De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

The Rt. Reverend Jean-Marc Micas, bishop of Lourdes, the town in the French Pyrenees which is the site of the apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 and a huge centre of Marian devotion and pilgrimage, has announced he “cannot ignore” the “great distress” that mosaics commissioned from the workshop of disgraced Jesuit rapist and serial abuser Marko Rupnik cause. The mosaics illustrate the luminous mysteries of the Holy Rosary instituted in Rosarium Virginis Mariae , by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2002. The mosaics, located on the façade of the Rosary Basilica have been controversial since they were installed, as is acknowledged by the bishop in his statement, although, he says, on the whole they have been admired. Bishop Micas says he is concerned that the controversy surrounding the artist may cause victims, he considers this "cannot be ignored" and is therefore considering whether they should be taken down. The bishop has already met with the Rector of the Shrine, Fr....

It has been a hot, sultry week in Essex with temperatures over 30°C and in the Lambert household we are preparing to send our two oldest children off to World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland. The concept of WYD is genius: faithful young people coming together with the Pope gives them sense of critical mass. They are embarking on an adventure with millions of like-minded, vibrant, excited youth. It would seem clear that the experience will inevitably make them feel that they are part of something universal and important. Something unifying and positive. The scale of the event is staggering, with more than 2 million expected by organisers, they are preparing to create a pop up city to cope with the visitors. A new airport, improved road and rail links, a fleet of dream buses and “Youth Bible” are among features of this, the 14th international celebration of World Youth Day. At the weekend I was speaking to my oldest son, now 19, and his girlfriend, who are both looking forward ...

I cannot help but feel deeply moved by the very experience of being in Lourdes. This small town in the Pyrenean foothills has played an essential and dynamic role in my life and the life of the small family I have built to date. It is the place I met my beloved wife, Louise, the place where we first kissed, and where we have travelled to together many times since. For the last three years, since our oldest two boys have been old enough to follow in our footsteps and come with the diocese to spend the week in service to the elderly and handicapped, it has become the focal point for our annual gathering to mourn the loss of Ruth and to thank God for her life. It is difficult every year, I wish I could say that it gets easier...But it doesn't. I think we get better at dealing with the raw onslaught of annual emotion, the day when we face head on the stark reality of her absence. I am sure some people think "just get over it" after six years, but I do not feel the need...

Just about to take off for Lourdes. As we approach the anniversary of Ruth's death on the 29th, it is a great comfort to me that the family and I will be in this wonderful place of pilgrimage. Our visit coincides with the diocesan pilgrimage and the BCYS too as well as lots of our diocesan trips. It's like, in some way, England comes to Our Lady at this time of year. If you would like me to pray for you at the grotto, please leave a comment and I promise to hold your intentions before the Blessed Mother.

Gathered together for prayers at the Grotto on Ruth's Anniversary 2014 The week before last was the Brentwood Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes and I must apologise that I have only just managed to finally finish my blog on the trip. This event annually coincides with Brentwood Catholic Youth Service' s annual Summer Lourdes Pilgrimage. The Youth Service goes to Lourdes in Spring too, but Summer is the big pilgrimage, with four coach loads of young people heading off to help our VIP's in whatever way they can. There's a nice bit on BBC iPlayer here , from Peter Holmes' show on Sunday, which features the Bishop , Fr. James , Roisin and my son Michael (amongst others). Both of my oldest sons joined them for the second time, but the pilgrimage also coincided with the 5th anniversary of my daughter Ruth's tragic death and we really did not want to be apart as a family for this day. As much as I want it to fade into ignominy as a date, it never fails to sneak u...

When I was a young chap, I spent a great deal of time in Lourdes working with the sick and handicapped. These trips, sometimes twice a year, at Easter and summer, presented an opportunity for me, as I saw it, to put my faith into practice. Looking back on it, especially in the context of the study I have done since, I very much see this as part of my search for the true meaning of Christianity. I am Christian by birth, but what does that mean in terms of assent? If I was not born Christian, would I choose Christ? If I did, what would draw me to dedicate my life to the Catholic Church? At the time, the best answer I could find was to give up my time, money, pursuit of my career, more worldly friendships, and follow Christ in the most vivid, practical way open to me. I saw this as inspired by St. Francis of Assisi's radical discipleship, the best model of Jesus' call (Mt 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 19:21; Mk 2:14; Lk 5:27). As a young man, these words of Jesus bothered me incessan...

I have spent the last week on Pilgrimage in Lourdes , France. Lourdes is a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains, on the border with Spain. The town is famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes which occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous . Lourdes is a very special place for me. It is where I met my wonderful wife in 1989, and has become one of those places which seem central to the story of our lives. I went back to Lourdes last year for the first time in some 16 years, after spending many springs and summers there as a youngster with the HCPT and ACROSS, helping handicapped children and adults. You can read about that here . This year, the Parish went on pilgrimage there and Louise suggested I take our youngest son John. This meant I was in Lourdes without Louise for the first time ever, which was a bit strange. It was also the first time I have been with my dear friend and parish priest, Father Kevin Hale. Also, I got to travel with all ...

I have spent the last week in beautiful hot weather on pilgrimage in Lourdes with the family. Mary reading through the in-flight safety Some people have asked me about the damage that was done by the recent floods . We were contacted by our hotel a week before departure as they couldn't honour our booking due to flood damage. Interestingly, we were able to get alternative accommodation without any problem. This made me wonder whether there were the usual number of pilgrims there for the time of year and indeed, the town was busy, but not as heaving, as I have seen it in the past. The damage is visible, the glass covering the spring in the Grotto has been damaged, the wall bordering le Gave is damaged, but the most visible sign is the bridge from the Domain to the Basilica Bernadette, which suffered a great deal of damage. Overall, the place looks surprisingly good and is 99% open for business. They've done a sterling job cleaning it up so well in such a short space o...