Lourdes, 2000

When I first heard of the opportunity to go to Lourdes I was immediately attracted to the idea, this was probably not too surprising but what was, was the fact that out of a group of nearly fifty young people invited I was the only one who said yes.  When I questioned others their response was negative due to what I now know was false expectations. So as the time grew closer feelings of excitement, and predictably nervousness began to creep in.

Now fortunately for myself I had the pleasure of travelling to Rome several weeks before hand and from this I was able to meet some of the people who I would be working with previous to going to Lourdes.

Now this maybe seem a bit strange, maybe it is the same in other peoples heads, but for me this is how it was; before going to Lourdes I was very nervous, I wasn't too sure about it all: Religion, Christ, the Catholic Church, the whole lot.

Now don't get me wrong, I have been going to mass week in week out for the past sixteen years and at the tender age of twenty I have seen many a church inside.  I must admit it was all starting to get a bit tedious for me.  How shall I phrase it, Lourdes gave me my light at the end of the tunnel.  Without doubt, Lourdes is by far the best place and the best experience I have ever had, maybe just for the sheer magnetism and appeal of it all.

Having talked to some people, who were the looked upon as the elders of the OYS, some having gone for as long as ten year, I realised that there was something special here in this place which I had heard so much about.  Not just that Our Lady had put in an appearance here but the fact that it brought people from, not just all over the continent, but the globe.

As I have mentioned previous to now, I had problems understanding the whole thing; my beliefs, my faith, and my upbringing into Christianity. So here I am a couple of months after having experienced Lourdes, what are my views now? My faith, my beliefs, and my character have never been stronger, and I believe that as long as Lourdes is playing a role in my life I see no reason for that to change.

Now for somebody reading this, having not experienced the power of Lourdes for himself or herself you will probably be wondering how can everything change so much in the space of ten days.

When I first arrived and saw all the patients that we would be working with I was terrified; some of these people couldn't fend for themselves, we were their arms, their legs, their fingers.  All they needed was their hearts and the faith that had brought them here.

Now this being my first year, I was not expected to be doing the early shift. But me being me I said I would do it anyway.  Getting up at six in the morning is not my cup of tea, but somebody has to do and they needed us to do it.  Also, once all the patients were up, awake and fed, I knew why it was all worth it.  Some of the people that were in this little French town with us, had to spend a lot of their time in beds, or wheelchairs, or just in doors; yet these people were one of the most joyful sets of individuals I have ever seen.

I also had the privilege of helping out in the baths. Now for me this was the most moving couple of hours in the whole ten days, if not my whole life. For the people I was helping this was it all, this is what their life came down to.  They had devoted their whole life to their faith, some even just to Lourdes.  I witnessed grown men cry in happiness, some even in fear of the unexpected, others maybe just not being able to do anything else.

Entertainment wise the most enjoyable part was, and apparently always is, the last night.  Now I cannot sing a note; I try to play some instruments not too well though, but anyway we split into groups and we went and performed little concerts in each ward.  This brought a smile to the patients' faces.  The thing I don't know is, if they were laughing with us or at us - but hey at least they were smiling.

It must be said that Lourdes has helped me in every way possible.  Maybe I am being a bit greedy about this, but one of the reasons I went to Lourdes was so that I could turn around afterwards and say what I am going to say now.  With going to Lourdes, It is now possible to say that I have accomplished something out of life.  I now say that I have done something worthwhile and, hopefully, will keep on doing it for years to come. I was one of the Oblate Youth Service members who went to Lourdes in the Jubilee year. Working with the patients and working together we all had a very memorable ten days, and in doing so individually renewed our faith and our beliefs.