Mass on the Move

Altar of the Daily Mass Chapel
Notre Dame Cathedral, Bayonne, France 

It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult, concelebrating Mass at a local parish.  But it can be a big pain in the neck.  It takes up a lot of my time and energy.  So why is it such a big deal?  Well, here are some issues involved.

The first thing I do upon arriving at a new place is try to find a church that has Mass.  Now not every church has Mass daily.  Unlike Incarnation and most Brooklyn parishes, not every church has Mass on a given day.  Most churches have a schedule of where Mass will be celebrated in the village/town/city.  So you find that church.   But sometimes there is a hand written sign up: "Ne pas le Messe aujourd'hui" (No Mass Today).  I have what I need to celebrate Mass in my hotel but that is not ideal.  If it's early enough (most churches have evening Mass around 6 or 6:30PM) I'll check for another church.

If there is a scheduled Mass this is where the fun begins.  Every church has a sacristan/sexton who believes he or she is somehow part of the Holy Trinity or carries the keys of St. Peter himself.  More often than not this person will also serve the Mass or read the Scripture passage.  I'll approach this person and explain that I am an American priest and I would like to concelebrate the Mass.  Now it does not seem to be the custom here because the person has no idea why I would want to do such a thing.  Granted there is a language barrier but still it should not be that difficult.

Because this conversation all takes place in the small Mass chapel the entire group of people gathered all know that something "out of the routine" is taking place and so they begin to talk among themselves about this evolving situation.  Some believing the sexton is being "too hard on me," others upset that I am breaking up "their routine."  Some have come up to join the conversation or iron things out in their minds.

After dealing with the sexton/sacristan I get to the sacristy.  Some of the better sextons/sacristans will begin to find vestments for me (a simple white alb and a stole).  As a courtesy I'll wait until the priest arrives to vest.  Some priests arrive fully informed of my presence (the grapevine is awfully thick in these small parishes) others get the news upon their arrival.  I'll ask the priest if I can concelebrate with him and then get vested.

Not all priests like the idea of concelebration and some do better than others with small talk in the sacristy before Mass.  Some priests will chat about New York or my upcoming Camino Pilgrimage others will not say a word to me at all.  I find those priests from religious congregations - Dominicans, Jesuits, Eudists  - all do better at welcoming the stranger.  Perhaps it is because of the nature of religious life that they are more used to visitors.  Some priests welcome me from the Altar at some point of the Mass others say nothing.

Like at home Sunday Masses usually have more people around with the various ministers arriving in the sacristy.  Some of the more daring will try to "practice their English" on me.  While most churches seem to have only one Sunday Mass, it is usually well attended with organ and singing.

High Altar of the Church of St. John the Baptist,   St. Jean de Luz, France
Here King Louis XIV married Marie Theresa of Spain in 1660.

One example to show how welcoming some priests can be.  This past Monday was a holiday here in France.   It was the Monday after Pentecost;  a bank and school holiday.  When I arrived at the Church of St. Jean the Baptist for the 6PM Mass it was cancelled because there was a holiday concert that evening in the church.   After asking around for another church etc.  I was brought to the priest who brought me to the rectory chapel so that I could say Mass.  He was by far the kindest priest I met so far.

On my journeys if the first day works out, I usually return to the same church the next day.  I tell them I am coming and they can expect me rather than start from scratch the next day.  Of course in Solesmes and Lourdes it was an entirely different dynamic.  I have been told that along the camino it will be easier as other priests have preceded me through the years.

All that for Mass on the move!

Living Abroad

The other day I got reprimanded by a friend of mine for surfing the internet while in France.  I noticed he published some comments in the "Pray Tell" blog and I emailed him.  He thought I was wasting my time.  "You're in France!  Why are you reading my comments?"

Yes, I am in France.   And God willing on Friday I will climb the Pyrenees and cross into Spain through the Roncevaux Pass.  But a five moth sabbatical is not a vacation where one tries to do everything at every moment.   If I did that than I think I would be less rested than when I began.

So how is living abroad different in my eyes?  Well, I never take breakfast and usually eat my one big meal at midday.  Oftentimes I buy my food at the supermarket rather than going to restaurants. It's a fraction of the cost and most supermarkets have prepared sandwiches which I'll get as well as some fruit.  One of the great things about Europe and France in particular is the amount of public park space where one can sit to have lunch.  I've never stopped for coffee or a drink in one of those cafes in a big tourist square or in the shadow of a cathedral.  For supper, I brought some granola bars with me or I will get a crepe or something light if anything at all.  One of the challenges is that supper begins here around 7:30PM and it is even later once I cross into Spain.

Most stores in southern and rural France close for repose from 12noon until 3PM.  People enjoy their dinner and time together before the long afternoon.  Most stores are open until 7PM at least.  Depending on the weather and where I am I might rest up as well.  I'll use this time to work on this blog or to check out news on the internet.  Not all of the places that I have stayed at have had TV and only a few have had CNN or BBC in English.  Through the web I have been able to keep up with all need to. Sadly the news is not always good but it has been exciting to follow the talks and actions of our Holy Father.  And thanks to incrcc.org I even know the weekly collections at Incarnation.  Another blessing has been the opportunity to write extended letters to friends and do much missed reading.

