Lourdes – A place of love, joy and hope

Towards the end of August this year, over 170 pilgrims from across the Archdiocese of Southwark led by Archbishop Kevin McDonald gathered in Lourdes for the Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage. We joined with several other Dioceses as part of the Catholic Association. It was a great joy this year to welcome our first diocesan group of young helpers under the care of Frs. Geoff Munnery and Brendan McQuillan. We hope to see this group grow and develop in future years.

The beginning of the pilgrimage creates a feeling of excitement and expectancy as to what the week will bring. Some pilgrims are visiting Lourdes for the first time, unsure of what they will find and how they will feel; others are returning to greet a place which has become an old friend, to revisit those parts of the pilgrimage and the town which are now such a part of their lives. Their joy at being able to introduce the new pilgrims to what for them is a very special place, a very special event in their year is clearly evident. Once again they are able to spend time in this holy place, drawing close to the Lord through the gentle action of his mother, Mary.

Lourdes now greets over 6 million pilgrims each year with visitors arriving from all parts of the world, and this in itself is a great experience of the Church universal. Each day crowds of people begin their pilgrimage activities. In many other places such crowds would tend to be off putting, but in Lourdes they seem to be somehow different, adding yet another dimension to this wonderful place. From the moment of arrival at the hotels (the Hotel Solitude was our base), a pilgrim becomes caught up in the experience that is Lourdes. And so it was for our pilgrims.

Our opening Mass in the Basilica of Pius X celebrated by Bishop Peter Doyle (Northampton) on the Saturday afternoon brought together the young and old, the sick and handicapped, and those who look after them and care for them. This Mass reminds us very much that as pilgrims we both give and receive from one another during our time together. It reminds us that here in Lourdes the values of the world are reversed – this is a place of caring and kindness, a place of love and joy, but above all a place of service and prayer. The pilgrimage has begun!

Sunday brings the International Mass – a wonderful celebration in the underground basilica of Pius X, where over 20,000 pilgrims join together to celebrate Mass in 6 languages. This and the Blessed Sacrament and Torchlight Rosary processions seem to proclaim the note of celebration which is very much at the heart of Lourdes. But Lourdes is not only about great celebrations – it is also about those quiet times; times of prayer and reflection. Lourdes is a place that unlocks the doors of our hearts, sometimes doors that we did not even realise were there. No pilgrim seems to leave Lourdes untouched – everyone is changed in some way. It may be that we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation whilst there, or that we go and spend time with the Lord in the Tent of Adoration present with us in the Blessed Sacrament, or that we find a quiet place under the trees to enjoy the warmth of the afternoon and think and pray (maybe even fall asleep).

On Monday morning we celebrated Mass in the Grotto, Archbishop Kevin being the principal celebrant. In the afternoon there were the Stations of the Cross. On the Tuesday after early Masses for the different dioceses, many pilgrims take to the hills on the various excursions on offer.

Our Mass with the Anointing of the Sick and our Penitential Service are always moving and very special moments in the pilgrimage. They once again unlock so many hearts, bringing the spring of life – restoration, joy, healing, peace and hope to those receiving the sacrament and to all those surrounding them with prayer.

However celebrations are not confined just to the Shrine. In the town, in the cafes, bars and hotels, pilgrims are also celebrating in a different way. Often over a coffee or a beer old friends catch up, new friends are made; the giving and receiving goes on and on!

Whether it is our first visit or one of many, we never leave Lourdes without being touched and changed in some way.

Our pilgrimage may be over for this year – but there is always next year to look forward to.

I hardly need explain the attraction of Lourdes. In 1858 in a cave near the town – the Grotte de Massabielle – the Virgin Mary appeared several times to a local girl. From this beginning an enormous industry has flourished, and many millions of visitors descend on the town each year, which has more hotels than any town in France except Paris.

To many it’s a town offering a glimmer of hope, and to others Lourdes is Blackpool on holy water. Set in the stunning backdrop of the Pyrenees there are many reasons to visit Lourdes, if not for a spot of the holy stuff, for the astounding scenery the endless activities there and amazing excursions to the Pyrenees.

