Well these 2 days were very busy and extremely special to both of us. We were out and running at 8 AM and getting back to our hotel at 9 PM. It was still light out so it didn’t feel so bad, until the morning.
We had breakfast at our hotel (more vulture eggs) and headed towards Madrid to finally meet Consuela and Humberto. We found a parking space on these packed, narrow streets right in front of their home. It was a wonderful moment after 3 years of communicating, and Consuela being our messenger to Florita, and all the people at Prado Nuevo.
I wasn’t sure what to expect today since the translations that we sent each other were not the best. I was down right amazed at the English they could speak and the Spanish we could follow. We laughed and joked and had the best time with them, we never stopped talking. Consuela was preparing lunch for us and we brought the wine.
Consuela made a wonderful Paella…enough for ten people I believe!
She made a wonderful Paella of chicken and calamari with lots of onions and tomatoes over a small pasta noodle.(it was enough for 10 but we managed to leave them a few leftovers). It was hard to leave but we had to find our hotel and get to Prado Nuevo in time for the Rosary and Mass that began at 5.
Our hotel even had a private garage
Our hotel was unbelievable with your own private garage, a king size bed and a dumb waiter in your room for room service so they didn’t bother you. I felt like a cloistered Nun. Of course no one spoke English but they were warm, friendly and helpful. We dropped ALL our bags after we lugged them up the stairs from the garage, not realizing they had an elevator in the lobby. DUH.
We then headed out to Prado Nuevo running just a late since we made the wrong turn onto the highway and had to go 10 miles before we could turn around. My fault not the Queens’. (ed note: the Queen is what the Melillos have named their GPS device)
Father Guillermo saw us coming thru the field and ran to greet us. We hadn’t seen him in 3 years, when he was a Deacon and spent so much time telling us of the miraculous stories that happened at this Sacred Shrine. Our Lady told Amparo, the visionary and stigmatist, that this shrine would be one of the greatest in the world, the likes of Lourdes and Fatima and people would come from all over to visit. We believe it……it is so very Holy and special and seems more so on this our 3 rd visit.
Father Guillermo introduced us to his parents, who volunteered to be our guides.
Fr. Guillermo introduced us to his parents, who were assigned as our guides. He warned us that neither spoke any English but it didn’t matter we all made do. The woman talked and Tony and I laughed. They were to stay with us for the Rosary and Mass and then take us to visit the grave of Florita. That we opted out of until the next afternoon, we wanted to bring her flowers.
The Chapel at the Shrine
Mass was special in this little chapel packed with the devout, not to mention the 100 or so people outside in chairs that couldn’t fit in the chapel. They are going to have to expand soon with another larger church especially since the approval of the apparition is moving forward rather quickly. They need prayers, so please remember them even though I know Our Lady is watching over them.
After Mass we went with Maria Del Carmen and Antonio AKA Tony, the parents of Fr. Guillermo to the old church and gift store and then headed to the Foundation, and the home for the aged that the Blessed Mother requested fromAmparo, were we first met and made Florita part of our family They now have 5 such homes.
Sister Pilar
Sister Pilar met us at the gate and took us in to the residence to see andintroduce us to everyone. Most remembered Florita and we remembered a few of them from our last visit, especially Thomas I think is his name.
He is the only man in residence, since he lives with and helps take care of his wife. 3 years ago we had a nice conservation, he reminded me of my mom and dad and the love they had for each other.
The sisters serving those in the residence
Sister was great and we got to talk to many of them and exchanged lots of hugs and kisses. You can see the joy on the Sisters’ faces as they serve the residents. We stayed until Fr. Guillermo came and we made our plan to meet his mom and dad on Mon at 4 PM at the Shrine to go to Florita’s grave, then the Rosary and Mass.
We bid them all a good night and made it back to our hotel just as the sun was going down, 9:30 p.m., with lots to do to get organized we poured a glass of wine and managed an hour before it was lights outs.
Hasta Manana:
My Queen, My Mother, I offer myself entirely to thee. And to show my devotion to thee, I offer thee this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am thine own, keep me, guard me as thy property and possession. Amen. In Loving Memory of Our Florita
Thank you for sharing our 2015 “Personal Pilgrimage” with us!
Tom & Susan Melillo
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 (USA)
E-Mail:
As I was about to end this trip report I lost the whole thing some how. I wanted to scream and yet had to laugh. The Author of the Mystical City of God, and who was commanded by God to write it, had written it twice before the final writing as she was told to burn it by two temporary confessors. She got me! Read this story below it is worth you time and get the book, which is proclaimed as the second most important book after the Bible.
As I stated before, we set the alarm for 6 AM wanting to make the 7 AM mass at Our Lady of the Pillar. We passed through the town with only a dozen youths hanging around, who were drunk and apparently had partied all night and this one old lady who walked faster than us to get to the Pillar on time. That wasn’t going to happen so we got behind her and managed to keep pace.
