July – Israel, France

Can miracles really happen? Only one way to find out!

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be ~ Douglas Adams, writer

The Plan: To take a self-guided pilgrimage to the healing waters of the grotto in Lourdes, France, and the Holy Land in Israel.

I kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland once. According to legend it’s supposed to give you the gift of eloquence. Those who know me know I’ve had the gift of the gab since birth but they will be just as quick to point out it is neither elegant nor dripping with flattery. My persuasiveness comes not from kissing a block of bluestone but rather my ability to wear people down. Yes, I have flaws. Lots of them. But in the immortal words of George Michael “I gotta have faith”. I didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone that day because hanging upside down and leaving my lipstick smeared at the top of a castle was a cool thing to do. I did it because it’s nice to believe that maybe, just maybe, I would get a dose of humility thrown my way. Can miracles really happen if you believe strongly enough? I’m going to Lourdes to purge and find out!

Fast Facts:

-In 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous reported 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary at a grotto near her home.

-Despite initial scepticism from the Catholic Church, these claims were eventually declared to be worthy of belief. The apparition is known as Our Lady of Lourdes.

-Bernadette’s body remained uncorrupt, and the shrine in which it lays at Lourdes attracts millions of Christians of all denominations each year.

 

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