Lourdes is indeed one of Frances leading tourist resorts, with over 220 hotels it boasts the largest bed space outside of Paris, represented by a massive 5 million visitors each year, it’s neither relaxing, tranquil or spiritual, but it’s sadly full of desperation, commercialism and has a conveniently placed Macdonalds.

For visitors looking for a spiritual experience, then indeed, there are masses offered in over 22 languages, at all times of the day and night, and a visit up the many steps to the tourist office will give you all the information you need ( if you’re able to get up them). For the curious, it’s also wise to get the mass program, or like me you’ll walk in at a crucial moment with children running amok and heads will turn, as you rapidly seek your excuses in any language before sneaking out tail between legs.

When Bernadette Soubirous had her Apparitions, very little thought was given to the fact that this beautiful valley town, would be impregnated by concrete monstrosities, and less thought was given to the fact that the sick and wounded would end up visiting this place as their last resort… as the narrow pavements, and steep hills aren’t overly conducive to wheelchair travel.

With countless churches burning over 750 tonnes of candles each year, 9 museums and far too many souvenir shops, Lourdes has both historical value interspersed with plastic tat.

The Basilica of Saint Pius X is the largest of churches, able to accommodate over 25,000 people. It’s an awe inspiring place and a “must” on your places to visit.

Le Pic du Jer has a large cross and can be accessed by the chair lift reaching the summit which is approx 1,000 high in only 6 minutes. The ascent is stunning, taking you through the pine trees and offering magnificent views over Lourdes, Pau, Tarbes and of course… the Pyrenees. It’s well worth a trip.

Slightly tacky, but a handy way to get around is by using the tourist train. This covers 7.5 Km, and the trip lasts about 45 minutes ; it offers you the chance to see the Cité Mariale, the old quarters, the upper town and its historic buildings. You can hop on and off the train at various intervals throughout the journey, but if driving through by car, beware, the driver gets irate if you get in his way.

Only minutes from the town centre is an amazing lake, formed from a glacier, it’s one of the largest in the Pyrenees spanning over 55 hectares. Finally you will escape from the hassle of Lourdes with an array of fishing and water sports including sailing, rowing, pedalos, mountain-biking, horse riding, and is a fabulous spot to picnic with many “tourist orientated” restaurants which are best avoided as they charge tourist prices too! The south bank of the lake also offers an 18 hole golf – course.

A walk up towards the forest and you’ll see where Bernadette gathered dead wood in her pre apparition days, there are a wide range of marked walks with information, children’s play areas, an exercise course and even a picnic area.

For historical value, a trip to the Mauvezin Castle (a medieval fortress) built between the 11th and 14th centuries by the counts of Bigorre and completed by Gaston Fébus and Jean de Grailly is well worth your time.

The castle is a great place to visit for those with children With a magnificent views you’ll see the Pic du Midi, and enjoy an amazing view of the Pyrenees along with the 37-metre-high keep houses. There’s also an archaeological museum, with various exhibitions, a gun room and reconstructions of historical scenes.

All in all… Lourdes is a place to say you’ve visited, there is something for everyone, but the commercialisation spoils the spiritual meaning, if it’s a spiritual place you’re looking for, then you’ll find soul in the Ardeche

We are privileged to gather together today for this Mass at the Grotto. We come together on holy ground, on ground hallowed first of all by the encounter between Our Lady and St Bernadette, and subsequently by the presence and the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people who have come here on pilgrimage. We also gather on the feast of one of the greatest and most influential saints in the history of the Church: St Augustine of Hippo, and we are, of course, in communion with all the saints as we celebrate and offer this Mass. The theme this year, here in Lourdes, is: “Keep your lamps lit”, and that theme has a special poignancy here at the Grotto since this is a place of lights, a place where people hold candles and light candles, and leave candles, candles which symbolize the prayer, the hopes and longings of those who come here and those for whom we pray. So it is good for us to be here, to be together on holy ground.

