Thank you again Dolours for another nugget of information. I truly am grateful Today, I went to the Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln. I prayed for the intentions of all here on MOG forum, especially those who have asked for prayers, and those I've promised to pray for. View attachment 6096
Yes there are Thank you so much for your prayers at the Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln. I had to look it up. I had never heard of it.
Like Praetorian, I had never heard of Our Lady of Einsiedeln and had to do a web search to find out more. I have never been to Switzerland but have heard that it is a lovely country but very expensive to live or visit there. That looks like a beautiful church. How fortunate you are to be able to visit so many sacred places. Thank you for your prayers, and please keep us all in mind when you're in Lourdes. I hope that you will tell us what impressions you had of the various shrines and churches, especially the Church of the Miraculous Medal. Did you know that St. Vincent dePaul's heart is preserved and can be venerated in or near that church?
Since you two have been talking about the Miraculous Medal and St. Catherine Laboure I thought I would post this. It is a wonderful little clip. I am not sure where it is from. My favorite part is when St. Catherine runs up and places her head in Our Lady's lap just like a child would. So innocent.
Having some difficulty replying posts right now because I'm on a train and using my smartphone. Will try to write more later.
Saturday being the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, I looked online for suitable prayers and something about this two resonated with me (website: http://lourdesprayerrequest.com/lourdes_prayers ). I'm not recommending the website because I know nothing about it. FOR THE GRACE OF LOVEO Mary, my dear Mother, how much I love thee! And yet in reality how little! Thou dost teach me what I ought to know, for thou teachest me what Jesus is to me and what I ought to be for Jesus. Dearly beloved Mother, how close to God thou art, and how utterly filled with Him! In the measure that we know God, we remind ourselves of thee. Mother of God, obtain for me the grace of loving my Jesus; obtain for me the grace of loving thee! POPE JOHN PAUL II’s PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF LOURDESHail Mary, poor and humble Woman, Blessed by the Most High! Virgin of hope, dawn of a new era; We join in your song of praise, to celebrate the Lord’s mercy, to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the full liberation of humanity. Hail Mary, lowly handmaid of the Lord, Glorious Mother of Christ! Faithful Virgin, holy dwelling-place of the Word, Teach us to persevere in listening to the Word, and to be docile to the voice of the Spirit, attentive to his promptings in the depths of our conscience and to his manifestations in the events of history. Hail Mary, Woman of sorrows, Mother of the living! Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve, Be our guide along the paths of the world. Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ, to stand with you before the innumerable crosses on which your Son is still crucified. Hail Mary, woman of faith, First of the disciples! Virgin Mother of the Church, help us always to account for the hope that is in us, with trust in human goodness and the Father’s love. Teach us to build up the world beginning from within: in the depths of silence and prayer, in the joy of fraternal love, in the unique fruitfulness of the Cross. Holy Mary, Mother of believers, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
After a further search, I have discovered that St. Vincent dePaul's heart is in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The shrine to St. Vincent dePaul containing the rest of his remains, however, are in the Chapel of the Vincentian fathers which is just around the corner from the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. I found that information on the Catholic Travel Guide's website http://www.thecatholictravelguide.com/StVincentDePaul.html. Some more details from that website: Directions to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal: You can take the Metro to get to the shrine. Simply get off at the Sevres-Babylone station, which is located on Rue de Sevres, and then walk down a block to Rue du Bac. Address: 140 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris GPS coordinates: 48° 51' 3.3408'' N, 2° 19' 25.4100'' E Tel: +33 1 49 54 78 88 Fax : +33 (0)1 49 54 78 89 About the Shrine to St. Vincent dePaul: The church dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul is in the chapel of the Vincentian Fathers. Upon entering the Church, you’ll notice the glass reliquary containing his body high above the main altar. It is an easy climb to the reliquary by a double stairway behind the altar, to venerate his relics. When his body was first exhumed it appeared to be incorrupt but later flooding damaged the area where his body was placed and the body did decay. What you will see here is his skeleton covered with wax giving him a very realistic appearance. His heart was taken and is now in the Chapel of the Daughters of Charity at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal. There is a small gift shop here as well, open at irregular hours. They only speak French in the shop. Getting to St. Vincent dePaul's Shrine: To reach the Shrine of Saint Vincent de Paul by Metro, get off at the Vaneau station which is on the same street as the shrine. From the outside it does not appear to be any different from many of the other buildings on the street (even knowing where it is, we have almost walked by it before), but inside you will find a beautiful church. There is a small plaque on the front door that might help you find it. Address: 95 Rue de Sèvres 75007 Paris GPS coordinates: 48° 50' 55.8348'' N, 2° 19' 17.5512'' E Tel: +33 1 45 49 84 84 or + 33 01 45 48 35 72 Fax +33 01 42 84 09 64 email: paris.cm@wanadoo.fr The more I find out about that little corner of Paris, the more I want to see it for myself. I'm wondering how much begging and crying would it take for the Sisters to let me sit on Our Lady's chair. Take care in Paris.
Hi. I finally have the time to post again. Lourdes was beautiful! So peaceful and the sense of holiness about the place was tangible. As promised, I prayed for everyone's intentions - both in particular and in general for all on MOG forum. I went to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal and St Vincent de Paul's shrine in Paris too (thanks here to Dolours for her detailed instructions). At each church I went to in Switzerland and France, I remembered to pray for all on this forum. May God Bless all here and answer our prayers.
I was hoping very much to at least touch the chair, but there were so many people in the chapel that I didn't dare to even try to reach for the chair
Ah what a pity you didn't get to touch the chair. I'm hatching a plan should I ever get to visit. I intend to be the first person into the church in the morning so I can make a beeline for the chair before anyone sees me. I'm so glad all went well for you. I was a little bit worried seeing reports about trouble in Paris and was afraid you might stumble into it. Thanks a million for the prayers. Is your trip finished or have you more places to visit? Nearly forgot to ask: Did you manage to get a dip in the Lourdes bath? If so, were you frozen?
View attachment 6179 As you can see from the pic above, the chair was cordoned off. I would have needed to crawl under the rope, and up the little steps to reach it. There were so many people, and I'm sure they would have been scandalised if I'd done that
Thank you for being concerned for me. Praise God, everything went well for me and my husband. I'm back home in Singapore already. Yes, I did. Even though it was a little cold outside (about 6-8 degrees celsius), the water didn't feel too cold at all. I was in tears as I went in.
Thank God the baths were open. Would have been a shame had you travelled all that way to find them closed. Thanks for the photo of the chair. Looks like it's plan B for me which is pleading with whoever is in charge although I know it has zero chance of success. Where did you like best? Which Church or shrine had the biggest effect on you? Which one, if any, was a disappointment and why? On a side note, I watched an interview tonight on BBC with, I think, the President or Prime Minister of Singapore. He succeeded his father, so I reckon that should give you a clue to his identity. I didn't see the full interview, but from what I saw he was given a hard time especially on the question of gay rights, which is the second sacrament after abortion for the ultra liberal BBC. I thought that he handled himself well, although Singapore could well be next on the Soros hit list, meaning that you can expect to see the gay marriage agenda step up apace in the not too distant future led, most likely, by NGOs denouncing all sorts of civil rights abuses.
