Limerick Diocese pilgrimage to Lourdes 2014 - A poetic memory

Shared over on the Limerick diocese Facebook page,

From Peg Prendeville:

"Reading about the trip to Lourdes reminds me of a trip I made in 1990! I wrote this afterward. I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you.

The Miracle of Lourdes

Away from all the toil and noise
Which whirls this world around
On a little corner of this earth
A heavenly place I’ve found.
It’s only a simple little cave
From which a spring does flow
It was there that Bernadette of Lourdes
Met her “lady” long ago.

And still the spring it gushes forth
And still sway the whispering trees
The river Gave flows gently by
While candles flicker in the breeze.
A tranquillity you’ve not felt before
I guarantee you’ll find
There in the deafening silence.
It relaxes body and mind.

The murmuring of incessant prayers
Waft like incense to the sky
Petitioning, pleading pilgrims
Begging God to reply.
This power of prayer uplifts the soul
It has to be for good.
Despair then dies and hope lives on
It’s the miracle of Lourdes.

When now, back in the world once more,
My fears are hard to quell
I shut my eyes and my thoughts drift back
To the grotto of Massabielle.
Mary and Bernadette come smiling through
And fill me with their peace
“Don’t worry, Love” I hear them say
“The miracles will never cease.”