The best way to get to Lourdes is a direct TGV from Montparnasse. It takes about six hours, with maybe 3 other stops. It is very comfortable and quiet, conducive for reading. In addition, there are some very nice, panoramic views of the French countryside.

We arrived in Lourdes around 8:30 P.M. and our first gaze upon the great Church at the grotto would be at nightfall.

After checking into the Victoria Gardens Hotel, we decided to take a quick look at the grounds of the grotto to layout our itinerary on Sunday. Our first look upon the main church was one of the most memorable images of the entire trip: we came right in the middle of the nightly Rosary procession illuminated by candlelight.

There was a very good sound system throughout the area so you could join in from any area on the grounds. As far as the Rosary itself, a priest would lead a Pater Noster, the 10 Hail Maries would be in a variety of Languages, followed by a Gloria and a Marian hymn. A pleasant surprise during a hymn was that at a line of “Laudate Maria” or “Ave Maria” everyone, who could, would hold up their candle as an additional sign of praise for Our Lady. After 5 mysteries, a Salve Regina and Credo III were chanted. Needless to say, the grounds were very conducive to thoughtful prayer.

For the next morning, Sunday, the first order of business was to find out where we could attend Mass. Initially, I thought that it would be very difficult to find out where a TLM Mass would be said, that we would have to be on the lookout for a priest with a maniple and book it. However, when we went to the Visitor’s Center, and asked “Où est le Masse, ‘TLM’,” and astute clerk gave us an English listing of events and prominently displayed was a TLM Mass at 9:30 A.M., in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Not only is it well advertised, but it is in the best location for a Mass on the grounds. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the original chapel that was built right above the grotto.

My first impression of the main church at Lourdes was that it consisted of the three main spires so famously depicted in many photos. However, the main church is the center spire and the other two where added later. In addition, another chapel was built, Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, to accommodate larger crowds. The addition seamlessly matches the original chapel. You only notice the difference when you go into both chapels and examine at the architecture.

The Basilica itself is modest in size and for the 9:30 AM TLM, was very well attended. The Mass was offered on a separate Altar from the tabernacle closer to the Faithful. They must use this Altar for other Masses and therefore cannot remove it, so they offer the TLM on this Altar, I guess. These older churches were built to have a specific location of the Altar, and offering the Mass in another location takes away from how the architecture of the church glorifies the Mass. This may be griping, so it is healthy to remember that worse things have happened during other liturgies and any opportunity to glorify “Heaven on Earth” should be deeply appreciated.

One word of advice for anyone who wants to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes: If you have experience with the TLM, arrive early to Mass and ask the celebrant if he needs servers or could use a cantor. The impression I got from the priests saying the Masses is that they take periodic campaigns in Lourdes and there are a very few permanent positions for stationed priests, let alone servers and cantors. For the Mass we attended, there were some nice spontaneous “assists”.

The Mass began with the priest processing in by himself to begin the dialogue TLM. Fortunately, a Transalpine Redemporist came in to assist Father by the end of the epistle (This was our best guess as to who the server was. He was dressed in the traditional attire for a redemporist priest and we saw similarly dressed priests marching under the cross of St. Andrew during the previous night’s Rosary procession).

The priest read the epistle and gospel in Latin at the altar. Then, while still at the altar, re-read the readings in French. Fortunately for us, the homily was in English.

The gospel was the miracle healing of a deaf mute. In the homily, these miraculous healings in the gospel, as well as the healings that take place in Lourdes, are only a periphery of what happens interiorly, “you Faith has healed you…” What is this interior healing? Christ opens our ears and mouths to God through the merits of His Suffering, Death, and Resurrection. He has opened our mouths to have the ability to proclaim “Abba, Father” for all Eternity. How do we let Christ open our mouths and ears to God? By being obedient to Holy Mother the Church and the Sacraments. The priest’s final thought of the homily was a quote from Pope Benedict XVI, but composed when he was still Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger: The essence of religion is obedience.

The next spontaneous assist came from a large contingent of traditional scouts similar to the ones we saw in the 2006 Chartres pilgrimage. Their contribution to the Mass was to use the flags for their troop as torches during the consecration. This is the first time I have seen this. I must say it is a very nice touch to the Mass. The scouts were a slight variation of torch bearers. A properly assisted celebrant really adds to the liturgy.

After the prayers following a Low Mass were recited, some of the scouts spontaneously began a French, Marian hymn. I couldn’t tell you what it was; it may have been “Chez nous, soyez reine”.

