2016-08-14 Sunday at Lourdes: God in the Midst of our Suffering

Early morning, we went to the Filipino mass at the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows.I did not know there are a lot of chapels in the grounds and this is one of them. We had to option of going to the English mass which was at I think 9:00 but we opted to come to this early one to get a good head start.

Mass was in Filipino. I just realized that the Filipino prayers are still based on the old translation in English and it has not been upgraded to reflect the new translation. In any case, the mass is the mass.

After mass, we did the Stations of the Cross. They had life-sized statues depicting the scenes of the Stations of the Cross. This reminds me of the ones they have at the Grotto in the Philippines which was patterned after the one here at Lourdes.

The Stations are difficult to do because it requires climbing up the mountain. Yet after doing it, there is a sense of accomplishment and relief. We had breakfast and I had my first taste of espresso coffee. I liked it. Who would have thought, I would learn how to drink coffee in France?

One thing about French food is it has an interesting taste. The taste is quite exquisite. We had their sandwich not knowing that their sandwich is not the same as what we are used to here in the west with two pieces of white bread. Their sandwich is one baguette. Their ingredients are also freshly made. Sandwiches will never taste the same again.

After lunch, we went back to the Shrine and walked around. The picture from the front reminds me of Cinderella's castle. But this one is nicer because this is real.

We went to Bernadette's Museum. It has a history of the apparitions and some items on Bernadette's life. It is really touching to see how God chooses the simple and humble to do his great work.

After the visit, we joined the Eucharistic adoration and blessing of the sick at the underground basilica. I see here, God in the midst of suffering. He came to be with his people, to be one with them in the midst of suffering. I see here, the need for healing, not just physical healing. The world needs healing. A lot of people need healing and sadly, many do not know this which is why they chase after things that prove to be worthless.

Healing is only achieved in Christ Jesus. He is the Only One who can heal and when we have him, we have everything. We may not be cured of our sickness, but we believe, every time we come to God he hears us and he responds to our prayers.

God in the midst of suffering, God in the midst of the rottenness of life. He did not deem it worthless but because of his love and his respect for our dignity, God sends his only Son to be with us, to join us in our sufferings.

Dinner time was interesting. Having been impressed by the way the French prepare their food, I wanted to see how they will do an Italian dish, so I ordered Spaghetti Carbonara. Here is the French version of it.

It will probably be inappropriate to say this tastes better than the one I ate in Rome, but I'll just say, this tastes different because it has that distinct French style where the flavors blend together yet are distinct. Need I say, I ate this, savoring each bite with closed eyes?