Before we left Lisieux this morning, we returned to the Basilica for mass in the crypt chapel. The walls and ceilings were covered with mosaics of the beatitudes and moments in the life of St. Therese. The acoustics provided an echo that any choir would love. We were challenged by the readings and the example of the Saint to search for God's wisdom.
Some of us located the grave of Fr. Philip Edelen, a priest in the Diocese of Raleigh who was a chaplain in WW2, and mortally wounded in the invasion while ministering to a soldier. We prayed at his grave, and asked for his prayers for our parishes and Diocese. A trip to a beach is usually for fun; this visit was more somber. Our first stop, at Omaha Beach, gave us the opportunity to step on the sands on which so many Americans died 70 years ago this June. We could see the remains of a German bunker, and a reconstructed pier, and turning our backs to the beautiful ocean, find the cliffs the troops who survived had to scale. Quietly, we moved on to the American cemetery a few miles away. I did not expect it to be so lovely- set oceanside, abundant with trees and flowers, a peaceful setting embracing the white marble headstones of the 9,387 soldiers buried there. We had time to stroll the grounds. We covered many miles today, leaving early from Lisieux through the rolling hills of the Normandy region to its southwestern end and the fabled island of Mont St-Michel. No longer do pilgrims and tourists wait for low tide and pray to dodge the quicksand to reach the island: one simply packs into a shuttle bus, or walks or bikes a long pedestrian path and bridge. We then walked up winding, cobbled streets, lined with restaurants, shops and history museums. Some of us continued to walk up many more steps, rewarded with open views across to the mainland. Clear blue skies and temperatures approaching 80 degrees prepared us all the more to regather for Mass in the Abbey church singing, "For the Beauty of the Earth". After Mass and a break for lunch or further exploring, we shuttled back to the bus, in order to traverse northward to the Normandy beaches. In a change from previous pilgrimages (and because there is a big equestrian event in the area, making it difficult to get an appropriate hotel for a group), we are spending our first two nights in a retreat center. The Ermitage is located right next to the Carmel (cloistered convent) where Therese lived, worked and prayed. The rooms are small, clean and basic- no TV, no fancy shampoo (but there IS free wi-if in the lobby, so the necessities ARE covered!). Breakfast, too, is simple: juice, coffee, tea, with French bread and jelly or butter. There is a lovely courtyard, and flowers are in abundance throughout the town. After the many hours of hustling through airports and trying to nap on the flight, I think most of us are appreciating the simplicity, and some finding it a helpful way to tune in to the simplicity of the lifestyle of Therese, and of so many, by choice or circumstance, around the world. We are just settling into the retreat center at Lisieux, after a long and lovely drive through the countryside of Normandy. We've already visited several places associated with St Therese, and have a couple of hours to rest before prayer and dinner. |