In the evenings I turn in much earlier than the tourists do.  Unfortunately, I all too often hear them returning from late dinners or drinks on the town.  If I have a TV I might watch some football (soccer for you Yanks!) which doesn't matter what language it is covered in.   Sometimes an English movie might be on the TV with subtitles.  Just the other night I saw the classic "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" with Joan Crawford and Betty Davis.  All too often, though, there just seems to be laundry to wash in the sink or plans to be confirmed or reworked.

Throughout the day I try to visits the various sanctuaries, sights and parks each place has to offer.  Usually I try to travel from place to place between 12noon and 2PM when most hotels ask you to vacate the rooms.  I'll make future posts about concelebrating (saying) Mass in the various French local churches and why I love train travel.

So I'm happy I'm not running around like a tourist.  And while I have no steamer trunks and entourage I am very much living abroad.

The Forcast

Two months ago today I left Incarnation for this sabbatical.  Everything has been going great from my perspective.   If there is one setback however, it is the weather.  France is having the coldest and wettest spring in a generation.  Now depending on how you count a generation it could mean that the last time there was weather like this, the Americans here were not on sabbatical or tour but were rather helping with post-war construction.

If there have been seven to ten completely good days over the two months that might be stretching it.  When there were clear days in the Loire Valley back in March it was close to 30 degrees.  When it got warmer in the Aquataine, it was more cloudy.  Other times like at Lourdes, the weather would blow in and out with the Confessional lines.  You never left the Maison without your umbrella.

Now along the Cote du Basque in Southern France I wake up to 38 degrees.  It will get warmer, but it just shows how unseasonable the spring has been.  Another indicator is heat.   Europeans (Church people included) are stingy with heat.   Every place I have stayed at so far has had the heat on.  That is a crazy thought considering May is more than half-spent.  Hopefully it will be more mild and dry as I begin the Camino on Friday.  No stopping on the road.   You just walk in the rain and mud.  It’s not sounding too attractive.

On a much more pleasant topographical note:  Every place I have been in so far has had a river or more than one.  The rivers were the reasons these places became the centers they did from Roman times or earlier.  They are also the reasons these places are so beautiful and livable today.  By both custom and law river access is for everyone and cannot be restricted except by the government for safety reasons.  This has made for some wonderful parks and walking trails when the weather cooperated.

Another thing to get accustomed to in Western France and I expect Spain as well is sunrise and sunset.  Because I am so far west in the Central European Time Zone, the sun rises rather late (not much before 7AM),  and is already setting after 9:30PM.  It will only get later as we head to summer.   When (God willing) I arrive in Santiago de Compostela, the internet lists sunrise at 6:55; sunset at 10:16; and the end of twilight as 11:37PM!  I feel like I'm back in Ireland.  Just something to get used too.  I might have to master the evening stroll!  

Come Holy Spirit!

Thirty-two years ago today, May 18 (It was actually Ascension Thursday),  I was Confirmed in Holy Innocents' Church in Brooklyn.  On this Pentecost eve, I am very mindful of those who will be confirmed at Incarnation tonight during the Pentecost Vigil and throughout the Church Universal this weekend.  What a gift; the presence of God within us.

Statue and stained glass window of St. Vincent de Paul in Dax Cathedral.

As I visit the place from which  Saint Vincent de Paul gets his name, I am fully aware of the power of the Spirit in an individual life as well as in the life of the world.  Dax and Saint Paul les Dax are twin cities in the Aquitaine on either side of the Ardour River.  Vincent was a young student here when he accepted God's call.

It was first founded by the Romans to secure the trading route on the river.  Today Dax is a university and sports city with a popular rugby club and even a bull fighting arena!  It also is a favorite spa location as people from France, Europe and the Middle East come in droves to it's many spa Hotels.  (I stayed at a budget hotel on the other side of the river!)

Statue of a bull and fighter in front of the "Arena" of Dax. 

It was a great opportunity and I had some rare good weather to stroll along the river walkways.  Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of the Spirit to come!



Happy Birthday, Church!   Happy Pentecost!

Leaving Lourdes

Statue of St. Bernadette at one of the bridges over the Gave de Pau.
Fresh flowers are provided to the entire Sanctuary
April through October by the generosity of an Italian society.

After almost three weeks, I left Lourdes yesterday.  It was bittersweet.  I feel privileged to has had the time here for myself and the hundreds (over a a thousand) penitents I saw in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

I meet some wonderful and inspiring people.  The individual penitents inspired me for my own confession before I left.  God is Good!  The priestly fraternity was an added bonus that I was not expecting.  I also was surprised by the resilience of the faith of the people of France who came in droves to the sanctuary.

I know I will return to Lourdes.  Certainly with parish groups.  But I do hope to return again for another extended period to assist the English-speakers who will flock here in the future.

Here are Cardinal Dolan's thoughts as he returned from Lourdes last week.  I couldn't agree with him more.  I exhorted the people at my last Mass i the Sanctuary to take a little bit of Lourdes with you.  Not the water or the rosaries but the spirit of Mary and Bernadette.

