HCPT Blog 6 - Our Lady of the Snows

On the bridge in Gavarnie

Of all the day trips away from Lourdes, the one to Gavarnie is the most popular with HCPT groups. Ours was the first coach to pull into the ski resort today after a journey this morning of just over an hour, carrying our Chiswick group and Group 50 from Liverpool. Soon, at least another eight groups were unloading their children, helpers, wheelchairs, packed lunches. The West Indies HCPT group pulled in at lunchtime and they brought their musical instruments with them as well, always ready to sing and entertain.

All of us gazed at the statue of Our Lady of the Snows up on the hill to the right of the road into the town and then took a breath-taking first view of the Cirque de Gavarnie ahead of us, looking today like a massive wall of ice.

HCPT groups love the beautiful natural environment of Gavarnie, which reminds us all of the life and joy provided by God's creation. The area is in the heart of the Pyrenees National Park. During years of warm and sunny Easter weather, groups going on various days have Mass in the surrounding fields and play games. Frisbees are flying around with mountain goats grazing on the mountains behind and the pleasant trickling sound of waterfalls from the melting winter ice.

This year, however, snow was falling heavily and we retreated immediately into our usual café for hot drinks. We could see the donkeys lined up outside in the cold. By midday the snow had stopped and our group set off for a walk in the direction of the Cirque de Gavarnie, punctuated by the throwing of snowballs. Spiritual experiences don't only happen in churches and in liturgies. The awesomeness of the fresh air, the little brook running through the valley, and the beauty of the snow-covered hills and mountains, the laughter of our children delighted the soul. Quiet prayers of thanks were raised to God for the opportunity to be here again, and some for the first time.

After lunch back at the café some of us walked up the little Church of St John the Baptist which overlooks the town. It testifies to a thriving Catholic community going back at least eight centuries and, indeed, if you open the cupboard at the back, skulls of half a dozen Templar Knights can still be found! As a stage on one of the routes to Santiago de Compostela, the village of Gavarnie is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site for its parish church. Amidst statues of Our Lady, St Joseph, and St James of Compostella was a lovely plaque on the wall in English, 'The Canticle to Our Lady of the Snows, Gavarnie'. Here is the second of four verses, which suggests that Earth too proclaims the glory of God:

Thy robe in whiteness matches
The glacier's dazzling snow.
The azure of thy girdle
Sky's loveliness doth show.
Fast flowing down our valley
Our brook upon its way,
Immaculate proclaims thee
Thus whispering night and day.

Having fun amidst the glory of God's creation and with our friends in other HCPT groups is an important part of our group's Lourdes pilgrimage. We thanked God for it at our Mass later on in the day, which took the theme of healing. All of us in our little group, along with people worldwide and in the wider Earth community are in need of healing, as well as delighting in the blessings given to us. Long before HCPT was formed, the people of Gavarnie have believed that Our Lady watches over them and accompanies them in their sufferings and joys.