Changing of the guard
September 13, 2008 | 1 Comment
A 6:15am breakfast to start the day and mark our journey to Rome. Departing La Neyliere at 7am it was hard to believe that our arrival time Rome arrival time was scheduled for around 8:30pm. It was going to be a big day.
The truth be known it didn’t start too well, the mini-bus that came to pick us up was barely sufficient to take all our luggage and ourselves, and the driver seemed somewhat unfamiliar with his vehicle. He didn’t seem to know how to open both the back doors, had very little idea how to pack it, and when it came time for some ventilation in order for him to see out of the front window, he just gave up trying to use it and in the end wiped the window with his sleeve. His unfamiliarity with the vehicle also extended to the destination, namely Part-Dieu one of the two major railway stations in Lyon, and in the end he had to drop us off some ways from our destination because he couldn’t find the right place to deliver us. He said he hadn’t been to Part-Dieu for ten years!
In fairness, it was a Saturday and perhaps he was filling in for someone.
Traveling on the TGV and reaching speeds of 300kph, the world seemed to fly buy, as did the time, and as we as we weaved our way through the Alps, eventually left France behind and welcomed Italy, it was all very picturesque. While uneventful, there was however a first, well least for some of us, we were traveling with a dog on the train! What’s more it’s lunch was purchased from the dining car and then when alighting, one of us was asked to let the dog go first!
We were welcomed at the Rome Railway Station by Tim Costello and Rafa Qalovi. Tim himself just arriving back today in Rome after a 23 hour flight and a visit to New Zealand to lecture at Good Shepherd College. He and Rafa drove to the Station, and in a neatly planned exercise, Rafa drove the station wagon with our gear to the General House and Tim escorted us on the bus, Route 75, which terminates right outside our door. Hard to beat that.
On our arrival in Rome Tim now accepts responsibility for the Roman aspects of the Pilgrimage, however we are also pleased that Bernd will continue to stay with us.
Arriving at the General House we were greeted warmly by the community and their sensitivity was such that it was not long before we were enjoying a chat while eating a most welcome dinner.
A big day, a long day, but a good one, and capped off nicely being immediately made to feel at home and welcome at the General House.
Cana
September 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Today being the feast of the Holy Name of Mary we ended the day with “prolonged Sung Vespers.” Arriving at dinner, our voices somewhat hoarse, on the dinner table there was only food and water! Language is a significant factor in identifying and defining a culture but in France, so is wine so it was as though the table was, “bare!” The whole time we’d been here, we’d never seen a table so naked, and what highlighted the situation was Paul Loubaresse was running late. Arriving at the end of the first course, one or two gentle promptings weren’t sufficient, however at the call of Cana,” Paul being a man of the Scriptures, the language barrier was immediately broken. The wine soon flowed.
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.
Taonga in Oceania Museum
September 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The final day of the La Neyliere section of the Marist Places Pilgrimage and our retreat ended with the evening meal last night. Spirits were high and Paul Loubaresse had cause to visit the cellar again. Paul’s a kind and generous man who is a French speaker, but there’s some things that don’t seem to require translation.
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.
Sounds in silence
September 11, 2008 | 1 Comment
Needless to say there’s nothing out of the ordinary, nor anything with a remote element of levity to mention during this time of retreat. We have however been blessed with good weather, but with several days of thunder and lightening last week and a particularly unpleasant Saturday, the days, and particularly the nights have cooled. An autumnal feel to the air raised the question at least in some of our minds, were we going to be confined to indoors for the retreat.
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.
Final Sung Vespers
September 7, 2008 | 1 Comment
If actions speak louder than works, smiling relaxed faces are a pretty good indication that people enjoyed their day off yesterday. The energy in the room at breakfast and people chatting about the the different things they saw and places they visited, was probably good preparation for our retreat this week. People were very pleased to have a day free and without any commitments, this too, despite the miserable weather. Saturday aside, we’ve been fortunate to enjoy excellent weather.
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.
Wine for breakfast!
September 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Formal learning concluded at lunch today and we were free explore the library this afternoon. People are enjoying the time to read material that’s in their library but haven’t got around to reading and in some cases re-reading material they’ve read before, but now with different eyes.
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.
Group work
September 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
There is never a day that goes by when the international aspect of the Society of Mary doesn’t impact in some way. By now we’re pretty much used to it and make the necessary adjustments, however at Morning Prayer today it wasn’t for example, an English / French issue, but the tune of a well known song, “Lord of all hopefulness.” Most of the tune was the same and then all of sudden the tunes were different! Minor confusion momentarily reigned.
