Well, we leave tomorrow for Krakow, and today we decided to again make only one stop before going to our airport hotel and repack for Poland.
We survived the night without incident, although I did have to go down stairs around 3 to get a pill for my knee. Susan woke hearing me climbing down the stairs “backwards” for safety and so that my feet would fit on the winding steps, so we sat up for a few minutes and went back to sleep.
Breakfast at 8:00 and we were off to Chartres via the back roads of France. The ride was great and the sun was shining. We parked in the underground lot near the Cathedral and walked the short distance to our destination which was under re-construction.
Some of the magnificent stained glass windows…the color knows as “Chartes Blue”
Susan and I both love these grand old places of worship but the worship has gone by the wayside as tourism has taken over.
There is no reverence shown by most of the visitors, who are only there to see and photograph the beautiful stained glass windows throughout the Cathedral.
After walking around the building, we finally found the entrance to the crypt area
We knew there was a Mass soon, and finally asked, knowing they wouldn’t have it in the main area. We were directed to the crypt via outside and after walking totally around the building we found it. The man at the door wouldn’t let us in because it was 15 minutes before mass. That didn’t make sense, neither did arguing with him, so we patiently waited until a little old lady came and was immediately let in.
Entrance was strictly controlled
I think this guy thought we were just tourists, maybe because I had a camera around my neck, and just wanted picture. Reluctantly he let us in and when mass started we saw him checking us out as we sat in the front seat of the crypt. It was cold in there and we were glad we had brought a jacket which we put on quickly. Mass was beautiful in this unique setting well below all the hustle and bustle of the upstairs.
We decided to have a pizza at one of the local cafes and realized that we just fell into the tourist trap routine, but we didn’t care at this point. The pizza was good and we left Chartres without having to worry about food, since we still had a rather large sandwich in the back seat.
We arrived at our hotel around 3:00 and spent the next 4 hours, after we emptied the car of everything, packing and re-packing. We were only bringing one suitcase and there weight limits so decisions had to be made. We checked out the weather and it is hot in Poland, so we packed light stuff and a heavier jacket and whatever else we need we will buy.
It will be nice not to have to worry about driving again until we get home which is only a week away.
Well, we woke up at Jackie’s and mom’s. after a great, great night’s sleep. Being “at home” as Jackie wanted us to feel, we left our room and went out to get coffee in our “jammies”. There were 4 other guests at the B&B this morning so we all sat in the Breakfast Salon together since it was set for 6. The other 4 guests were all dressed up as we sat there in our “jammies”, perfectly comfortable.
We had an array of fresh breads & croissants of all sorts, French cheeses, homemade jams which were local, Caribbean and other selections. During breakfast, one of the other women wanted coffee and I saw that Jackie was on the phone. So, I immediately went into the kitchen, grabbed the pot of coffee and returned to pour the woman more coffee. She looked at me “shocked” because I was a guest. It was apparent that they were all shocked …including Jackie when he saw me return with the pot. We laughed with him about it later as the three of us sat our on the back patio and chatted before our departure.
We said our farewells to Jackie…mom was still upstairs asleep.
We returned to our room, showered and packed up the car before going back to chat with Jackie a bit more since it was obvious he didn’t want us to leave … his English-speaking new friends. Mom was still upstairs fast asleep since the four of us had stayed up pretty late the night before laughing and talking (and getting her to speak English which she did a great job of). We bid “farewell” to Jackie and he told us that when/if we ever return to their home, we will always have the “Martinique Suite” … even if he has to kick someone out of it. After fond good-bye’s, we departed.
Our first stop of the day was La Solitude – Notre Dame des Bois – The Holy Family of Bordeaux in Martillac, France. We were in the hopes of seeing the Eucharistic Miracle of Bordeaux Relic(s) in Bordeaux, but through emails to the Church of Sainte Eulalie, Father Didier Monget had suggested we also visit La Solitude which we did put on our Itinerary. When we arrived at the Spiritual Center at La Solitude, we were quite surprised that our name was on their schedule of pilgrims. Susan had emailed them before our trip to request information, but we had no idea they were waiting for us. One of the greeters told us that Sister Catherine had been awaiting our arrival and that she was now in the Chapel of the Tomb of Father Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, the founder of the Order, and that 11:30 A.M. Mass was about to begin. She invited us to stay to attend Mass with the Sisters and she brought us in to Sister Catherine.
Mass in the Chapel at La Solitude
It was a beautiful Mass in a small Chapel. The Chapel was filled with Religious Sisters, elderly residents (this, we found, was another home for the elderly) and guests. Communion was very special … we received the Eucharist along with the Congregation but I noticed that everyone was walking up to the Altar after receiving so I nudged Susan to do the same. On the Altar were two Chalices which some “tinctured” their Host and others consumed and then took the Precious Blood. After Mass, we all sat silently for a while in deep contemplation.
The two of us did not see Sister in the foyer after Mass so we walked back outside to look around the grounds. Sister came around the corner and, lo and behold, she spoke wonderful English. She asked if we would like to join them for lunch, but we were still full from breakfast, so we graciously declined. The she informed us that the only remaining item from the Eucharistic Miracle was the Monstrance that had contained the Sacred Host at one time. Sister was on her way to lunch and said that she would return to us afterward. We told her we would walk the grounds and determine the rest of the schedule for the day because I had it jam-packed full on our Itinerary.
After plugging in our remaining destinations for the day and on to our next B&B for the night, I realized that we did not have enough hours in the day for the driving, the visiting of the Shrines I had scheduled and then getting to our next destination hotel so I had to make the “executive decision” to depart. We didn’t know where Sister was having her lunch, so we left the Monastery and headed towards Notre Dame de Talence.
Talence, France is on the outskirts of Bordeaux. We had not been there before and we never expected the traffic to be so crazy and busy. It took us quite some time to reach our destination through the myriad of traffic.
Sue miraculously figured out how to work the parking meter–very hi tech
Once we arrived, and fortunately, I found a parking place almost directly in front of the Shrine. I couldn’t figure out how to use their parking meter, though, so Susan took a whack at it and, miraculously, she got us a parking ticket for one hour … for “free”.
As we walked to the Shrine, however, I took notice of the very large “parking lot” for the Shrine … no parking meters … oh well!
The pieta in Notred Dame de Talence
We really didn’t know what to expect atNotre Dame de Talence. As we entered the Shrine, we noted that some parts were very, very old while up near the Altar and Sanctuary, it appeared to be very ultra-modern. There were beautiful, old stone Stations of the Cross as we proceeded towards the Altar in search of the Sacred Statue of the Pieta.
Praying for all of our intentions at the Pieta in Talence
On the right of the Sanctuary was a very old and small Chapel with the very, very old “Pieta” statue of Our Lady and the Crucified Christ lying on her knees. It was breathtaking! We knelt and Prayed before the Pieta for what we felt was a very long time.
We leave your prayer intentions at every shrine we visit, if at all possible
Then, as always if it is available, Susan entered your Intentions in their Prayer Book and we lit a candle before Our Lady on your behalf. We then sat in front of the Pieta and Prayed our Rosary and our Daily Litany of Prayers in quiet. There were a few others around us …also in deep Prayer.
After leaving the Shrine, Susan and I both agreed that there was something “quite special” about the Shrine and the “Pieta” Statue … a great sense of tranquility had filled us both.
Knowing that Susan’s “free time” on the parking meter was running out, we
knew that it was time to depart for our next destination so we walked back to the car. We realized that we were parked almost directly in front of a train station stop that “could have” taken us in to Bordeaux and to Eglise Sainte Eulalie where the Father of St. Therese de Lisieux, Louis Martin, was Baptized. He and his wife, Zelie, will be Canonized on October 19, 2015. We had looked forward to visiting this special Shrine and meeting Father Didier Monget whom Susan had communicated with before our trip, but looking at the time … having been told by Jackie at our B&B that one does not want to get caught in the “rush hour traffic” in Bordeaux … and knowing that we still have a long two hour drive from Bordeaux to get to our next Bed & Breakfast, we knew that we had to put this Shrine on our agenda for our next journey through France. Reluctantly, we departed to La Creche, our next night’s stay.
