Ahhhh...the peaceful energy of the countryside here in Lourdes is more me than the busyness of Roma city...
Setting aside the seemingly endless number of stores selling lots and lots of religious symbols along side scarves and souvenir bags making statements like I Love Lourdes...I feel a sense of community based in the common prayers and rituals of Catholicism.
Tuesday I felt called to attend the baths. So I arrived an hour before the starting hour of 14:00. As I waited with the many other women--the baths are divided between men, women, and infirmed...I reflected, meditated, prayed. And had no clue about what would occur once I reached the end on my line wait. The info in English was not printed as the printer had failed for today. Oh well--such is Life!
Then I met up with June to walk the 9 pm mass candlelight procession. Quite moving in the collective energy and the visual mass of candles in the night proceeding around the outdoor sanctuary, zig-zagging, then culminating at the entrance to the basilica. Apparently, zig-zagging is how Bernadette approached her daily prayers and the grotto.
As I sit here now...Tuesday 23:30...I see that the baths...the night procession...are both examples of the saying 'Life is about the journey, not the destination'. For me it was not about the baths or the night procession, it was about noticing what was happening along the way.
A fitting prelude to Buen Camino :-)
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