Dominican Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2009
To become priests in the Church means to enter into the self-donation of Christ through the Sacrament of Orders and to enter with all of one’s being. Jesus gave his life for all, but in a special way he consecrated himself for those the Father had given to him, that they may be consecrated in truth, that is in him, and could speak and act in his name, represent him, continue his saving actions: breaking the Bread of life and remitting sins.
fr Tony Rattigan OP presides at the Eucharist
fr Tim Calvert OP proclaims the Gospel of Christ
fr Bruno Clifton OP preaching
A priest hearing confession in Lourdes
The Eucharistic Celebration is the greatest and highest act of prayer, and constitutes the centre and the source from which even the other forms receive “nourishment”: the Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharistic adoration, Lectio divina, the Holy Rosary, meditation. All these expressions of prayer, which have their centre in the Eucharist, fulfil the words of Jesus in the priest’s day and in all his life: “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn 10: 14-15).
fr John Farrell OP invites pilgrims to discover the Rosary and to entrust our lives to God’s providence and the workings of His grace
The Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession every day in Lourdes
A bishop blesses the sick with the Blessed Sacrament
A Carmelite friar prays the Liturgy of the Hours
The priest who prays a lot, and who prays well, is progressively drawn out of himself and evermore united to Jesus the Good Shepherd and the Servant of the Brethren.
Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, “that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, ‘loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honour’ (Rom 12:10)
An expedition to the Lac d’Estaing was part of the pilgrimage this year and some climbed the steep mountain that circles the lake
Daily recreation was an important part of the pilgrimage, allowing friars and pilgrims to mingle and chat informally
fr John O’Connor OP, the Pilgrimage Director, offers his thanks to one of our many helpers on the pilgrimage
Because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of all people: he is the minister of their salvation, their happiness and their authentic liberation, developing, in this gradual assumption of Christ’s will, in prayer, in “being heart to heart” with him.
fr Leon Pereira OP with some of the group
Dominican friars with other priests and religious at the close of the torch-lit procession
Friars and pilgrims pray the Stations of the Cross together, uniting themselves to the Lord in His passion, death and resurrection
The Provincial blesses the pilgrimage candle, which burns in the shrine at Lourdes as a sign of the prayers and hopes of all the pilgrims
fr John Farrell OP greets Dominican sisters, on pilgrimage from the Philippines and Japan
May the Word of the Lord always dwell within you, renew in your hearts the light, love and peace that God alone can give, and make you capable of witnessing and proclaiming the Gospel, source of communion and love.