We headed to our next destination and hoped to find a place to stop and eat along the way. We were driving on the hectic Autovia (Toll Road of France) and didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find a restaurant without a major diversion. I finally decided to get off the Autovia in a small town along the way.
With all the cafes closed, we had to improvise. Thank goodness for those good French breads
Almost an hour later … and walking in to cafe’s to be told they had stopped food service until the evening, we left the small town with the only thing we had found available to eat … a large slice of French bread with one slice of ham, one slice of cheese and some dijon mustard … at that point, we didn’t care. We were both starving and chowed it down.
Once our headaches were gone, we both agreed that finding somewhere to eat in France and Spain during the afternoon is not an easy task. After heavy traffic and numerous toll stops, we finally arrived at our next Bed & Breakfast in La Creche (where we realized later we should have just driven to in order to have a nice, casual lunch.) Once we had checked in, the lovely young woman who owns the B&B told us that there was a fabulous Pizza Cafe and a Cambodian Restaurant a “stone’s throw” away and that both had been open until a short time ago … two places we “could have” eaten today if we hadn’t stopped in that small town with no food except a “sang-wich”!
We had very nice accommodations again at this lovely B&B. We settled in and decided that we should try our “Google Voice” that I had set up before our departure from home. I was hoping that these calls will be “free” as we were told … otherwise, we’re going to have one HUGE phone bill when we return home. Especially since many of our family/friends did not answer
when we called, because it shows an “850” area code, so they probably assumed it was a tele-marketer or two.
We made a very special point of calling Barry & Corinne but she wouldn’t answer either. So, I called our Cathedral to have their daughter, Monet, call them directly and tell them to ANSWER THE PHONE! Monet told me that Jim F. was over with Barry so, after I tried to call Corinne’s cell the second time and she still didn’t answer, I dialed Jim’s number and he did “take a chance” and answered his phone (thanks, Jim). The 5 of us (on speaker phone) shared a lot of laughs and a great conversation.
Susan then IM’d our friend, Johna, to tell her to answer her cell phone with a strange number (which she had not done before but she did tonight). So we had laughs and we realized that we are missing all of you very much … well, truth be told, wish you were here with us! Oh, I forgot … you all are and have been here with us (vicariously) in the back seat with our Angels.
I briefly thought about going out for dinner after 8:00 P.M. when everything will re-open. As we worked on our computers, we noshed on our left-over potato chips and cheese-doodles and put our heads on our pillows just around 8:30 P.M. … lights out and no dinner again!
Until tomorrow … Au Revoir!
O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affections for the passing joys of this earth, I may long for the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforth all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed toward this one most desirable object. Honor, glory, and love to our Divine Lord Jesus, and to the Holy and Immaculate Mother of God. Amen.
Love Susan & Tom
Bon-Bon (LOL):
Well, we woke up at Jackie’s and mom’s. after a great, great night’s sleep. Being “at home” as Jackie wanted us to feel, we left our room and went out to get coffee in our “jammies”. There were 4 other guests at the B&B this morning so we all sat in the Breakfast Salon together since it was set for 6. The other 4 guests were all dressed up as we sat there in our “jammies”, perfectly comfortable.
We had an array of fresh breads & croissants of all sorts, French cheeses, homemade jams which were local, Caribbean and other selections. During breakfast, one of the other women wanted coffee and I saw that Jackie was on the phone. So, I immediately went into the kitchen, grabbed the pot of coffee and returned to pour the woman more coffee. She looked at me “shocked” because I was a guest. It was apparent that they were all shocked …including Jackie when he saw me return with the pot. We laughed with him about it later as the three of us sat our on the back patio and chatted before our departure.
We said our farewells to Jackie…mom was still upstairs asleep.
We returned to our room, showered and packed up the car before going back to chat with Jackie a bit more since it was obvious he didn’t want us to leave … his English-speaking new friends. Mom was still upstairs fast asleep since the four of us had stayed up pretty late the night before laughing and talking (and getting her to speak English which she did a great job of). We bid “farewell” to Jackie and he told us that when/if we ever return to their home, we will always have the “Martinique Suite” … even if he has to kick someone out of it. After fond good-bye’s, we departed.
Our first stop of the day was La Solitude – Notre Dame des Bois – The Holy Family of Bordeaux in Martillac, France. We were in the hopes of seeing the Eucharistic Miracle of Bordeaux Relic(s) in Bordeaux, but through emails to the Church of Sainte Eulalie, Father Didier Monget had suggested we also visit La Solitude which we did put on our Itinerary. When we arrived at the Spiritual Center at La Solitude, we were quite surprised that our name was on their schedule of pilgrims. Susan had emailed them before our trip to request information, but we had no idea they were waiting for us. One of the greeters told us that Sister Catherine had been awaiting our arrival and that she was now in the Chapel of the Tomb of Father Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, the founder of the Order, and that 11:30 A.M. Mass was about to begin. She invited us to stay to attend Mass with the Sisters and she brought us in to Sister Catherine.
Mass in the Chapel at La Solitude
It was a beautiful Mass in a small Chapel. The Chapel was filled with Religious Sisters, elderly residents (this, we found, was another home for the elderly) and guests. Communion was very special … we received the Eucharist along with the Congregation but I noticed that everyone was walking up to the Altar after receiving so I nudged Susan to do the same. On the Altar were two Chalices which some “tinctured” their Host and others consumed and then took the Precious Blood. After Mass, we all sat silently for a while in deep contemplation.
The two of us did not see Sister in the foyer after Mass so we walked back outside to look around the grounds. Sister came around the corner and, lo and behold, she spoke wonderful English. She asked if we would like to join them for lunch, but we were still full from breakfast, so we graciously declined. The she informed us that the only remaining item from the Eucharistic Miracle was the Monstrance that had contained the Sacred Host at one time. Sister was on her way to lunch and said that she would return to us afterward. We told her we would walk the grounds and determine the rest of the schedule for the day because I had it jam-packed full on our Itinerary.
After plugging in our remaining destinations for the day and on to our next B&B for the night, I realized that we did not have enough hours in the day for the driving, the visiting of the Shrines I had scheduled and then getting to our next destination hotel so I had to make the “executive decision” to depart. We didn’t know where Sister was having her lunch, so we left the Monastery and headed towards Notre Dame de Talence.
Talence, France is on the outskirts of Bordeaux. We had not been there before and we never expected the traffic to be so crazy and busy. It took us quite some time to reach our destination through the myriad of traffic.
Sue miraculously figured out how to work the parking meter–very hi tech
Once we arrived, and fortunately, I found a parking place almost directly in front of the Shrine. I couldn’t figure out how to use their parking meter, though, so Susan took a whack at it and, miraculously, she got us a parking ticket for one hour … for “free”.
As we walked to the Shrine, however, I took notice of the very large “parking lot” for the Shrine … no parking meters … oh well!
The pieta in Notred Dame de Talence
We really didn’t know what to expect at Notre Dame de Talence. As we entered the Shrine, we noted that some parts were very, very old while up near the Altar and Sanctuary, it appeared to be very ultra-modern. There were beautiful, old stone Stations of the Cross as we proceeded towards the Altar in search of the Sacred Statue of the Pieta.
Praying for all of our intentions at the Pieta in Talence
On the right of the Sanctuary was a very old and small Chapel with the very, very old “Pieta” statue of Our Lady and the Crucified Christ lying on her knees. It was breathtaking! We knelt and Prayed before the Pieta for what we felt was a very long time.