View of the Major Basilicas from across the Gave de Pau River.
In the background are the Pyrenees and Spain.

Next is a stop over at St. Paul les Dax.  The birthplace of St. Vincent (de Paul) and to Bayonne the last of the pilgrim stop-overs before beginning the third phase of my sabbatical:  the Camino Frances.

Happy Mothers' Day from Lourdes

      Statue of Our Lady in the Grotto of the Apparition.

As I woke up this morning I must admit that I am a little "Incarnation Sick."  Mothers' Day is one of those days that I especially love being a priest.  I love being pastor at Incarnation.  Maybe because my own mother died way too soon.  Maybe because I just hold the vocation of a mother so high in esteem, but it has just been a day of grace through the years.

An added grace since I have been at Incarnation is the annual Blessing of Mothers at each of the weekend Masses and the gift of a flower to each of our mothers by the Family Life Committee.  We are never the best at acknowledging those who are closest to us, and very few if any are closer to us than our mothers.

Incarnation also welcomes this weekend the Little Sisters of the Poor.   Perhaps like our own mothers they give of themselves to love and serve those in need.  This time, not children but, the elderly so that they may receive the best care in the twilight of their lives.  I hope that generosity of the faithful of Incarnation will show our dedication to the wonderful work of the sisters on the other side of Queens village.

While I am very much "Incarnation Sick" I could not think of a better place to be and in fact worked it into my sabbatical schedule that I be in Lourdes this day.  If I can't be with the mothers of Incarnation then I want to be with the Mother of God; our Mother, My Mother.  My time in the Sanctuary this day has been precious from the sun rising over the mountains to the celebrations of the Sacraments.

Candlelight Procession when the Order of Malta was at the Sanctuary.

Remember the words of Jesus to Mary and John from the Cross:   "Woman, behold your son.  . . .   Behold your mother." Few word have been more powerful in the Christian Tradition.  That's why Lourdes is packed this weekend.  Or better yet, that's why Mary through the teenaged Bernadette spoke to all of us in 1858.

Statue of the Crowned Virgin on the Esplanade of the Sanctuary.

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.



Happy Mothers' Day!

Maison des Chapelains

I mentioned previously that I would post about where I am living in Lourdes.  The Maison des Chapelains  (Chaplains' House) is located to the left of the upper Basilica of the Immaculate Conception further up the hill.  It houses the offices and full-time chaplains who take care the the visiting pilgrims to Lourdes.  Remembering that Masses and services are conducted in six languages here at the Sanctuary, there is a good collection of priests: about 18.  The largest number are French-speaking priests followed by Italians, Spanish, English, German and Dutch.  There is also an auxiliary residence for the priest-confessors who minister in Lourdes for a spell, usually two weeks to a month.

For around a century now, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been entrusted with the pastoral care of the majority of the Lourdes' Pilgrims.   They were invited to serve at the shrine because of their being dedicated to Mary Immaculate and of course when the "Lady" who appeared to St. Bernadette back in 1858 finally gave her name she said "I am the Immaculate Conception."  There are currently two English-speaking Oblates who minister to the English-speaking pilgrims and at times pilgrims whose mother tongue is not represented at the shrine.  Father Brian is from Ireland and Father Paul is from South Africa.

To assist in the celebration of Mass and hearing confessions priests like myself come from throughout the world.  At present there are about forty to fifty priests here.  Some are retired, others come during their vacation, still others like me while on sabbatical or between assignments.  So the number of priests at the Maison swells particularly from June through September during high season.  Lourdes still receives close to five million pilgrims each year.  The number of priests is most noticed and impressive at the main midday meal.  Here each collection of priests of a language group sit together to share fraternity and discuss any needed facets of ministry within a particular language group.  It can get quite boisterous.  Particularly on Sundays and feasts as the meal is a bit longer and more festive.

Fathers Vincent O' Grady, Angelo Philips, Brian de Burca and Paul Horrocks
in the refectory of the Maison before Sunday Dinner.

Since I have been here.  In addition to spending time with Fathers Brian and Paul, the two Oblates assigned here.  I have worked with an Irish Oblate working in Birmingham, England; an Indian priest who teaches at a seminary in Rome; a retired Holy Ghost Father who will be 81 on my birthday in July (We have been out twice to a very authentic Italian restaurant for supper); a Nigerian priest who is studying philosophy in Belgium and a retired pastor from the diocese of Leeds in Great Britain.  They have been inspiring for me.  And we have also shared our zeal for offering the sacrament of God's forgiveness hour upon hour; day after day.

Statue of St. John Vianney - Patron of Parish Priests

Right outside of the Reconciliation Chapel is an outdoor shrine to Saint John Vianney - patron of parish priests and my own Confirmation patron.  It's very appropriately placed since this holy priest stationed in the south-east French countryside spent tremendous amounts of time hearing confessions.  What I find equally moving is the groups of people gathered there praying specifically for priests.  Only early in the morning does the statue not have a gathering before it.

St. John Vianney's outdoor shrine under a canopy.
The medal stands in the foreground are to lean against while praying.