The first reading* we heard today, a reading for the feast of St Augustine, is all about love; about our love for God and God’s love for us. We would not be here if we had not been touched by God’s love and if the flame of love for God and for God’s people had not been kindled in our hearts. We see that very practically in those who care for the pilgrims in most need and in their response to those who care for them. Today’s liturgy suggests a connection between the theme of love and the theme of fire, a connection that is deeply rooted in the Catholic tradition and which finds a particular focus in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which burns with love for us. As we light our own candles, as we carry them in the torchlight procession, we bring to this holy place our own desire to love, our attempts to express love and our need for love. Our capacity for love and our need for love are deeply rooted, they can bear great fruit and do great good. But our love, too, can be disordered, can be selfish and destructive, and we come here, I’m sure, seeking for our capacity to love to be purified. It’s not something we can do by our own efforts: it’s a work of God to which we need to be open, a work of God which the prophet Malachi describes as being like a refiner’s fire. Painful, gradual, but powerful and fruitful. So it was for St Augustine who we commemorate today: someone in whose life God worked powerfully, specifically, in purifying and deepening his capacity for love and eliciting a passionate response to the love of God when he eventually came to faith.

As I said, we celebrate this Mass in communion with all the saints but most especially with Our Lady and she above all illuminates our own lives and our striving to live in love of God and one another. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, a feast which is intrinsically and inextricably connected with the feast of Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. On Easter night we light the most important candle of all, the paschal candle, the symbol of Christ’s resurrection, and at the torchlight procession we lit our candles from the paschal candle. The significance of the feast of the Assumption is that it is the celebration of the fact that a human person, one of our race, has been raised with Christ in glory. The feast of the Assumption, like Easter, is about hope, hope for the purification of our own capacity to love and, consequently, leading on from that, hope for personal resurrection as sons and daughters of God. The Magnificat antiphon for the first Vespers of the Assumption says it all and sums it all up. It is from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans where he says: “Those whom God predestined, he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified.”

We come here with our lamps lit, looking for healing, for forgiveness, for new life, for a new start. The lamp of faith and love may be flickering uncertainly but all that is asked of us is that we allow the Holy Spirit, which came upon Mary at the Annunciation and came upon us in our baptism and confirmation, to fan that flame so that it burns brightly, giving us confidence in our place in God’s purposes, bringing us healing and equipping us for what God wants to do through us, and preparing us for the glory that is promised to us. Earlier in the letter to the Romans, St Paul says: “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Let us put our faith in that word, allow our love for God to grow strong, and live full of confidence in God’s action and full of hope in God’s promise.

Amen.

ECONOMY

It is the economic capital of its parent islands. The economy is highly developed in the service sector and 78% of the output is produced by people engaged in this sector. teh other sectors generally accompany this sector and are thus vital for the sector’s production. The sector for industries constitutes for a total of 5.80% of growing activity in the entire production process. This has been augmented thanks to the tech advances. The construction sector is of immense importance and contributes 11.29% to the GDP. It is a balanced sector in Tenerife’s economy by rendering great openings in employment. The other sectors like the primary and energy sector contribute 1.98% and 2.85% respectively. Go about the city by hiring a car. Learn more about Car Hire Tenerife Airport

AIR TRAVELS

The best way to get to Tenerife is via airways. Reina Sofia is the southern airport while the Los Rodeos is located close to the capital in the northward region. All carry passengers to various destinations across Europe and also cities like Caracas, Dakar, and Miami. There are number of inexpensive airline companies that use this airport as their destination airport. Across Europe, it has the most number of passengers and flight arrivals. The airport located in the northward region has witnessed the most devasting airport accident ever. It is all thanks to these two airports that it has become Canary’s most popular tourist destination. Hire the best car services. Learn more about Hire Car Spain

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION

In the past years that have gone by, the population of the island has increased by an incredible 9.4%. More than half of the people i.e. 73.9% of the people are Spanish with other being from Europe in considerate amounts that majorly comprise of the British (4.0%), Germans and Irish (together 5.1%). The rest of the population comprise of people from Asia and Africa tallying upto a staggering 15.6%. For the past 4 decades, tourism has developed the city more than anything else. Travels are made easier by its Arrecife Airport, an international airport. It is further divided into 7 boroughs as well. FOr more on your travels do hire a car. Learn more about Car Hire Lanzarote

NOTEWORTHY IN LANZAROTE

Amongs the legendary figure comes the world renowned artist César Manrique. Plus, a nobel prize winner in Literature from Portugal passed away in Lanzarote named José Saramago. It has also been a shooting site for movies like Krull, One Million Years B.C and a lot more popular flicks of the 20th Century. Some of the most breathtaking sites includes Salinas de Janubio, in the west of the island. Apart from that a few more places to visit are Timanfaya National Park, Playa de Papagayo, Playa Blanca, Timanfaya National Park, Cave of los Verdes and a lot, lot more. To go about exploring the city, hire a car. Go for Car Hire Spain

A justifiably popular destination the region of Provence combines historic sites a warm climate striking scenery and some of the best restaurants in France.

