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"Our Lady of Lourdes"


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merseyprideDec 5, 2007 9:30am
Dear friends, I was very fortunate to go on holiday/pilgrimage to the shrine of "Our Lady of Lourdes".
Apart from the times I have spent in hospitals and Willowbrook hospice, my wife who is also my main carer, and I have never had a night apart since we were married, so this was a new challenge.
Words cannot describe just how wonderful an experience it was, from the moment I stepped foot on the bus I knew that I must have been well and truly blessed. Everyone in the group was wonderful; there were 40 of us, 16 patients and 24 carers/nurses/doctors we travelled on two Jubilance coaches with all the amenities on board including beds. Another surprise was that we had a young Scottish priest with us to say the Masses. After a long journey including the channel ferry we arrived in Lourdes.
The hotel and the food was excellent each of the patients sharing with a carer. Then we had our first of many visits to the Grotto which was a wonderful experience. Each day we had Mass in different churches and visited the places were St Bernadette lived, including a tiny place were the family were imprisoned for non payment of debt. On another day out we went high up into the Pyrenees Mountains where we had a picnic.
Every day was different with great sites and places of interest. The weather was wonderful except for one hour's rain and a bit of a wind chill at first and last parts of the day. All in all it was a trip I will remember with great joy for the rest of my life

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usmjamDec 5, 2007 10:29am
Glad for the blessing that the trip was for you, and for the blessing of a faithful & dedicated spouse. May you both grow in your relation to the Lord.

With all due respect, however, I think it'd be more proper to share this experience in the Catholicism group. Here we have many Christians who view the veneration of Catholic canonized "saints", including Mary, as an affront to what Jesus called the first and greatest commandment of two:
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matthew 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Anything else added to that, in many Christian's view, is taking away praise and glory from God. At a minimum a discussion on Mariological 'apparitions' it is not about Jesus, the Christ, the Saviour, the only mediator between us & the Father.

Debate on the role of Mary in relation to Christianity can be carried on in the thread titled Mary, mother of Jesus which is in the Catholic-Evangelical Talk Group. And as I mentioned, the Catholicism group is there for the faithful of the Church of Rome.

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Ewtn2000Dec 5, 2007 5:33pm
Wow, I never knew our God the Father and Jesus to be the God of the dead. In fact scripture tells us that we have a God of the living. Are they're not saints, or people who have died that are in the presence of our Lord, now? This add nothing extra to scripture, just validates what scriptures says. Our Lady only points to Jesus. Always has and always well. I guess those Christians that view this in adding and take offense are what we call cafeteria Christians, picking and choosing what they like in scripture. Doesn't it in scripture, that all generations will call her blessed? (Luke 1:48) Put it all together and you will see this takes nothing away. Mary is all about Jesus and that is the point that you all seem to miss

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merseyprideDec 6, 2007 1:05am
I'm so sorry if my story offends anyone as that is the last thing on my mind. Could you please advise me how to remove my comments.
Thank you and God Bless,
merseypride

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CelticWarriorDec 6, 2007 2:13am
No offense should be taken and I'm sure none was intended. We are all Christians here, brother. I read your posting with interest. I am glad to see that your trip brought you joy and renewal. Thank you for sharing.

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weblordJan 2, 4:24pm
it's the relationship with the LOrd that should be stressed as well, we could have different beliefs as well.

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Ewtn2000Apr 15, 5:59pm
Yet, Mary points to the Lord... that's it.

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rjenkiApr 26, 2:15am
I just feel that We should Worship Jesus, the Son of God, to whom all power is given in Heaven and Earth, and Him only, not His earthly mother, whom we have never been told to worship. No special power was ever given her,except to give birth to Jesus.

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CelticWarriorApr 26, 4:08am
There are some Christian traditions that venerate individuals who were recognized and/or blessed by God or Jesus for a special purpose or for being particularly devote. They would say they are not worshiping these individuals but are showing them deference or respect, which the definition of "venerate" reflects. I do agree though; to actually worship these people would be un-Biblical.


"Our Lady of Lourdes"

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