We had heard that Lourdes was tacky... if France had a Las Vegas, it would be Lourdes... tick the box quickly and move on.
After today, I can tell you there is much more to Lourdes than squeezing a quick buck from the gullible... that aspect of Lourdes is visible... it has some of the best healed beggers in France.
Historically, you must remember that the Virgin Mary came to Lourdes as an apparition... not as a visitation. The importance of this distinction was emphasised by those promoting the sacred aspect of the Basilica in Zaragoza (where the Virgin Mary is supposed to have carried a pillar of stone to help build the first Christian church in Spain). In Lourdes, Virgin Mary simply appeared out of the mists and disappeared again... a wonderful event for the faithful... but still can't compare with carting a pillar of stone across two continents.
Putting aside the historic aspects, the significance of Lourdes comes home when you see that one in four people on the streets is a true believer who has made the pilgrimage as a last resort. Their doctor may have indicated that medicine can offer no further help... their psychic may be tormented by unrelenting stress... they may be seeing a loved one disappearing before their eyes. For them, Lourdes is far more than a spin off the wheel of fortune... and see what happens... for some of them, it is their last hope.
We asked our landlady, "When was a miracle last recorded within Lourdes?" She replied that miracles occur at Lourdes each and every day. She is a well educated lady with world experience (once part of a French snow skiing team)... and also has a son who suffered a disability at birth. Clearly, she is a believer.
In between services at the Grotto, attendees are allowed to wander behind the altar and touch the rock where the apparition of the Virgin Mary was seen. The four of us (Kathie, Graeme, Joye and I) found ourselves in the queue... simply by following the crowd. The lady beside me was kissing a picture of a relative as we made our way towards the rock face... one chap a few metres behind us was sobbing uncontrollably... many people in the congregation were on their knees praying while waiting the start of the next service... queues of people stood next to taps gushing forth 'holy water' that they were using to scrub their arms, legs and faces to wash away all their sins. There was tension in the air... for some, this was not fun and games.
Now the more cynical amongst us may say that these sweet people are being exploited by putting a religious overlay on top of beliefs that are not rational... in other words, God is not likely to cure my ills simply because I made the trip to Lourdes... very few serious theologians would make that claim. Nonetheless, the church has built an enormous Basilica at the site... showing bright colours and moving sculptures to deliberately convey the message that the church endorses such primative beliefs... the church takes up collections of money... the church sells merchandise along with all the other money grabbers... some big candles were on sale for €75, and allowed to burn closer to the site of the apparition. We were all secretly wishing to see a miracle... a wheelchair ridden child step up and walk away... a bent very old lady rise from her praying to say she had been cured of her cancer... but to no avail.
Is it a crime for the church to encourage believers to invest so much emotional energy in hopes that will not come true? Wouldn't it be more Christian to spend time with the disabled and help them learn to live with their reality... and to seek rational ways to improve their quality of life?
That's a question each of us will need to answer for ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment