The Sacred Heart
Friday's theme was penance and the Way of the Cross. The Boston group started by heading to Montmarte for Mass. Although this hill which towers over this part of Paris is most famous for the gigantic basilica of Sacre Coeur, or Sacred Heart, it is also home to one of the oldest churches in the city, St. Pierre Montemarte. The name of the hill translates as "the hill of martyrs" and where St. Pierre now sits is the location where the earliest Christians in Paris, more than a thousand years ago, were killed for their faith. Cardinal Law again led us in Mass, and afterwards we were encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with the many great priests who had accompanied us on our pilgrimage.
John and I wanted to see Sacre Coeur before we left the area, but when we went over we saw the volunteers turning pilgrims away because a catechetical session was going on inside. We were going to leave, but I decided to ask about going in anyway. It turned out that it was the session for English-speaking pilgrims! We went inside and, again, I was overawed. This gigantic church was packed with thousands of pilgrims listening to Archbishop George of Chicago preaching on the Eucharist. We realized after his talk that we had actually come in during the middle of Mass and, since we had just celebrated the Sacrament, we decided to leave and decide what to do for the rest of the day.
Sacre Coeur Montmarte has had perpetual Eucharistic adoration
for decades uninterrupted even by World War II.
Some Boston pilgrims at Sacre Coeur
St. Therese of Liseux, Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church
Fr. John Sullivan praying before the enshrined
body of St. Therese in the chapel at the Carmel.
We finally arrived in the town at around 2:30 pm and our return train left the station at 5:30. We had two hours to experience the St. Therese's shrine. Since everyone knew that the Holy Father was going to announce the Little Flower's elevation to Doctor of the Church many other pilgrims were also in the village. The shrine itself is an imposing edifice set on a hill overlooking Lisieux so we set out to climb yet another hill. Fortunately, the heat and humidity here was not as bad as in Paris, so it was a long walk rather than an arduous joruney. Inside the shrine, we were able to pray at the various chapels dedicated to the patron saints of countries which had supported the construction of the shrine. The altar dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the United States, was also the location of the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament, a special honor. On the other side of the huge shrine was a special altar were some relics of the saint were kept and I took the opportunity to light a candle for special intentions there.
Our group gathered outside and went behind the shrine to a little grove that contained the Stations of the Cross. This little garden also held the burial plot of St. Therese's parents who are also being considered for canonization. Father John Sullivan led our group in the Way of the Cross, and as we prayed I remarked to myself at the beauty and serenity of this place in the cool shadow of beautiful pine trees.
After the Stations, we hurriedly headed down into the village in search of the convent of the Carmelite sisters because that is where St. Therese's body is. After a few false turns, we found the little, unassuming place in the middle of the town and went into the chapel to pray. A Spanish-language Mass was going on at the time, but we tried to be quiet as we gathered in the little transept holding the saint's earthly remains. We then headed back to the train station where we met up with some other pilgrims from Boston, and we returned to Paris. Unfortunately, on this leg of our train journey John and I ended up sitting on the floor in the little cabin area between cars. But that was alright since a little suffering on a pilgrimage is all part of the experience.