The day began, unusually, in quite a leisurely fashion. With time before the welcome mass in the afternoon, Father Sean led a short catechesis session on the importance of saying the rosary. We were assigned the mission to find a new area in Lourdes specially set aside for doing this. We discovered a tent over the river from the grotto. It contained a darkened room with screens all around displaying a dramatisation of a young person's spiritual journey. As this played, we said decades of the rosary, a task set by Our Lady when she appeared to Bernadette.
Later was the joyful occasion of welcome mass, when pilgrims and youth are first (re)united. The main aspect of this mass is the blessing of hands. Lourdes is about physical work; being active so that pilgrims can relax. The focus on our hands reminds us of this task.
The final activity of the day's was also physically taxing: the Stations of the Cross. The life-size stations are placed on a steep hill by the domain which we climb while remembering Jesus' struggle during the passion. Each group led a short reflection on a couple of stations - always one of the most touching moments of the pilgrimage.
Though the story of the passion is painful and sorrowful, the overriding message of the presentations was one of joy. Again and again, we were reminded that, no matter how many burdens we carry and how much pain we go through, our Coach 4 family will be there to pick us up. The night ended with a vintage Coach 4 night in the Geneve, our regular bar year after year.
No comments:
Post a Comment