sanctuaries …. Just incredible! Unfortunately today the believers are few. We couldn’t leave this Shrine without praying, so we decided that this was the perfect place in front of the Mother and Child statue to pray therosary for all you intentions. Our voices echoed through out the church and a peace fell upon us. We lit a candle as usual in thanks to our Mother and Savior for listening to our request.
Sign outside the Chapel of the 13 stones
We continued on our journey to Villefranchise du Rougere and the Chapel of the 13 Stones. The story is below and a quick read. When we arrived it was closed as we had figured since everything closes from 12 to 2, so we decided to find our B&B and see if we could check in. No problem except for the flight of stairs I had to go up to find the owner. She, Jane, said the room was ready and wanted me to go up another flight of stairs to see the room. I said let me get some luggage first (my legs were killing me and I didn’t want to up and down 2x without something in hand).and by the way let me get my wife.
Here is our relaxing dinner in our room
I figured we could do this in 3 trips, but dangerous Dave the husbandappeared and grabbed the 2 biggest pieces of luggage and was in our room with them before I locked the car. Jane also appeared and grabbed some more luggage. I gave Susan some and I made it to our room with the wine and food in hand without losing a breath.
The entrance to the Chapel of the Penitents
We went into town to the Chapel of the Penentinents, not realizing it was a museum of sorts. As we paid to go in the woman at the desk, found out we wanted to visit the chapel of the 13 stones that was always closed exceptby appointment, she called the caretaker and made an appointment for us for 5 PM.
The caretaker gave us a great tour of the chapel
Pretty good except that this guy couldn’t speak a word of English and his exuberance for his job was so overwhelming that he spent 40 minutes telling us the story of the chapel and of the frescoes on the walls in french…….and I think I said “oui” 50 times. Thank God we understood the depictions. I tried to tip him but he wouldn’t take it so I said donation and that was it. We bid him farewell and returned to our B&B in desperate need of a glass of wine.
We had a bite to eat and sent out a report and crashed into that lovely
KING size bed. Morning came to soon.
Well, having slept almost 11 hours, I woke up early and, as Susan continued to sleep, I got on the computer … absolutely determined to find Notre Dame Du Port in Clermont! I plugged in the hot water kettle in the hotel room so that we could have tea or instant coffee before we left (another snag … it didn’t work!). When Susan awoke, we decided to just shower, pack up and leave. We didn’t want breakfast because we were looking forward to meeting our Cathedral friends from home (who also live in France for 1/2 year) for lunch.
As we made our way to check out of the hotel and re-load the car, I did mention at the front desk our problems with the Internet, E-Mail and inability to have tea of instant coffee … the associate told me to go into the cafeteria and fill our traveling mug with coffee. So I did! It took 6 Espressos, 2 Cappuccinos and a Cafe Ouelette. Boy were we “wired” after drinking that mug of coffee.
As we left the hotel, I informed Susan that I was determined to go back downtown in Clermont to find Notre Dame Du Port. Having found the exact street it was on while “Googling” the Shrine, the “Queen GPS” took us as close to the Shrine as she could. There was no parking in sight, so I drove on further and we ended up parking in the exact same lot and parking space that we had been in the day before. Our search of “Our Lady” was over … it was a short 5 minutes away and we were right there in front.
Very happy and “mission accomplished”, we were both happy that we had pursued our efforts to visit this Shrine to Our Lady. We entered the Church and knew that we were on limited time so we headed to the Sacred Crypt. It was beautiful and filled with spirituality and tranquility. As we had intended, we Prayed our Prayers for your Special Intentions and lit a Candle on your behalf … there was not a Prayer Intention Book to enter names …but be assured that “Our Lady” heard the requests!
We knew we had to leave Clermont-Ferrand so that we could get to our meeting up with Bridgett & Richard (Our Palm Beach Cathedral Friends) at their home in France for Mass and lunch … in Orcival and the Shrine of Our Ladyof Orcival it was about a 1/2 hour drive and we were meeting up at 10:00 A.M.
You can tell we are not used to this chilly weather
We entered the Shrine parking lot almost on time and, when we were parking, Bridgett & Richard were just about walking in front of our car and Susanjumped out to beckon to them. Once we saw them, we could tell that they are from Florida (at least part of the year). They were laden with heavy coats and sweaters … I think more than we even had on! The four of us greeted, hugged and laughed together … so happy that our plans to meet up had come to reality … it was GREAT!
After a lot of greetings, we decided to have a cup of coffee together and then head up to the mountain Shrine before Mass. We all entered a small cafe and the conversations continued. Then it was on to walk The Way of the Cross from the Shrine up to visit the small Shrine and the Statue of Notre Dame d’Orcival which Bridgett & Richard had seen processed up the mountain about a week ago for the summer months.
The climb along the stations of the cross
This was the first “climb” Susan and I had attempted since our arrival… and since our last pilgrimage about 1-1/2 years ago … it wasn’t “very pretty”! There were a lot of “ouches”, Ooooohs, Ahhhhhhs and stopping to catch our breaths and ease the burning pains in our legs. Richard, however, was just fine as he proceeded like a “mountain goat” … always far ahead of the three of us and urging us on. Without him, we probably would have turned around.
We arrived, safely, at the summit and Richard & Bridgette said that they didn’t think that the Statue at the Mountain Shrine was the same that had been processed up about a week ago. Richard moved on to see if the pilgrimage road went even further but it didn’t. We all talked about trying to go further into the mountain walk to see if we could find “Her”, but we knew that there was a Pilgrimage Mass that was supposed to begin around 11:30 A.M., so we had to begin our climb back down the mountain.
