The other significant event occurred earlier in the morning, after morning prayer. It has been said, that while not too many French people attend Mass, and attending Mass regularly is generally accepted as once a month, no one can question French peoples’ passionate feelings for France. For example, those in our group who have traveled would say they’ve seen more French flags in France that they’ve seen American flags in the United States. With this in mind, and throughout the pilgrimage, whether at home or while on the road, we’ve been conscious that we are standing on French soil and using French churches. And so it was with respect that we took on board Bernd’s helpful observation that “there may be a few French people at Mass this morning.

It was Edwin McCallion’s turn to be the main celebrant at Mass and he’d prepared well and sensitively with the readings in French and English. But he’d never seen the likes of what defined “a few French people.” Setting up for Mass, and with Matt answering a gentle knock on the outside door, all of a sudden the small chapel was almost full, one woman on the way in, took one look at Edwin and in a disparaging tone saying, “English Mass today.”

If there ever was a sign from God, Edwin decided this was it, and he was upstairs in a flash suggesting to Bernd that he may need his alb for Mass as his “few English loaves and a fish” would not be sufficient to feed the French needs. Bernd’s prophecy earlier in the morning may have been a tad understated, however he was very much up to the task and a much relieved Edwin participated in a less proximate way.

These events aside, it was a wet and comparatively cold day here today. A day too to say thanks and farewell to the staff who have been fantastic throughout.

As part of the farewell process, it was very important to say thanks in particular to Fabrice the cook. In doing so, it would be remiss not to use the opportunity and clarify the meat used for Monday’s very tasty dinner. Much to my and the surprise of others, it was Pork Cheek in a red wine sauce. Asking Fabrice about the recipe, he said knowingly, “very nice?”  I agreed. But when taking it that step further and asking for the recipe, as only a French Chef would, he said, “Pardon, no speak English.” The joke was on me.

Our day begins tommorrow with a 6:15am breakfast before we depart for Rome. We leave grateful for the experience and say a sincere “thank you” to everyone, “the team” here at La Neyliere who have contributed to making this part of our pilgrimage as successful as it’s been.

The previous day, (Wednesday) at the midday meal, which was still in the silence of the retreat, Bernd announced that it has been arranged with the Oceania Museum Association based at La Neyliere, that they would visit the following evening and that Denis O’Brien would speak and present some examples of Maori Taonga to the Museum. To help clarify the situation, Charlie Randle asked of Denis. “Are you a Maori?”

Denis briefly explained, as we were still in “retreat silence” that he was from Irish ancestry, however that while on last years renewal Tom O’Connor was surprised that there were no Maori items in the Museum and that he (Denis) was presenting them at Tom’s request and on behalf of the Maori people, and that ideally while they would present the material themselves, he would be doing it on their behalf.

After the evening meal then on Thursday, Denis O’Brien presented several examples of Maori Taonga to the representatives from the Museum of Oceania. In making the presentation of these Taonga Denis spoke of the importance of the historical contact of the Society not only with Oceania but New Zealand. He highlighted the person of Bishop Pompallier and the work of the first missionaries.

At the conclusion of Denis’ speech we all joined in singing “Mo Maria” a song in Maori, penned by Pompallier to a French tune. Matt Morris, the only member of the group with Maori ancestry, supported Denis by providing the music, which interestingly Marcel Ma’ah later said that he was familiar with, as the Protestants use it in Mebassa, the village next to his.

Among the items Denis presented to the Association were:

• Miniature Korowai (Feathered cloak) Full cloak worn by men and woman of rank at formal occasions.
• Pounamu – Green Stone / Jade Small Taonga (precious items)
• Mere / Patu – wooden club used for fighting
• Photos from various mission places
• A photo of Maori Madonna carved after only two years after Pompallier and the early Marist landed in New Zealand. While only a photo, it is a significant example of an expression of the understanding of the Catholic image of Mother and Child. The original was lost for a number of years and only found again while planning for the visit of John Paul II in 1986. Those visiting New Zealand can view the original which is now on display in Te Papa, the National Museum in Wellington.

In speaking with the Oceania Museum Association representatives, they explained that idea for the museum came from the late Fr P O’Reilly who gathered together items from Marist houses in France as a way of respecting them, keeping them intact and cared for. In fairness to Fr O’Reilly, they said, he did try to get some exhibits from New Zealand too, however the Government of the time had clamped down on taking these sorts of treasures out of the country.

The Museum of Oceania is really somewhat hidden away in La Neyliere, however while hidden, it’s quite a large and a very impressive display. We would strongly recommend anyone visiting here to make an appointment to see it. Of all the small museums that we have seen on our travels so far, this would be the most complete and professionally displayed exhibition space that we’ve encountered.