Mass was again so very special for us in this most Sacred Shrine to Our Lady. (I hope you read the story). After mass we lit more candles and headed for breakfast at the hotel. They had meat and cheese but it is Saturday and we don’t eat meat on Saturdays. We thought about a doggie bag but gave up the idea. Wired from our coffee and some toast we got our bags and went down to the lobby and I went down to the garage. This wasn’t any fun since some idiot parked in a no parking area. All cars are assigned a spot and this was not a spot. Some people also trying to leave had a problem negotiating their exit and scratched their car as they finally got up the ramp.
The guy was right behind me and it took almost 15 minutes of back and forth to get clear enough to approach the ramp. Well, a few scratches on both sides of the car later, I did get out….trying patiently to remember that I had just gone to Mass. (as much as I wanted to YELL at this lazy so-and-so)
We headed to Agreda and I was calmed as we said our morning prayers and Susan then re-read the story of this marvelous woman we were about to see. We arrived at the shrine, which is also a convent of cloistered nuns, and our instructions from Sister Patricia was to ring the bell and she would tend to us. How good is that!
As we waited for this sweet old lady to finish with another person we decided what we wanted to buy in the case before us. We then tried to explain to her what we wanted and the man she was waiting on helped her to understand.
Greeting Sister at the monastery
After she understood she escorted us to a small room with an opening to another room but had a bar and curtain. We weren’t sure what to expect sowe waited and in a few moments the curtain opened and our Angel of the day appeared, Sister Patricia of the Trinity. She was lovely and warming and answered all our questions after we all greeted each other thru the bars.
She taught us how to buy things in the gift shop and where to go to seeVenerable Maria De Jesus. We talked for a while, and knowing they were preparing for a big festival tonight, we reluctantly bid farewell.
The turnstile worked perfectly in the gift shop, as I told Susan the items and the Sister on the other side delivered them. She sent the bill and we sent the money and they returned the change. Great system I think some of the stores we go to should adopt.
The incorrupt body of Blessed Maria Agreda
Into the Chapel we went to venerate this Saintly Woman, who has been denied Sainthood for 350 years because of her book, which was dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary, is not in sync with the overwhelming understanding of the Divine by man. She was beautiful and encased in glass, and very tiny as most Saintly incorrupt people are except for Saint Pio. (sorry Pio) We prayed before her to pray for all of you and you intentions. I know she heard us!
As usual, we left our prayer intentions…. for us and for all of you.
I have read this book 3 times and I will read it again and again. It is the most influential thing that has happened to me for the understanding of our faith. I cried on the way there and cried when I left.
We visited the cemetery after we left next to the Shrine hoping to find the grave site of the family but gave up for it was so big and headed for our overnight about an hour and a half away. This was Susan’s kind of drive, a few hills and mostly flat as we were allowed 80 MPH. We arrived to this quaint little village and our hotel which was bustling with visitors.
After checking we went for a walk thru the town and checked each rest. menu we saw for non-meat items. We were hungry. We settled for a restaurant down from our hotel and dined on Sardines (again), Queso (cheese) (again) and then I had Baclava (salted cod) and Susan had eggs, the size of a vultures, and I didn’t even get a bite before she devoured it all. As we dined outside, storms swept into the valley from all sides, and we only got a couple drops before we finished.
A group of Priests and Deacons showed up at the restaurant
A group of priests and deacons and seminarians came to the restaurant and we conversed and laughed since they all knew how to cook as we told them of our seminarian cooking classes.
We are back at the room and Susan is finishing yesterday’s story as I finish this one. Tomorrow we are in Madrid and Prado Nuevo, to meet a Counsuelo and her husband Humberto for lunch at their house. We have been communicating with her for 3 years and she would bring messages to Florita and the nuns at the nursing home for us. We can’t wait to meet them. Later at Prado Nuevo when we go to Mass we hope to see Padre Besan and Padre Guillermo, who was a seminarian when we first met him and was just ordained, as well as the Sisters, Priest and elderly at this Shrine to Our Lady that we hold dear to our hearts.
Ok this is it, it’s 7 PM and we will relax and and read for awhile and lights out.
Adios amigos,
O Mary Immaculate, Virgin so fair
Mother of Our Savior, please hear my prayer
Intercede, dearest Mother
to Your Heavenly Son.
Tell Him I am truly sorry for all the wrongs I have done.
Ask Him to guide me by the Gifts of The Holy Spirit
in all of my deeds and way.
So that I may give Him glory, honour and praise at the end of my days.
Amen.
Love to you all
Susan & Tom
The victory of Christ over hell
As reported by Mary of Agreda
Venerable Mary of Agreda was born on April 2, 1602, in Agreda, Spain.
Christened Maria Fernandez Coronel, she took the blue habit and made her vows as a nun in the Franciscan order, and in 1627 she became abbess of the Agreda Franciscan monastery until her death on May 24, 1665. The process to declare her a saint began almost immediately after her death, in 1672, as she had lived a life of evident holiness in the eyes of her contemporaries.