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!
The high and the low road
September 3, 2008 | 1 Comment
Today is dedicated to discovering more about Marcellin Champagnat and the journey will take us to Le Rosey, the place of his birth, Marlhes, the place where he was baptised and La Valla, the place where he was first appointed as a priest. It is normal that we visit the Hermitage, however it is being re-modified and so it’s not possible at this time. We will however visit the memorial stone where he visited a small boy who knew nothing about Jesus and as a result made it the mission of the brothers to work with young people.
It was a fairly ordinary start to the day and the usual early start routine for a trip away. There was a difference however, namely that the place is now somewhat invaded by young people all looking “every so keen,” not, to begin school.
In terms of planning our day it was a little hard to predict the weather, it had been very warm during the night and the early signs were favourable; another beautify day.
However by lunch things had turned cold and windy, especially in the hilly territory we were visiting. It made the lunch venue, a shed with two doors missing and the wind funneling through it, a tad challenging, particularly for our African pilgrims, Deogratias and Marcell, but also Micka and Bernard both from somewhat warmer parts of the South Pacific.
While possibly a matter of his personal choice, the sign that it was fairly chilly was confirmed when Davide, the bus driver decided not to stay and went to town for his lunch.
Our lunch again was very tasty, we’ve had some excellent picnic lunches, there’s no skimping even when on the road; as well as the normal lunch fare, wine and cheese always come with us too. You’ve got to give it to the French, they do things in style.
Lunch done, Bernd invited us to walk with him to the place where Marcellin Champagnat visited a dying boy. Braving the elements some viewed a brisk walk was a good way to keep warm while we waited for Davide to return. It must have looked something like cows coming in for milking as we ambled down the road. However with it seeming to get colder and with the threat of rain, two groups emerged. No one is really sure what happened however these groups got separated to the point that when it came to a fork in the road, one group took the high road and the other the low.
By the time the group that got to the monument turned to come home, it was clear that either the other group had taken the wrong option at the turnoff or it had become too cold for them and they went back to the bus. A quick walk back up the hill, and confirmed they weren’t at the bus, however wisely some ways down the alternative route, they decided to call it quits and the bus was able to pick them up. Confusion reigned for a little while, some a little shaken, all are well.
In the spirit of a pilgrimage then, all credit to the early Marists who were able to find their way to Oceania.
A day or so back, at evening prayer, Matt played a religious song from his iPod. This got Marcell thinking, and when he saw Matt with the same device on the bus today, he asked if he could use it. Rather than religious music, Matt fired up ABBA on his iPod and so for the afternoon, even in the churches we visited there was the quiet hum and occasional burst of lyrics from the likes of “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo” and “Mumma Mia.” Marcell is hooked so now he’s going looking to get an iPod on his day off.
Despite the confusion surrounding the post lunch walk, we’d made excellent time throughout the day and so the last port of call, the church at Valfleury was an unexpected bonus. Bernd told us it was a church that Marcellin went to when things weren’t going that well and he got a little down on himself. Ordinarily Marcellin was a confident man who it would seem could turn his hand to just about anything.
By this time we’d come down from the heights and things were dramatically warmer. It was a fair trek from La Vella, and we were travelling by bus! We drove and drove and drove, to the point where some thought that we’d missed the church, then all of a sudden around the next bend a spire and as we got closer right next to the Church was a pub. As one in the back of the bus was herd to say, “Marcellin, you’re an answer to prayer.” However he wasn’t and it appears that Marcellin passed by this church in favour of another one yet still some further 10km on.
The sound of thunder while in the church was a warning sign to head quickly to the waiting bus. More thunder and lightening on the way home, however this time accompanied by a lot of heavy rain brought a conclusion to a full and interesting day.
Farewell to two German Marist seminarians
September 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
After breakfast we fare-welled Christoph and Thilo as they packed their VW car and began their 1200km journey back to their community in Germany. Later that night we heard that they had arrived safely and ready to start some assignments in preparation for the beginning of their academic year.
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 in the camp…
September 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Things were pretty quiet today and in the formal setting it was time to ponder and deepen on what had been for us over the last three days. The powerful impact of the terrain in the Bugey and the isolation of the small villages had a powerful impact on everyone as did the symbolism of the Church at Ars.
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.