We leave your prayer intentions at every shrine we visit, if at all possible
Then, as always if it is available, Susan entered your Intentions in their Prayer Book and we lit a candle before Our Lady on your behalf. We then sat in front of the Pieta and Prayed our Rosary and our Daily Litany of Prayers in quiet. There were a few others around us …also in deep Prayer.
After leaving the Shrine, Susan and I both agreed that there was something “quite special” about the Shrine and the “Pieta” Statue … a great sense of tranquility had filled us both.
Knowing that Susan’s “free time” on the parking meter was running out, we knew that it was time to depart for our next destination so we walked back to the car. We realized that we were parked almost directly in front of a train station stop that “could have” taken us in to Bordeaux and to Eglise Sainte Eulalie where the Father of St. Therese de Lisieux, Louis Martin, was Baptized. He and his wife, Zelie, will be Canonized on October 19, 2015. We had looked forward to visiting this special Shrine and meeting Father Didier Monget whom Susan had communicated with before our trip, but looking at the time … having been told by Jackie at our B&B that one does not want to get caught in the “rush hour traffic” in Bordeaux … and knowing that we still have a long two hour drive from Bordeaux to get to our next Bed & Breakfast, we knew that we had to put this Shrine on our agenda for our next journey through France. Reluctantly, we departed to La Creche, our next night’s stay.
We headed to our next destination and hoped to find a place to stop and eat along the way. We were driving on the hectic Autovia (Toll Road of France) and didn’t realize how difficult it would be to find a restaurant without a major diversion. I finally decided to get off the Autovia in a small town along the way.
With all the cafes closed, we had to improvise. Thank goodness for those good French breads
Almost an hour later … and walking in to cafe’s to be told they had stopped food service until the evening, we left the small town with the only thing we had found available to eat … a large slice of French bread with one slice of ham, one slice of cheese and some dijon mustard … at that point, we didn’t care. We were both starving and chowed it down.
Once our headaches were gone, we both agreed that finding somewhere to eat in France and Spain during the afternoon is not an easy task. After heavy traffic and numerous toll stops, we finally arrived at our next Bed & Breakfast in La Creche (where we realized later we should have just driven to in order to have a nice, casual lunch.) Once we had checked in, the lovely young woman who owns the B&B told us that there was a fabulous Pizza Cafe and a Cambodian Restaurant a “stone’s throw” away and that both had been open until a short time ago … two places we “could have” eaten today if we hadn’t stopped in that small town with no food except a “sang-wich”!
We had very nice accommodations again at this lovely B&B. We settled in and decided that we should try our “Google Voice” that I had set up before our departure from home. I was hoping that these calls will be “free” as we were told … otherwise, we’re going to have one HUGE phone bill when we return home. Especially since many of our family/friends did not answer when we called, because it shows an “850” area code, so they probably assumed it was a tele-marketer or two.
We made a very special point of calling Barry & Corinne but she wouldn’t answer either. So, I called our Cathedral to have their daughter, Monet, call them directly and tell them to ANSWER THE PHONE! Monet told me that Jim F. was over with Barry so, after I tried to call Corinne’s cell the second time and she still didn’t answer, I dialed Jim’s number and he did “take a chance” and answered his phone (thanks, Jim). The 5 of us (on speaker phone) shared a lot of laughs and a great conversation.
Susan then IM’d our friend, Johna, to tell her to answer her cell phone with a strange number (which she had not done before but she did tonight). So we had laughs and we realized that we are missing all of you very much … well, truth be told, wish you were here with us! Oh, I forgot … you all are and have been here with us (vicariously) in the back seat with our Angels.
I briefly thought about going out for dinner after 8:00 P.M. when everything will re-open. As we worked on our computers, we noshed on our left-over potato chips and cheese-doodles and put our heads on our pillows just around 8:30 P.M. … lights out and no dinner again!
Until tomorrow … Au Revoir!
O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affections for the passing joys of this earth, I may long for the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforth all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed toward this one most desirable object. Honor, glory, and love to our Divine Lord Jesus, and to the Holy and Immaculate Mother of God. Amen.
On Friday, we will be traveling to Krakow (Cracow), Poland and I don’t have a clue what my greetings will be yet.
But today is Wednesday! After a good night’s sleep, we were still very tired this morning. I think we are wearing out. We showered and loaded the car, had a lite breakfast and headed out to a very special Shrine to Our Blessed Mother in L’Ile Bouchard, France, which we had visited on one of our earlier pilgrimages.
It was cold and raining, very difficult driving at times, so we took the back roads and avoided the highways and toll roads. It was a peaceful ride through the countryside except for a few very narrow roads which I could tell Susan wasn’t too happy about (with her “total silence). I kept telling her that there were no cliffs and I could pull on the grass at the shoulder of the road if I had to … but she didn’t hear me or elected not to respond to me.
We were running early for Mass so I stopped in the village before L’Ile Bouchard to have a cup of Hot Java to warm us up. There were people around the Cafe’ and I really wanted to show off my Grey Cargo Pants that are now Rust Colored because of the bleach I used as laundry soap when we were at Rosa’s Inn (testing to see if you remember!). I realized today that my cargo’s are now actually “tye-dyed”, but I am wearing them again tomorrow so that we don’t have to do laundry again (left the bleach with Rosa)!
We lit a candle for all your intentions…as we always do.
We had changed our aggressive plan for today and decided to make this ouronly stop and, hopefully, make it with the bad weather in time for the 11:15 Mass. There is a beautiful story below about the apparitions here …but this Shrine had special meaning for me.
It was here that I first started to pray for Karina to Saint John Paul II before he was canonized … a young girl we had met at our Cathedral many, many years ago who was severely challenged in many ways .. and I Prayed to Saint John Paul for the first time, here, for Karina to speak and have a normal life. Six years later it happened…..and Karina speaks!
So, when we entered the Church of St. Giles and Our Lady of Prayer at L’Ile Bouchard Church today, I immediately saw a Side Chapel Shrine in honor of Saint John Paul II and went to his Shrine to thank him. It was a special moment for me and it was emotionally rewarding to thank him. I know that Our Blessed Mother also had a hand in it so Ithanked her too.
A group of school children came in to Pray the Rosary with their Religious Instructors as well as for Mass and we figured out that they were going to receive their First Holy Communion this weekend. During the Homily, the young Pastor of the Church instructed them on the how to receive Communion. Several times the adults in the Congregation would laugh at Father’s demonstrations of what not to do … don’t hold both hands over your head … don’t say “Merci” instead of “Amen” … don’t grab the Host and start chewing on it, etc.
After Mass we sat in the back to finish our morning prayers and the Father came over to greet us. He was very glad that we had come from America to the Shrine and astonished when we told him that this was our second time. We told him we were going to Krakow to visit with Cardinal Dziwisz and his Episcopal Secretary, Father Tomasz and he asked us to tell him that the Relic of Saint John Paul II that the Cardinal had gifted him with the Shrine of Our Lady of Pray in L’Ile Bouchard was being encased alongside a relic of Mother Theresa in an elorabate setting and would soon be installed in the Parish Church …before the upcoming Synod. We promised to deliver his message.
We went for a coffee and hopefully a toilette down the street so we could Pray our Rosary calmly back at the Shrine. The Cafe with Creme was one of the best we have had. We finished and returned to the Parish Church of St. Giles.
We were all alone back at the Shrine before the place of the apparition where we had lit candles and entered your intentions and peacefully spent at least another 1/2 hour (if not more, but who is counting) with Our Blessed Mother.
