One Face of Lourdes

It am still trying to process my Lourdes experience.  I went there as the guest of my friend, whose sister and family were gathering there for a brief moment before scattering to the winds of their own journeys.  It was an honor and privilege to be included with such accomplished people, and I intend to keep that part of the trip private.  I will never forget what it was like to witness and be a part of the energy they radiate.  

Lourdes is about a two and a half hour train trip from Carcassonne, maybe a little more if you count the transfer time in Toulouse.  We had great connections without a very long wait between trains.  We left the flatlands of Toulouse and headed south west, with the Pyrenees getting larger with each turn of the train wheel.  The countryside changed color, from the yellow-browns and grey-greens of Toulouse to the lush greens of mountain valleys.  Finally we arrived in Lourdes, right on time.  The train station was bustling, even on a Sunday evening.

View of the chateau/museum from the apartment

One of my friend's nephews met us with his rental car. We stopped to order pizza for 15 or so people and then proceeded to the apartment that he had rented which could hold everyone for a meal.  It had a spectacular view of the chateau and Pyrenean foothills that cradle the town of Lourdes.  Several maples in the square below and turned true scarlet.  Autumn comes a little sooner there than it does in sunny Carcassonne.

Scarlet trees and surrounding hills

After eating, we gathered to walk back to the hotel where most of the family was staying.  Once there, we were to meet the guide for the candlelight walk we were all going to take.  Formally it's known as the Candlelight Marian Procession and involves reciting the Rosary  while walking a circuit with others, everyone carrying lit candles.  

Sunday evening in Lourdes

It was the arrival at the hotel that first brought me up short.  I am used to Sundays in Carcassonne, sleepy little Carcassonne, where everything is quiet and shuttered and dark on Sundays.  I am not sure I can convey my shock at the omnipresent neon lighting, flashing and winking and blinking that greeted me.  The souvenir stands were open for business and lit up like a carnival midway--that's what the area reminded me of--selling ceramic, crystal, porcelain, pottery, silver, gilded religious mementos. 

Someone uttered the word "Vegas."  I was floored.  I expected nothing like what was before my eyes.  I live in a tourist mecca, but nothing like this.  I am still struggling with my rush to judgment.

You "gotta eat somewhere"

What possible right do I have to condemn these merchants for trying to catch the eyes of the more than 6 million visitors that flood their tiny little town every year?  The people who live and work here are trying to fill a need. The merchants don't have to persuade visitors to come there; the market already exists. The infrastructure needed to handle this volume of visitors is incomprehensible to me.  Imagine 20,000 visitors every day, day in and day out! They need to be lodged, and fed and in many cases, wheeled about.  People DO come to Lourdes for their health.  Competition is fierce, and the pilgrims who come here want a reminder of their visit.   Just the candle concession alone must bring in a fortune. 

Looking into a 4 star hotel dining room

One of the many hotels in the town

Still--neon?  If I could think of the most non-sacred sort of lighting, it would be neon.  It's hard to reconcile it with a place of reverence, stillness, worship, contemplation, and prayer.  That's the other face of Lourdes.

Sacred Heart of Jesus leather goods?

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