The evening again ended with another one of nature’s fantastic fireworks displays.

It’s hard to beat local knowledge and “the locals” were saying we’d be ok, and they’ve been proved right. The Sun, particularly today, has came out in full force, and shorts and thongs / jandals / flip-flops, whatever you call them in your country, were once again the name of the game.

The flies too once again momentarily introduced themselves, but not for long. It really is hard to see these as one of God’s creatures.

Anyone thinking of visiting La Neyliere or anyone coming at some later stage on the Pilgrimage of Marist Places, has a treat in store for them. He’s the chef, Fabrice!

It’s hard to know if he’s pulling out all stops because we’re on retreat, but from the looks on people’s faces he’s pushing the right buttons, like lunch the other day was a magnificent Venison(?) dish in a sensationally rich sauce, (a recipe that’s a “must get”) and today as well as beef there were chips! I guess we should call them French Fries while we’re here. The surprise is that we’d not had French Fries the whole time we’ve been at La Neyliere and he knew he delivered a “killer blow” (no pun intended) when an extra plate came to the table.

The fruit too is fabulous, fresh and tasty. All imported it seems, except for the grapes. And for those who once picked grapes at the Mission in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, these table grapes are a trip down memory lane.

All’s good, but we continue to ask for your prayers in these final days of silent retreat.

One story that has emerged and that has an element of mirth, was the dinner arrangement for Edwin, Matt, John and John. Earlier in the day they’d agreed to meet outside the Lyon Cathedral at 6pm. Matt and John arrived at what they thought was a little early and attracted by the free WiFi called into the pub opposite only to find John Beckley. Approaching 6pm, where was the normally punctual Edwin? John went looking and waited a while outside the Cathedral. Fearing his wine may be in jeopardy he returned to the free WiFi zone. Nearer the arranged time he went back across the road to the Cathedral and found Edwin as arranged outside the front door. John explained what had happened, to which Edwin replied that he’d been inside the Cathedral for the past 30 minutes where there was no free WiFi. If there was further evidence needed that the Chapel is the last place a Marist looks for his confreres, the ‘rule’ is clearly paradigmatic and now applied to Cathedrals too.

Denis O’Brien was very pleased with his day too. There has been a nagging issue here with one of the house computers that has a virus. It appears there was no anti-virus software on this computer and when installing one it conflicted with the CD ROM software. It’s been an on-going problem for the last week, but today Denis solved the problem and everyone’s grateful to him.

There are new discoveries every day, particularly with a place this size, and today Charlie discovered several Petanque sets. The loose chip pathways at La Neyliere are idea for Petanque and given tomorrow we go into retreat, Bernard, Micka, Denis, John and Charlie extracted the last from the post tea daylight and played until they could no longer see the small caddy ball. As they made their way around the pathways of La Neyliere, no one kept score, but Bernard emerged the clear winner.

This being the last Sunday at La Neyliere, and with some yet to return, Paul Loubaresse (pictured), invited us to the Marist Community room for “Sung Vespers.” Now a tradition, perhaps not one started by Fr Colin, but all agree that tradition should be a living thing.

With this section of the journal coming to an end it is a good a time to say thanks to Bernd, Paul and Jean-Bernard Jolly for the respective parts that they have played in making our pilgrimage of the Marist Places such a positive experience. While it has been Bernd who has led the way, we all know that it’s a community effort and so we thank them for their welcome and making us, as fellow Marist priests and brothers, so much at home.

La Neyliere was again a-buzz today with the main dining room full for breakfast! Even more amazing was the red wine on the table, and as we were on the way to Morning Prayer, it was being consumed! They were back again for a big lunch and more wine. Some enquiries uncovered they were part of a sales team that covers the south of Lyon, but the head office is based at Pomeys, a district just up the road. With such a large group there’s extra staff on today to help cater.

Micka and Bernard left this evening for Lourdes. With so few busses from St Symphorien to Lyon they are catching a 6:30pm bus in order to board a 1030pm train. It’s going to be a long trip for them but they’ve really been looking forward to making it. Those in our group who have been before say it’s worth doing, and the devotional aspect aside, with so many tourists in Lourdes, there’s great “criac” in town too. The train Micka and Bernard are travelling on is a daily service, it is just about full and it travels non-stop between Lyon and Lourdes.

As you’ve probably gathered, a slow news day.

The Lourdes visit was confirmed today. Mika and Bernard will be leaving around 5:30pm by bus from St Symphorien to catch a train in Lyon at 10:30pm and arrive around 8:30am Saturday. They’ll spend the day in Lourdes and then get the train back that evening, sleeping each way on the train and be back here at La Neyliere for Sunday lunch. A big trip.