When we left we programmed the queen for our B&B and added a stop for a restaurant so we could eat along the way. Didn’t happen, so we stopped in a supermache and purchased today’s lunch, tonight’s snack, and tomorrow whatever. We had food and a bottle of wine of course.
The ride to our B&B was 2 hours and I finally got tired of the rain and the sound. I wanted to jump out of the car but managed to make it there. Susan felt the same.
Working on today’s trip report
This B&B is lovely and our accommodations are great although, a bitdangerous with the spiral staircase. I’ll bring a bucket up because once I’m upthat’s it until the morning. We worked on these reports and after a bite to eat we retired for the evening.
In complete faith, you received the message of the Archangel Gabriel
and became the mother of Jesus, the only Son of God:
Teach us to pray, in order to grow in faith.
At the Visitation, you exulted with joy in the Magnificat:
Teach us to give thanks to God.
At Cana, you asked Christ to provide wine for the wedding-feast:
Teach us to intercede in favor of our brothers and sisters.
Standing at the foot of the Cross, you suffered with Jesus for the love of
sinners:
Teach us to welcome the mercy of the Father.
At Pentecost, you prayed with the Apostles when they received the
plenitude of the Holy Spirit:
Teach us to ask the Spirit to help us bear witness to the Gospel.
You are the Mother of the Church and the Protectress of families. May you
watch over each of our families:
Teach us to love each other faithfully.
You are the Mother of humanity and the Patroness of France. Open our
country to the universal love of God:
Teach us to serve with generosity.
Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you !
Our Lady of Prayer, teach us to pray.
December 8, 1999
André VINGT-TROIS
Archbishop of Tours
Love Susan & Tom
May God bless all of you … Always!
Well, we are back in France and the trip was tedious with all of the traffic and then all of the AutoVia (Highway/Tollway) road construction. I think Susan would have been happier going back to Lekitio again. Passing lots of trucks in narrow lanes for miles was not fun for her or for moi. At one point, we must have passed a convoy of 100 trucks, They were not allowed in the left lane. Thank God!
We were in bed last night by 8:30 P.M.. I think we were both traumatized and I was exhausted after cooking dinner for 2 and a 3rd large glass of wine. I got up around 6:30 AM and I let Susan sleep after I moved her to the bedroom till about 8AM. I made a sandwich for the road and got breakfast ready to go for when she awoke. Half a pot of coffee later I was cleaning the kitchen, taking out the garbage and working on the computer. This new coffee we bought was real hi-test.
Susan got up and relaxed over a cup of coffee and our days itinerary. (And, as Susan reviews to send this email to you right now, she is saying … “EVERYONE IS GOING TO THINK I AM ONE LAZY WIFE/TRAVELER BECAUSE TOM SEEMS TO BE DOING ALL OF THE WORK!!!! … I’M IN TROUBLE NOW!)
We would have to leave soon to visit our first shrine … Our Lady of Guadeloupe in Hondarriba, Spain … another mountain shrine for sailors. After yesterday’s Shrine, I figured I should join the Navy first. Susan said from her research that getting in was iffy if the caretaker wasn’t there so we both sat down and had more coffee, finally deciding we had enough mountain costal towns for now, so we will leave this for another pilgrimage. We took our time but finally said goodbye to Rosa and headed out.
Arriving at our B&B
We arrived in Gans, France at our next B&B and were met by one of the two owners, Jackie. The B&B has been owned by Jackie’s Parents and their family for years. Nowadays, Jackie and his Mom, Jacquelyn, run the B&B with the help of their staff. He was born in Bordeaux, raised in Martinique and spent holidays in Nantucket, CT during his lifetime. He and his Mom own this lovely home and he was very gracious and showed us the residence that all the guests were able to use.
Our room was very quaint and extremely comfortable … it was a bedroom in their home and had our bed, small TV and a couple small night stands, plus a bathroom of course and the rest of the house … the kitchen, breakfast room, dining salon, Parlor, living room, patio, pool area, etc., etc.. He gave us our key and we put a few things in the room and headed out for
Verdelaise and Our Lady of the Afflicted.
We were going to meet Father Robert there and he was going to show us
around and tell us of the background of the Shrine.
Father Robert met us outside the Basilica
We were 20 minutes late and as we approached the Basilica there was a man standing outside. He wasn’t dressed as a priest but it had to be him and I told Susan we were going to get scolded for being late (only joking,Father). It didn’t happen,
Father Robert was a very gentle man and hugged Susan as soon as they said hello. (We do have to interject right here that Father reminded us so very, very much of our dear friend, Father Tim O’Toole (a/k/a “TOT) … in his peacefulness, kindness, warmth and everything else). I got a warm handshake and greeting too. He took us into the courtyard and sat as he told us about the Shrine and the history of the town.
A close look at the statue of Our Lady of the Afflicted
He then took us into the Basilica with wonderful further explanations on the background of the Shrine. Father Robert was going to leave us to Pray at the Shrine and, hopefully, walk the Way of the Cross up to the top of the hilltop. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it up the hill with my bad knee, but I was going to give it a valiant effort.
We agreed that Father Robert would meet us back at the Basilica at 4:30 P.M. and then would walk down the street to share a glass of wine and then go to the Rosary and attend the Evening Mass.
We lit a candle for all your prayer intentions
We spent some time in the Basilica praying for your intentions, lit a candle and Susan put your intentions in the box provided.
We walked out to go across the street to the Stations of the Cross that wound up the hill and I realized I couldn’t make it, my knee and leg were really bothering me today. We went back to the car to get a pill and I realized that they were in the bag we left at Jackie’s (our B&B for the night).
We decided that I needed a pill and went back with the intention of returning for the Rosary and Mass. I tried to let Father know but couldn’t get thru to him on the phone, so I took a pill and relaxed on the lounge chair. I would have been fine, except Jackie made us a tropical coconut drink and we couldn’t say no. I woke up late for everything. Susan sent Father an apology and I’m sure he would understand.
The evening was great at Jackie’s and Jacquline’s (we call her mom). We
were in the living room on the computers but didn’t get much done as we laughed and told stories to each other for a long time. Mom sat, and her English was great, even though she didn’t think so. This family is very Catholic and we shared many things that had happened throughout our all our lives. They have a great love for St. John Paul II, just as we do. We were going to tell them about Krakow but decided to wait and get a few things done first, but ended up telling them anyway and then the photos came out and we shut off the computers.
When they fed the other people that were staying at the house Susan and I
went out to the patio to have our sandwich I had made and Jackie brought us a nice bottle of wine. He sat with us and more stories flowed especially about his dad and the army and his life in Conn. during the summers he stayed there and his encounters with women when he was young. Our faces hurt we laughed so hard and mom would come out now and then and confirm his stories and we would laugh again.
Jackie and Jaqueline
We had eaten but mom brought out a small piece of steak and little salad for each of us and then some cake. It was too good to pass up, so we had a second meal. We will diet tomorrow. It was 10:45 and mom and their cook had sat down for dinner and we forced Jackie in to eat or we would have been out there all night.
We all hugged and said good night and Susan and I went to our room feeling like we were again at home with our wonderful new friends.
Susan was asleep in less than 5 minutes and I think I was right behind her. (It was special this morning when Susan told me that she had awoken at Jackie & Jacquoelen’s in our room for the night and she woke up feeling that she was in the bedroom we always stayed in at my Mom and Dad’s in Danbury, Connecticut. That was always a very special bedroom for us and, perhaps, the love and memories of the love and memories of this family brought us “back in time” … thank you for that experience.
Editor’s Note: Tom and Sue Melillo traveled extensively to Catholic shrines and have graciously shared their experiences with us via their daily “trip reports”. Sadly, Tom is no longer with us, but his trip reports live on…and so do the memories of this faith-filled man.
