Off to Lourdes
The forecast for Lourdes last Saturday was decidedly not the best. The Weather Channel predicted thunderstorms, floods and avalanches, which is a combination I’ve not experienced before. In Lourdes I’ve stood with other pilgrims in torrential rains. I’ve seen high waters in the river and viewed the damage after floods have swept through the precincts of the shrine. But avalanches would be a new one to me.
With that kind of a welcome, you have to wonder why somebody would go on pilgrimage to such an inhospitable place. What draws people who will put up with weather that can include rains and snow and heat and cold?
Perhaps the more fundamental question has to do with why people go on pilgrimage at all, to any destination. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier to stay home and relax and watch the entire proceedings on the internet? Well, to answer the question adequately, you really have to be there.
I’ve been to Lourdes eight times, and this week I’m there again. It’s never a place I’d go to alone, and in fact each time I’ve come with a large troop of members of the Order of Malta from the west coast. Together with volunteers and some forty-five sick pilgrims, we number around 325. But in Lourdes we will meet up with other groups of the Order, from the east coast, Europe, and elsewhere. Eventually our numbers might swell to 4,000. Together, for a week, we will pray, enjoy each other’s company, and very often experience a spiritual transformation.
On the eve of my first visit to Lourdes I was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Benedictines are not predisposed to bouts of religious enthusiasm, and frankly I feared that it all might be too much. But I quickly put aside that anxiety, because one realizes that at Lourdes you confront the fragility of life and the ultimate meaning of life. Only a few people go to Lourdes for physical healing; but most go for spiritual healing. And that healing is not likely to take exterior expression, because it happens deep within one’s soul.
Yet another surprise that awaited me that first time was the extent of spiritual healing that takes place. Many who for years have suffered serious illness come seeking peace. They are there to come to terms with what life has dished out to them. But to the surprise of many, the vast majority of people who have experienced miracles came not expecting to see any miracles at all — and least of all miracles that happened to them. After all, they arrived in good health, and they only allowed for the possibility that the healing of others might touch them. But God’s healing power eventually sucks them in as well. In short, they arrived thinking they were well, only to discover their common humanity with the physically sick. And along with those who arrived sick, they find some measure of healing. Those are the real miracles of Lourdes.
It’s a stretch to duplicate that experience while watching on the internet. And yet that does not exhaust the benefits of an international shrine like Lourdes. At Lourdes Pentecost happens. At the first Pentecost the Holy Spirit overwhelmed the apostles, so that when they spoke, all heard in their own language and understood. At Lourdes God speaks in all languages, because Christians have gathered from the ends of the earth. The languages divide them, but faith unites them. It’s then, perhaps for the first time, that many realize how varied are the people in God’s Church. The Church is bigger and more varied than any one town or region, but all are one in their common quest for God.
People go to Lourdes to experience the healing power of God, and in the course of a few days they discover that God generally works in mysterious ways. They discover God working through Mary, the mother of Jesus. They discover that God works through their fellow pilgrims, no matter their language or country of origin. And last but not least, and in what may be the biggest surprise of all, individual pilgrims discover that God works through them.
The tourist brochures point out that Lourdes is in the south of France. That’s enough to lure most anyone. And the chestnut trees in bloom and the moments of glorious sunshine will make anyone forget about the threat of storms and floods and avalanches. But these are not the reasons why people go to Lourdes. At Lourdes God touches people, and that’s the big take-home from the experience. And it’s only then that they begin to realize that this is the one mystery that can be duplicated in the comfort of one’s home.
Notes
+On April 24th I attended Saint John’s Day, an annual celebration to express our gratitude to the supporters of Saint John’s University. This year the University honored alumnus Fr. Don Talafous (’48) with the Presidential Medal and Citation, for his decades of service. For many years he taught theology and served as University chaplain, and currently serves as University Alumni Chaplain.
+Saturday April 25th was a very busy day in the Abbey, and particularly so in the church. In the morning, at the community Eucharist, celebrant Fr. Brad Jenniges received into full communion in the Catholic Church oblate candidate Emily Stamps. In the afternoon Fr. Anthony presided at a wedding, and in the evening there was a concert by the boys choir. In between times we rushed in to say evening prayer, and somehow it all fit in.
+Also on Saturday we hosted the annual visit of students from Saint Olaf College. This year 100+ students came, and Brother David-Paul spoke to them about the monastic life and the architecture of the abbey church. He is particularly suited for this role, since he is an alumnus of Saint Olaf. These visits have gone on for over twenty years, and it is always a pleasure to host them.
