Going with God

Juliet Palmer

The wind goes wherever it pleases. You can hear its voice but you can’t hear its sound. John 3:8

As readers may recall from the first part of my pilgrimage story, I decided to abandon my DIY ‘I can do this alone’ ideas to let God direct operations instead. I have to say, it’s fun putting God in charge of a journey: you have to spend time listening for his voice.

‘How?’ Fair question – we’re human, not angels. Actually, it wasn’t as hard, or as weird, as it may seem, if you seek guidance through the trinity of God, self and others. This definitely seemed an occasion to involve others in some way.

Mosaic, Sacré Coeur Basilica, Paris

I had already been ‘directed’ to a few destinations before leaving home. These included the Marist birthplace in Lyon – good idea – and Lourdes. Absolutely yes!  In addition, an earlier stopover holiday in Paris with its all-too-short visit to Montmartre’s Sacré Coeur had created an insatiable longing in me to return there.

Celebration of the Eucharist, Sacré Coeur Basilica

Sacré Coeur is a delight – especially visually and spiritually – and a must-see for anyone wanting to spend quality time with God. Yes, we can have quality time anywhere, but Sacré Coeur is special. It is steeped in prayer, with perpetual adoration continuing since 1885.

I went there early in time for Lauds and afterwards reflected on how extraordinary it is to be included in the living fulfilment of Christ’s words to Paul and Barnabas: ‘I have made you a light … that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ Being part of a congregation ‘from the ends of the earth’ made me very conscious of our direct connection to Christ and his disciples.

Slowly an outline of holy places to visit formed. A barman at ‘my local’ in Paris suggested I go to Mont Saint Michel. This gloriously situated island in Normandy is a wonderful place of narrow streets and stairways winding ever up to the Abbey at its peak, all the better, thought its medieval architects, to commune with God. Over the last 1700 years at least, holy people have lived here – hermits, monks, contemplatives and saints, including Saint Aubert, who followed the Archangel Michael’s instructions to erect an oratory on the Mont. It seemed appropriate, given the Mont’s holiness, to seek a quiet corner away from the hundreds of tourists to talk to God. But – where?

I eventually found a small area blocked off for prayer – it just happened that it was the day repair work was underway and the sound of the hammers was somewhat deafening. I’d like to say I thought of something really holy, like contemplating the hammer sounds and Christ’s wounds. I didn’t though – I just said a decade, hoped my hearing would survive, and left as fast as I could.

Finding places to be still in the presence of the Lord was a problem I encountered frequently. Such a place is virtually non-existent in some of our dearest treasures – like Notre Dame de Paris, for instance. There, regardless of any signage, the place reserved for prayer is invaded by guided tour parties who seem to think people at prayer can be treated like exhibits and photographed.

Even worse was the situation at Avignon’s Basilique Saint-Pierre. Chancing upon adoration of the Blessed Sacrament one morning, I came to feel very sorry for the priest, who was constantly having to say, ‘Shh, merci!’ to tour parties. Guided tours during Exposition? Mass and prayer interrupted with photography? People being treated like exhibits? Are our churches turning into market places? There must be a better way.

Interior, Mont Saint Michel

On the very positive side, some places I visited were wonderful. The church at Fourvière in Lyon, for example, was a beautiful – and incredibly spiritual -- experience, as was the short time I spent in Lourdes. Both are the subjects of other stories. However, it was in Lyon that I met a wonderful priest who urged me to encourage people to have perpetual adoration in their parishes. ‘There is no doubt there are more vocations from parishes with perpetual adoration than those without,’ he said. ‘Of the 26 seminarians here at Fourvière, 22 are from such parishes. Furthermore, every hour spent with God in Adoration is like spending an hour with Jesus in Gethsemane. “Can none of you stay and wait with me?” And – every hour you spend in this way saves a soul from hell.’ He told me to go from Lyon to Paray le Monial – so, off I went.

Paray is a little place. It was here that Christ, in several apparitions, asked St Margaret Mary Alacoque to guide people back to his Sacred Heart. As a result, among other blessings such as perpetual adoration, pilgrimages to the Chapel of the Visitation see families and individuals consecrating themselves to God’s love and service.

Although I visited many other holy destinations, the ones in this story are those that stand out in my mind and these are the feelings and memories that resonate. Until my next instalment: Godspeed you on you journey to him.
Au revoir. 

Mont Saint Michel, Normandy