Arriving late in the afternoon at Lourdes (later than we wanted), in the pouring rain, having driven through some downpours the like f which I had rarely witnessed I suppose I should have heeded the lesson of Cahors and not judged before understanding. But then again, what was there to misunderstand?
I thought that Lourdes, and especially the Church there, promoted itself as a place of miraculous healing, a place where all who are infirm could go and become well. Walking through the streets of the town with its multitude of brightly lit shops selling all sorts of religious article, looking a bit like a religious Blackpool, all my prior feelings about the place were there starring me in the face. Then to witness the nightly procession of people feeling like some kind of peeping-tom, invading on the privacy of these people’s lives and feelings gave me all the wrong feelings about the place, and only served to confirm my misguided and ill informed opinion.
The following morning we made our way through the crowded streets and passed the shops full of people buying the memories of their trip to the world famous place, and into the Information Centre to first of all watch a film about the beginning of Lourdes and a young girl, Bernadette, who had a vision, 18 visions to be true. This gave the detail of a simple country girl with no education, no deep church knowledge, who was fostered out as her mother couldn’t feed her, who, when seeing the vision could only call it ‘The Thing’, and who at first was not listened to by the church leaders, but who persisted. Lessons for us all there.
From these events sprang a chapel, then a church and after a miraculous healing of a woman’s paralysed arm in the waters the fame spread. The church however has never said the waters are anything special. It’s just water. A bit like the water in the River Jordan. Sometime people do put odd interpretations on things. Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that visiting Lourdes is a waste of time and money. Not by a long way, as sitting in the places of worship there, and feeling God, and having the constant prayer surround you is something we should all be looking for and hope to experience. When I’m ill or down and suffering I want nothing more than to be surrounded in prayer. that is what you will get at Lourdes.
The Basilica itself was a little disappointing. It was dark but still had the feel of God’s presence and mercy. Only the depiction of the crucifiction left an impression. The Church of Our Lady was magnificent. The main altar surrounded by side chapels with elaborate paintings of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. I sat in awe.
The highlight for me however was the modern building of the Church of St. Bernadette. Breathtaking as you walked in , not without resemblance to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool, and a prayer chapel that had constant prayer taking place. You didn’t want to leave.
Yes, the streets are packed with a commercial enterprise that we in Britain only witness at the seaside, but inside the grounds of the Basilica and Church you’re a world away, quite literally, and people come for comfort, prayer and healing. Who am I to argue with that.
