LOURDES AND IRELAND

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 50, 28 December 1922, Page 46

LOURDES AND IRELAND

(By Mrs. Michael Sullivan, in the Dublin Leader.)

During the late years of the terrible war which has

laid Europe low, and when the French had taken over the supreme command of the army, a French acquaintance said to me: — “Now, for the first time since 1870, it is asked — does France think?” Soon, I hope that we Irish will be able to say likewise and to rejoice at once again having the management of our own affairs and at feeling sure that we, too, shall be asked What does Ireland think? Early in July I visited Lourdes and there, on the notices outside the churches of the Grotto, was a printed paragraph asking, and sanctioning the asking of, the pilgrims for prayers for Ireland. These notices tell the pilgrims the hour of their Mass at the Grotto and also the hours of their other devotions, and consequently are read by very many. Some say Ireland is unknown to the average French man or woman. I never found it so. The French, on being told that one is Irish, immediately recognise an inhabitant of a friendly country, one of their own religion, and one whose tone of thought differs little from their own. The language question does puzzle them a bit, but the French are not alone in that. I remember a professor from Fribourg, in Baden, saying to me: “I regret I cannot talk to you in your native language, but I know middle and ancient Irish these I found necessary to study and to he acquainted with in order to possess a good knowledge of the subject I profess in our University. For those who have Catholic beliefs Lourdes is an entrancing spot. Once one passes the gates leading into the grounds of the Grotto and these gates stand open one sees no buying or selling ; no need to say as did Our Lord, “You have made a den of thieves of My Father’s house.” True there is a tiny little room close by the Grotto where religious objects, candles, etc., can be purchased, but this is an exception, and it did not seem to me that the proprietors pushed their wares; and, I must add, this little store is a great convenience, as from where it stands to the nearest spot where one could buy a drinking cup or a candle is very considerable. What I wish to convey, is that in the grounds of the Grotto, and they are extensive, there is not the usual crowd selling, yes, plaguing one to buy something and making it impossible to keep one’s mind on the one thing needful. The management of Lourdes is excellent. During all these years since Our Blessed Lady, through Bernadette, made it known to the wide world, Lourdes has retained its deeply religious aspect, and there one almost forgets the outside world. The excursions are not boomed, and although Tarbes is only 25 minutes by train from Lourdes and is the birthplace of General Foch and the home of his parents, there were no placards announcing this fact. The French form the bulk

of the pilgrims. Pilgrims come from other countries. The “Catholic Young Men”—l presume that that very excellent society of Catholic young men is known to all readers of the Leader personally conducts a pilgrimage of Irish Catholics to Lourdes every year. They make arrangements to be in Lourdes for the magnificent festivities of August 15. But France sends her sons and her .daughters there in their thousands, and. they do pray and with such fervor, just as the Irish pray, knowing full well that Our Lady of Lourdes will intercede with her Divine Son for all of us. Everything in and around the Grotto is free—no charge entrance at all hours to all the churches. The baths are free. One can drink as much of the water as suit’s one’s taste and, in addition, can carry away as much of it as one likes or is able to carry; water is fairly heavy. Taking charge of a supply of Lourdes water on a long journey is not free from trouble.

As far as I can, I will incite and lead others on to love God with all their heart above all things. St. Francis of Assisi.