Luckily, when we reached the Shrine of Notre Dame d’Orcival, there was a Pilgrimage Bus from Southern France accompanied by a young French Priest who was going to Celebrate Mass at 11:30 A.M. for his group. The four of us entered the Church. Richard saw the new “Cure” (Priest) of the Parish who had recently been assigned and he introduced us to him. Susan had already “somewhat” had met him when she had e-mailed to find our Mass times some time ago before our trip. It was a pleasure to meet him and, through Richard’s interpretations, it appeared that Father did not know about some of the Shrines we are planning to visit on this pilgrimage. We bid farewell to Father and, because Mass was not yet ready to begin,the four of us decided to go down below and explore the Crypt.
Down below the Church and in the Crypt, there were some very unusual statues and vessels (see photos). It was beautiful but time to get back upstairs in preparation for Mass.
We lit a candle here at Our Lady of Orcival for all of your prayer intentions
As we ascended, I purchased a candle to light at the Altar of Our Lady for your Special Intentions and the Candle was lit and placed before Our Lady (and this Shrine was, in particular, for some very, very special Intentions … those of you who requested the Prayers have been Prayed for at this very special and Sacred Shrine! … you know who you are!).
The Miracles of this Shrine have been mainly for bringing still-born children back to life, for wishes to become pregnant, for protection of the child in difficult births, for those wishing for a child and, overall, for healthy children and the ability to bear children and protect the innocent. There is Holy Water that we got at this Shrine and we will shareit with you when we return home if you would like a little for your own personal wishes.
The statue her in Orcival is said to have been made by Saint Luke.
Through Bridgett & Richard, we were told that Father had asked his “pilgrim group” to retrieve folding chairs and place them on/near the Altar prior to Mass. The four of us were invited by the Group Leader to do the same. As we got settled in and Mass was about to begin with only about 30 people, we realized that this Statue that is said to have been hand made by St. Luke himself was only about 8 feet in front of us.
Mass was great and being able to join this group on the Altar along with their Priest during Mass was extra-special! Father Celebrated a High Mass which was beautiful and the group sang various songs in French, which we did not understand, but they were spiritual!
So, after Mass, the four of us headed out to have lunch/dinner in the village the Bridgett grew up in while visiting her Grandmother. It is the home where Bridget’s Mom lives and Richard & Bridgette stay with her during their extended time in France.
Our friends took us to a wonderful little local restaurant they had chose for us to dine in … it was a stone’s throw away from Bridget’s Mom’shome (who, unfortunately, was being treated by a doctor for bronchitis). We hope that her Mom is feeling much better and that their Grandson’s Religious Weekend was beautiful and fruitful.
When we were seated in the local restaurant, B&R ordered us each an aperitif. We Prayed Grace together and attacked the appetizer buffet .. it was filled with wonderful fresh salads, pates, meats & sauccison, which I hadn’t had in years.
Our Main Course had been pre-ordered by B & R … fresh local Trout and pomme frittes. Everything was delicious. Susan had not had Trout for years and I knew that I had to de-head and de-bone the fish if she was going to eat it … so I did and placed it on her plate … she ate it all and loved it! Ces’t Bon … she said.
The meal was only surpassed by the conversation, love, friendship and enjoyment of being with our friends … Bridgett & Richard. We had a great
time together talking about social, personal, religious and other topics that
the four of us felt comfortable sharing.
At the end of the meal, I made a motion for the cheque and was told that Bridgett & Richard had treated us. It was not our intention. I don’t get mad … I get even … So, when the two of them return to Florida in August …it will be OUR TREAT TO TREAT OUR DEAR FRIENDS TO LUNCH/DINNER … Thanks, Bridgette & Richard.
After spending about 5 hours together, it was time for us to bid farewell. We had a wonderful time and it was great for Susan and me to converse in English.
So, we headed for our next Bed & Breakfast which was about 2 hours away through the mountain range. I had a ball driving…I think possibly Susan even enjoyed it! It was just beautiful scenery and “The Queen” took us through the roads and right in front of our B&B which was on the side of a busy mountainous road.
Susan got out of the car to beckon to the owners. All of a sudden I heard her speaking with them and realized they were all SPEAKING IN ENGLISH … my first thought was … another English-Speaking Fix!
Ina and Kees are a lovely couple who are originally from Holland and we welcome them to our Daily Trip Report Group which they requested to be on. This wonderful couple bought the property and totally re-furbished the interior and exterior. The house, the accommodations and the grounds are
absolutely outstanding … just lovely and are this couple. We chatted a while when we arrived and the went to our room to “try to catch up” on your Trip Reports. From time to time during the evening, we would go out to our balcony and chat with them about various things … promising to have coffee together in the A.M.
Again as Susan was Typing I was laying in bed. These beds were great and we had put on the heat and the extra blankets. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Well Tom did it again but I can’t get mad it has been a grueling week. I’ll let him finish tomorrow because that bed looks better and better every second.
Au Revoir
May your lives be filled with the joy and love of Our Savior.
Well, another bad night for the Internet and E-Mail last night … but I’m getting ahead of myself.
No one has an explanation of what we saw.
I did want to tell you about one of the photos I sent you with the last e-mail. The sun had come out when we got out of the car for the second time at Paray-Le Monial near the Chapel of the Apparitions. While we were walking to the Chapel, for some reason I looked up at the Sun and saw a Rainbow Ring around the Sun in a perfect circle. The inner part of the ring just didn’t look natural to me. I immediately pointed it out to Susan and she saw the same thing and said … get photos! I was able to stare at the Sun and Rainbow Ring for a couple of seconds and I saw what I thought looked like a Cross.
I immediately snapped a few pictures. I found out, just today from a friend, that this phenomena was on the French News the next day. They can’t explain the occurrence but said that it is something very rare. (Just thought I would share with you)
Okay … to get back on track. We made our way to Noiretable, France and “The Queen GPS” brought us directly to the main Church in the center of town. Unfortunately, (which is not rare), it was the wrong Church. Susan went over to the Office of Tourism and got a map from them.
