Snap Krackle 'n Pop!: Our Lady of Lourdes

Snap Krackle 'n Pop!: Our Lady of Lourdes: It was never on my itinerary to visit Lourdes on this last trip to Europe.  Truth be told, I wasn't even sure where on the map the famou...

Our Lady of Lourdes

It was never on my itinerary to visit Lourdes on this last trip to Europe.  Truth be told, I wasn't even sure where on the map the famous shrine was.  So what a surprise when to my delight, while on the road to Bordeaux, I spotted Lourdes while studying the map of France! And lo and behold, only two hours away from the town where we where staying!

Life is full of surprises! When I told my friend Maureen of my plans to visit France again this year, she said, "Oh wonderful, maybe you can visit Lourdes!"  I was honest with my friend and told her I would never be able to visit Lourdes, because 1) I really had no idea where it was;  2) I didn't think we'd have time; and 3) I didn't think my traveling companions (two young girls) would be up for it.  I had already 'pushed' The Way of Saint James on them, and I was positive they would not want to visit another religious shrine.  

Call me ignorant, or maybe it was a lack of interest on my part - but I really had no idea where Lourdes was.  My thinking was that it was somewhere in the north of France.  My very Catholic friend Maureen, always talked about Lourdes and about the miracles performed at the shrine, especially the cures.  I've never been one to believe - I am of the kind that has to see with my own eyes in order to believe.   On the other hand, I've never doubted either.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact I was brought up in the Protestant church where there is very little devotion to Mary.  So you can understand my somewhat reluctance to 'dive' into the powers of Lourdes.  But call it what you may, be it coincidental, God-incidental, or what have you, the truth is I found Lourdes when I was least looking for her!  Or was it the other way around?

For those of you who don't know Our Lady of Lourdes, it is the most famous of Catholic shrines worldwide.  Unlike Santiago de Compostela's Way of Saint James, where pilgrims of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions visit in search of inner and spiritual peace, Our Lady of Lourdes is probably Catholics' number one venerated site to visit.  It's right up there with the Vatican, and with our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.  Here Mass is celebrated every day.  As for my traveling companions, when I burst out with excitement at finding the site, they were both elated for me and more than happy to visit.  How is that for things working out according to God's plan?


Nestled in a valley in the southwestern part of the Hautes-Pyrenees, Our Lady of Lourdes is the scene of pilgrims gathering from all over the world.  On February 11, 1858, the Virgin revealed herself to a poor shepherd girl, Bernadette Soubirous who was born on January 7, 1844.   Eighteen such apparitions were reported. Bernadette, died in a convent in 1879. She was beatified in 1925, then canonized in 1933.
  Her apparitions literally put Lourdes on the map.  The town has subsequently attracted millions of visitors, the illustrious and the povery-stricken. The Church has recognized many "cures" that have been witnessed here.  

As with most towns in France, Lourdes is a beautiful town to sightsee.  Here you will find the house and convent where Bernadette lived, or at least the place where the house used to be.  

Scroll down for some pictures and enjoy!

Beautiful rendition of Christ on the Cross at the entrance..

So happy to be here.....

Our Lady....

the venerated site comes in full view.....

Entry to the Church

Inside the church....

Adults as well as children in awe of the place.

Depictions of Bible scenes adorn the inside of the church....

the author on the upper part - the cupola

A lone faithful contemplates on the sacredness of such a place....

Statue of Bernadette inside the church....

Bernadette and her flock... people leave flowers on the grounds

Our Lady of Lourdes in all its glory!

Stream encircling the venerated site (the source of the holy water).

Snap Krackle 'n Pop!: And the flood gates opened, finally.....

Snap Krackle 'n Pop!: And the flood gates opened, finally.....: And the flood gates opened, finally….. It wouldn’t be fair to consider myself a writer, if I didn’t at least attempt to writ...

And the flood gates opened, finally.....

And the flood gates opened, finally…..

It wouldn’t be fair to consider myself a writer, if I didn’t at least attempt to write about the most recent developments surrounding my life.   After all, it’s been more than a month since I wrote anything down.  I guess that’s what they call writer’s block.  However, I can use all kinds of excuses, but only for so long – it’s long overdue and I should at least give it a stab. 

Our trip started Sunday, July 7 and went through until July 24 when we flew home.  By now everyone has heard the news.   At the same time that we were flying home, a horrific accident was taking place very near to Santiago de Compostela, a place that has suddenly become very dear to my heart.  It grieves me to think that 79 people lost their lives and that countless others were injured and possibly still in hospitals. 

The whole experience of losing Mom, then out of the blue and without even realizing it traveling on the same exact day that marked her six-month anniversary to the place where our great-grandparents were thought to be born and to the place where the Apostle St. James' remains lay, is definitely something to think about.

Last night at our annual combined Cornerstone Teams II and III dinner meeting, it all came to a head, and the floodgates finally flung open for me.  The fact that I was sitting next to Kelley Lacey might have had some bearing on my sudden emotional outburst, considering that Kelley is known to cry at the mere mention of anything remotely sad.   Suffice it to say that when our co-hostess Mary played the closing song, “Stand By Me”, which I originally started singing along to and swaying to the beat like everyone else, I was literally brought to my knees, sobbing relentlessly for a good ten minutes or so.   Embraced on either side by my sisters Karina and Kelley in a friendship circle of close to twenty women, I clung to Kelley as if she were my lifeline and the only person who could understand my pain. 

It was, I believe, a culmination of emotions that brought me to that point.   Not having fully grieved the loss of Mom; visiting the Apostle St. James’ final resting place, and journeying to the land of my ancestors, specifically the Santiago’s (Mom’s last name is De Santiago).   And, I’m guessing, feeling the tragic loss of 79 innocents, near such a sacred place, all finally came to a head.  The fact that my two girls and I could have been on that train and possibly killed didn’t escape my mind either.   And from henceforth, is probably where my meltdown more than likely stemmed from.   Added to the fact that it was a grueling two and a half weeks for us three girls, gallivanting nonstop through every city from Madrid to Santiago, from Bordeaux to Paris, and then down to Barcelona, this tryst most definitely took a toll not just on my body, but on my emotions as well. 

I guess I just needed to empty myself emotionally.  On top of all that, this week we received distressing news.   My brother-in-law, the patriarch of our Vargas-Santiago family, was admitted to the hospital with chest pains and underwent emergency surgery of the heart.   The idea that we might lose another dear family member so soon after losing Mom, was probably too much to bear.  

I could go on about all that transpired this week, but I will end by saying that God is overly gracious, and kind, and so very generous in every way with my family and with me.  For that, I will be eternally and forever grateful to Him.