......and I suppose after the recent postings on pilgrims and the Camino ( and with a minor diversion for the King of the Road ) I should post a blog on Lourdes whilst we are still in the south-west of France.........although for various reasons Lourdes is not on any of the pilgrim routes through to Spain .
The pilgrim routes through France have been travelled now for well over one thousand years - Lourdes as a place of pilgrimage has existed for not much more than 150 years or so , and once you are through Lourdes then there is no path over the Pyrenees into Spain at this point . Further , its arrival as a pilgrimage destination in the 1860s / 1870s coincided with the advent of the railway system providing an easily accessible means of mass transport , so as a pilgrimage destination it grew rapidly without the culture of having to walk to it. Finally , of course , Lourdes exists as a destination for the poor , the sick , the lame , the infirm , all looking for healing - 40 days or so walking along the Camino tests even the fittest.
Lourdes is a small market town nestling in the foothills of the Pyrenees with a population of around 15,000 - with 270 or so hotels and an annual pilgrimage population of some 5,000,000 through the year. Given that the first visitations occurred in 1858 , there are really no earlier pilgrimage buildings other than the shrine and the basilica - and to my mind the basilica captures the worst excesses of late 19th century French Decorative style . The whole structure , together with the esplanade in front of it , looks like something from the studios of Disney should they choose to do ' ShrineWorld '.............ghastly .............and anything and everything that can be sold IS sold , complete with the ' Lourdes ' brand logo .
The whole place , to me , exhibits the worst excesses of rampant commercialism , with certainly no redeeming features of note either in its architectural styling or in its religious iconography . Visually quite appalling , the extremes of ' kitsch ' styling triumph over any underlying attempt at harmony and order.. No peace and quite here , no contemplative silence.
And yet .........and yet...........the atmosphere of emotion , of hope and belief is almost visceral in its intensity . Hope is in the air ?......hhhhmmmm.............a Japanese scientist - a Dr Masaru Emoto - has discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific , concentrated thoughts are directed towards them . He found that water from clear springs and water that had been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex and colourful snowflake patterns . In contrast polluted water or water exposed to negative thoughts forms incomplete , asymmetrical patterns with dull colours. The water in Lourdes is spring water and constantly exposed to positive , loving words through prayer ; tens of thousands visit the spring each day and most likely energise the water with their prayers......................
......And so what if...............? ..........maybe the power of belief does work............and maybe some things should remain mysterious , miraculous.............
Maybe love IS all you need .
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