During her life, she had experienced mystical phenomena including privaterevelations. The most famous of these writings is the Mystical City of God: Divine History of the Virgin, Mother of God, which had been dictated by the Virgin Mary Herself. Even after death, Sister Agreda continues to defy the rationalists and non-believers: her body, kept in her convent, is incorrupt. Like asmall number of deceased mystics and Catholic saints, the nun’s body refuses to naturally decay, even after 339 long years.
JUST A NUN FROM AGREDA
Another notable character on our journey is Sister Marie de Jesus Agreda, born April 2, 1602, in Agreda, Spain. Christened Maria Fernandez Coronel, she donned the blue habit and took her vows as a nun in the Franciscan order, and in 1627 she became abbess of the Agreda Franciscan monastery until her death in 1665. The Encyclopedia Britannica states:
“Her virtues and holy life were universally acknowledged, but controversy arose over her mystical writings, her political influence, and her
missionary activities (my italics). Her best known work is The Mystical City of God (1670), a life of the Virgin Mary ostensibly based on divine revelations granted to Maria. It was placed on the Index Libroum Prohibitorum in 1681, but the ban was lifted in 1747.”
THE 502 RAPTURES
In 1620, teenaged Sister Maria of Agreda, began having unnerving visions, or raptures. Cloistered in the convent, she would meditate for hours,
sometimes all day, and return and tell her fellow sisters wondrous stories of her “over 500” spiritual travels to a faraway land, meeting savages and
telling them of the Word of Christ. She experienced many of these episodes ofrapturous meditation and bi-location, and word began to spread of the young nun in the convent. Finally, convinced of the reality of her experiences, she wrote a book in which she described, in great detail, her missionary work bringing the Word of Christ to the savages of The New World. In early Fifteenth-Century Spain, this was not a prudent claim to make during the height of the Holy Inquisition, which quickly put to death untold thousands found “guilty” of witchcraft and dealings with demonic forces.
Before long the Inquisition took a pointed interest in the good Sister of Agreda, and she found herself at the center of a dangerous, whirling controversy. She insisted to the Father Inquisitor that she was indeed bi-locating and doing God’s work, but to no avail. A very public trial ensued with the full brunt of the powerful Church bearing down on the poor nun from Agreda. During the height of her trial, a newly returned expedition of conquistadors and friars arrived in Spain with a wondrous tale.
A PUZZLING SCENARIO
It seems that the Spanish explorers, while in the unexplored region north of Mexico, had encountered numerous Native American tribes in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas who had already been converted to Christianity, and somehow knew of “Jesus Christ” the Savior. Even more fantastic were the Indian’s claims of being visited by a white-skinned “Blue Lady” who appeared to many, drifting in a blue haze while she preached the word of the Lord in their native languages. She helped them to build crosses and places of worship,and even handed out rosaries and religious objects.
“From 1620 to approximately 1631 the Spanish nun flew from Spain to the North American State of New Mexico on more than 500 occasions. Thus it was established in the open case of the Holy Inquisition against the nun in 1635, in which it was affirmed further that no one in the convent noticed her absence during those flights. On occasion they would happen twice during the same day. . . How then can we explain a woman of scarcely eighteen years of age that could bi-locate to New Mexico, and while there, she would dedicate herself to distribute among the natives rosaries and other liturgical objects as she instructed them about the truth of the Christian faith. . . Her trips occurred shortly before the diocese of Mexico decided to send evangelizers [north] towards those unexplored territories. Her visits made their
efforts considerably easier. 11”
POSSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR THE CONQUEST OF NEW MEXICO
These first Spanish explorers to the Southwest were amazed by the Natives knowledge of Christianity and were baffled by the rosaries they were shown and by their earnest descriptions of the “Blue Lady” that had come from afar and preached to them.
“Finally, when the first Franciscans, led by Friar Benvenedes, arrived [at the Isleta Pueblo] they discovered a singular spectacle. Thousands of
Indians approached the Franciscans and asked earnestly for baptism. Benvenedes wrote later of the Spaniard’s efforts to ascertain how the
Indians had foreknowledge of Christianity:
“‘When those Indians were asked to tell us what was the reason for which, with so much affection, they asked for baptism and religious
indoctrination, they answered that a woman had come and preached to each one of them in
their own tongue.
The rapid Spanish conquest and control of New Mexico in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries may have partially been due to Sister Agreda’s solo
missionary efforts on behalf of a bewildered Catholic Church.
“Only in New Mexico did the Franciscans baptize more than 50,000 people in record time and rapidly install twenty-five missions and minister to more than ninety towns. The Indians remembered with special veneration the Blue Lady, the one whom they gave this name due to her blue mantle of celestial tones she wore on her back. 14” During the mid-Sixteen-hundreds, the celebrated bi-locating nun from Agreda garnered national notoriety. King Philip of Spain may have enlisted her help in foreign affairs, and it is firmly documented that the king carried on a life-long correspondence with her. It is surmised by some that Sister Agreda may have even bi-located to foreign courts on covert foreign-policy missions on behalf of Spain. Now one would think that this story, alone, is compelling, but the unbelievable saga of our talented nun and her doppleganger-twin does not end there.
