We know that y'all back home really want to see photos of your favorite pilgrim(s), so get ready for many posts of just that! Our guide Veronique changed our schedule up a bit, to get us out of the bus and relishing our first views of Paris by boat! She was also able to add a visit to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, not originally on our itinerary. Then it was time to check into our hotel, the Opera Cadet, get settled, and walk around the corner for yet another delicious dinner. Each evening, different people share tables and stories and laughter. A couple hours later, we arrived at Giverny, and had time to wander around the pond, gardens and house. Delightful. Every few yards yielded a new example of beauty. Flowers of nearly every color tumbled over one another, or reached high into the sky demanding attention. Monet supposedly said that he was only good at two things: gardening and painting. He certainly was a master at both. 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. |