From the beaches and posh towns of the Riviera such as Nice, Monaco or Cannes to the hilly and mountainous hinterland constantly smelling of perfume and thyme, the Provence offers something to every kind of traveler.

Marseille is the largest town in this region and is really the capital of the South. When you talk to one of the locals, don’t mention that you like Paris.

The Dordogne river valley and de Ardeche offer great hiking and water sport opportunities. Ancient towns, most of Roman origin, such as Orange, Avignon or Arles dot the countryside.

Among the wonderful culinary regional specialites are anchoiade (anchovy oil and garlic paste) daube (braised meat poultry fish or game) marcassin (young wild boar) and panade (fruit tart). Provence is also prime truffle territory. During the season (fall through December) stop at a truffle fair—the prices are steep but the taste and mystery surrounding this delicacy are definitely worth the cost. At any time of the year you can enjoy a variety of markets including the Marche des Antiquaires at L’Isle sur la Sorgue (Sundays).

When you go closer to the Pyrenees, you enter the Languedoc: the land where they say “Oc”. The Occitans are still proud of their own language and culture. A visit to Toulouse, Montpellier or Carcassone gives you some impression of the richness of their culture.

Further in the east, the Atlantic coast
region is quite spectacular as well. Bordeaux is famous for its wines, Gascogne for its cognac. But also for those not primarily interested in alcoholic beverages this region has a lot to offer, Beautiful mountains in the Pyrenees, great beach resorts such as Biarritz and many medieval towns and castles.

Lourdes deserves special mention as well, this is the place to go if you need to be cured of something and you think religion is your best bet. For other travelers the town is also a fascinating place to visit.

The Basque region is the country of the Euskari people as the call themselves. They have lived in this region since the dawn of times and their language is apparantly unrelated to any other language in the world. Their battle for independance has been going on for centuries, but on the French side of the norder things are safe.

Nowadays we have pesticides and herbicides in our fruits and vegetables, heavy metal in our fish, antibiotics and growth hormones in our meat products and additives, preservatives and artificial coloring in our processed foods and drinks. Scientist believe that degenerative diseases (exist after industrialization) can be attributed to the chemicals and carcinogens found in our water, air and food. Water is the best defense against toxicity in the body because it flushes out toxic waste and surely it has to be healthy water, otherwise it only adds to the problems. All of the symptoms of aging are accompanied by a slow dehydration of cells. The average newborn is 90% hydrated, but the average 65 years old is only 55% hydrated. The first signs of dehydration are headache, insomnia, fatigue and lack of mental alertness. Doctors believe that dehydration may be the root cause for all kinds of ailments, from acne and indigestion, to arthritis and obesity, to more serious conditions such as heart problems. The link between dehydration to degeneration and disease has led scientist to do in depth studies on the functions and properties of water.

Researchers have recently discovered that natural, healthy living water has several vital properties, including a certain molecular shape and ph which are necessary to properly hydrate our cells. Early 1900′s famous scientist Victor Schauberger create the term “living water” after he discovered that natural hexagonal, snowflake like water clusters are found in healing waters around the world, and that this geometrical structural is what gives the water its healing properties. Some of the famous healing springs such as Lourdes, Vichy, Evian and Perrier in France, have remarkable effects on hearts, liver and kidney ailments, skin diseases, asthma, digestive disorder and other illness. In pristine places called ‘longevity village”, people live to the age of 100 and beyond in remarkably good health. One factor responsible for this remarkable health and longevity was the water from the melted ice and snow of the Himalayas. Since freezing is one of nature’s regenerative mechanisms, snow water is one of the healthiest forms of water. It naturally has the vital properties and forms small hexagonal clusters.

