Archives for April 2012

Reasons to be joyful…

Saturday 28 April 2012

I find myself still thinking over our time in Lourdes. It is characteristic of experiences that have profoundly drawn us to God that we need time to ‘unpack’ what has gone on. Almost two weeks since we returned, looking at the whole pilgrimage, the aspect that has stayed with me is that of joy. We […]

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Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. (Lk 6:38)

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Reflections on Lourdes As a priest you get used to being asked to be a chaplain to a group of pilgrims. One of the great privileges you discover on these pilgrimages, as a priest, is that you receive far more than you are ever able to give. This has been doubly true for our trip […]

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Unity, diversity and candlelight: Lourdes 3.

Tuesday 17 April 2012

One of the things that hit me in Lourdes was the diversity of the Catholic Church. As we walked around the grotto for the first time, we ran our fingers along the rock. It has been worn smooth by millions of fingertips, all doing what we were doing. Our fingers, the fingers of past pilgrims […]

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A Sheep Fold Mass: Lourdes 2.

Monday 16 April 2012

On our first full day in Lourdes we took the bus up to the Cite Saint-Pierre. Also known as the City of the Poor, it is a place where accommodation and hospitality is offered to those pilgrims who cannot afford to stay in hotels. The cite is set above the main part of Lourdes, on […]

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In which I ignore wise advice: Lourdes pilgrimage 1.

Sunday 15 April 2012

Today we returned to Eastbourne after a week in Lourdes. Neil was a chaplain with HCPT Group 154 and we tagged along. At the start of the week one of the adults on the pilgrimage said how, on her first trip, the chaplain had told her she would go home and want to tell everyone […]

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O blessed night.

Saturday 7 April 2012

After the draining experience of Thursday and Friday , I hoped that at the Easter Vigil I would stumble on the joy of the Resurrection, in the way the women had done when they went to anoint Jesus’ body. Having not been to a vigil for a few years a flood of memories came back […]

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