INCORRUPTIBLE IN DEATH
Even in death, Sister Agreda defies the rationalists and supplies non-believers and the faithful with evidence of her fantastic talents. In a
secluded crypt on the grounds of the convent we find what proves to be the latestdramatic chapter to her unbelievable story. Sister Marie Jesus Agreda’s body, it turns out, is incorruptible. Like a small number of deceased mystics and Catholic saints, the nun’s body refuses to naturally decay, even after 335 long years. The flush of her cheeks and her life-like features still baffle the Catholic Church and modern science. During an opening of her casket in 1909, a cursory scientific examination was performed on the pristine body in peaceful repose, astounding the scientists and doctors who were allowed to perform the examination. In 1989 a Spanish physician named Andreas Medina participated in another examination of Sister Maria Jesus Agreda as she lay in the convent of the Conceptionist nuns, the same monastery where she had lived in the 1600s.
Bon Soir one last time from France (for this leg of our “pilgrimage”):
We arose early this morning, knowing that we had an almost a four-hour drive over the Pyrenees Mountains to Zaragoza, Spain. We initially had the hopes of making Mass one more time at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. But it was raining and very cold so we opted to get to Zaragoza to make the 5:00 P.M. Mass there. It was so wonderful to “finally” have options to attend Daily Mass.
We headed out of Lourdes and began the long trek up the Pyrenees Mountain Range. I zigzagged our way up to the top on some very, very narrow mountain roads. I think Susan took over 100 photos of the escalating ride through the mountains, but I think there are less than a dozen that we kept… and several are still a bit blurry because I don’t think she enjoyed the exuberating ride as much as I did …in fact, I’m sure! A lot of “dashboard shots” were sent to the cutting room floor.
When we reached the very top of the Pyrenees … and just before crossing the border into Spain, we stopped to stretch our legs, pull Susan out of the car, have a cup of Café Con Leche, a Toilette and chill her nerves. Having accomplished all, we headed back on the road and the descent down the Pyrenees with the same photo opportunities (or lack there-of) that Susan was in charge of. The drive, to me, was spectacular, stupendous, invigorating and every other word I could possibly use to describe the experience … as it always has been for me as I drive across these incredible mountain ranges. And Susan won’t admit until 2 days later. I think she said to remind her not to talk to me until we got to Florida 2 times.
We made it to Zaragoza around 1:30 P.M. and finally found our hotel in the center of the Town Center (I hate cities … I think we drove down every narrow street). I parked our car in their private garage, we brought our overnight bags to the room and headed out with one rolling suitcase filled with our laundry … it was time! Well, it was at least a 40 minute fiasco since the girl at the front desk had given us directions to a “dry cleaners” which was not open and could have taken 5 days to get our clean clothes. We kept walking back and forth on a thoroughfare … asking at least a dozen different people where the “lavandere” (coin laundry) was. We were answered by each with different directions … in completely different areas of the city! We continued to walk around toting our rolling suitcase for about 10 more minutes before giving up and returning to our hotel. Not a lot of photos when things are not “happy times”. Back at the hotel, I got on to Google Maps and found a local coin laundry nearby … it was only about a 9 minute walk from the hotel … blocks away from it when trying to find our way. Case closed … no laundry in Zaragoza! I checked for a couple of laundries in areas we will be staying in the next few days and found one where we have a two night stay. So laundry will have to wait. Except for the socks & underwear that Susan decided to wash/sanitize in the bathtub at our Zaragoza hotel. Now it was time for what we had come to Zaragoza for … to visit and Pray at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain … it has been our dream to re-visit this magnificent Shrine to Our Lady which we had been to five years ago. It was just as beautiful and sacred as ever … just as we had both remembered. From the moment you walk through the tremendous huge double doors, your whole being is taken over by the Sanctity of Our Lord, Our Lady, the Saints and the Angels.
This is one of few Shrines where we have been “scolded” when trying to capture photos to share with all of you. This time we got a bit “lucky”! We were only yelled at once for being caught taking photos … but that is “okay” … I managed to get as many photos as possible so that you can experience this majestic and Holy Shrine. On our last pilgrimage, we got caught with Susan taking a photo of me venerating the Pillar of Our Lady. Susan got angry with the priest who yelled at us him because she wanted to share this Sacred Shrine with all of you.
When Father saw us at Mass a little later, we think he was a little shocked and felt guilty because it was apparent we were there to Honor Our Lady …
we were not there as “Tourists”.