Unfortunately, the girl did not speak English so she could not help us but gave us some literature in English. We walked back over to the main Church and entered. Only a few people were in there, apparently planning some sort of Mass. I walked up to them to try to get some information while Susan sat in a pew looking at the literature she had just received. As I was trying to communicate via “universal language” to find the location of the Marian Shrine,Susan found it on her map and said … “Ask them … “L’Ermitage”!. Immediately one of the girls knew what we were asking and motioned for us to come outside so that she could point us in the right direction. We thanked her and headed back out.
I hadn’t driven 100 yards down the street when we saw a sign for Notre Dame L’Ermitage. We made the turn and from that point on, the driving path was well marked. We drove up, up and away … heading further up the mountain. I loved those “S Turns” … (I now call them the “Susan-Turns” because she claws her fingernails into the leather of the “Beamer”.) We got to the very, very top of the end of the mountain and there was the Monastery of Notre Dame L’Ermitage (another Shrine maintained by the LaSalette Religious.
We were trying to make the 11:30 A.M. Mass that we had hoped to attend. Time was getting very short. We parked the car and headed quickly toward the Religious Store nearby to try to find out where Mass might be taking place, since it appeared the Shrine was not open at the time. The Sister inside tried to point us in the right direction (in French) … something about going around and around. We thanked her (pretending like we knew we understood) and purchased some small mementos for our “At Home Shrine).
We walked to an area we thought Sister had described and saw a door that appeared to be to a Monastery Residence. Feeling brave, we opened the door and walked into a lobby-type area. I began to walk up a few stairs thinking that might be the Church when a Sister came out a side door at the foot of the staircase. We are not sure if she scared us or we scared her. The three of us just stared at each other for a few brief seconds and Susan said “Mesa????”. She was quiet for a moment and repeated … “MESA????” and we shook our heads yes. She motioned for us to follow her and opened a door and motioned for us to walk in. It was a very small Chapel with only about 8 Religious Sisters sitting on various chairs and a Priest quietly seated in a chair behind the Altar.
It was so quiet in this small Chapel and we thought Mass was about to begin when Father stood up to begin the Prayers of the Faithful … We had
missed the Readings and Gospel Acclamation. OOPS! (Not to mention that we were the only non-Religious in this small Chapel!). We quickly realized that we were in the Sisters’ Private Chapel for their Daily Mass with theMonastery Priest!
We followed along with the remainder of the Mass as if we knew exactly what we were doing. At the time of Communion, we followed the lead of the Sister who had welcomed us into their Chapel. When Susan approached Father to receive Communion, there was a delay as he retrieved the Host from his Ciboria. After Susan had received and began to walk away, she realized that Father had placed FOUR HOSTS in her hand for consumption … perhaps he knew how many days we had not received the Eucharist since our departure from home? It was a Blessing for her.
As Communion was concluding, we were both Praying and began to look around the small and intimate Chapel. All of a sudden we both saw it … The Original Statue of Our Lady of Notre Dame L’Hermitage … she was right there on the right side of the Altar. In plain sight and looking over all of us in the Chapel. It was a serene moment for the two of us.
After the Final Blessing and as Father departed the Chapel, the Sisters began a Litany of Prayers while addressing the Statue of Our Lady. They followed the Prayers with another Litany they SANG AS IF ANGELS to Our Lady …it was beautiful and surreal.
We were ready to leave after Mass when Father came out of the Sacristy and directly towards us (he must have seen that “T” (“Tourist”) on our foreheads. He wanted to know where we were from. He had a broad smile and said he was Italian, French and from Madagascar (quite a combination). As he was speaking with Susan, one of the Sisters … the one who had met us in the hallway and brought us into the Chapel, came up and, through “universallanguage”, invited us to share lunch with all of them. Shocked, we graciously accepted (never say “no” to a Sister who is staring directly at you). We were able to understand that we had about 20 minutes to explore before dining with them. Father guided us to the door, gave us the European double cheek kiss, let us out and locked the door behind us.
There was a beautiful “monument type” structure outside the Monastery with a Cross high atop. We walked up to the very top and, as we were taking photos, we heard whistles and turned to see Sister and Father on a balcony of the Monastery beckoning us that lunch was ready. We waved and began to descend. We made our way back to the door Father had locked behind us …and it was still locked! We tried to knock lightly … then harder … then with our fists … knowing that the Sisters and Fathers were waiting to eat their lunch but there was no answer. We tried to tap on the windows too, on what we thought was their dining room … no luck.
Finally, we decided that it was time to give us and we began to head back to our car. All of a sudden, Sister appeared from another completely different area of the grounds, did her whistle again and beckoned us to follow her to the complete opposite end of the grounds (duh … we didn’t quite get that interpretation!)
Sister gestured for us to be seated at one of two tables with Father, two
other guests, Sister and another Sister while the other Nuns were at the
next table. We feasted on a delicious carrot salad followed by an incredible stewed pork dish in a sauce, potatoes and breads … followed by a selection of cheeses, fruits and desserts. Oh, yeah … and carafes of regional red wine which kept being refilled.
The room was filled with laughter as they all attempted to communicate with us in English … each trying to “out-do” the other with “What Is Your Name?” … “Sank You” … “Have A Good Day” … “Where Are You From” … “Do You Have Children”. As we answered, they had no clue what we were saying. The laughter that filled the room was beautiful.
We did manage to learn that the Sister who had become our “Angel of the Day” was “Sister Marie Paul” … because of her love for Saint John Paul Deux… we renamed her to Sister Marie Paul Deux and she loved it! I sat next to a young and vivacious Nun … who we learned was from Madagascar … Sister Susiac which she said means “Sister Flower”! She was a riot and we learned that she was the “Chef” at the Monastery. I quickly informed her that I do all the cooking in our home. Susan shook her head and put up her hands as if to say … “he always has to do that to me!”. The room filled with laughter.
