We are here, in Lourdes

Praise God!!! We made it to Lourdes after over 12 hrs. of traveling, two plane rides and a short bus trip, we have arrived in Lourdes. The trip was very uneventful. We were very blessed.
We arrived at our hotel this afternoon and then met for dinner with other members of the pilgrimage. Over 150 people are on this pilgrimage with us and they are from different parts of the country.
At dinner we learned that there are several bishops on the pilgrimage with us, Bishop Brown from Orange and Bishop Niederauer from San Francisco to name a couple. Claire and I sat at the table with Joe Contandino who is the chancellor for the Western division of the Orders of Malta. Joe told us that Archbishop Allen Vigneron attended this same pilgrimage several years ago and as a result he was so moved by the experience that he requested to have the Order develop a clinic in the new Oakland Cathedral of Christ the Light, which they now have and run in Oakland. Joe mentioned that many bishops enjoy being a part of the pilgrimage because they have the opportunity to work with the sick in a capacity they would not otherwise be afforded them given their responsibilities to the Diocese as bishop. We are so blessed to have the Orders of Malta in our church an well as in our own diocese thanks to Archbishop Vigneron.
We will be having a full schedule tomorrow. There is the foot washing of the malades, then a trip to the baths, and we will have mass in the evening. It does not sound like much of a schedule if you are talking about 20-50 people, but if there are well over thousands it can be very hectic.
Please keep Ethan Mills in your prayers. He has been suffering with cancer since he was 3 yrs. old. He is now on hospice service. He almost did not make this trip, the paramedics detained him in the layover from Atlanta to Paris. He is here with his 21 yr. older brother. We ask for healing through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother and God's will be done.
More tomorrow, after the baths!!!