Bueno Dias:
Sure you thought we were going to take the day off, we almost did but it’s Sunday and going to Mass every day doesn’t count as much as we just wanted to stay in our apartment. We woke up fully refreshed, as Susan slept on the large sofa and I had the bed. I think she got the better deal. I made breakfast with the vulture eggs we bought and some ham and cheese and toast and a pot of coffee and we headed out at 9 AM in order to make the 10:30 Mass.
This shrine was only 24 miles away but we didn’t know what to expect as far as the drive. It was a good thing we left early, the road was awful although the ride was beautiful along the northern coast of Spain. The narrow roads were treacherous and the bikers and walkers didn’t make it any easier. Susan developed a headache early on and I also did 1/2 way through.
This ride made the Amalfi Coast look tame with so many blind corners, S-Turns and the like … that at the end I just wanted to jump out of the car. We had to park over a mile from the Basilica of Our Lady of Lekeitio and walk back. I didn’t care, I was out of the car yet, I was plotting our course back for the next 2 hours, there had to be a better way.
Today was first Holy communion
The church was quite spectacular and old, right near the ocean. Today wastheir First Holy Communion Service and the children were precious…..Theadults, another story. Mass was hard to follow since the priest kept stoppingat the most important parts and would talk for 5 minutes. We were hoping he was instructing the children if not he needs a friend to talk to.
The children went to receive Communion the same time everyone went to theside altars to receive from the EMOCH’s. They needed some guidance fromsome of the ushers to pull this off properly but Susan and I kept our mouths shut and sat there.
The Corpus Christi Procession through town
At the end of Mass they began the procession of the Blessed Sacrament intothe town. We took a couple of photos before the church emptied, saw thefamous miraculous statue of sailors and made our way along the route. Wesnapped a couple of photos in the Basilica Plaza but we didn’t want to spendanymore time than we had to because we had another 2 stops so we made our way back to the car and headed out, gratefully via another route.
Winding roads, once again
The next stop was only 12 miles away in Markina-Xemein (The Parish Hermitage of San Michel the ArchAngel and Saint Pallonia (the local Saint). Butit took forever with construction and treacherous “S Turn” (Welcome toBasque Country roads). I think we were both thinking it’s time to go home to our cozy apartment.
Tom standing under the giant rocks
We were glad we went to this famous shrine, where it is said that St. Michael cast Satan into hell and placed the rocks on top that are believed to be 40 million years old. As I walked under them, I was hopeful that they had at least another 1/2 hour to go before they crumbled.
(See Photos.)
Our next stop that we had planned … we skipped. We were done for the day. We headed back to our “hacienda apartment” and arrived by 2:00 P.M. after 5 hours it took us to attend Sunday Mass and drive a total of 60 miles.
Our first line of business after arriving “home” was a Sunday cocktail to get rid of the terror shakes from the drive up and down. Susan then began to expedite the drying of our laundry via the hair drying in our apartment. Our laundry had been out on the “dry rack” for two days and was still wet.
Susan typed our daily trip report while I chilled out on the couch
I began preparing for our dinner this evening before I “faded” and Susancontinued trying to type as I lie here on the couch “chilling” after a grueling drive. I realize I love this sofa … maybe I’ll let Susan have the bed tonight and I’ll take the oversized couch with my “body pillow”.
The makings of a great dinner
We had a great dinner of steak, mushrooms (for me), corn (for Susan on her potato), nuked potatoes and a nice bottle of 2008 “something Tinto”.
After cleaning up, we locked up our apartment for the last evening, sat andtried to find English speaking TV for about 30 seconds and retired for the evening … looking forward to tomorrow.
In the morning, we are back in France.
So, Au Revoir … Adios from Espana!
Hail, White Lily of the ever peaceful and glorious Trinity! Hail Vermilion
Rose, the Delight of Heaven, of whom, the King of Heaven was born, and by
whose milk He was nourished! Do thou forever feed our souls by the
effusions of your divine influences.
Amen.
Love Susan & Tom
Bueno Dias: Sure you thought we were going to take the day off, we almost did but it’s Sunday and going to Mass every day doesn’t count as much as we just wanted to stay in our apartment. We woke up fully refreshed, as Susan slept on the large sofa and I had the bed. I think she got the better deal. I made breakfast with the vulture eggs we bought and some ham and cheese and toast and a pot of coffee and we headed out at 9 AM in order to make the 10:30 Mass. This shrine was only 24 miles away but we didn’t know what to expect as far as the drive. It was a good thing we left early, the road was awful although the ride was beautiful along the northern coast of Spain. The narrow roads were treacherous and the bikers and walkers didn’t make it any easier. Susan developed a headache early on and I also did 1/2 way through. This ride made the Amalfi Coast look tame with so many blind corners, S-Turns and the like … that at the end I just wanted to jump out of the car. We had to park over a mile from the Basilica of Our Lady of Lekeitio and walk back. I didn’t care, I was out of the car yet, I was plotting our course back for the next 2 hours, there had to be a better way.
Today was first Holy communion
The church was quite spectacular and old, right near the ocean. Today was their First Holy Communion Service and the children were precious…..The adults, another story. Mass was hard to follow since the priest kept stopping at the most important parts and would talk for 5 minutes. We were hoping he was instructing the children if not he needs a friend to talk to. The children went to receive Communion the same time everyone went to the side altars to receive from the EMOCH’s. They needed some guidance from some of the ushers to pull this off properly but Susan and I kept our mouths shut and sat there.
The Corpus Christi Procession through town
At the end of Mass they began the procession of the Blessed Sacrament into the town. We took a couple of photos before the church emptied, saw the famous miraculous statue of sailors and made our way along the route. We snapped a couple of photos in the Basilica Plaza but we didn’t want to spend anymore time than we had to because we had another 2 stops so we made our way back to the car and headed out, gratefully via another route.
Winding roads, once again
The next stop was only 12 miles away in Markina-Xemein (The Parish Hermitage of San Michel the ArchAngel and Saint Pallonia (the local Saint). But it took forever with construction and treacherous “S Turn” (Welcome to Basque Country roads). I think we were both thinking it’s time to go home to our cozy apartment.
Tom standing under the giant rocks
We were glad we went to this famous shrine, where it is said that St. Michael cast Satan into hell and placed the rocks on top that are believed to be 40 million years old. As I walked under them, I was hopeful that they had at least another 1/2 hour to go before they crumbled. (See Photos.) Our next stop that we had planned … we skipped. We were done for the day. We headed back to our “hacienda apartment” and arrived by 2:00 P.M. after 5 hours it took us to attend Sunday Mass and drive a total of 60 miles. Our first line of business after arriving “home” was a Sunday cocktail to get rid of the terror shakes from the drive up and down. Susan then began to expedite the drying of our laundry via the hair drying in our apartment. Our laundry had been out on the “dry rack” for two days and was still wet.
Susan typed our daily trip report while I chilled out on the couch
I began preparing for our dinner this evening before I “faded” and Susan continued trying to type as I lie here on the couch “chilling” after a grueling drive. I realize I love this sofa … maybe I’ll let Susan have the bed tonight and I’ll take the oversized couch with my “body pillow”.
The makings of a great dinner
We had a great dinner of steak, mushrooms (for me), corn (for Susan on her potato), nuked potatoes and a nice bottle of 2008 “something Tinto”.
After cleaning up, we locked up our apartment for the last evening, sat and tried to find English speaking TV for about 30 seconds and retired for the evening … looking forward to tomorrow. In the morning, we are back in France. So, Au Revoir … Adios from Espana!