With this great meal and time spent nearing an end, it was almost 2:00 P.M. It was time for the Sisters to open the Shrine and get back to work … (Father probably had time for a quick nap after such a great lunch), We bid our farewells with a lot of hugs and kisses, requests from the Sisters for our Prayers for them (and theirs for us), a beautiful Blessing from Father Jean for our journey and this great experience was at its end.
Having had our fill of meat, when we got back to the car, I let the “chicken out” (LOL) … (for those of you who actually read our e-mails).
We then wanted to walk to the original spot of the Apparitions and the “Source of Water” where there is said to be a Fountain and “Ex-Votos”, but the sign indicated that it was a 1-1/2 hour walk to the Source each way. It was bitterly cold and windy and I figured that if we took on the task, the Sisters just might find us frozen to death along the path in a few days … so we decided to depart.
We made our way to the next hotel in Clermont-Ferrand and checked in. I decided that we should go into the city to find the Basilica of Our Lady of the Port where many miracles have taken place. So we turned on “The Queen GPS” and muddled our way through the busy city. Not being able to Find Notre Dame Du Port with “The Queen”, we had her guide us to the Cathedrale of Clermont-Fermond and we found a parking lot and began our walk,
We found the Cathedrale of Our Lady of the Assumption which was quite spectacular even from the outside with its twin spires. But I really wanted to get to Notre Dame de Port which was our goal so we headed out on our quest. We had entered the Sacristy of the Cathedrale (Ed … see photos of the Sacristy … just for you!) … We spoke to either the Sacristan or the Priest to ask for directions. The “universal hand signals” began and we didn’t want to look like dummies so we acted as if we understood and hoped wecould figure out the hand signals once outside.
Walking and walking and walking, we could not find N-D De Port so we went back to our car in the parking lot. Still determined, I drove around and
around Clermont-Ferrand with determination but no luck. I finally saw a religious tower amid the buildings, so we parked the car once again and began another walk-a-thon. It was getting bitterly cold and windy but I was going to find this Shrine. Between the two of us, we approached at least a dozen people to try to get directions. Most had no clue what we were asking and the others were trying to give us directions back to the Cathedrale. With great frustration, we gave up … called it quits and drove back to our hotel.
Disappointed, we returned to the hotel knowing that we were tired but still wanting to get the Trip Report done … re-pack and figure out clothes for tomorrow, etc., etc. … That is when the fun started (or not so fun!).
The Internet Wi-Fi at the hotel would not allow both of us to be on our separate AOL E-Mail Accounts … for some reason, the hotel was trying to block AOL and re-direct us to their local site (spam and spyware being updated now very often).
So, exhausted, I climbed in to bed and get to sleep … oh … my mistake! I was already in bed dictating this e-mail for Susan to type … LOL!
Au Revoir … tomorrow’s report is an exhilarating day with two Cathedral friends that we met up with in France and shared 5 glorious hours at a Shrine and spending time together.
God Bless Each And Every One Of You.
On an ending note, today we received two very sad emails at our final destination. A dear friend from our Cathedral, Rick Dolan, has passed away after a tough struggle with cancer. A long time Priest friend from St. Anselm in London, England, Father Damien, passed away and we just learned of his death. We met Father Damien while in LaSalette, France many years ago and have stayed in touch over the years … hoping that one day our paths would cross again … Rest in peace, Rick and Father Damien.
Love and cherish those you have while they are with you. God Bless.
May God bless all of you … Always!
OUR LADY OF THE HERMITAGE … LASALETTE SHRINE
Bon Jour:
Today is going to be one of our favorites….a visit to Paray-Le-Monial and the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
I had a glorious shower in the morning and coffee was ready when we ventured out of our bedroom. And breakfast was on the table thanks to our hostess. We were offered eggs but we weren’t that hungry. We did, however, nosh on their homemade breads, cheeses, jams and juices. We returned to our room and packed up and left before the other B&B guests arrived for breakfast because we wanted to take the drive and arrive in Paray-le-Monial before their scheduled 11:15 A.M. Mass which we had planned to attend.
The ride through the French countryside was beautiful once again. We did hit some heavy traffic in a couple of spots along the way … so we missed the 11:15 Mass at Paray Le Monial…..unfortunately! We are yearning for our Daily Masses.
At Paray-le-Monial, we followed the “tourist arrows and parked in the tourist parking lot which was about 1 mile from where we thought we parked many years ago. So, we decided to be “pilgrims” and “rough it”. I decided to try to get a closer parking space and couldn’t because there was road construction. About half way as we walked to the Shrine, a huge mass of storm clouds started rolling in … and it was very, very cold and windy! We realized we had forgotten our umbrellas which probably would have been useless anyway … so I told Susan that we should head back to the car to get out of the apparent bad weather and find a better parking place.
I remembered that we had parked much closer to the Shrine when we were here 7 years ago. Determined, I headed out and we made our way (with GPS), through the streets and found a parking lot that was much closer. Actually, it was about 200 feet from the Chapel of the Apparitions! We had a little time to spare because everything is closed from Noon until 2:00 P.M. and it was only 12:30 P.M.
Our plan was, at that time, to visit the Gardens, the Main Basilica … and to spend time, once again, in the Adoration Chapel where we prayed our Rosary for your Special Intentions for those in need … We were alone there, except for one women who was intent in the front pew before we got there and still there when we left after Praying. Some tour groups came through quickly and, unfortunately, a quick trip in to Adoration, speaking and out the door. We think it makes Jesus very sad.
We made it back to the Chapel of the Apparitions at about 5 minutes until 2:00 P.M. and found the doors to be unlocked. We sat and Prayed in the Chapelle for the Special Intentions which we carry with us … especially and in particularly for Susan’s brother, John, who is very ill … and for Wilton’s long list of Special Intentions that he gave to us before we departed Florida.