Sitting in the front row at Mass … just several feet from Our Lady of the Pillar during the 5:00 P.M. Mass was an incredible experience. The piety, the Prayers, the reverence of the Congregation, the Clergy and those around Our Lady’s Chapel is not able to be described. We do not take photos during a Mass Liturgy, so we hope you feel our inspirations. When Mass concluded, we remained in our pew … in front of the Sacred Statue of Our Lady Holding Jesus and Prayed our Rosary for all of you and your Special Intentions. Having finished our Rosary and almost ready to depart the Shrine, we returned to once again Venerate Our Lord on the Cross to thank him for this day and to petition Him to hear our Prayers for your Intentions.
The story of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain is here. This
story also encompasses a good part of a Chapter in The Mystical City of God book … for this was the First Apparition of Our Blessed Mother (in 40 A.D.) when she was still alive on this Earth … and the Angels transported Her from Jerusalem to Zaragoza to console and guide Saint James … please be sure to read The Mystical City of God by Venerable Maria de Jesus de Agreda … you won’t ever forget it.
We returned to our hotel room, got out our Trip Report from the previous day, and settled in for the evening after another sang-o-wich to appease our hunger. Lights out at 9:00 P.M. to be ready for an early morning.
Bona Serra (not sure … just arrived in Spain!)
Love
Susan and Tom
Tom & Susan Melillo
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 (USA)
E-Mail:
Mary, Mother of Jesus,
give me your heart
so beautiful, so pure,
so immaculate,
that I may be able to receive
Jesus in the Bread of Life,
love Him as you loved Him,
and serve Him as you served Him
in the distressing disguise
of the poorest of the poor.
Amen.
Bonsoir once again (tomorrow it will be Buenos Dias … off to Spain in
the morning!):
We have been longing for Mass and missing the Eucharist we arose early, foregoing breakfast (I made a pot of coffee as we got ready), and headed to the Grotto for the Mass For The Infirm. This has been a very difficult trip this year as far as Masses go. There is not a lack of Churches around, for every little village we pass through has a Church. There are just not enough Priests to Celebrate Masses on a daily basis.
We headed to the Grotto, rushing a little since we thought we were going to be late. I decided to take a short-cut on our walk and it didn’t turn out very well, since we had to climb up a hill and then walk down flights of stairs to get to St. Joseph’s Gate at the Basilica.
The long lines as the procession of the sick forms
Huffing and puffing from our quick walk, we entered the Grotto area and avery, very long caravan of carts/wheelchairs carrying the infirm were stillprocessing in. Susan was off on the Mass time by 15 minutes so we had time to spare.
It is humbling to see people brought in on stretchers
We love attending the Mass for the Infirm when we are in Lourdes. It is amost humbling experience to see so many who are suffering and who comehere to Lourdes with “hope of healing). It makes us so very grateful since our “pain du jours” do not even come close to the suffering we see all around us here.
Mass at the Grotto, as always, was spiritually rewarding. It was celebrated in Spanish (I didn’t know that until Susan just told me … I’m so confused with languages!). We brought our daily “cheat sheet” so, at least, we had the Reading of the Day, the Psalm & the Gospel to read for the day.
We leave your prayer intentions wherever we go
During the Homily, Susan and I always split up your list of Special Intentions that we carry and we read each one to Our Blessed Mother and offer them up to Her intercession. It usually takes each of us 10-15 minutes to quietly read our half of your Special Intentions. This morning we finished well in time to listen to the remainder of the 30 MINUTE HOMILY the Priest gave (he made Father Tom look GREAT! … LOL).
When it was time for Communion, we had the opportunity to receive Our Lordin the actual front of the Grotto and underneath Our Lady’s Statue. It was very special to both of us.
Before the Final Blessing, some Special Prayers (we think as it was in Spanish) and we awaited the Final Blessing, after which we all sang the Ave Maria (I think that was in Spanish, too … I’ll have to ask Susan ).
We are cheating a little this year at Lourdes because we are sending you some photos from previous trips here. Most of you have been “traveling” with us for many years now so you have seen them. For those who have not, wewanted to send some photos from our previous pilgrimages to Lourdes so that those of you who have never been to Lourdes can see the inside of the Basilica and the different Shrines on the three levels.
Getting some water from the fountain
We were thirsty after Mass and had not brought a water bottle with us, so we stopped at the Holy Water Fountain to refresh ourselves by hand and drinkfrom the Fountain. We walked to our favorite restaurant, planning to have an early lunch/dinner but they were not opening until Noon. We didn’t want to wait for half an hour so we decided to come back for dinner this evening.
We returned to our hotel for a little cheese & pate’ to hold us over and we each took a short “power nap” because today will run late. Susan’s “battery was on low” so her power nap took a little longer than mine. I got up and finished yesterday’s Trip Report to all of you.
Now, we are really caught up because in our next venture to the Basilica,
we’ll have to find more things to share with you … we are now in “present
time” with our Trip Reports.