Whatever it was, it caused the priest to pause for a moment to face a statue of Our Lady for the duration of the hymn before going back to the sacristy. Attendance at this Mass will only increase and maybe in the near future, there will be more than one TLM per week on the grounds at Lourdes.

After Mass, Ioannes Reginarum and I had a chance to walk around the main church complex. The layout is very similar to St. Peter’s in Rome. There is a long walkway leading up to the church, in front of the Church there is a plaza surrounded by statues of Saints, and finally there is the main façade of the Church. We took a moment to admire the statues and we came across a particular statue that was obscured by a tree!

Apparently, someone thought it was a good idea to plant trees in the plaza. The probability of one of these trees would obscure a statue would be very small and only one of these statues was obscured. However, of all the Statues that were in the plaza, the obscured statue was of St. Louis De Montfort! How could this happen? Of all the Saints, of all the Saints from France, of all the Saints from France who contributed to True Devotion to Our Lady, St. Louis’s statue is obscured at Lourdes! Being quick on his feet and resourceful, Ioannes Reginae pulled out “The Litany to St. Louis Marie Grignon De Montfort” and we recited it next to his statue. We hope the “Apostle of the Most Holy Rosary” appreciated our small gesture. St. Louis’s message is not obscured, however, on the grounds. In the Rosary Basilica, in large letters next to the main image of Our Lady, are the words “Par Marie A Jesus”.

For the rest of the afternoon, we visited Cachot, the parish Church, and the hospital/school, where St. Bernadette was catechized.

When you are approaching Lourdes, you can actually see the grotto from the train, as well as a lot of the town. Besides the grotto, you can see the parish church of the Soubrious family. The parish church was the center of the town. The bell-tower rose above the town so everyone can hear the chimes and the spire could be seen from every point. We visited the Baptismal Fount used for St. Bernadette that is still at the Parish church.

One of the main lessons we can learn from the Soubrious family is that even though the family fell on hard financial times, their Faith never wavered, nor did they wallow in their misfortune. Even though St. Bernadette’s clothes were not of the most expensive fabric, they were well-maintained. In abject poverty, St. Bernadette still had a gregarious personality.

At the Cachot, which was still cool and damp in the middle of Summer, various keepsakes were on display: her shoes, scarves, and her rosary. Her rosary was very carefully made and still intact in the museum. The beads were crafted from pieces of sturdy wood and the knots used to tie them together were taught with a fine piece of string. It was obvious where the priorities were for the family. When St. Bernadette was in school at the Hospice in Lourdes, she graduated to the 15 decade Rosary.

No account in Lourdes would be complete without mentioning the Grotto at Lourdes. The Grotto is very accessible. It is very easy to fill up a small vial of water from the miraculous spring. If you get into the grounds before the front gates close, the Grotto is virtually accessible 24 hours a day. While I haven’t been to the Holy Land, I don’t think you can get this same accessibility.

There are Masses said at the Grotto along with Exposition and Benediction. To get close enough to touch the rocks in the Grotto, there are regulated lines and barriers to control the flow. You could even close view of the spring itself before a plumbing system leads the water out a large number of faucets. Besides these two events at the Grotto, there is remarkably very little policing done for the crowds. In fact, the crowds were very good at policing themselves. If the whispers reached a certain, understood decibel level, polite shoohsing would start, which was promptly obeyed.

All in all, it was a very successful pilgrimage filled with praise and prayer for Our Lady. May many graces be imparted at the intercession of Mater Dei on the intentions Ioannes and I humbly brought forth at one of the holiest places in Christendom.

Unfortunately, even a college or university with a Catholic name attached does not guarantee that Catholic ideals and values are upheld and defended.

This disappointing fact has led most of us to agree with Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., that parents should “send their children to secular colleges and universities that have an active and involved campus ministry loyal to the Catholic faith rather than use what I call a phony Catholic school.”

Not all is lost, however, in the pursuit of higher education. In the same essay from Fr. Groeschel in the Foreword to “Choosing a Catholic College” (pdf link) where this quote is taken from, he says encouragingly: “There is, however, cause for hope, and it is manifested in those oases of Catholicism profiled in this publication.”

Choosing a Catholic College is published by the Cardinal Newman Society in response to a demand to evaluate the Catholic “fiber” of a particular institution. 21 out of 224 schools advertised as Catholic were selected as an institution “where students can reasonably expect a faithful Catholic education and a campus culture that upholds the values taught in their homes and parishes.” This dismally small percentage, unfortunately, is a sign of the times. Therefore, the goal of this book is to give a needed jolt of honesty and a wake-up call to Catholic families to re-evaluate Catholic higher education.

