Another Face of Lourdes

Pilgrims on their way to the baths

Lourdes second face is not as  garish as the one I saw first.  The second face reveals a place of pilgrimage.  I am not Catholic, so I can't begin to understand  Lourdes' significance.  But I do think of myself as having a spiritual side, and I am drawn to Lourdes because of the possibilities for growth I found there.

Peaceful, spacious grounds

 There are documented miracles connected with Lourdes and its waters.  I am going to neither defend nor dismiss them.  I do believe in a Power greater-- much greater-- than my self.  It's easy to scoff at all of the people who come to Lourdes, believing or hoping that drinking or bathing in the water will offer healing.  I adopt the position of choosing only for myself.  

Statue at the head of the candlelight procession

As hard as it might be to do, I would like to separate the Lourdes experience from organized religion, namely the Catholic church.  I want to look at it from a purely spiritual experience.  The candlelight procession, when I could shut out all of the extraneous stimuli--the chattering and the shuffling of feet and the side conversations having nothing to do with the rosary recitation, brought me closer to the that meditative state I need to connect with the Divine. 

Hundreds of these lit candles shone during the procession

When I could be mentally quiet, I felt connected to these hundreds and hundreds of strangers, all sharing the same ritual.  I could feel the power in that connection.  We were united in carrying our lights out into the world; I believe that Light is within us all and my part is to carry my own light out into the world.  I didn't say it was easy or that I am successful much of the time--my base humanity gets in the way far too often, but I think that's what I am supposed to be doing here on the planet, at this time and in this place.

Along the riverbank

Non Catholic that I am, I would take that walk again and again, because it was a form of meditation for me.  I know that might be heretical, but they can't kick me out of the Catholic church; I am not a member.  I am already a heretic.

Steep limestone hillside

The next morning, I walked the grounds of the Sanctuary.  This was the Lourdes I was expecting.  It was serene.  It was quiet.  There was a mass at the Grotto; all the seats were full and the people who lined the walkway were respectful and responsive.  There were no shrieking groups of teenagers or loud tourists asking for directions or complaining that the food was overpriced or not like it was "back home" (in Italy, in Korea, in Peru or the U.S.)  People waiting to get into the baths were quiet and patient.  There were people scattered on benches on the grounds or sitting along the Gave (the river running through the town and along the Sanctuary grounds) engrossed in their own thoughts.

River Gave, swift and clean

People do not come to Lourdes to buy trinkets, or marvel at the clever lighting schemes.  This stillness, this meditative state, this pilgrimage is the reason why people come to Lourdes, and no amount of neon can really negate that.