Map of the trip to France, Spain, Andorra & Poland
In our down time I marked up the map for our first 11 days (photo enclosed). We have traveled almost 1200 miles on 30 gal. of gas that is around $5 a gal. This is a far cry from the $9 we paid on our last trip. We have been in and out of 8 B&B’s and 2 hotels’ have been to 20 shrines and had a few bottles of wine, And you wonder why we look so tired. Spain will be different: for the 11 nights we are there, only 3 hotels and 3 B&B’s. and a lot less miles and shrines.
We went back to the Grotto at 5 so we could do the stations of the cross and go to Eucharistic Adoration and confession. Unfortunately, Susan mis-caculated the time as 5 hours difference from home instead of 6, and we missed it all. I had to get some ammo at the bank, so we walked into town and on the way back stopped for dinner at a Restaustarant where we ate with Fr. Yves in 2009. The food was still as good and we enjoyed a night away from the sandwhich routine. We never thought we would eat it all but we did and headed back to the Grotto for the 9 PM Rosary procession. We wanted to collect some water, leave another copy of all of your intentions under the Grotto of Our Lady and light a candle. We did this with great success.
At the Grotto they were taking the very infirm into it and helping them touch the rocks and the water that constantly flows lightly from under the site of the apparition. Again very humbleing to watch the faith of these people who don’t seem to have a chaqnce of survival. We were more upset than they were, they seemed to be at total peace and trust with Our Lord.
We gathered for the procession behind all the infirmed. We usually are in the very end, but we felt like being close to them tonight. We offered up our prayers for them and for you, for nothing is impossible for God.
On the way to the Grotto, the streets were empty. They must have all been hiding behind trees, because when the Procession began, it was PACKED which was a great thing. We love Praying our Rosary during the RosaryProcession at Lourdes with so many people sharing in the Prayers of the Rosary … I am sure She loves it too.
When we finished the Rosary Procession, it was finally dark and we began
to head back to our hotel for the evening. I did notice at the Grotto that there were a lot of people who were not Praying aloud and/or they had left early which was sad … possibly an “early bird special in town”? I think we Prayed for them as well for them to have wasted an evening not giving Praise to our God and to our Blessed Mother for a short period of time. It
makes us very sad.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped for our second beer since we have been on our “journey”. We sat at our cafe table on the street and said “hello” to people as they, too, returned to their rooms. This is one of only two places (Fatima being the second) that we stay out past dark to Pray … it was about 10:30 P.M. when we reached our room.
As tired as we were, Susan worked on some real estate business while I worked on our Trip Report. Then she joined me and began typing to save time. I was dictating as I laid on our bed (which was very dangerous) but I
survived.
It is almost midnight and we have lots to do in the A.M.before heading out toward Zaragoza, Spain and some very wonderful places we will be visiting and meeting up with friends and/or new friends …from our previous pilgrimages.
I would like to leave you with this very special Hymn of Lourdes:
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!
Oh Mary, Our Mother, We come to this place,
Where you, who are sinless, appeared “Full of Grace”.
As Bernadette waited, there came to her sight,
A radiant Lady … surrounded by light.
She gave her a message … “Let Penance Be Done,
and Pray that all sinners, May turn to My Son.”
“Come here in Procession, to Praise God and sing,
to Wash in these Waters, and Drink at this Spring”.
She asked that a Chapel be built in this place,
that all be encouraged to Pray for God’s Grace.
The Lady responded, when asked for Her name:
“Conceived Without Sin Is The Title I Claim”!
Love Susan & Tom
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 (USA)
E-Mail: TSMelillo13@aol.com
I awoke this morning to the bells from the church at around 7:30 AM. I let Susan sleep and went down stairs figuring everyone was up. Bob was on the computer and he also let BeBe sleep in. He gave me coffee and out to the patio we went where we solved the problems of the world. (at least in our minds)
BeBe finally came out so we started to make some noise hoping to rouse Susan. It didn’t work so I went up to shower and pack and make a lot of noise. Susan got the hint and she also showered and we went down for coffee. We had a great conversation again filled with some laughter and had a lite bite of cheese and fresh bread for breakfast. Not being hungry, we opted out of having eggs and ham. That was tough, but for the Brown Scapular penance, we don’t eat meat on Wed and Sat. More cheese tonight.
Saying goodbye to BeBe and Bob, our new friends
We loaded the car and had to prepare ourselves to say good-bye to our newfriends. There were hugs, kisses and a few tears and promises to keep intouch and return on our next trip. We put them on the e-mail list and already received mail from them. I think the logo B&B came from them. B(ob)&B(eBe).
We made our way thru the narrow mountain roads towards Garaison and were cutting it close as to whether they would be closed or not. The views from here were great and they would only get better when we approached Lourdes.
Site of the apparition of Our Lady of Garaison
Garaison was closed when we arrived, but you can walk the grounds and visitthe apparition site and get water from the Miraculous spring. As we entered the grounds we met a man who after finding out we were American took us to the Sacristy to meet the Priest. He was very welcoming and allowed us toview the Sacristy. The woman in there then took us to the site of theapparition and departed so we could be alone.
