We had mass almost every day during the trip.
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| Sisters of Nevers Chapel. St. Bernadette, who saw Mary at Lourdes, moved to the adjacent convent to live out her years in obscurity. Her body is located in this church. |
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| The Chapel of Carmel of Lisieux. Fr. Vincent is the second from the right. St. Theresa of Lisieux is buried in this chapel. The reliquary of St. Thérèse-containing some of her bones traveled through much of the United States from October 5, 1999 until January 28, 2000 |
 Find
out more about the life of St. Therese of Lisieux audio
biography brought to you by the Eternal Word Television Network. You will
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| Fr. Vincent concelebrates a regularly scheduled mass at Notre Dame. The main celebrant was a retired 96 year-old bishop. |
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we entered Paris from Lourdes, I think some of us asked ourselves:
"Is God alive in Paris?" There is so much "strangeness"
going on in Paris that sometimes it is hard to see the church
in action there but my faith tells me it is. It was confirmed
in a Mass (picture above) we took part in, in the back chapel
of Notre Dame. There was a cross section of humanity present.
There was a beautiful 96 year old Bishop presiding along with
Father Vincent ( I must admit, I wasn't sure if he would make
it through the Mass. He is like my 90 year old aunt, hanging
his cane around his arm instead of using it to walk with.) There
was a black man, serving the mass with such love, who judging
by the looks of his clothes, was homeless. There was a family
who demonstrated beautifully, the domestic church. Then there
was our group of believers single, married and religious from
the good old US. All of us united in the Mass amidst language
barriers, cultural and economic differences. The Body of Christ! --Theresa |
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| A holy man or a future saint? All of us were struck by the bishop's grace. Most of us didn't understand a word of his homily, but we couldn't help but feel the compassion and love in this man's voice and actions. After mass, instead of walking to the Sacristy, the bishop stepped up to our group to meet us. Though retired, he obviously has a lot of people that love him as he was continuously surrounded with well-wishers. Pictured here, the bishop listens to a small girl singing. |
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| Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure at almost the exact spot Fr. Vincent is standing. Fr. Vincent presided over this regularly scheduled mass that is normally celebrated in French. About 200 people attended this mass. |
| Find
out more about the life of Catherine Laboure by listening to
this audio
biography brought to you by the Eternal Word Television Network. You will
need the RealMedia player. |