Hail, White Lily of the ever peaceful and glorious Trinity! Hail Vermilion Rose, the Delight of Heaven, of whom, the King of Heaven was born, and by whose milk He was nourished! Do thou forever feed our souls by the effusions of your divine influences. Amen. Love Susan & Tom
The 4 of us did well in the bed last night although 1/2 of our pillows spent most of the night on the floor. I think we fell asleep that way and didn’t move. We were still tired at 9 AM when we awoke. At 11:00, I made eggs and toast and our second pot of coffee. We weren’t moving fast today, if at all. We needed a break and 3 nights in this perfect B&B was what the doctor ordered.
We needed food since tomorrow was Sunday and everything is closed on Sundays, so we decided to go back to the store we went to yesterday and get what we needed. The store was in Azpetia, the birthplace of St. Ignatius, and only 15 minutes away. We arrived there just before it re-opened at 3:30, and by the time we walked to the Basilica, the door was open.
We lit a candle for your intentions here in Loyola
We went in to say our morning prayers and Divine Mercy, it was cold in there, so we decided to say the Rosary on the way home.
We lit a candle for your intentions and departed for the store.
Stocking up on groceries for the next couple of days.
We stocked up for 2 days. We bought some calamari and fettuccine for tonight and a couple steaks for tomorrow. They with both go well with the salad I was going to make with Rosa’s lettuce. We were home by 5:15 and still exhausted. Susan typed yesterday’s report as I dictated and cooked.
Dinner came out delicioso
Dinner came out delicioso, if I do say so myself.
There was enough left over so we gave it to Rosa and Mike, later she brought us over desert.
Maybe I should learn to read Spanish!
During the cooking, I put laundry in with what I thought was detergent and was surprised when the black socks came out brown and my gray cargo’s are now rust colored. LOL, I had bought bleach! The whites came out fine … I had laundered them separately.
After dinner we crashed and tonight Susan ended up on the huge sofa since the bed seemed to have shrunk and the body pillows were fighting each other.
Buenos Noches with Amor!
O most Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of gentleness and mercy, I, an unworthy sinner, fly to you with sentiments of confidence and love. I begyou who stood close to your most beloved Son as He hung upon the cross, graciously to remain near me, a miserable sinner, and near all priests who throughout the whole Church will offer Holy Mass this day. By your gracious favor help me to offer a sacrifice which is worthy and acceptable in sight of the most high and undivided Trinity. Amen.
We got up this morning to see the Sun out and it appeared it was going to be a beautiful day. We both woke together and packed up a bit and then we went down for our Cafe Con Leche & Toast to dunk in it. We weren’t in the dining room for 15 minutes and we came out … we could hardly see across the street. A very heavy fog had moved in to Garabandal and, when you are in the mountains and in the clouds, it gives a whole new meaning to the word “fog”.
As Father Rolando had announced to us the evening before, Mass today was at 10:00 A.M. So we headed to the Church to, hopefully, get in our Morning Prayers together before Mass (we had slept in a little late this morning and had packed and brought some of the luggage down to the car).
We arrived at the Village Church and saw Father Rolando on the front patio, and on his cell phone. I told Susan … “he’s probably hearing a confession since he is so busy” … and then he actually did go into the Church to hear Confessions before Mass.
Again, at the beginning of Mass, Father greeting us in English at the Opening Prayer and at the Sign of Peace. He had Michael not only read the First Reading in English, but he motioned to him after he had proclaimed the Gospel … for Michael to read the Gospel in English as well! (Michael told us later he had no idea that was going to happen.)
After Mass, we went back to the Sacristy once again … this time Roberto accompanied us so that he could translate if need be. We exchanged our feelings in both English and Spanish (through Roberto) to each other before our departure … it was a bittersweet moment to bid farewell to Father Rolando … he has been very special to us since our first visit to Garabandal. We promised him that we will return in “approximately one year” and that, next time, we will remain in Garabandal for a longer stay. Father then departed for his next Mass in another village.
We stood in front of the Village Church and spoke about so many things with Roberto before leaving. He is originally from Mexico and had moved to Amsterdam. He was in Garabandal on a spiritual retreat. A very young and nice man who has a great loved of Our Blessed Mother, Jesus and our Catholic Faith.
After bidding farewell to Roberto, we headed across the street to the Garabandal Pilgrim Center, where we once again met Michael as promised.
Giving Michael the tablet with Mystical City of God on it
Susan and I had brought a “tablet” with us on this trip that had The Mystical City of God book on it. The two of us decided to “gift” Michael with the tablet so that he could read The Mystical City of God at his leisure. I knew he was going to give me a hard time accepting such a gift, but when he said … “well, I will accept it as a loaned gift and will give it back to you when you return to Garabandal”. We laughingly agreed to appease him (ha-ha, Michael!). He is savvy enough to figure out the tablet, but I took a little time to teach him how to bookmark his page, etc.
We then purchased a few things from the Foundation to bring home with us. Michael gave us two relics on medals that Our Lady had kissed with the visionaries when she was here. We bid farewell to our “new friend” and we know that he will see him again.
We returned to Sari & Papa’s to finish loading the car, pay our tab and bid farewell until next time. Susan was in no hurry to leave …hoping that the fog would lift and the sun would come out.
So, reluctantly, she hopped in the car and we made our way down and up and down the mountain toward our next stop … Our Lady of Bien Apareicida and the Miraculous Cross at Limpias, Spain, which was about 10 minutes away.
We were the only two people, unfortunately, at Our Lady of Bien Apareicida. It was a beautiful Shrine where an exquisite statue of Our Lady (although very small), sits high and perched above the Altar. This is a favoritedestination for many and place of pilgrimage for many people … just not today, I suppose.
The Staue of Our Lady at Bien Aparecida
That was “okay with us” so that we could enjoy and Pray. The two of us lit a candle for your Special Intentions and sat in the Church Praying our Rosary. I realized that it was close to 3:00 P.M. … time for Divine Mercy. I really wanted to Pray our Divine Mercy Prayers at Limpias and in front of the Miraculous Cross of Christ. So, we left Bien and agreed to finish our last decade of the Rosary at Limpias as well … for today was the Decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries and we felt it appropriate.
We made it to Limpias at 3:00 P.M. on the dot and we are now “two for two”! IT WAS LOCKED AGAIN! We have been to Limpias 4 times … we have been lucky enough to have been into the Shrine only twice! Very Sad.
Outside of the Church that holds the Miraculous Crucifix of Limpias
So the two of us sat in our car directly in front of the Shrine and finished our Rosary and Prayed Divine Mercy … keeping Christ company from outside.
Once again, we have to be careful….cars are not the only things on the road in the Basque Country!
We then began our treck to our next B&B in the Basque Country of Spain. Our stomachs were once again growling since it was 3:00+ in theafternoon and we had only had coffee and some bread-fast in the morning. The drive, which was mainly on the highway, went through numerous big cities in Spain and I wanted to beat rush hour and traffic.
We were two minutes away from our apartment B&B and we opted to drive 6 miles further to get to a “Supermarche” (grocery store), knowing that we had to eventually eat. We didn’t even have time for a photo op in the store because we ran through the store and grabbed anything we could find that looked appetizing (including a frozen pizza).
We arrived at our next B&B around 6:00 P.M. and “Rosa”, the owner, was waiting to greet us and happily showed us to our very small room (LOL: See Photos). This was/is “heaven” and we weren’t sure if we would ever get in the car again!
Dutifully, we managed to get out a Trip Report, had our pizza and some cheese, Chorizo, bread and a large glass of wine. We were already in our “jammies” so, shortly thereafter, we were in our bedroom. There was only oneproblem when we went to retire: There were two pillows. Unfortunately, each of them were about 5 feet long and the bed was a bit of an oversized queen bed. As we tried to figure out how to position the two of us and negotiate our pillows, it felt like there were two other bodies in our bed … I don’t know what happened because, two seconds later, I was fast asleep and I think Susan followed me shortly thereafter.