To help define an orthodox education at a Catholic institution, insightful essays are included in the Foreward by authors such as Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., His Excellency Most Rev. Elden F. Curtiss, Archbishop of Omaha, Fr. C. John McClosky III, and Peter Kreeft. Topics discussed include, but are not limited to, the place of Catholicism in the university setting, the status of Catholic education including the past events that lead its present state, and a health Catholic environment in the student life of a university. Also included is the Apostolic Constitution for Catholic Universities, Ex corde Ecclesiae, written by Pope John Paul II.

The Cardinal Newman Society, in trying to uphold the ideals presented by the above authors, characterized the 21 “oases” by the following criteria:

-The give a priority to their Catholic identity and actively practice it in most, if not all, aspects of campus life;

-They are generally assiduous in ensuring that critics of Catholic Church teaching are not given a platform for their work;

-They are committed to providing a quality education for their students;

-Any deficiencies are more than outweighed by success in other areas;

Among the 21 were some schools I have heard some great things about: Christendom College, University of Dallas, Franciscan University at Stubenville, and Ave Maria. What I found interesting was the number of very new Catholic colleges: Wyoming Catholic College, Southern Catholic College, and Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Ontario to name a few. So if you think you have too few options for attending a Catholic college, it may be well worth it to look in the colleges in this guide and you may find another viable option.

A notable absence from the list is any Jesuit College. This is very surprising considering the rich intellectual tradition of the Society of Jesus. A dearth of Jesuit colleges does not contribute to these absences. It would not be surprising if both the lay and religious facets of these schools’ administrations are at fault.

The most noticeable absence, however, required a special epilogue to explain why this institution is not on this list. The institution is the University of Notre Dame.

This epilogue can be seen as a litmus test to the rigor of their standards of Catholicity for a college. From their assessment, they are not mystified by the golden domes of their buildings or football players.

Essentially, while there are several aspects of the university that are faithfully Catholic, the current administration is torn between its Catholic identity and its desire to become a “research university committed to a secular view of academic freedom.”

There are still shining bastions of Catholicism at ND. Outstanding professors like Alasdair McIntyre, Alfred Freddoso and Ralph McInerny make a very good and faithful Philosophy department. Think-tanks like the Center for Ethics and Culture and The Jacques Maritain Center defend Church teaching. Students have the opportunity to foster a deep and enriching Spiritual life with generous accessibility to the Sacraments and Priestly guidance.

However, according to the research done by the Cardinal Newman Society, there are still administrative philosophies that defend ideals that are an affront to Catholicism and, unfortunately, have found their niche at Notre Dame. While there is no student organization specifically intended to support a homosexual community, there is a vibrant and public tolerance of homosexual community, which includes an annual queer film festival. Controversial figures in the life of the Church like Fr.Richard McBrien and Fr. Gustovo Guitierrez Merino are still at Notre Dame and have a platform for their views. Only 53 percent of the faculty is Catholic. This is down from 85 percent in the 1970s.

There are signs of hope, the Newman Society reports. The appointment of Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., as president in 2005 is very encouraging. Among his main initiatives is to strengthen Catholic hiring. He also has been more vocal in the lapses in judgement in the decisions concerning on-campus activity.

What can be learned from their assessment of Notre Dame as a Catholic college is that it is not enough to have the Catholic Faith present in all of its orthodoxy, as difficult as it may be, to be considered a Catholic college, but the Catholic Faith should pervade all aspects of a student’s life. Students’ Faith should be nurtured and allowed to grow concomitantly with higher education in order that they remain faithful for years down the line.

The grounds of the Shrine consist of a large hill where the church stands looking out over a small valley. In front of it is an outdoor Stations of the Cross, which all of us would pray later in the day. Having noticed that parts of the signs on the grounds were in Polish, I suspected that a monument of some sort to the late Pope John Paul II had to be near. Sure enough, there is a statue of the late Pontiff next to the church. At the base of the statue was his papal emblem with its characteristic blue “M” showing devotion to Our Lady as well as his personal motto in Latin, “Totus Tuus (Everything Thine)”. In addition, the words “Open the doors to Christ (Otworzcie szeroko drzwi Chrystusowi)” were also part of the monument.

The Church itself is medium sized and under construction. The facade was completely stripped of its original artwork and I don’t know what it will look like when the renovations are done. The artwork at the main altar presents Our Lady of Czestochowa in Her rightful place in salvation history, being exalted by the Cherubim and Seraphim in the presence of the Triune God. Except for the painting of Our Lady, the other elements of the artwork were crafted in a textured bronze. While this church was constructed in 1966, the necessary provisions were taken to offer the Extra-ordinary Rite with the utmost reverence.