Not all water hydrates cells and supports life functions equally. Living water can easily penetrate the cells and performs all of its functions. Dead water, on the other hands, must be reformed and revitalized by the body before it can be utilized. Researchers have determined that drinking living water can improve health and longevity but drinking dead water can make cells dehydrate.

For your health and longevity you need to drink water that is:

- Clean and pure
- Full of energy
- Infuse with oxygen
- Rich with nutrients
- Ph-balance to match your body fluids
- Molecularly structured in small hexagonal clusters.

In some situations water is full of energy, sometimes it is sluggish and exhausted and in some conditions it dies.Most our water is dead. Almost everything that human has done to water has destroyed or pollute it. We have contaminated nearly everyday with pollutants, toxic waste and the dumping of hundreds of thousands of chemicals. As early 1960s, more than 2,500 chemical compounds were found in tap water. Today, the world uses 120,000 types of chemicals, with another 1,000 new ones added each year. All of these chemicals find their way into our water source.

Water treatment plant use basic filtration and chlorine to remove microbes and contaminations from our polluted water. This process makes the water “safe to drink, but it destroy water’s life giving properties. Chlorine is not good for water because it has a strong ionic pull that easily distorts water’s healthful crystalline structure. It isn’t good for the body either. Chlorine has been associated with heart problems, cancer and arteriosclerosis. Boiling water does not get rid of chlorine; it changes into carcinogen called trihalomethane. Others problem is that tap water tend to have an erratic ph which disturb the body’s natural acid/alkaline balance of ph 7.35. Keeping water in stagnant storage tanks and forcing it to travel through miles of pipes strip water of its natural energy and oxygen, disrupting the hexagonal clusters. By the time tap water reaches home, it is devoid of healthful properties. A good activated carbon filters may effectively remove chlorine and heavy metals, but it can still allow certain contaminants to pass through. Distillation and RO process do a better job of getting rid of harmful substance than simple filters, but they take everything else out of the water including beneficial minerals that are necessary for health and longevity. Almost all filtration and purification processes and start with tap water and they do a little to restore original water’s properties.

Albania – Hasna Xhukiçi
Angola – Nelsa Alves
Argentina – Johanna Lasic
Aruba – Dianne Croes
Australia – Rachael Finch
Bahamas – Kiara Sherman
Belgium – Zeynep Sever
Bolivia – Dominique Peltier
Brazil – Larissa Costa
Bulgaria – Elitsa Lubenova
Canada – Mariana Valente
Cayman – Islands Nicosia Lawson
China – Wang Jingyao
Colombia – Michelle Rouillard
Costa Rica – Jessica Umaña
Croatia – Sarah ?osi?
Curaçao – Angenie Simon
Cyprus – Kielia Giasemidou
Czech – Republic Iveta Lutovská
Dominican Republic – Ada de la Cruz
Ecuador – Sandra Vinces
Egypt – Elham Wagdi
El Salvador – Mayella Mena
Estonia – Diana Arno
Ethiopia – Melat Yante
Finland – Essi Pöysti
France – Chloé Mortaud
Georgia – Lika Ordzhonikidze
Germany – Martina Lee
Ghana – Jennifer Koranteng
Great Britain – Clair Cooper
Greece – Viviana Kampanile
Guam – Racine Manley
Guatemala – Lourdes Figueroa
Guyana – Jenel Cox
Honduras – Bélgica Suárez
Hungary – Zsuzsa Budai
Iceland – Ingibjörg Egilsdóttir
India – Ekta Choudhry
Indonesia – Zivanna Letisha Siregar
Ireland – Diana Donnelly
Israel – Yulia Liubianitzki
Italy – Laura Valenti
Jamaica – Carolyn Yapp
Japan – Emiri Miyasaka
Kazakhstan – Olga Nikitina
Korea – Ree Na
Kosovo – Marigona Dragusha
Lebanon – Martine Andraos
Malaysia – JoannaBelle Ng
Mauritius – Anaïs Veerapatren
Mexico – Karla Carrillo
Montenegro – Anja Jovanovi?
Namibia – Happie Ntelamo
Netherlands – Avalon-Chanel Weyzig
New Zealand – Katie Taylor
Nicaragua – Indiana Sánchez
Nigeria – Sandra Otohwo
Norway – Eli Landa
Panama – Diana Broce
Paraguay – Mareike Baumgarten
Peru – Karen Schwarz
Philippines – Pamela Bianca Manalo
Poland – Angelika Jakubowska
Puerto – Rico Mayra Matos
Romania – Elena Bianca Constantin
Russia – Sofia Rudieva
Serbia – Dragana Atlija
Singapore – Rachel Kum
Slovak Republic – Denisa Mendrejová
Slovenia – Mirela Kora?
South Africa – Tatum Keshwar
Spain – Estíbaliz Pereira
Sweden – Renate Cerljen
Switzerland – Whitney Toyloy
Tanzania – Illuminata James
Thailand – Chutima Durongdej
Turkey – Senem Kuyucuo?lu
Turks & Caicos – Jewel Selver
Ukraine – Kristina Kotz-Gotlib
Uruguay – Cintia Dottone
USA – Kristen Dalton
Venezuela – Stefanía Fernández
Vietnam – Võ Hoàng Y?n
Zambia – Andella Chileshe Matthews