Entrance to the Chapel of the Apparitions
There was not an Intention Book to write in in the Chapel of Apparitions, but there was an Intention Basket in front of the Incorrupt Body of St. Margaret Mary that you can place your Intentions in. So we went back to our car and Susan took one of her several copies of Wilton’s Intention Lists and added other names specific to this Shrine and the need for Prayers. The “list” was 4 pages! We did this first and foremost for Susan’s oldest brother, John, who is and has been suffering from many issues and is facing lifetime issues. This day is his Birthday and Susan wanted to offer her day for her oldest brother.
For Wilton, we did this because we couldn’t think of a better place than at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Shrine which he has tremendous devotion to and promotes unselfishly, humbly and continually. The Poor Clares who accept Petitions and Pray for them looked at me with a weary eye as we dropped 4 pages in the Intention Basket in front of Saint Margaret Mary’s Incorrupt Body. We can’t attach this “story” tonight, because the hotel we are in this evening will not give us access to our normal AOL Account where we store everything (Internet problems in Europe thus far).
We left Paray-le-Monial and headed to our next Bed & Breakfast just outside of town. We stopped, first, for our supplies and “meatless” dinner because we don’t eat meat on Wednesdays or Saturdays because of our additional dedication to our Brown Scapular Devotion. So, we knew that we could not have arranged dinner at our B&B. They did, however, have some chickens roaming around the farm that I thought would make a tasty meal tomorrow (LOL).
The accommodations were fantastic. I thought we had a first floor this time … ended up climbing a set of stairs to our room … oh well! We had our “Meager Meal” which was actually really good (including the grilled sardines in a can). And Susan managed to get out our Trip Report from the day before while I jumped in to bed around 7:30 P.M. … unfortunately, I think I have caught a cold. I fell asleep in about 5 minutes. It was sleeping peacefully until Susan kept waking me up because she couldn’t hear me breathing and wanted to make sure I was alive!
As you can tell, we have had to write this to you the day after. I slept for 12 hours straight and feel I needed it. I don’t know what time Susan came to her “Bernadette Bed”, but she needed that “girl time”. I can’t imagine it was much later than me with the schedule we have been running.
So here you have it. Yesterday’s report today (on our time). We will catch up when we can. That’s it for now so that we can get this out to you.
Au Revoire and Love and Prayers … May the Sacred Heart of Jesus shine His love and mercy upon all of you and keep you safe.
Bon Soir, (good evening) … we are a day late with Tuesday’s Report …
we were informed they did not have Internet after we checked in to our B&B.
Will send today’s report out to you tomorrow. Sorry!
As I lie on my bed after a truly, truly exhilarating day, Susan is typing
this as we re-live it … how good is that?
After 10 glorious hours of sleep (wasn’t enough but that’s okay), we do feel rejuvenated. The swelling in our legs, hands and feet have gone down from traveling. But we our legs still feel like we are on an airplane!
We came down from our room this morning to turn on the coffee, but it was
already brewed and breakfast was on the table. Just love Bed & Breakfasts. Our hostess was wonderful. We nominated her for the Angel of the Day.
We re-loaded the luggage in to the car which was organized this time
(thanks to Susan), and it all fit into the trunk. I would definitely have hated
that Volkswagon.
It was colder this morning … in the low 40 degrees. Big change from
South Florida. So we layered-up and headed out.
Our first stop was about two hours away and we truly enjoyed a relaxing and peaceful drive up and down the hills of the French Countryside on wonderful back roads. We made a pit-stop in a small town on the way to our first Shrine. We had our first Cafe Oulette (coffee with steamed milk) and, of course, a toiletten. Getting out of that small village was a problem. There was construction. And as much as I now love “The
Our “escort” out of town
Queen”( the auto GPS), she kept running us around in circles. So, I followed a police van and, when he stopped, I politely asked him for help to get out of the village. He and his female partner didn’t speak English, but they understood and they “escorted” us out of town (see photos).
We arrived at our first Shrine about an hour later … a beautiful Marian Shrine just off the mountain road (see photos). We went in the wrong way on a one-way road into the Shrine because we saw another car do that! Wecame to find out that HE WAS THE PRIEST OF THE PARISH! But, he was very gracious and let us into the Shrine where we parked. He even opened up the toileten for me … too much French Coffee and Water!
We entered this spectacular and small Shrine to Our Lady of The Oak (yes, another to Our Lady of the Oak … please read the story!). As pretty much always happens to us, we were all alone in this small Shrine … except for Jesus in the Tabernacle and Our Blessed Mother. We know that She was there, because, as we sat and Prayed for all of you and your Special Intentions, there was such a great peace that came over both of us … it is difficult to explain.
We spent a lot of time in this Shrine … not just Praying … but conversing with Our Blessed Mother about each of you and about your Special Intentions for those you love. We finally got up, lit our candles on your behalf, and Susan placed our Intentions and yours in the Intention Prayer Book in the Shrine. We then tried to go to the Religious Store and it was locked. I rang the bell and, lo and behold, our Priest-friend who had allowed us access to the Shrine, opened the door.
We learned that Father was from Madagascar and that he has been in France for 5 years. He is a Priest from the Marian Shrine at LaSalette, France, were he have been blessed to visit 3 times. (Since we can’t remember Father’s name right now, we are going to name him Father Madagascar). He took us into the Religious Shop where we purchased a memento for our “Pilgrimage Curio” at home. Susan asked him to Bless our purchase. We don’t know what he said, but it was very beautiful.
Before we left this Shrine, we walked the grounds and made one last stop
to Our Lady in the Chapel. We sat once again and talked with her a little
more (had a little more to ask from her for a few more things on your
behalf.).
We then headed on to our next Shrine … The Grotto Sanctuary of Remonot (Cave Chapel) which was about an hour’s drive away … AND INTO THE MOUNTAINS! I must say that for me, as always, it was a spectacular drive. And I must say that for Susan, as is not the norm … SHE WASN’T AFRAID (well, maybe once or twice but not bad!).
It was a majestic and peaceful drive. At one point, we drove “through the clouds” that we had been looking at from a distance. There was no fear because, along the way, there were numerous statues of Our Blessed Mother, facing the road, as if She was watching over all of the travelers along the roadside. It was amazing.
