Lourdes Pilgrimage Touches Alexandria Couple

By Peg Mastal
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 7/12/07)

As I walk the ways of the Domaine in Lourdes, France, my mind and heart fill with multiple images and intense feelings. The grotto environment is electric with a sense of the holy, and further sanctified by individuals and groups’ overt, unashamed expressions of love for Our Lady and their caring attention for the sick and disabled. How different is this world from my usual life in the Washington, D.C., area!
I am here as a pilgrim, a companion to my husband, Jerry, who is a malade, a person with an illness or disability invited by the Order of Malta to travel on this annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. We are told the first evening that our presence here is the outcome of prayer — that it is Our Lady who chose us to come to her sacred world in Lourdes this year. What comfort, awe and humility that thought brings — what a gift we have been given!
One of the extraordinary circumstances of the pilgrimage is the love and service extended by the Order of Malta, not only to the malades and companions, but also to each other. They are our constant smiling friends: wrapping the malades with blankets for warmth; pulling them in three-wheeled carts for rapid, easy transport; telling jokes that evoke laughter and relaxation; and elevating every meal to banquet celebration status. They look for services to perform and accomplish them with such an attitude of Christian love. I am overwhelmed at times, wishing only that I could bottle this love and sprinkle it around my everyday life at home. Could our everyday lives ever be this joyful and giving?
The grotto mesmerizes me — the stone, the waters, the statue-filled space where Our Lady once stood and spoke to Bernadette Soubirous. It is a sacred place, its holiness diminished not at all by the crowds and activities that occur in its environs. Walking through the grotto, touching the stone, and seeing the waters roil in the spot Our Lady once directed St. Bernadette to dig, magnetize my mind and heart to that place.  
On Friday morning, we attend Mass at the grotto under rainy skies — actually it is a pouring, pelting rain. But that doesn’t reduce the force of the experience; the voices of the Order of Malta choir soar between the raindrops as do the familiar words of the Eucharist liturgy. It fashions powerful images of Christ joining His mother to show love for each one of His children.
There are diverse faith activities, different each day, each bringing unique emotions and spiritual opportunities. Every day starts with Mass in different chapels and sites. Our opening Mass is in the Rosary Chapel, celebrated by Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari, the abbot of Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. Another morning the malades and companions attended Mass at Le Cachot, the one-room jail that served as the home of St. Bernadette and her family. It challenges one’s mind and heart to know that Our Lady once talked to a young girl who lived here — why am I permitted to share even in this small way in Bernadette’s privilege?
We attend the magnificent Pontifical Mass on Sunday in the underground Pius X Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, along with 20,000 pilgrims from all over the world. Readings and petitions are translated into six languages, representing a human triumph in dealing with language diversity to focus on the universality of the Catholic Church. The universality of our Church was so very real when we joined hands for the Lord’s Prayer, each reciting it in our own language — perfect joyful noise!
Later Sunday afternoon we walk in the procession of the sick through the Domaine grounds that culminate in the veneration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Pius X Basilica — again attended by 20,000 or more. We are inspired and overpowered by the Host in that beautiful monstrance, gleaming on the altar in the center of the basilica. The Lord is here, we can feel Him drawing us in, and see His face in the faces of those around us as we bow in adoration. I hold closely the kneeling image of one of our group — this special woman’s faith, humility and love of God will be my gold standard. Hopefully I will achieve them one day.
Another Lourdes highlight is the glorious rosary procession held each evening at dusk. Thousands of pilgrims traverse the Domaine, lighted tapers in hand, reciting Mary’s favorite prayer, and singing the Lourdes hymn of praise. “Ave! Ave! Ave! Maria” soars heavenward from thousands of throats, praising the Mother of Jesus. I think I can almost feel the warmth from Mary’s smiles of love.
I am stirred deeply when my husband washes himself in the waters of Lourdes, following Mary’s directions to Bernadette — “wash yourself in the waters.” It is an act of humility and hope during which he is blessed and prayed for by Bishop William Curlin, retired bishop of Charlotte, N.C., myself and our Order of Malta companions. We are bound to each other in Christian love, faith in God and belief in His mercy — joint prayer is potent therapy for healing hearts, minds, souls and bodies.
One of the last large joint activities is a bus tour through the Pyrenees, a treat of breathtaking vistas ending in a small mountain village where we celebrate at our farewell banquet. Laughter and applause are plentiful as some of the talented malades, companions and Order of Malta entourage entertain us with comedy, singing, dancing and music.
The very last journey is our flight home. I will hold close in my memory the voices of over 300 pilgrims reciting the rosary as our plane leaves the coast of Europe and soars out over the Atlantic Ocean. Our voices resonate with happiness and prayerful gratitude for having shared in this profound experience. We are all forever bound by our individual and collective experiences in the place once graced by real presence of the Mother of God.

Mastal and her husband are parishioners of Good Shepherd Parish in Alexandria.