Saturday will be our first full day off since being here and most have decided to go somewhere. With La Neyliere being so far out in the country and the bus weekend bus service from St Symphorien, minimal to say the least, the two Johns, Edwin and Matt are off back to Lyon, and gave some consideration to staying in town for the night, however as it turned out sharing a cab home was a much cheaper option. Deogratias is also going to Leon however will stay overnight with friends. Marcel is similarly visiting friends but in Marseilles.

Planning travel aside, it was a day spent working; a conference from Bernd, and exploring more Marist texts.
Once again the day ended with a spectacular thunder and lightening display. This time it was very close, the sky exploding over our heads. Despite the outdoor show, the Internet was working again in the morning!

Today was the day that Jan Snijders was due to join us, however because of ill health he’s unable to travel. While we would have loved to have him with us, we hope that his recovery is swift and assure him of our prayers.

On a lighter note, the girls who board here while attending a local school arrived back this evening. Lots of young people already on mobile phones around the property. Tomorrow is their first day of their new academic year.

There’s talk around that a few are planning a trip to Lourdes. The idea is to travel to Lourdes on the train on Friday night, visit Lourdes on the Saturday and then come back on the train on Saturday night. Accommodation solution provided courtesy of a train seat. The trip is evidently not normally that’s something people are able for fit in. The programme is full, however Saturday is free as Bernd has a wedding to officiate at in the north of Germany.

It’s Christoph and Thilo’s last day with us today. There presence has “lifted our hearts” and it’s been great to have them with us; they’ve added a different and very constructive perspective. There’s been lots of good discussion, banter and lots of laughs. We’re a fairly lively group and before going they made it clear that they enjoyed themselves too.

Christoph has a couple of years study ahead of him and Thilo is heading to novitiate in the Philippines next year, so we wish them all the very best on their respective journeys and assure them of our prayerful support.

So who’s here? Well, I don’t really know because the notices on the board are written in French, but I do know is there’s little room left on the “who’s here” notice board just inside the front door.

There are sounds of talk, laughter, of children, the pulling of corks (no screw caps here,) the clanking of glasses and plates. No crying, no sadness. Then later in the afternoon the Petanque balls come out and every available place it used, as sounds of thud, and the occasional Petanque on Petanque klunk followed by sounds of applause, anguish or jubilation.

With due respect to soundtrack from “The Sound of Music,” these hills are also alive.

Technically Sunday is a kind of day off, that is, it’s a day free from formal input and gives us an opportunity to consolidate our thoughts from the past week. With all that’s happened in the past few days there’s a lot of processing to go on. Physically we are at home, however mentally we are sometimes a distance away.

One common statement that people have made is the old cliché, there’s no place like home and coming back to La Neyliere, our home, albeit a temporary one, has been something we’ve all enjoyed. The experience of the last three days provided an excellent opportunity to understand more of our heritage, and while each of us has slightly different high points, arriving back here, where for the last couple of weeks we have been made so welcome, and where the staff, despite the language barrier, are pleasant and still efficient, makes a world of difference.

Because it’s Sunday, the day ends with “Solemn Vespers.” Funny how much these vespers are enjoyed by all. We look forward to “singing again” next week.

Having said the day ended with Solemn Vespers is perhaps a little inaccurate as one of the most impressive thunder and lightening displays that I’ve ever seen really ended the day. It took out the power momentarily on two occasions, emergency lighting taking over, and then took down the Internet for about 30 minutes. Minor technical hitches aside, being so proximate to the action was very entertaining.

At the same time, John Beckley also received news of his friend and Marist priest, Pat Primo. Pat was a talented and highly regarded Marist, and at the last election was in the final two that the province considered for Provincial of the Atlanta. Pat had been unwell for some time and at John’s prompting, the renewal group had been praying for Pat, indeed as a symbol of our fraternal bond, John placed his name on the tomb stone of Fr Colin.

Being so far away at these times is difficult and we suspended our normal programme and spent time in prayer for Toma and Pat, around the grave of Fr Colin.

There was also cause for jubilation today as Charlie got a new credit card from Australia. He knew it wasn’t far away because he’d received the PIN number yesterday. Along with his credit card, Charlie left a number of his other personal effects in his carry on luggage on the plane. While it’s been worrying him, and he only had little cash, he’s received many offers of help. Charlie however has been very frugal and still managed to buy a generous selection of sweets for the bus trips. What he has however been unable to replace are the photos that he would have taken as his camera was also in his bag.

It was a stay at home day today with the opportunity to reflect on the journey to Fourviere and do some more reading in preparation for our three day trip to Cerdon and its environs. Domestically it’s also been an important day and the laundry was in constant use.

The timing of our pilgrimage to Cerdon couldn’t have come at a better time as a local chapter of the Piano Accordion players arrived late this afternoon and will be making full use of the La Neyliere.