Coach 4 Lourdes 2015 - Meeting 3

Our pilgrimage, fun though it may be, is a week of intense work. It requires a new level of physical and mental rigour, as we are asked to complete strenuous tasks and solve problems from the (ironically) unholy hour of 5am at the earliest to 11pm, with quick breaks for lunch and dinner at the hotel in between. You will walk miles. You will sweat buckets. You will probably want to give up at times. But for all the tough work we are faced with, there are an infinite amount of calming and pleasurable moments in Lourdes that make it all worthwhile. The very act of working as a 400-strong team in faith is magical. And the feeling you get when looking back at what you have achieved is incredibly satisfying, and even cathartic.

At our last meeting, Christine outlined the sort of activities and issues we might face: the slippery-when-wet red road that guides pilgrims from the St. Frai; the frightening-at-first Baths and Over 18’s duty in the St. Frai; manoeuvring voitures (chariot style wheelchairs) for larger pilgrims; climbing the various hills of the town; attending mass every day. The list goes on. It is a packed schedule, but one that is very stimulating.

Some youth pilgrims enjoy the work so much that they want to take on a new role later in life. The first step might be joining the St. Frai team, who wear purple t-shirts and do various duties in the hospital, but a further step up would take you onto the Hospitalite. Chris Wright, former Coach 4 member and husband to Titch, one of our beloved staff members, is now part of the Hospitalite. He came to the last meeting to talk about the jobs that they do in Lourdes. As their name suggests, they spend most of their time in the St. Frai doing hands on work with the pilgrims. Some of them are specialist doctors and nurses, while others are regular people who are willing to work behind the scenes to keep the pilgrims safe and healthy. From making teas and coffees to doing personal care, they fuel and maintain the pilgrimage.

Chris’ job is to take pilgrims from Liverpool on the jumbulance. This is for pilgrims who are unable to travel by plane, and need extra care while they travel. I have personally dealt with bed-ridden pilgrims while working in the baths. To see a man with such a debilitated body brought into a state of peace by bathing in the blessed spring was nothing less than miraculous. It’s small wonder that the members of the Hospitalite come back every year to carry out these tough tasks. It reaffirms faith in oneself, each other and in God. And it is only through perseverance that Bernadette built up a relationship with Our Lady, convinced her peers that the apparitions were a reality.

Thursday 18th February: The Lady Speaks

For the first time, the Lady spoke. Bernadette held out a pen and paper asking her to write her name. She replied; "It is not necessary" and she added: "I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the other. Would you be kind enough to come here for a fortnight?" 

Coach 4 Lourdes 2015 - Meeting 2

How often do you see something for what it really is? I'm awful at looking for things. I always seem to be searching for USB sticks, socks and other miscellaneous objects in my room. You have to persist, train your eye, or even ask for help to seek things out, and eventually you will get the reward.

The amazing thing about faith is that it is believing without seeing. All Christians should search for God, but this can be hard, considering that we can't literally see him.

But in spite of His mysterious nature, the Lord is not invisible. The hymn that we sang at the start of Coach 4's second meeting teaches us to 'open the eyes of our heart' to Him. We must want see him. We must will him to appear.

Bernadette opened her heart to God when, miraculously, Our Lady appeared to her. She saw something that other people missed. We need to try to see through the veil of the ordinary, something that Anthony taught us to do in yet another series of eye-opening exercises that forced us to think outside the box, and even bend the rules of the game to win. For example, we were asked to reach our hands as high as they could go. No-one thought to use the balcony as a way of getting higher, In order to reach our goals, we have to think and act in new ways, and break the mould.

Then we were asked to play spot the difference with each other, changing an aspect of our appearance and testing to see we could notice the alteration. Maybe we should pay more attention to our friends, especially in the run up to Lourdes, in an attempt to see God in each other.

The remainder of the meeting was spent learning about the series of Our Lady's apparitions to Bernadette. This is the most important lesson for any self-respecting Lourdes pilgrim. What can we do to be more like Bernadette? What can we do to feel Our Lady's presence at the Grotto? Though we may not see Our Lady in the flesh, there is something else we can see in Lourdes. We can look to each other, and the thousands of pilgrims who walk under the rock, drink from and bathe in the blessed spring, and continue to have faith; to believe without seeing. That is a miracle in itself.