Using oxygen radiation within the body to kill cancer cells, is one of the most favored methods of quickly subduing cancer naturally. It makes little difference which of the many cancer types is being addressed, or even if it’s progressed all the way to stage 4 cancer, oxygen radiation can quickly reverse it. There was only room to mention three oxygen radiation methods here, but there are many others including my personal preference, which is by using The Elemental Miracle.

Cancer is anything but oxygen loving, the same as with all diseases. Creating high levels of oxygen in the blood spells instant doom to cancer cells. The following three natural cancer treatments are powerful, and can be used simultaneously.

*Rubidium/Cesium/Potassium: One of the primary endeavors involved with naturally healing cancer is to raise the bodies total alkalinity level, and increased oxygen in the blood. One very effective way known to increase blood alkalinity, is to take several grams a day of rubidium and/or cesium. It’s not possible to describe in this short of an article all the details of how this works, or exactly how to do it, but just look on line for any information about Dr. A Keith Brewer or Dr. Nieper and you’ll be convinced. They both achieved the highest cancer cure rates ever recorded.

*Hydrogen Peroxide: A popular method of oxygenating the blood is to use food grade hydrogen peroxide. It has been used successfully around the world as an alternative cancer treatment, especially in Europe. Mix 5 to 10 drops in a glass of water and drink it at least twice a day. Start with 3 drops until you know how well it is tolerated. Don’t take it at night if you want to sleep, and take it on an empty stomach. Wait an hour before any meals.

*Germanium: is an unusual element in that it has the ability to increase oxygenation to the blood. A Japanese researcher developed a safe form of germanium sesquioxide and successfully used it in the treatment of cancer.

It is interesting to note that the Lourdes water in France has been found to be high in both hydrogen peroxide and germanium. The researcher, Dr. Kazuhiko Asai is the discoverer of germanium sesquioxide, and it’s ability to kill cancer. Germanium does occur naturally in certain substances and foods however, one of the more popular forms would be the Gogi berry.

Dr. Kazuhiko Asai PhD now diseased, devoted a good portion of his career, over thirty years, experimenting with germanium’s effects on various diseases, and you can read about his results in the book he wrote, Miracle Cure – Organic Germanium.

These three methods are just a small taste of what’s available in the realm of holistic health, as effective natural cures for cancer. They are equal opportunity cures, and work for any and all types of cancer.

It is indeed regretful that more people are not aware that this number one killer of modern man is 100% curable, if the proper alternative cures are liberally employed. All cancer types, even severe cases of stage 4 cancer, are turned around regularly by holistic methods.

So get busy and take the cure! Don’t wait for any M.D. to write you a prescription or send you to a hospital to receive a natural cure for cancer. Keep on doing whatever they might have recommended if you like, combined with several of your favorite natural cures, no harm. It is your cancer after all, and natural remedies besides producing no side affects, can all be used simultaneously. Good luck and God bless.