Day Eight of Art Novena of Our Lady of Lourdes

Small bottles filled with water from the spring at Lourdes

'At the grotto I fell in line with the other pilgrims, waiting my turn to touch the walls of the cave and its dripping water.  The atmosphere was light and joyful, although many stood and kneeled deep in prayer.  As I approached the statue of Our Lady where She appeared to St Bernadette, I could feel an

intensification of the energy, a slight vibration and a humming sound.  The closer I came, the louder the sound became.  The sound was over and above the sound of the rushing waters.

As I put my hand out to touch the dripping water and I raised my eyes, 

a column of light was visible to me,

shimmering and dancing.

My first impression was that it is a giant candle, but then my logical mind

realised that this is not possible.

The only way I can describe it is 'a flame of living organic light' :

Her Divine Presence made manifest in this world,

visible to my eyes.

And overwhelming and immense feelings which I am at a loss to name.

A feeling of such incredible fullness and completeness which has stayed with me ever since.

A hundred thousand harps take you

like wings and sweep you up out of silence.

And your primitive wind is blowing

the fragrance of your marvelous power

to every being and to every creature in need.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

This is an extract of my very first blog post about my first visit to Lourdes.

Shrine of the Mary and Michael leylines that meet
at the White and Red Springs in Glastonbury

Water has always been the sacred energy of the feminine.
When one follows the leylines in the earth, the Mary line
curves and spirals around wells and you will find
cathedral and churches built on the power points of the Michael
lines (as they are known in the UK)
The feminine has always been worshipped at wells
and it is quite noticeable what an important role the well
plays in Judeo-Christianity and its stories and they
usually involve a woman..

From the very first days, miraculous cures have been granted at Lourdes to many who drank or bathed in the spring that Bernadette discovered at the Lady’s prompting. The Catholic Church is extremely slow and meticulous about acknowledging the validity of a cure and so most of the cures claimed there are never officially recognized. Even so, there are dozens of totally recognized cures that have happened at Lourdes that have been documented by the Church and the medical profession. The first healings happened almost immediately in 1858 and continue until the present day. 

This healing is brought to us on many, many levels.

A picture taken by myself of the Grotto and the spring
and the pyramid of candles

Water has the power to drown us or to quench our thirst.
We know Mary as the loving nurturing mother and also
as the Mater Dolorosa, the grieving mourning mother,
dressed in black, mourning the loss of her son.

In Lourdes you will see hundreds of pilgrims carrying large
containers of water from the sacred spring home every day.
We bring tiny bottles of the healing waters home with us.
Mary is called a Vessel of Spirit, a Vessel of Honour and here in
Lourdes she is the Vessel of the Sacred Waters.

Mary as Alchemical Vessel

In alchemy the vessel is the container in which the

various ingredients are mixed and transformed by each other.

It was believed that the alchemists were looking for

a way to turn lead into gold, but this is a metaphorical

journey of transforming darkness into light.  Or of

finding joy and peace amidst sorrow and hardship as we live

in a world of radical opposites and many challenges.

Mary is the vessel for the divine incarnated in herself as 

the Immaculate Conception and in

giving birth to her Son

and then as all of us.  

water containers at Lourdes

She is also the spiritual vessel in which

opposites combine.  As we are tested and challenged, like Bernadette,

we have the choice to obey the instructions of the voice of the Lady

that no-one else sees or to listen to the incredulous villagers and

Cure.  As we follow the calling of our heart, we are led to dig where

no-one else thought to look and we will uncover a spring that will

feed and nourish thousands.

blessings

Hettienne