Oliver


With the second blog post, we move on to the second apparition.

Sunday 14th February: Holy Water

Bernadette felt an inner force drawing her to the Grotto in spite of the fact that she was forbidden to go there by her parents. At her insistence, her mother allowed her; after the first decade of the Rosary, she saw the same lady appearing. She sprinkled holy water at her. The lady smiled and bent her head. When the Rosary ended she disappeared. 

Coach 4 Lourdes 2015 - Meeting 1

It's that time of year again for the veterans. And it's a whole new world (Disney reference intended) for the newbies.

Though the warm weather of July seems ever so distant, The Coach Four meetings have begun and our pilgrimage to Lourdes starts now.

Firstly, I will introduce myself. I am Oliver, and this is my 5th year on Coach Four. For the past couple of years, Beth Hurst has been our official blogger, and has kept us informed and entertained during the week in Lourdes. Unfortunately, Beth will not be joining us this year, so I have been asked to take up her position. Thanks for your hard work, Beth. I have big boots to fill.

At the moment, Lourdes is unrecognisable. The Domain, the sacred area that consists of the grotto, the baths and the chapels, is undergoing a huge development project: "Projet Grotte Cœur de Lourdes" (Grotto Project: The Heart of Lourdes). The place where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette in 1858 has been reduced to a building site. A few years ago, devastating floods hit the domain, decimating the site and calling for an intense restorative project. But now, the beauty and peace of Lourdes is being willingly taken apart by our hands and not those of nature.

Click here for a video of the construction work (en Francais)

What we must remember, however, is that change is often for the best. Sometimes we have to go backwards to go forwards. Despite causing momentary chaos, the relocation of the taps (where we can access clean, blessed spring water) will usher in a new era of prayerfulness around the Grotto. Hopefully, the stewards will have to "shush" us less of the time.

Similarly, saying yes to Lourdes is a massive shift in the course of your life. Working with pilgrims and meeting lots of new people is a frightening prospect, not to mention the difficulty of having a faith in a society that is far from Church-focussed. Naomi Cassidy is new to the coach this year, and, though she has gone through some difficult times recently, she wants to use Lourdes as a way of exploring and regaining her faith. Anxious before Sunday's meeting, she explained that being introduced to the coach and her group wasn't as nerve wracking as she thought. It seems that being on Coach Four is already helping people to overcome worry and to experience peace. 

I hope that Lourdes helps to transform Naomi's life as it did for Ella Tobin who is returning for her second year. She described the coach as "one big family". To make sure that 2015 creates those same tight-nit relationships, Anthony instigated some of those dreaded ice-breakers, one of which involved working in our groups to safeguard an egg from destruction after being dropped from the upper floor of church. Needless to say, most of them ended up scrambled (a waste of good eggs in my opinion), but a couple of groups managed to protect it. 

Anthony explained that the activities required us to think differently to succeed. The very fact that we have opened up 'The Door of Faith' (a previous theme of the pilgrimage) and are on our way to Lourdes proves that we have made change in our lives. Like with the construction work at the grotto, the meetings, the fun(d)raiser, the coach journey and all our activities in France should mould and reshape us into better people.

I am already excited for next meeting on 22nd February.

See you then.

Oli


P.S. I plan to do 18 blog posts between now and the end of our Pilgrimage, each post corresponding to one of Our Lady's apparitions to Bernadette. If you have read this, you'll have a head start for the on-the-spot question during the meeting on the Story of Bernadette:

Thursday 11th February, 1858: The First Meeting

Accompanied by her sister and a friend, Bernadette went to Massabielle on the banks of the Gave to collect bones and dead wood. Removing her socks in order to cross the stream, she heard a noise like a gust of wind, she looked up towards the Grotto:

"I SAW A LADY DRESSED IN WHITE, SHE WORE A WHITE DRESS, AN EQUALLY WHITE VEIL, A BLUE BELT AND A YELLOW ROSE ON EACH FOOT."

Bernadette made the Sign of the Cross and said the Rosary with the lady. When the prayer ended the Lady suddenly vanished.

Day 7 and home

Lourdes 2014 is over. The final couple of days passed in a whirlwind of duties, last minute shopping and packing. Our final full day of duty allowed us to do what we come to Lourdes for...spending time with the pilgrims. We had multiple opportunities for shopping, or simply sitting and chatting over ice-cream. In this relaxed environment you find out some wonderful stories, and have a laugh with the pilgrims. 

