Wednesday, September 29 - Paray-le-Monial
At the end of the morning, we left Nevers and travelled south to Paray-le-Monial, a journey of some two hours. Here we met Fr Edward of the Emmanuel Community in Rome, who gave us a guided tour of the holy places, in particular the Chapel of the Apparitions at the Visitation Convent, where Our lord revealed His Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque and where her remains are now enshrined.
(Chapel of Apparitions)
Thursday, September 29 to Sunday, October 02 - Lourdes
We
celebrated early morning Mass in the Chapel of Apparitions at Paray-Le-Monial
and after breakfast, headed off on our long journey south-westerly to Lourdes,
arriving in time for dinner. Needless to say, we had a lot of
time on the coach for praying, singing, telling jokes, scrabble, cards,
crossword puzzles, and even playing music on a comb with silver paper!!
The camaraderie among our small group was instantaneous and grew more
lovely as each day passed.
For many of us, who had been to Lourdes before, it was a wonderful feeling of coming home to serenity and love and holiness, even in the midst of thousands and thousands of pilgrims.
That evening we were able to join the Rosary procession and over the next few days, we made the Stations of the Cross (in the dark at 6.00 am), visited the Baths, participated in the Benediction in the Underground Basilica and did the walking tour to places associated with St Bernadette's life. On Sunday morning, Fr Roger concelebrated Mass at the Grotto with other English-speaking Priests and this was truly a memorable occasion for us, and at the end of Mass we sang "Lord, heal our Land" which brought many tears.
Santander
After lunch, we left Lourdes for Spain, travelling west to the border and along the coast, enjoying magnificent views en route of the bays overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the popular resort of San Sebastian. We arrived at the holiday resort of Santander in the early evening and stayed at a beautiful hotel on the seafront.
Monday, October 03 - Garabandal
After breakfast, we headed for the tiny hamlet of San Sebastien de Garabandal, which is accessible only by very slow, winding mountain roads. It lies inland from Santander, in the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains, at an altitude of some 1600 feet. Thanks to our wonderful driver, we got there safely.
Our
Lady is reported to have appeared here on two occasions - October 18, 1961 and
June 18, 1965 - calling for penance, sacrifice and increased devotion to the
Eucharist. The Catholic Church has not yet issued any official statement
about these manifestations.
We arrived in Garabandal around midday and the serenity of the small town was simply amazing - there were probably just a dozen people around, no cars, no loud music, just complete quiet and peace. Fr Roger celebrated Mass in the small Church and then we climbed the hill to where Our Lady is reported to have appeared- the view from here is absolutely awesome. This was certainly a taste of heaven!
Reluctantly, we left Garabandal, with a promise to return some day.
Avila
From Garabandal, we drove south to Avila, the Old Castile region, spending two nights at the Hotel Palacio Valderrabanos, which was originally a palace dating back to the 14th century. It enjoys a wonderful location inside Avila's marvellous 11th century fortified city walls and next door to the Cathedral.
Tuesday, October 04 -
Toldeo
After breakfast, we departed for a full day excursion to Toledo. Lying about two hours' drive south of Avila, the city enjoys an unforgettable location, sprawled over high ground above the gorge of the River Tagus.
The highpoint of our day was a guided tour of the 13th century Cathedral which houses countless and invaluable treasures, the most outstanding being the monstrance, which is used every year in the Corpus Christi procession. The climax of the tour was the visit to the Sacristy, which can be considered to be a true art gallery, set off by the fresco that covers its entire ceiling, the work of the Italian, Luca Giordano. The collection of paintings in the Sacristy is incredible. There are 18 works by El Greco, together with others by Zurbaran, Bellini, Rafael, Rubens, Velazquez, etc.
(Monstrance)