Happy New Year to All

As 2010 draws to a close and we look forward with renewed energy to a brand New Year, I find myself reflecting on what a “Pilgrimage” means to me. The purpose of a pilgrimage is to grow in faith whilst making a visit to a place made holy by a sacred event.

For me, as a pilgrim, it is whilst I am away from my everyday life and routine that I am able to deepen my relationship with God.

St. Thomas Aquinas theorised that “Grace builds upon Nature” – that the Grace of God speaks to the condition of the human person. Lourdes provides me with an opportunity for Grace to enter and fill up my life once more.

It is not always easy to see a miracle when all we can see is the need for one, but the wondrous unfolding of Grace within and around me whilst in Lourdes is my own, personal miracle.

At Lourdes I am reminded that it is only when I keep looking backwards that I fail to see that God is standing beside me.

God Bless all our Pilgrims, Helpers, Medical Staff and Clergy and may Our Lady bring us safely home to her special place in Lourdes.

Happy New Year to all.