Entrance to Remonot Cave
We arrived at Remonot Cave/Chapel and parked right in front. This Shrine is in a cave in a mountain! Again, please take time to read this story of the Shrine. We entered this Sacred Shrine and we were immediately filled with peace and awe as we explored this small and sacred Cave/Chapel.
(Please see photos).
As happens often, we were all alone the entire time we were there. So we
sat and Prayed our Rosary aloud to Our Blessed Mother. We lit candles for your Special Intentions and placed those Intentions in their Prayer Book. One candle, we placed in front of a statue of an unknown source of God Our Father Holding His Slain Son In His Arms. The beauty of this statue was thePain depicted in the Eyes of God, Our Father with his dead Son in his arms. It helped us to somewhat understand the love that God has had for us to give us his Only Begotten Son, God Himself, to save us all.
The other candle was lit and offered in front of the statue of Our Lady Depicting the Pieta. We gathered Holy Water from this Sacred Site which flows from an unexplained cave fountain. We rubbed our eyes (and I rubbed that leg that didn’t fit in my seat on the plane … LOL). For this Holy Water has been known to cure the blind, those with eye problems, the lame and the paralyzed as well as many other Miracles. We filled their Intention Book with your Intentions. It had been so quiet and we had been so alone. As we prepared to depart, about 10 people came through the small door of the Chapel/Cave.
The first thing that Susan and I said to each other after was exactly the same … “How peaceful it was as we Prayed our Rosary together … it was almost like we were lost in time”. It truly was not like at home and in our daily lives when you try to Pray peacefully but so much is on your mind. Nothing mattered there today at this Shrine … except Praying our Rosary!
It was awesome.
As we left the Remonot Cave/Chapel, we stopped on a curve on the side of the road and ate the wonderful sandwich that I had made from our left- overs last night. It was just after 3 and we prayed Divine Mercy first.
We then headed out to our next Bed & Breakfast which was about an hour
away from Remonot. It was a beautiful drive and “The Queen” brought us right to our destination. Our Hostess at the B&B did not speak a word of English … except she was mortified when we asked for the Wi-Fi Code … it wasbroken. We learned tonight that she was very upset we could not get this Trip Report out to you and we told her not to worry.
As we took over the Main Salon of our B&B as we did last night … and thinking that we were the only guests, couples began arriving back at their B&B to change for dinner in the Dining Room. We had completely forgotten about ordering dinner as our new found B&B friends dined on the homemade foods of our hostess and we chomped down on our store-bought cheese pizza. I am already checking on our upcoming B&B’s to remember if dinner is offer…….because tonight’s dinner looked awesome and we missed out.
One of the guests this evening spoke a little English. We called him Santa
Claus and he liked this. During the course of this evening, as everyone conversed in French, he tried to speak to us in English. He tried to explain to everyone else what we had answered to him. He understood and we could tell that the other guests could not believe our endeavors. He asked what magazine we worked for……he was truly amazed we did this on our own and for so many others. As we were standing outside during our “dirty smoking deed”, we could hear him aggressively explaining our pilgrimage and spiritual endeavors which they, apparently, had so many questions about. It was quite fascinating. Near the end of the evening, he said to us … “thank you for having met me … I had many questions.” In short, we felt he was telling us that we helped him to understand American Citizens much more and that we are not what “news” makes of us. He gave us his email address so that we can send him our Trip Reports and he will translate from French to English and send them to the others. We will all be sharing breakfast in the A.M. … knowing that we are certain we have helped in repairing French/American Relationships … ha-ha!
Well, it is 10:30 P.M. here … so it is 4:30 P.M. your time … enjoy your evening and know that as soon as we finalize this, we are off to never-never land and our individual beds.
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE OAK
Our Lady of the Oak, you chose to manifest Your presence in this place at
a particularly difficult time, in order to remind us of your maternal
protection. Look kindly upon our needs and concerns, those of our family and
friends, of the world and of the Church. Your power and goodness are
infinitely greater than all of our needs. We confidently await this day, our
Loving Mother, Your help, light and protection. In Your kindness, hear and
answer us. Amen.
Lights out … see you tomorrow when we arrive at our next hotel and get
this out to you.
Well we made it…..and it gets harder every year! Sat in the plane for an hour before they moved and Business class was great with the reclining beds if they only had room for my other leg. The service was also good, right on thru customs, which literally took 2 minutes. Then the luggage, 30 minutes later and we headed for Avis and the you know what.
Well 40 minutes later we loaded the BMW and headed out. You’re saying what happened to the Mercedes? Well the crooks tried to put us in a VW hatchback that wouldn’t even fit our luggage if we even tried and I wasn’t going there.
They claimed they were the same class of cars, and they didn’t have any Mercedes except the one I saw 3 cars over in slot 23 from the VW. When I went out again to the lot the Benz mysteriously disappeared. They must have towed it since they said it wasn’t theirs and they didn’t have keys.
The BMW was not what I was expecting, but still very nice.
This happened to us once before in Paris so we knew the drill. We got theBMW for 1/2 the difference of the higher price and when I come home I willfight them again as I have before and get the difference back. Oh, by the way,the BMW is really Pretty Nice.
The church at Bar-sur-Sein
We went to Bar-Sur-Siene anyway since, as I told you we doubted we would get in and it was on the way. Suprisingly we did get in to the really old Church of St. Etienne. This is were the icon of Our Lady was taken after it was found and every day it would end up back in the oak tree in the woods. They finally got it and built a chapel around the oak where She was found and where She happily remains today. Unfortunately, the chapel as the well of the holy water well were locked.
With less than an hour to our B&B we headed there after a quick stop for supplies and tonights’ lite dinner.
Sue fired me from the packing job….now she is taking over and things will be much better organized.
