Lourdes – A Shower of Devotion

Where or when do you feel most in communion with the energy of the Divine?

Do you relate more to the Divine Mother/ Feminine or Divine Father/Masculine?

Where is it easiest to connect your heart to something that’s Greater than the human you, no matter what your beliefs are?

• in nature?
• in your meditation space?
• in a community worship space?
• in sacred sites around the world?
• in your shower?

The possibilities are as unique as you are.

I went to many sacred sites this summer during the Mary Magdalene pilgrimage and while living & studying at Ananda Assisi.

But in the Lower Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Italy, for example, I didn’t feel a thing. I tried. Maybe it was because of the throngs of tourists. I’m not fond of crowds. But I was surprised. Saint Francis is my favourite of the Catholic saints.

Others, including Paramhansa Yogananda (of “Autobiography of a Yogi” and the guru of the ashram where I was staying) had connected with this beloved Saint in a profound way there.

In Lourdes, however, the energy for me was palpable. 

Perhaps it was because the sacred cave where The Lady appeared 18 times was outdoors. Maybe it was because she’d appeared to a child, Saint Bernadette, a story that impacted me in my own childhood.

Perhaps it’s because the thousands of pilgrims were actively engaged in devotion, not just playing tourists.

Many miracles have happened in Lourdes since 1858. The Catholic church may have only recognized 70, but over 7000 cases of healings have been reported.

Whatever the case, it moved me deeply to join in the veneration for the Divine Mother, and to pray for loved ones.

Last time I was there, I was 9 years old and living on a military base in Germany.

This time, we arrived on the last day of the 63rd International Military Pilgrimage (May12-14 2023) with 14,000 military personnel from 40 nations, all focused on peace. Hopeful! Rewatching the video above right after Remembrance Day adds to that feeling.

The nightly procession before the one in this video must have been even more spectacular! I’d heard that they’d restricted access to the balcony, however, so I wouldn’t have gotten the same footage. This procession was definitely more my scale.

I hardly used my camera on the first of our 2 days there, until the evening procession.

The next day in the rain, that camera got me out of our hotel room early, when all was quiet except the bagpipes.

I left Lourdes with some holy water that had trickled drop by drop into my bottle and with a heart filled with the vibration of this holy site. May some of those vibrations make it through the screen to you. Click on the video above to watch.

I invite you to experience it all as if you were a part of the energy, adding your intentions and prayers as you watch.

P.S. The photos and clips in the 7-minute video above are mostly different than in the minute dedicated to Lourdes in my full 18-day pilgrimage production that you can also click here to watch.