After most of the pilgrims had arrived and gone to Confession, the outdoor Rosary procession began. The procession was led by a company of approximately 12 altar servers followed by 10 young ladies in white dresses and veils. Like I saw in the Pilgrimage to Chartres, a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried on the shoulders of two men; Fr. Miara and the crowd filled out the procession. As this day’s pilgrimage had been billed, the accompanying prayers for the Holy Rosary helped focus our prayer intentions on reparation to Our Lady of Fatima. One sample: “… But for thy merciful message of Fatima we would have continued in our forgetfulness of God and His commandments. Thou hast warned us again; thou has pointed out the way to propitiate the just anger of God. Deign now, O most beautiful Virgin of virgins, to accept the office of mediatrix between earthly children and thy heavenly Son….”

After the procession was over, there was a Solemn High Mass in the Church. The Mass said was of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Salve, Sancta Parens. Fr. Miara did not disappoint with a homily that helped us understand how the history and meaning of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa can help deepen our commitment to the Faith.

After a brief history about the origins of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, he recalled a certain event that took place during a burglary attempt on the sacred image. Upon exiting the castle with the image, the robbers jumped into a wagon being pulled by a mule. The mule would not budge. Out of anger, one of the robbers slashed the face of Our Lady in the image and image began to bleed. Luckily, the burglary was not successful, but the scars from the vandalism could not be repaired after many attempts.

Fr. Miara used this account to illustrate that first and foremost Our Lady is the Mother of Sorrows. In her co-redemption of the human race, She carried her own cross on Earth with her divine Son. She is a model for us to carry our own crosses. Fr. Miara also reminded us that a cross is a *must* for salvation so that we too must expect to carry a cross. We cannot choose our cross, rather, it will be assigned to us. Our Lord will send us a cross for us to bear according to His Will. No servant is greater than his master. Christ suffered and died for our salvation, therefore, we must die with Him before we are saved. Christ called Peter a devil because he got in the way of His Cross.

After this spiritual “wake up call,” Fr. Miara reminded us that in viewing suffering on Earth with Faith and an eye towards discerning the Divine Will, there is no such thing as a “bad event.” It is better to suffer on Earth than in the fires of Purgatory. Our cross on Earth is actually a beautiful cross if it is a reparation to Our Lord and for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Therefore we should be joyful and rejoice in the triumph of Our Lady. In closing, Fr. Miara reminded us that through Holy Mother Church we have a means of Salvation. So we should receive the sacraments, pray the Rosary, do penance and

“FIGHT FOR THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS.”

As I expected, Fr. Miara did not disappoint.

The stations of the Cross according to St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori were the next item on the agenda. The Stations were outdoors. Fr. Miara was flanked by five altar servers. The Stabat Mater was chanted in full and the Stations concluded with the commemoration of the five wounds of Christ: an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be were repeated five times.

The pilgrimage concluded with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the main church. Fr. Miara was accompanied by the deacon, sub-deacon, MC, thurifer, and torch bearers. The Benediction went according to the 1962 Missal, but before the Divine Praises and the Tantum Ergo, we recited the prayer taught by the Guardian Angel of Portugal to the three visionaries during the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. As mentioned in the accompanying booklet, an angel appeared to the shepard children of Fatima with the Blessed Sacrament suspended in mid-air. Bowing deeply, the Angel began to recite: “My God, I believe in Thee, I adore Thee, I hope in Thee, and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who neither believe nor adore nor hope, nor love Thee….” This prayer was recited three times by the angel. Likewise, the faithful at the Shrine repeated this prayer at this point during Benediction. This prayer is most appropriate because the lunette is placed in the Monstrance and “elevated” on the altar. The ties between the apparition at Fatima and the liturgy were very strong throughout the day.

The benediction concluded with a farewell to Our Lady of Fatima Statue, which included the Portuguese custom of waving white handkerchiefs as the Statue left the Church.

All in all, devoting an entire day of prayer and reparation to Our Lady should be integral to the spiritual life of any Catholic and this pilgrimage provides a great opportunity for those of us on the East Coast. I could not finish this account of the day without mentioning the brilliant choir and organist for providing beautiful music throughout the day. If there is one parting thought I have from the pilgrimage, it is that a “Traditional Catholic” is a kind of misnomer. To me, using the term “tradition” conjures up the idea that certain things are only done today because they were relevant in the past and people cling to that time. But the Catholic Faith does not change over time. Salvation history is not a thing of the past but is going on even today, and only prayer, penance, and devotion to Our Lady can keep it fervently alive among faithful Catholics.