Tour de Mans - Pentecost Sunday in Le Mans

Part 1 - A walk through our day - touring Le Mans

Come Holy Spirit!  On the feast of Pentecost (though the French celebrated its national holiday of Pentecost on Monday), the Spirit was indeed with us.  It was a grace-filled day with many highlights, of which I will offer a few:

Some of us began our day by heading off to the market that lies in the shadow of the tremendous Cathedral of Le Mans.  

 

Cafe au lait and pain au chocolat (Chocolate Croissant!) - with a beautiful view no less.

It was a lot of fun to walk around and smell the wonderful food, see the beautiful plants, vegetables, fruits, cheeses and just watch people gather goods for their tables.

We took the long route to Notre Dame de Sainte-Croix, passing through a couple parks on the way to celebrate Mass.

For me, the most touching moment of the day came when our fellow pilgrims, Fr. Pete and Fr. Bill got to concelebrate mass at their conventual church (that is, the church where their congregation was founded) alongside two of their fellow Holy Cross priests (Fr. John DeRiso - Rector of the shrine and master of ceremonies for our pilgrimage, and Fr. Gregoir, pastor of the parish).

What a privilege it has been to journey along with these men as we all grow to know deeper the life of Blessed Basil Moreau.

After mass, the parishioners of Notre Dame de Sainte-Croix were amazingly hopsitable to us and had a little reception.  There were many different traditional French foods to try out and some Coca-Cola and orange juice to drink.

And, that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came down to hopsitality, because there were 8 families that welcomed us into their home for lunch.  The group I was with didn't have very much French knowledge and the couple who welcomed had minimal English, so we had to rely on patience, charity, the good will of our hosts, and occasionally some Google Translate to communicate with them. 

Little Ascot (dog) was a fun little addition to our party!  

It proved quite a wonderful experience though, getting to know a family and learning about them and their children and exchanging thoughts on everything from politics to sports.  They were so gracious to explain to us many of the questions that we had as well as get to know us better, even when we didn't quite know how to describe what our jobs were in French.  

After such a wonderful morning and afternoon, our evening wasn't too shabby either.  We went back to the Old City, near the Cathedral and explored the Cathedral, where Basil would have spent some time being a priest in the diocese.  It is an incredibly old building with a lot of history.  The most remarkable feature for me was to see the differences in the Cathedral as you moved from back to front.  It was like a history book unfolding before you as you moved along.  This is because when additions were made to the Cathedral, they didn't go back and change everything to look like the new style.  So, for instance, as you walked forward there was a point where you could see the change from a pre-gothic style, to a gothic style.  The ceiling just all of a sudden skyed far higher than the part you had been walking in.

We then took a walk around the old city (shocker - the part of the city that has been around the longest).  This area contained some of the most unique residences I have ever seen.  It was like being in a movie set for a piece portraying the 1500s.  Finally, we had a chance ot sit down and have a wonderful supper overlooking the Place de Jacobins and the Cathedral.

This brief synopsis of our day didn't come anywhere near to doing justice to our day, but hopefully you have found it entertaining.

Part 2 - A reflection

I couldn't just simply walk through this day and not reflect a little on the impact of this trip so far.  We have seen much, walked much, and had an incredible number of unforgettable experiences.  But, I think the best part has been being on pilgrimage as a group.  We come together from different backgrounds, doing work with students in a variety of ways.  Each in our own way trying to help live out the mission of Basil Moreau.  We are trying to prepare citizens for heaven, to spread the Gospel of Christ, primarily through educating the minds and the hearts of these students.  To walk these paths, to sing together, to pray together, to joke with one another, to learn together makes all the difference.  In the work that we are called to do, the work which ultimately has a direct connection to Moreau, is only done well when it is done together.  The Holy Family was an important touch point for Moreau.  In my mind, those relationships between Jesus, Mary, and Joseph made them each better able to carry out the will of God.  Taking Moreau's focus on the model of the Holy Family as our focus in the work that we do will only do the same.  And, it is ultimately the Spirit that connects us all together, one another as pilgrims on a journey to Le Mans, as pilgrims on the ultimate journey to the heavenly Jerusalem, and connecting us with God and Jesus.  I pray that this Spirit that we celebrate particularly on Pentecost may continue to be among us here and to guide us as we continue on our journey.  May the fruits fo this Spirit help us to bring what we have learned and who we have become back with us to Notre Dame.  

Blessed Basil Moreau, pray for us!  

j+m+j