Led by light

Grace upon grace is how I would describe my last two weeks during a Marian pilgrimage spanning France, Spain and Portugal. When one is determined to seek the Lord’s face, He will be found. What’s more His protective hand is always upon those He loves, whether we realize it or not. Despite the severe allergy reaction that P suffered so much that he thought he would have to forgo the trip_ Despite the flight cancellation that left us trawling a very busy Frankfurt airport for over 12 hours due to cancelled flights because of bad weather_ Despite the missed day in Rue de Bac, one of my favourite streets in Paris due to its concentration of my favourite saints_ Despite the gruelling road trips that have left me exhausted and in some level of physical pain_ P made the trip thanks to the collective prayer of fellow pilgrims and friends (I am extremely grateful for all who prayed - thank you all again.) We were blessed with great weather- in this statement I would include the rainy day in Lourdes that cooled down the subsequent days considerably and made them pleasantly cool. The day the weather turned unbearably hot was the day we returned home to Singapore on 12 June. A forgotten phone in Lourdes, a forgotten bag in a toilet, a forgotten wallet in a pit stop - all were retrieved intact, and returned to their respective owners. Travel on the roads was smooth. Our lovely bus captain, Anderson, ensured we got safely from place to place, and he even drove a couple of hours from Porto to bid us goodbye in Fatima on his off day. Despite the inability to communicate with him, we felt his love and hopefully, he felt ours. Ivan, our passionate and unflappable tour leader ensured we celebrated mass in special locations. I believe our group experienced things that many other groups of pilgrims would not have, such as the privilege of bearing the cross and canopy during the Eucharistic candlelight procession in Fatima. Plus, his wealth of stories of faith-filled miracles inspired greatly, and made me think a little deeper about my faith. We celebrated feast days such as the Sacred Heart of Jesus (fittingly at Santa Rem where a Eucharistic miracle resides) that reminds us of how Mother Mary always leads us to Jesus, her Son. We celebrated the lives of many saints - Bernadette, Jean Vianney, Maximilian Kolbe, James, Francisco, Jacinta and soon-to-be Lucia - who show us all the way to Jesus with their humility and holiness. One couple celebrated 37 years of marriage during our trip, while another will celebrate 50 next month. Both couples are true witnesses of God-centred marriages. We each took a break from our daily lives, fraught with problems and personal sorrows, to seek the One who is with us in the peaks as well as darkest valleys of our lives. Father Francis reminded us to guard our graces when we return home for it is easy to forget all we have received in these two weeks. Personally, it has been a time of renewed surrender and transformation, of deeper conversion, a time of metanoia. I have also enjoyed the company of fellow pilgrims, new and old, brothers and sisters in the blood of Christ. Last but by no means least, I give thanks for Father Francis, who was available to be our Spiritual Director on this trip. He brought with him the ICPE Mission charisms of worship and evangelisation that made the love of Christ a very real and living thing to each person present. My biggest takeaway this pilgrimage is that we all bear crosses that may be heavy, but nothing we cannot bear if we surrender it all to Him. Moreover, we must not forget that our crosses are often beacons of light that lead others, especially those that are lost, back to Christ. I was reminded to serve with more willingness and cheerfulness so that more will come to know and love Him as much as I do, if not more: to walk the way of the Cross in His light alone, and in fidelity daily.