We also took the pilgrims to the International Mass in the Underground Basilica. Meanwhile, we had our own C4 Mass with Catechisis lead by Sean, thinking about Superheroes. We decided that 'the Ordinary Man' with simply a big heart had the most desirable super powers. We all have talents and strengths, and it's simply a case of using them for good.

The theme of this year has been The Joy of Conversion. I thought at first this meant changing other people, but came to realise over the course of the week that it meant small changes within yourself. The group of people coming into Lourdes on that coach were not the same people that left. So many conversions happened throughout the week...new members gained confidence, we all grew in faith; Kate, James and Jono even got confirmed! Simple conversations with each other or pilgrims had the power to change. Hearing someone's story that made you feel more grateful for your own life, or prompt you to think differently. The amount on social media after coming home has been astounding. People are being open about their faith, maybe thinking more about god. Conversion is everywhere.

The bracelets may come off and the yellow polos put back on the shelf, but the experiences we had in Lourdes impacted our families, the pilgrims we helped, and ourselves. All the laughter, the smiles and the singing...there's the Joy. Thankyou to everyone who has shared in this experience with us. I hope the Joy of Conversion that we found in Lourdes is with us always...until next year. 

Day 6 - Miracles

In amongst all the fun we have together on Coach 4, and around Lourdes, our contact with the pilgrims is by far the most rewarding part of the week. The stories you hear can be emotional, inspiring, or hilarious. Today we had some time to spend with the pilgrims taking them to the baths, or (for the over 18's) esplanade duty. 

The days certainly are non-stop. The overs only had 15 minutes to eat lunch before running down to the St Frai for afternoon duty with the pilgrims. No one minds making little sacrifices -like missing dessert- because the rewards for helping with the pilgrims are so great.

I heard an amazing story that a genuine cure had taken place in the baths to a pilgrim called Keith. He came to Lourdes unable to move with ease because of illness. But he stood up out of the holy baths, and I've seen with my own eyes him walking to give me a hug. His story is so wonderful, but he said whatever happened to him doesn't matter. It's a miracle but he said the best thing this week has been the youth. The yellow t-shirts made his week.

What happened to Keith is astounding. You couldn't talk to him without getting shivers down your spine. But he appreciates the little miracles of the week; the fact we are all helping each other, putting smiles on faces. In every pilgrims lives that we have touched, and in every way they touch you shows that Lourdes truly is a place of miracles.

Day 5 - the rain never bothered us anyway

Days off are always a highlight of the week. A chance for a lie in, some shopping and a bit of time to just relax with the rest of Coach 4. After a lazy morning we got our packed lunches and travelled to Batres.

It was a different kind of day. We had mass with a roundabout as the altar. We had the chance to offer up our own intentions out loud, making some very personal bidding prayers. The chance to share in each other's worrys is a very special moment. We played football and netball after our lunch, then up to the cafe for ice cream.

Despite it being our day off, we decided to walk in the torchlight. And then the heavens opened. Liverpool cancelled our involvement, but Coach 4 was already down in the Domain, ponchos on, and ready to walk. So we did. There was few people, not many torches, but we braved the weather and did as Bernadette told us; 'come walk in procession'. Our yellow ponchos stood out like torches themselves, and I am proud to be part of a Coach that lets it's light shine, whatever the weather.

Day in the life of Kate

On the first day of our Lourdes pilgrimage at the end of the day, we had a mass at Bernadette's church. It was during this mass that myself, James and Jono were confirmed. 

We went down to the church early and met the archbishop who introduced himself and said 'don't be nervous'. He told us the procedure and reassured us everything would be ok. 

Before it happened I was apprehensive and nervous because I didn't know what to expect. But after meeting the Bishop I had more confidence and felt more at ease.

In the middle of the mass he called us out with our sponsors, and we had to stand in a line at the front. Our sponsors had their hands on our shoulders during the confirmation and we individually knelt down before the altar. 

Afterwards I felt really fulfilled,renewed, and my faith had been depeened. To make my confirmation in Lourdes was fitting for our theme of conversion, and overall a strengthening and enlightening experience.