We slept really good last night and were ready for our climb up the mountain to Los Pinos. We didn’t shower, since it was warm and we knew we were going to sweat. I ran down and got a pot of coffee and, after wiring up, we grabbed a couple walking sticks and headed out. We stopped at the Village Church first to see Our Lady and Pray our Morning Prayers.
We walked through the village to the path to Los Pinos. Every time we begin our path up the rocky gorge, we remember our first visit to Garabandal in 2007 when we made our climb in the pouring rain and the water was gushing over our feet … we don’t know how we made it that year since it is a difficult climb without rain. Now we are 8 years older so maybe the tough climb has something to do with it.
Marker showing where Saint Michael the Archangel appeared
We Prayed the Stations of the Cross, as always, on our way up and stopped at the Shrine to St. Michael the Archangel (this is always a good place to “take a breather”).
Susan disappeared behind the Shrine to rid herself of the turtleneck she had worn, thinking it might be cold up there.
We decided it would become our “towel” because it was getting very hot during our climb.
We met our new friend “Roberto” on the way up … and a young man from Mexico who lives in Holland now.
Roberto pointed out the new “easier” path when he first met us … do we look that “old”? We told him that we always take the aggressive path in honor of Our Lady. We spoke for a short time and continued our climb.
Reaching Los Pinos is always a thrilling moment for both of us. This is a very special, spiritual and Prayerful place … you can feel it all around you. We finished the last Station of the Cross directly in front of the Pine Tree where Our Lady appeared numerous times to the four visionaries. There were a couple of women up at the Pines Praying their Rosary … probably 15-20 years older than us. They had taken the “easy path” up, but we give them credit because they still made the climb. They left when we finished our last Station to give us our private time at Los Pinos. We told them to stay but they had to get back to the village.
We Prayed our Rosary on the bench in front of Our Lady’s Shrine realizing that, unfortunately, we were not going to be able to make it up the RosaryPath this year as we did on our last visit here. Our hearts said “yes” but my knees and our feet said “no”.
Sue wanted me to get a “pine cone” to take home with us for our little “Shrine”. Listening to her request, I tried to whack one out of the tree and almost broke my walking stick. With no success, I decided Our Mother did not want me to take one so I quickly went over to St. Michael to ask him to pray for me for forgiveness (LOL).
After an hour up at Los Pinos, we headed back down to the Village via what we call the “Saint Padre Pio Path” which is the long way down via a very narrow road that will allow some small vehicles to drive up to the Pines. This path is a very peaceful return to reality with a beautiful and scenic walk and views of Garabandal and the mountain ranges.
On our way down, I spotted an elderly woman making her way back home down another path. She had a bag in her hand. I realized it was garbage after she stopped and threw it into the woods … I caught her red-handed with a photo (see lady with the blue hat).
Once we reached Garabandal, we stopped at the fountain. The first time we visited here, I told Susan that one side was hot water and the other cold water … she is so trusting that she had believed me! So each time we are there, I try to test it again to see if she is still gullible … LOL.
Tom typing up the notes for the day
We were in time for lunch back at Sari & Papa’s, but we had not made arrangements with them so we accepted the fact that we had planned to fast for the day, went up to our room to shower (we knew we would need it after Los Pinos) and then went down to the Salon at our Posada to get caught up on Trip Reports done which wasn’t easy with our stomach’s growling but we survived.
As we were working in the Salon, we heard loud thunder so we went out to see what was going on. There was a tremendous hail storm going on. The weather can really change quick here!
By the time we were finished and ready to attend Mass at 7:30 P.M., the storm had cleared. We left early for Mass so that we could stop at the new Garabandal Foundation Center where we met our new friend, “Michael” … an American from Philadelphia who moved to Garabandal to work at the Foundation. He told us that he had never been to Garabandal, but that, one day, on November 22, 2014, he got a “calling” from Our Blessed Mother that he shouldmove here. He sold everything (his family thought he was nuts) and he arrived at Garabandal on December 8th … the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I think he told us that he was in the Seminary for a while and wasfloundering with his life decisions, not knowing what to do. He seemed to be enormously happy and content being here in Garabandal. My gut feeling is that Michael will be in Garabandal for a long, long time. He is a tremendous young man and we feel Blessed to have met him and shared time with him.
Here we are with Father Rolando
It was time for Mass so we all left the Foundation together to walk across to the Church. Father Rolando began Mass with a very long dissertation which, for some reason, I understood him to be telling everyone that there was not going to be the usual offering of Special Intentions today because he had done it yesterday when we arrived in Garabandal.
He also explained that if they looked in the Petition Box, they would see pages and pages of Special Intentions in English that we had delivered to Our Lady in Garabandal.
During Mass, Padre Rolando offered the Opening Prayer and the Sign of Peace to the Congregation in Spanish and then to Susan and I, in English, as he had done the day before. Tonight, we also surprised us with a special treat … unbeknownst to us, he had arranged for Michael to get up after the First Reading in Spanish (which was very long) and Michael re-read it to the Congregation (for us) in English. No one seemed to mind, not even us (although we had pre-printed all of the Readings for every day of our pilgrimage.)
When Mass concluded, we went in to the Sacristy to than Padre Rolando and he pulled out this very, very old and special Cross with our Crucified Lord on it and allowed us to venerate it after he did. This Cross was kissed by Our Blessed Mother here in Garabandal over 50 years ago … how special is that? Father then gave us a “bath” in Holy Water (I tried to tell him that we had already showered … LOL). And he Prayed a very Special Blessing over us … just incredible to both of us. A lot of hugs and kisses later, we left Padre (stomachs still growling) and headed back to Sari & Papa’s for dinner.
Michael & Barry joined us for dinner
As we entered the dining salon, we were pleasantly surprised to see that Michael and Barry (whom we met yesterday at lunch) were seated at our dinner table. The food began to come out. Michael Prayed Grace. No one spoke for a while as we chowed down … I guess we were all famished. After our stomachs quit growling, we all began what turned out to be wonderful conversations. We got on the subject of The Mystical City of God. Michael told us he had the books back in Philadelphia, but had never read it. He had a lot of questions about it which I gladly answered and shared my thoughts.
Another table of eight came in for dinner around 9:30 P.M. The four of us continued to sit and chatted for another 30-40 minutes until it was time to go to bed. Michael told us that he would open the Foundation Center early for us in the morning after Mass and we all bid each other farewell for the evening. On the way to our room, Susan and I stopped to talk to the people at the other table. A few of them spoke English and they told us that they were from Madrid and were visiting Garabandal until Sunday. They told us that they saw us at Mass and they confirmed what Father Rolando had said at Mass. We shared a few laughs and left to retire after a long and beautiful day.
Tom and Sue Melillo were indepedent travelers who visited many shrines in Europe and the Holy Land. They kindly posted daily reports of their travels and we are pleased to include them here.
Buenos Dias:
Before I begin today’s report, Susan and I want to thank those of you who have sent your well wishes, Prayer request updates, new Prayer Requests and just communications, in general, to let us know you are thinking of us. As much as we are enjoying our “personal pilgrimage”, it is so great to hear from loved ones … makes us feel wanted, I suppose (and, Kler, every time we get an email from a loved one, we say YEAH (as Kler would say!).
So back to Monzon de Campos … 6:00 AM came early … That’s pretty stupid … it usually does. There was no hesitation about getting up and getting going. Beatriz told us she would have coffee and juice and something for us to eat in the salon at the hotel. She’s no dummy getting up at that hour. As she promised it was ready and we made coffee for there and a large shot of caffeine for the road and headed out.