We took a seat and prayed the rosary
This was a holy place, you could feel the peace and calm as it came overyou when you entered it. We lit our candle and went up to the seats andprayed our rosary with all the intentions out as we offered them up in ourprayers.
Before leaving we walked the grounds made a pit stop. Susan used the Men’s Room by mistake and a guy tried to open her door … oops! We hopped in the car and were off to Lourdes, via the mountain roads of course. We wereonly an hour away, and just before our hotel there was a supermarket, so we stopped and re-loaded. Our wine cellar had been depleted, too, at Bob & BeBe’s!
We checked in and had to change rooms. The first room was real small and the second wasn’t what we booked either, but were pilgrims and we settled for it without causing any trouble. We dropped the bags and headed off to the Grotto at Lourdes and a potential Mass. We love this place and it feels had if we have never left when we are here.
Below there is a great explanation on Lourdes and puts it’s meaning and being into a new light for us as we are sure it will for you. Please read especially those of you who are suffering.
We were shocked by how empty the town was This our 5th trip and we never saw so few people. We had no trouble walking down the busiest streets.
It’s a short walk from most hotels to the entrance of the Shrine.
Out of luck for Mass, we visited Our Lady in the Grotto and said a few prayers and walked the grounds for a few minutes before returning to our hotel. We figured we would relax and maybe make the 9 PM rosary procession. It was a good thought, but we were so tired we were in bed before the procession ended.
At the hotel we worked. I worked on the past day’s report and Susan handled some real estate business that we had to address. We had a little
cheese, fruit, tomatoes, and sardines with some fresh bread and that was it.
Au Revoir
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to thee,
and for those who do not have recourse to thee,
especially the enemies of the Church
and those recommended to thee,
Amen.
We we were caught up on e-mails until today and now we are 2 days behind, but that you will understand later in the report.
We got up and had a light breakfast and said our good byes to Jo and Roy and headed to Vals, France and the Chappelle Notre Dame Du Val D’Amour. I could sit here and try to describe this Church, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and this holds true for our next unscheduled stop in Montradit, France, to a road side church which was built by the local priest one rock at a time. It was a special place and the story is also below.
Some very tricky roads
The drive to both place was uneventful for me but poor Susan was slightlyterrified on a couple of the back roads through the mountains, that were hardly big enough for 1 car. When we travel these roads we hardly ever see any cars, as was the case today, but the blind turns tend to make you a little cautious.
Vals was very unique and secluded in a small town in the hills. We actually ran into some British folk and shared a few laughs. We didn’t stay to pray because it was very cold and we only had 5 layers of shirts and coats on, not to mention the bat that was flying around….unbeknownst to Susan…..or she would have flown out of there. We said the Rosary on the way to our next stop.
The sign that leads to the church Notre Dame de la Goutte in Montardit
Montardit was a different story, this little church mesmerized us. It was so unique and you could tell it was built with a lot of love and 33 years of hard labor. We spent some time here, praying and leaving our intentions
We sat out front at one of the picnic tables and enjoyed half of the rest of that sandwich I made the night before. We were going to save some for tonight if we got hungry at our next B&B (read on, and you will see that was not going to be a problem).
More mountain roads and tremendous views and some white nuckles later we arrived in Forgaron, France. For the most part this is a one street town of good roads. All the other off streets are so small that even I wouldn’t go on them. It was close to 3:00 p.m..
Not being shy, I asked the first person I saw, who was standing in the drive of this beautiful house, if he knew of B&B Fouargon. He broadly smiled and said “you’re here, I’m Bob”. Bob said to park right on the street and I guess I looked a little concerned, so he offered his spot in the drive. I asked if it was safe and he laughed saying that the only 4 people passed him were already home and the road ended. I pulled close to the curb and bushes and had to start over as we all laughed since Susan couldn’t get out of the car. I said hello to BeBe, Bob’s wife when she came out. I knew her name from the e-mails as we corresponded before our trip. I did cancel once and rebooked as we changed our plans and routes to give us more time to relax. We were glad we did and they were taking bets if we were coming or not.
Bob and BeBe helped with the luggage into the house and we started to talk about our journey and their beautiful house. He offered us a drink so they had wine and I had a Courvoissier VSOP that I saw on the shelf and laughingly he said to BeBe, I told you to hide that bottle.
We went and sat on their back patio sheltered from the wind and the fun began. We all clicked as if we had known each other for years and started laughing so hard at the stories we told each other it hurt.
Having finished our wine we went in to go to our room and He said that we should use the living room or dining room for our computers, so Bob and I only had 2 bags to carry up … 3 flights of stairs … Bob was “NO DUMMY”.
We came back down after a few minutes and I hooked Susan up to the computer. She spent all of 5 minutes and Bob and BeBe invited us to have dinner with them. That sandwhich was still in the car, and it could stay there for a home cooked meal. Bob opened up another bottle of wine and back to the patio we went. From that point on and throughout we had a fun and enjoyable evening, we never stopped laughing.