We had to reorganize the luggage since I started packing a week ago and couldn’t remember where I put anything. Sue fired me and I’m not allowed to pack anymore. Susie has us ready and as the sun goes down so do we.
We are exhausted, but can’t wait for tomorrow’s adventure. A good night’s sleep, and we will be as good as new.
Until then,
May the grace and peace of Christ be always with you’
We made it to Charlotte and depart for Paris in a couple hours. I wanted to e-mail to thank you for the 100+ responses we got for Julia.
A lot of research has gone into our pilgrimage.
Susan and I had all we could do not let loose and start yelling at each other. I was cool because when she sees the mountains we are going thru she is not going to be happy. This is not to mention the candid camera shots of her doing last minute cleaning. Mum’s the word.
Finally airborne….nothing to do but relax now.
We got on the plane this morning and after a cocktail I went into the deepest sleep I have had in weeks. Our schedule before leaving was maniacial, to say the least, and the final 2 hours this morning were touch and go.
Tomorrow we travel about 3 hours to our hotel with a stop in Bar-Sur-Siene, 2 hours from the airport. It is an important shrine of Our Lady of the Oak which I will explain tomorrow. This is if we get in, because Monday is the only day they are pretty much closed. We have had a few of those before.
Because I have nothing to report and on days that there is not much information to send I have decided that I was going to enclose excerpts from a very special book that I recommend to everyone. “THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD”,which is the about the life of our Blessed Mother as God commissioned Mary of Agreda to write. The condensed version is 800 pages and the full version is 2800 pages and both are available on Amazon books for around $2.
Don’t miss this book. It has opened my eyes to the mysteries of our faith
and helped clarify many questions that plagued me for years.
We received this from Tom and Sue, just before their departure to France, Spain, Andorra and Poland. We invite you to follow along.
Bon Jour, Everyone (Just practicing):
I wanted to share this with you since the power of Jesus and Our Blessed Mother were at work this week before are departure, and we were part of a beautiful “small gift/miracle” that happened at our Cathedral on Friday and Saturday … a wonderful send off for our “personal pilgrimage”, as we depart for Paris tomorrow morning.
About 3 months ago, we began to notice a 50 to 60 year old woman with a knapsack on her back that appeared to be homeless and was attending the 10:30 Sunday Masses. As we sat around our Sunday table on the Cathedral Patio, having already gone to Mass (which we always do with many of our church family members and good friends), we began to take more notice of her.
Finally, one Sunday, Sam got up and went over to talk to her. I keep forgetting to ask him what he said, because 2 minutes later, he was buying her a Rosary at our Cathedral Religious Store. Smiling, she disappeared into Church.
Every Sunday as she went to Mass, she would wave to Sam and Sam would encourage her to Pray the Rosary.
A few weeks later, she had arrived early and one of us bought her a doughnut and coffee, which she happily devoured at a table by herself. This became the norm every Sunday. After many “invites”, she agreed to sit with us before Mass. Her name was Julia.
We found her to be a simple and honest woman. We learned that she was not homeless, but was mentally challenged. She lives with her step-father, who adopted her when she was 12 years old and she is on disability. She was very private life, since I think her father taught her to be that way so that people would not take advantage of her, especially because she is so giving and honest and could easily be put in a compromising position. We learned that she has been taking the bus (with her bus pass) each Sunday to our Cathedral so that she could attend Mass even though she was not Catholic. She had fallen in love with our Catholic Faith.
Julia was always counting her pennies to buy religious things in the Cathedral Religious Store. She would never allow us to pay for them, especially if they were for someone else. When she really wanted something, she would bring a crocheted scarf or hat or doilies and try to sell them to get the money for her purchase. (Our home is now filled with scarf’s, bright pink and blue doilies and other objects that she would bring all of us as gifts after we purchased something from her so that she could buy something that she wanted.)
Finally, 3 weeks ago when talking to her, she told us that she was not Catholic and that her greatest wish was to be Baptized a Catholic and to receive Jesus Christ at Communion. She was afraid of going to hell! She told us that she had tried to become a Catholic but she would have to go to class at night (I don’t think she is allowed out after dark) and she couldn’t because she took care of her father and she does not know how to read or write or memorize things. There wasn’t a dry eye at the table as this humble woman came to tears. She told us that she had no other family or friends and Susan immediately told her that she now had a Church family and many friends at our Cathedral. The tears stopped and huge smile lit up her face.
Immediately, I went to my stash of Scapulars and got her a Green Scapular of the Blessed Virgin. We sat with her and I taught her about the Blessed Mother and the promise she made to those who believed and would say thesimple Prayer everyday for conversion. When I told her to read the pamphlet, she told us she couldn’t read or write. So, I explained to her that this Green Scapular was for conversion AND THAT SHE SHOULD CARRY IT AT ALL TIMES AND SAY THIS PRAYER EVERY DAY for her conversion and baptism and we would say it every day for her, too. “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen. ( I quiz her every time I see her and
she has almost got it right, but I don’t think Our Blessed Mother cares if
it isn’t exact.)
After speaking to the powers to be and some heavy “begging” before we left on our “personal pilgrimage”, we were able to tell her last Sunday that
she was going to be Baptized a Catholic. Again, the tears flowed abundantly.
She had to meet with Deacon John for an evaluation of her special circumstances and to be absolutely certain that she understood our Catholic Faith. She passed with flying colors and I think her simple innocence and tremendous humility got to Deacon John as well.
Deacon John knew that Julia wanted us to be her Godparents, along with Sam and Johna. He made special plans to meet with her on Wednesday for her evaluation and, after much time with the approval process, he arrangedJulia’s Baptism for Friday at 11:30 am and Confirmation and First Holy Communion to be done on Sat. at the 8:30 Mass.