Barring any road delays, we were going to make Mass in Garabandal on time. The drive was two hours and forty-five minutes to and over the Cantabrian Mountain Ranges. The first forty minutes got us more than two-thirds of the way there. The rest of the time you can ask Susan about. I was in Heaven … Susan was much warmer. Susan did manage to take 100 pictures of our trek over the mountains but she has to remember to keep her eyes open. LOL
On the way to Garabandal
We pulled into Garabandal with twenty minutes to spare before Mass and we parked at Sari’s and Papa’s restaurant/Posada. We saw papa on our way up walking down the 3 mile drive from Garabandal to Cosio (which he does every day). We laughed later when we found out he gets a ride back to Garabandal from Coscio. He looked great, and Susan decided to walk more, maybe not here but in the next life.
We walked to church for the 10 AM mass and saw Father Rolando out front and got a wonderful warm greeting as he welcomed us. We went into the church to say our morning prayers and when I saw the Statue of Our Lady, the tears flowed. This is a happy place for us and a very, very “special memory of The Virgin Mary” for me!
Just as Mass was going to start Fr. Rolando left the church and a few minutes later he returned with a Monstrance. In the meanwhile, the sacristan was scurrying around to get ready for Adoration and put the Intention box in the Sanctuary near the altar.
Susan and I agreed that we should place all the intentions we have been carrying and praying for in the Intention Box to Our Lady of Garabandal and offer your Intentions to God through her Intercession. Susan filled the Special Intention Box with some difficulty since we had so many. We could both sense something special. Mass that day (and as always with Padre Rolando) was as special and sacred as always. After saying his Prayerful welcome to the Congregation in Spanish, Father turned to us and Prayed the welcome to us in English. We were astonished.
Fr Rolando gave us a warm greeting
After Mass, Benediction started and we all prayed for twenty minutes for all the intentions left for Our Lady. We knew and later confirmed that this was done every Thursday and people wondered why it was done today on Wednesday. We were very touched because we had emailed Padre Rolando long before our journey to tell him of our return to Garabandal. He knows that on our many previous pilgrimages to Garabandal, we carry many intentions and we knowand are grateful that Father Rolando did this today … especially for all of you and your Intentions. I know Our Mother had a hand in it.
We have some very special shrines yet to go and some very special intentions we will still deliver even though we know that your and our prayers will be answered in God’s way and time. We saw Father after Mass and thanked him for that special moment when we knew him and everyone else in the church were praying for you. We talked a little and, surprisingly, I understood him and he told us Mass tomorrow was at 7:30 PM.
We headed back to the car and Hotel to check in and Sari and Papa where there and we hugged and kissed. It felt like we never left. There was a new addition. Another secret kept from us before our return … BABY Alan, just 2 months old and adorable. I couldn’t find flowers on the way so I gave Sari a present of laundry soap. We all cracked up.
We got everything to the same room she always gives us with a view of the pines and rosary mountain. We weren’t planning on the climb today, we just wanted to have lunch and explore the new developments and changes that hadoccurred since our last visit 3 years ago. The first business was lunch and Sari didn’t disappoint. We could hardly move after lunch but forced ourselves to walk the village and visit the old and the new. After 3 PM Divine Mercy and the rosary in the church we went back to the room and unpacked and rested for a few minutes. We used the Salon downstairs as our computer room and caught up on reports and e-mails.
Before we knew it … it was time for dinner back at Sari & Papa’s wonderful restaurant. We were both still full but we weren’t going to eat again until tomorrow night so we forced it down. All of it! (It was great and we have never hungered at Sari & Papa’s in Garabandal.
After a great dinner, we returned to the “Salon” to continue to do computer work. It was like we were in our own four story home … so peaceful and comfortable and quiet. We worked for a while and went upstairs to retire for the evening …. so happy to be back at our “Casa de San Sebastian de Garabandal” and looking forward to our full day in Garabandal, at Los Pinos, hopefully the Rosary Path and all that Garabandal has in store.
May God bless all of you … Always!
I love thee, most lovable Lady, By the love which I bear thee, I promise ever to serve thee, and to do as much as I can, that thou be loved by others also. I put all my hopes in thee, all my salvation. Receive me as thy servant and cover me with the mantle of thy protection, thou the Mother of mercy!
We wanted to break the alarm clock when it went off this morning, but instead we reluctantly got up and showered before breakfast. More vulture eggs and bacon and we have managed to reduce the amount of caffeine with only 11/2 cups each. It’s nice not having the shakes!!
This morning was laundry day……we couldn’t put it off any longer. Before going to the laundromat, we stopped at a Carrfour super-market superstore. This made W-Mart look like a 7-11. We didn’t have the camera and a good thing, I didn’t know where to look first. They had an amazing array of everything.
We loaded up on water, wine, paper towels and laundry soap. We then went to the woman’s clothes and bought 10 Pasminas for the residents at the Foundation Home. We found the laundromat on the first try, again another placestuck on a small side street with no parking available. On our second try, Sue and I both were praying quietly and a spot came open just around the corner. Almost 2 hours later we had fresh clean clothes to hopefully get us home. I’ll never complain about doing the laundry at home again since it’s only 20 feet away.
On the way from Madrid to Prado Nuevo, we saw a gas station and it was time to fill up so we stopped and a young man jumped out of nowhere and pumped it for me. We had a few laughs and he said to me: car wash? I looked at the car and agreed it was time, so they included it on the bill and I drove in to meet the same young man who got the wash going. The car was so clean we decided to vacuum and clean the inside windows to add the finishing touches.
We were hungry so we went into El Escorial and had a burger, it wasn’t bad, and we then went to the shrine around 3:00 PM, an hour before Antonio and Marie del Carmen (Padre Guillermo’s Mom and Dad) were to meet us. When we entered, Eduardo, one of the caretakers, came over to say hello. We met him 3 years ago and when we said Americanos he remembered us and we each got a hug. He opened the gate protecting the tree Our Mother appeared on and let us venerate it: I held on tight as I did so. We then walked to the end of the shrine to the first station and prayed the Stations of the cross alone with Jesus and Our Mother. As always, the peace and tranquility wasoverwhelming.
At 4:00 p.m. sharp Tony and Carmen arrived and we hopped into their car and went to the cemetery to visit Florita’s grave. It was bittersweet that we hadn’t seen her before she died but we were happy that she was now at home withthe Lord.
The rosary in the field in front of the first apparition and Mass in the Chapel: what more can I say. It was off to the Foundation home again with the Pasminas and flowers for the Sisters. Sister Pilar was not there, so it was the universal language again. The women loved their gift as Susan draped and tied one around each one of them. It was a warming sight since most of them have no family at all.
I took a lot of pictures and will make a video for them with them in it and send it after we get home. They still watch the video from the last trip we made through here in 2012. Two of the women had a race so we could see
how fast the could walk it was funny. There is a lot of love and care given to these people and I know they are truly grateful no matter what state of health they are in.
The room where Luz Amparo received the Stigmata is now a chapel.
After the home we went to Fr. Guillermo’s rectory and community family house the has around 40 people who live and work there for the good of the whole and 10 priest and religious. I thought the Sisters worked hard, and the Sisters agreed, but these people work harder taking care of the land and livestock, the repairs and building and everything else you can think about. We got to see the room where Amparro had first received the stigmata of Christ, which is now a chapel.
We finally bid farewell to Fr. Guillermo and his parents and God willing we will see them next year. It was 9 PM and we had to get up early to pack and planned to go to mass at the foundation chapel where the house the original statue of Our Lady that was desecrated many years ago.
Back at the hotel we packed and jumped into bed hoping for a good night’s
sleep. Sue was out in a flash and I contemplated how much I was going to
miss that garage. LOL ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
We decided to have a pizza at one of the local cafes and realized that we just fell into the tourist trap routine, but we didn’t care at this point. The pizza was good and we left Chartres without having to worry about food, since we still had a rather large sandwich in the back seat.
