The Dream Continues: Rocamadour

      As we approached Rocamadour, I was struck, once again, by the awe-inspiring setting. The dramatic landscape of Rocamadour had stayed fixed within my memory. It is a village in southern France, built on the side of a cliff, with three levels. The design reflected medieval society: Knights above, religious clerics in center and the lay workers down on the bottom. A funicular, a cable-driven transit system, able to scale steep slopes, enables you to move from one level to the next. Residents often use the paths up the mountainous area.

     We arrived well before dinner, departed the bus and rode the funicular to the top level, where our hotel was located. I felt relieved that we were staying in a different hotel than my husband and I had stayed. I did not want to relive the bad memories again-- once was enough! God had brought me back for a healing and I was placing my full trust in Him.

The Dream Continues: Toulouse

     As the bus pulled away from our hotel in Lourdes, a deep sense of gratitude and thanks filled my being. Our experience at Lourdes had exceeded my expectations! In the quiet of my heart, prayers of thanksgiving ascended to God.

A Dream Fulfilled: Lourdes

      As I finished praying the rosary, our plane safely touched down. Filled with gratitude, I offered a prayer in thanksgiving, to Our Lord and Our Lady, for a wonderful pilgrimage to France!

     It was a nine-hour flight, which gave me time to process all that had transpired. This pilgrimage had been a long time coming. It was my third attempt to make it happen, and it finally did!

Freed from the Mire

 “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped” Jer. 20:7.

That scripture, those thoughts, that idea, was being seared into my mind, and deep within my being. Again, and again and again. The evil one wanted me to agree, accept and own that truth…except it wasn’t truth. It was a downright lie! Jesus warned us about the devil. “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” Jn.8:44-45.

ALL WILL BE WELL

   “But there are some things that you cannot be sure of. You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops. You don’t know where the wind blows.” Ecclesiates 11:4

     It’s been three years since my husband, and I went on our pilgrimage to France. 

     My dream was to go to Lisieux to visit the sites of St. Therese, my love, while Jonathan’s was to encounter Normandy Beach. Neither happened. Quite unexpectedly, only twenty-four hours after we landed, my husband experienced a very serious medical issue, which landed him in the hospital for the remaining time of our pilgrimage, minus one day. Although we were both very disappointed, we were just happy to get home alive. I remember kissing the ground when we landed.

Me, "A Living Will of God?"

      “True love of God consists in adhering perfectly to His holy will, not desiring to do or be other than what God dictates for each of us, to the point of becoming, as it were, “a living will of God."                                                                                     Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

     I shudder as I read Fr. Gabriel’s words. I love God and strive to truly love Him. I want to desire to live this statement, but if I’m totally honest, I silently desire my will at times. Me, “a living will of God?” Regretfully, I am not.

Destined for More

     It’s already near the end of the fifth week of Lent and a reflection that I read on Ash Wednesday has stayed within my heart and soul. 

     It’s a continuing theme that resonates deep within me, and in talking with different spiritual friends, I hear it echoed in our conversations.