Preparing for the Baptism
We were to pick Julia up at her bus stop on Fri. at 10:30, but she called us very early that morning and told us that she was taking the 9 am bus because she didn’t want to take the chance of being late. She was so excited. Deacon John did a great job with the Baptismal Ceremony and Julia was just so reverent and glowing. (Pictures enclosed)
Afterwards, Susan asked Julia how she felt and she said that she said she felt different and so happy. And, she was. For Julia now seemed at peace….and the chance of her going to hell was out of the equation. We celebrated by showering her with gifts and cookies and coffee as we planned the next day’s event including breakfast at the local diner. We dropped her off at her bus stop so that she could walk to her home and we promised to pick her up at 8 am today. This morning, I left our cell phone on in case we got the call that she is catching the 7 am bus.
At 7:45 we arrived at the bus stop to find Julia sitting on the curb and waiting patiently. Mass began promptly at 8:30 A.M. and Fr. Eli did a splendid service. The Confirmation was beautiful and, after Father has Consecrated and received his Holy Communion and the Precious Blood, he called up Julia and she got her most important desire … the Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Afterwards, we treated Julia to breakfast at a local diner along with Sam & Johna and Julia said the most beautiful grace before our meal tha we were all most humbled. She thanked Our Lord for everything that has happened to her (for her) in the last two days and, individually, for everyone who was involved in this “small miracle” for her. I think she will be teaching us a few things!
We (Susan, myself & Sam) have several challenged people that come to Mass at the Cathedral and we all always try to take them under our wings and help them with their needs. We call them “The Tests”. Julia was one of those, but she now has her own chair at our Sunday (after Mass) table. I think we all passed this test … The verdict is still out on the others … but
we Pray.
Love, Hugs & Prayers, Tom & Susan Melillo
Our “2015 Personal Pilgrimage”
Prayer to St. John Paul II
Oh, St. John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing!
Bless the church that you loved and served and guided, courageously leading it
along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and
everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who were your great passion. Help them dream
again, help them look up high again to find the light that illuminates the
paths of life here on earth.
May you bless families, bless each family! You warned of Satan’s assault
against this precious and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth.
St. John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family and every life
that blossoms from the family.
Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions, wars and
injustice. You tackled war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love:
pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace.
Oh St. John Paul, from heaven’s window, where we see you next to Mary,
send God?s blessing down upon us all.
Our 2015 pilgrimage: FRANCE, SPAIN, ANDORRA & KRAKOW (CRACOW), POLAND
As we begin to pack after months of preparation, our excitement builds … we are almost there! It’s been 19 months since our last “personal pilgrimage” and 9 months since we booked our flights (ugh)! Long, long wait!
After hours and hours of research and planning, we “think” we have created another great adventure filled with remote, out of the way villages and Shrines, spectacular drives, plenty of mountains for Susan and plenty of climbing for me … let’s hope the legs hold out.
This is also a chance to re-visit old friends that we have made over the years, as well as the excitement of meeting many new people. This year will mark over 200 Shrines dedicated to Jesus and to Our Blessed Mother that wehave visited in this, our seventh pilgrimage. That’s not to mention all the Saints and other wonderful Basilicas that we been fortunate to have traveled to over the years.
This isn’t a luxury-filled journey by any means. Except for the CAR! I’ve reserved a Mercedes for the month. If we get it. And, I’ll say it only once right now … “DID I TELL YOU I LOVE THIS CAR?” For those of you
who have traveled with us via our Daily Trip Reports over the years, you will understand!
On this trip will we will drive about 3,500 miles and visit 4 countries including France, Spain, Andorra, and we will fly to Cracow, Poland for a 5 day visit. No driving there, we will use the train, bus and walk. Our greatest luxury will be a Queen or King-Size Bed. And a shower bigger than a linen closet! (I better get some “soap on a rope” just in case!). There are no fancy restaurants or resorts. Just local bistros,supermarkets, picnics and small hotels and Bed and Breakfasts (some with
home-style meals).
When, How and Why, Many Have Continually Asked …
When?
Sunday, May 17, 2015 for 33 Days!
How?
Just do a lot of research and planning, book a flight, rent a car, and go! (With lots of Faith!)
Why?
Why Do We Take These “Personal Pilgrimages”? We have answered these questions many different ways in the past. But Susan and I both feel that our “personal pilgrimages” have become more likea “Vocation” rather than a “Vacation”. It is a joyous time filled with a lot of Prayer and adventure. It is a chance for us (and you) to experience the great glory and mysteries of our Faith. And, for us to travel and Pray for you (and along with you) for all of your Special Intentions … which, through the Grace of God and Our Blessed Mother, many Prayers have been answered.
As we all work and strive (or at least should) for Eternal Life and redemption, these “Personal Pilgrimages”, for us, is one of Faith, Hope & Love (Charity) which always leaves us refreshed and renewed.Our Lord said … “For those who receive, much is expected”. This, to us, is part of our “giving back” that which is expected.
Personal Pilgrimages”.
WHY A PILGRIMAGE?
Going on Pilgrimage is to uninstall and go to other places, to otherlands, to other people, it is open to the unknown … and the new. Journeying is a physical and spiritual journey: investment of the whole body, de-cluttering, in favor of the essential, to go to meet the unknown, not only walk inside. Walking forces them to invest a whole. Not only the heart, but also with the body. And Faith comes not only from the head but also by hands, by legs, etc.
Pilgrimage is an important moment (moments of healing and building), but it must return to daily life. Indeed, the time is not yet ripe for the Pilgrim to stay on the mountain. He must go down as Peter, James and John after the Transfiguration.
As always, we send this early so you can send us your Special Prayer Intentions now. As in the past, you can always send them to us while we are on our journey. On our last Pilgrimage, we were Blessed to carry and Pray for 268 of your Special Intentions. That’s Susan’s job to keep them straight and deliver them to the right Shrines which she does so carefully. Your job is to Pray with us for those intentions. Please remember us also in your Prayers.
That’s it for now. Our first report will be on the 17th and hopefully, daily, if time permits. So sit back and “ENJOY THE RIDE”.
