This is a closeup of the state of Our Lady of Mount Carmel above the entrance of the O.C.D. Monastery accross from the grotto in Lourdes, France. Our Lady is called the “Flos Carmeli”… Which reminds me of the yellow roses on the feet of our Lady when she appeared to Saint Bernadette…
- Thanks go to C.W. for a gift for some Masses for a priest.
- Thanks go to G.P.E. & S.M.E. for their contribution to the hermitage.
- Thanks go to P.P. for his gift.
- Thanks go to G.F. for her gift of a propane camp stove with two bottles of propane. This is great in the Summer. Very thoughtful.
These gestures make things possible in a very practical way. For instance, today, I was able to get a new battery for Jenny the Jeep. She’s been sitting dead for many months now. The old battery looked like the original, which would make it some 25 years old. I guess that makes Jenny, an ’87, an official antique. She’s a pretty mean looking Jenny, nonetheless.
May the Lord bless you and all benefactors in prayer and sacrifice and gifts. May He continue to bless you according to the erfect intercession of the Immaculate Conception.
Today, Holy Mass was offered for benefactors, living and deceased.
I cannot solicite donations, or have any type of business or paypal donation button, and I very gruffly complain and protest about anyone providing gifts of whatever kind. Nevertheless, you are daily in my prayers of thanksgiving to our Lord, even while I ask the intercession of the Immaculate Conception for you and the protection of Saint Michael for you.
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
My husband and I are walking the Camino on pilgrimage at the end of the month with a planned two night stay in Lourdes before we begin the 500 mile walk. Can you recommend a place to stay there? Do we need reservations ahead of time? I am a lay Carmelite.
You may be able to stay at San Pierre, for indigent pilgrims, kind of a dorm setup. I imagine that they would accomodate pilgrims as yourselves who, I imagine, are not hauling a great deal of gear with you. I can’t promise anything, but it’s worth a shot. You can ask where to get the shuttle bus for this and availability at the information centre in the Sanctuaries. Otherwise, there is a campground. Otherwise, there are more hotels in Lourdes than anywhere in France except Paris.
Thanks, Plan on offering our struggles on this walk for a different intention every day. Priests will be on the list.
Hello June. That is a most wonderful idea. And, on behalf of all priests, thank you. I wonder if there is a web-site or two that you would recommend to introduce our readers to the preparation for such a tremendous pilgrimage…