Dinner was far more than we expected…the heck with the sandwich
I don’t know what time we started dinner, but it was dark out when we sat for the 2nd course, so it had to be close to 10:00. We got thru the first course of Coquille St. Jacques in a puff pastry along side a one with goat cheese and a small salad. I thought that was it when he had said light supper and we were almost full. Back to the patio we went.
After dark we went back in and BeBe next brought a cream of carrot soupthat was just as delicious as the first course.(S) Little did we know thatthere was more to come but I think we all had faded and just shared a little cheese to help finish off the 6th bottle of wine. It was a perfect a perfect day except for the lack of peanuts. LOL
As the church bells rang 11 PM and we were all exhausted, not from the wine, but the laughter….. well, the wine helped. So we hugged and kissed each other good night and went to bed. Susan just hopped in to bed clothes and all and was out in seconds. I managed to get my jammies on and crashed right behind her.
Au Revoir
We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God;
Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from
all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.
Today was the first day we hadn’t set the alarm and we got up around 8:30. We ran down to breakfast not wanting to miss it. Jo and Roy had a large array of breads, pastries,fruit, cereal, cheese, butter and jams. After juice and some coffee we ate only a little. Just knowing food was available did the trick. Today is another holiday and everything is again closed but we may get lucky and find a lone restaurant open.
This was great, our first 2 day stay. We didn’t have to load the car and unload later at another destination. Our plan was to visit our first shrine whenever we got there for Susan had e-mailed and found out they didn’t close at 12. We headed out at 10:45 and was at the shrine by 11:15. On the way we saw a supermarket that was open and planned to stop on the way back.
Entrance to Notre Dame de Marcielle
There were people coming out of the shrine and we weren’t alone as morepeople arrived. This was a very old church with several separate naves.
Closeup of the statue
The statue of our Lady was in the chapel of the Blessed Mother in a niche carved out of the stone. She had a glass front and a steel grate over it so no one could get to her. She was stolen once and found 2 years later in an antique shop far away. Almost like when she was first found and moved and kept returning on her own to the place where this church now stands.
Sue signing the prayer intention book
Everyone left, so Susan sat at the intention book and wrote as much as shecould since it was the last page. We left the pages of all the intentions out in front of Our Mother and said our Rosary for all of you, another peaceful experience.
On the way out we walked down the old stone road that was built by the Romans to the well of the Miraculous spring. The spring had a grate cove tokeep animals out of it and Susan with head in the niche was trying to figure out how to get the bottle thru the grate. I said lit it up and she did andit came up so she filled the bottle and blessed herself and I dove in and did the same. Many cures have been attributed to this water and we will add it to our concoction of holy waters from Miraculous springs we have collected from all over Europe and Turkey. We are up to 18.
Had to settle for store-bought bread…a tragedy in France!
On the way back we just made it to the supermarket. They closed at 1:00 andin 10 minutes we scurried around and put together a new sandwhich. Thefresh bread was totally anniliated so we had to get store bread. That’s a real bummer in France!
On the way back I detoured up the mountain to the Rennes-le-Chateau, a very small town with an old church, castle and shops and homes that have been added over the years.
Susan was not a happy camper. This was a very narrow road with no side rails and sharp high turns. I was careful since it was a little hairy and all I think Sue said all the way up was remind me not to talk to you later.
LOL
We we got to the top her first words were “Thanks Roy”, our host for he was the one who told us about it. It is a cute little mountain-top village that, for hundreds of years, was used by the locals as a shelter against invading armies since they could not get up there so it was easy to defend.
The Magdala Tower
The aura of this place came when a Priest, back in 1885, arrived in the village and created a magnificent estate which remains there today. It includes the Magdala Tower. He also renovated the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene.
The enigmatic Priest lived a high life and spent a fortune. It was rumored that he had found a treasure.
Entrance to the town
There were also rumors that this is the place where Mary Magdalene was buried. Many books have been written about the area … the most famous being Dan Brown’s Divinci Code which he drew inspiration for his book from this legend.
I dragged Susan into the car and strapped her in for the descent … much against her will. She wasn’t bad going down, though … only a few ooohs and aaaaahs.
Returning to our B&B around 3:00 P.M., we parked and walked a short way to the local Village Church which had some lovely side Chapels. It is sad that there are so many beautiful small Churches in France where Jesus ispresent, but Masses are rarely held because of the lack of Priests … this was one of those Churches.
Taking our food goodies with us, we went up to our room, locked the door, put on our jammies and spent the rest of the day catching up on Trip Reports, E-Mails, etc. I made us a “small” sandwich for dinner.
We retired at about 7:30 P.M. for a long night of sleep (hopefully).
P.S. The leftover sand will be our late lunch tomorrow.
Au Revoir
We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God;
Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from
all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen.
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.
