saturday in lourdes

yesterday after our delicious three hour lunch we boarded the train for lourdes. the countryside was lovely...dragging the fifty two pound suitcase now with a broken wheel from the cobblestones a mile to the train station was less lovely. :)

this morning i awoke and donned my cassock for a walk to the sanctuary of lourdes. the basilica is stunning and i concelebrated masst ten. it was in french but i know how it goes. :) when another priest pointed me to a station for communion i said the formula in latin...corpus christi. all the priests wave and smile at each other though we speak different languages and cannot talk when we meet on the streets or grotto grounds. praise god for the brotherhood of the priesthood. they made me feel welcome and beloved in the sacristy. i lit a candle at the grotto and prayed for all the intentions given to me by family and friends. i stood in the line with everyone else to tough the stone...and filled a bottle with holy water. what a glorious morning of prayer. msgr and i met up for lunch...a little nap...and then back to the shrine...