Day 36-September 21- Lourdes

We wake up in St Jean this morning early and have our last pilgrim breakfast before saying goodbye to St Jean pied de port ( st Jean foot of the pass). Some of our pilgrim friends are ending here like us, some others are walking on to Santiago.

We said good bye to those walking on to Santiago last night as they all have to leave at the crack of dawn. Some were planning to leave at 5 am in the dark to make it over the Pyrenees into Spain before night fall. This is going to be the most challenging climb for most. During bad weather, the pass is shut down and not recommended. It looks like it is going to be sunny so most pilgrims are planning to climb it. In case of adverse weather or if a pilgrim is not too thrill about hiking over the Pyrenees to enter Spain, they can take a bus over.

I heard that last week on September 15 of this year, St Jean Pied de port was so overloaded with pilgrims that there was not enough sleeping rooms to accommodate every body for the night. A lot of pilgrims had to be diverted to nearby town and village as st Jean pied de port could not accommodate everybody. There are more than 500 pilgrims starting everyday now, and the number is even higher because not everybody take the time to register at the pilgrim office. There are now more than 70,000 pilgrims a year starting our of st Jean but only 12 to 15 percent finish the whole Camino into Santiago.

For the pilgrims that are going onward, Ed asked me if I want to share with them my experience, tell them what to do, what to expect for the next half of the Camino. I decided not to say anything, just wish them “Bon courage”, as this is going to be their Camino. They are going to experience it their own way. They will figure it out soon enough.

We head out to the train station to go on to Lourdes today. At the Bayonne station, we met an American couple from California who has just arrived and will be starting at St Jean tomorrow. Ah, the same problem: pack weight is too heavy. They will figure it out very soon.

We hear story last week there were 3 police officers from San Francisco, very big guys, very big packs, they did not make it over the pass. They went half way and had to call a taxi to come and get them. By they way, I heard the Camino Portuguese starting from Lisbon, Portugal now has an emergency telephone number you can call and get help. You can also get help on the Camino de Santiago but it’s by each local region where you can see phone number posted on the Camino along the marked trail.

We take the train to Lourdes. Arriving into Lourdes, we walk to our hotel to stretch our legs. It feels funny to not do the usual daily 6 to 8 hours walking. As soon as we arrived near the cathedral of notes dame de Lourdes, we can see bus load of people arriving, some bus specially equipped for wheel chairs and gurneys. A lot of people were unloaded off the bus directly onto wheel chairs and pushed away by either a nurse, a nun, or a family member. 6 million people visit Lourdes a year and Lourdes is the second most visited city in France after Paris. It is the third most visited religious site after Rome and the Holly Land.

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We attend the 5 pm o’clock procession of the Blessed Sacrament from the Altar of Adoration to the majestic Basilica of St Pius X.

At 9 pm we participate in the international mass at the basilica and night procession.

We lit candles and pray for all our families and friends and all those who asked us to pray for them. We drank the water running out of the grotto. And we visited the multiple chapel and cathedral and sacred sites around the Grotto. It was a nice day of prayers and reflection for us. Lourdes is a very special place, and words just can’t describe it. It really is a place to be experienced by oneself and you really have to be here to feel the miracles and wonders of the this holy place. Prayers are said continuously from many area and people kneels for hours and perhaps days in front of the Grotto, or the statues and in the churches. Some kneel on the praying benches, and other just knell straight on the ground. It is here that many sick people come to feel God’s healing mercy.

Not all sick people get an immediate physical cute but nobody leaves Lourdes the same person. Most often, they leave Lourdes looking at their physical illness in a much different way. They are always much better at peace. This is truly a place for mental, spiritual and physical healing.

Many come to bath in the miraculous water of Lourdes, also seen as a spiritual cleansing of the soul.

We are so moved today to have received many emails from our friends, family and patients that Ed is reading their prayers and petition for. One especially moving email was from a man who wrote us: a miracle has happened for my family and my brother was able to walk her daughter down the isle in his wheelchair. Keep praying for us and thank you. The words brought tears to my eyes.

It is so true that nobody leaves Lourdes the same person and both Ed and I feel so much at peace after spending today here in Lourdes. It’s the second time for Ed and the fourth time for me and like all previous visits, I leave Lourdes a much happier person.

I read somewhere that for those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible. That is all I can say about Lourdes.

We feel very blessed for having the opportunity to be here once again today.

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