A hot steamy day in Paris,
a cooling breeze dancing in the tree outside my balcony.
A unique city with inhabitants who do not apologize
for anything and who has no regard for socially polite behavior or attitude.
Quite a challenge to the mind in the beginning until
you realize it affords you freedom from certain behavior.
Then the question arises, which morality is engendered by society in human behavior
and which are inherent.
This question is even more prominent when
we visit the beautiful cathedrals of Paris.
At each and every one of them tourists are turned
away because of wearing shorts,
short skirts and sleeveless shirts.
The latter included cotton shirts, covering up to the neck,
but lacking sleeves!
Which part of the body is offensive to whom and why?
I wonder whether it is offensive to the Divine that tourists,
carrying their backpacks, are taking the time to
integrate the spiritual with the secular?
Is it not the nature of life that these
two cannot be separated?
But then, of course, the church is
an institution and it has it's own backpack
to contend with. It took me a while to
learn to look past bureaucracy and dogma
and to not let these exclude me from experiencing
the Light upon which most cathedrals and Other beautiful gifts are built.
One such gift is the miraculous medal.
A young nun at the Daughters of Charity Chapel
received a visitation from divine Mary.
In more than one visitation she received the image
and instruction about the miraculous medal.
Mary made it clear that this medal can be worn by
anyone and everyone, regardless of religion.
The only requisite was faith in 'when you ask, you will receive'.
The chapel is tucked away in a busy street
across from a large departmental store.
The nuns scrutinize all visitors and the
tiny gift shop is spartan and does
not use electronic means of payment;
each sale is written down by hand.
The chapel is incredibly beautiful, and as soon as you enter you feel the incredible Presence. Soon the images seen by my eyes disappear and only a brilliant golden light is visible. The light has a silver rim to it and it is alive and palpable with wisdom and knowledge which cannot be translated into words.
This is the Presence of Divine Mary.
The light translates into my physical body and energetically there is
deep movement in and through my body.
Then my heart fills with a feeling that seems physical.
Everything and everyone around me is bathed in this beautiful light and they all glow in love.
The Light becomes stronger and more powerful and I see the intense
Light at the centre of it all and also at the centre of each and every person.
And the quality of this Light is Good and only Good - pure and beautiful and innocent!
And it does not matter what happens on the exterior : nothing can
corrupt or diminish that Light which is you and me.
Blessings from Paris
Hettienne
At the grotto I fell in line with the other pilgrims, waiting my turn to touch the walls of the cave and its dripping water. The atmosphere was light and joyful, although many stood and kneeled deep in prayer. As I approached the statue of Our Lady where She appeared to St Bernadette, I could feel an
intensification of the energy, a slight vibration and a humming sound. The closer I came, the louder the sound became. The sound was over and above the sound of the rushing waters.
As I put my hand out to touch the dripping water and I raised my eyes,
a column of light was visible to me,
shimmering and dancing.
My first impression was that it is a giant candle, but then my logical mind
realised that this is not possible.
The only way I can describe it is 'a flame of living organic light' :
Her Divine Presence made manifest in this world,
visible to my eyes.
And overwhelming and immense feelings which I am at a loss to name.
A feeling of such incredible fullness and completeness which has stayed with me ever since.
A hundred thousand harps take you
like wings and sweep you up out of silence.
And your primitive wind is blowing
the fragrance of your marvelous power
to every being and to every creature in need.
- Rainer Maria Rilke
This is how I described my experience at Lourdes!
Start saving your pennies for 2014! It would be wonderful if each member of The Temple of Mary could join in this pilgrimage, so, if it is your desire, put it on your wish list for Love to fulfill.
This is a very preliminary outline of the itinerary and dates. The dates may vary by one or two days either way, depending on the cheapest available flights. I will towards the end of 2013 look for affordable flights and for specials to Paris - these often come up at R5000-R6000 per return flight. I will use my past travelling experience in France to find us affordable accommodation and modes of travel. Meals can be al fresco and picnic style which will not cost a fortune. A budget of R15000 should be enough to cover everything (flights, accommodation, meals and travel) including shopping. But again, it depends on the rand-Euro exchange and we will see closer to the time.
Dates : Saturday 18 May 2014 - Friday 31 May 2014
The month of May is sacred to Mary.
You can read about some of my pilgrimages on the below links :
there are more if you are interested (search pilgrimage, mary magdalene, paris, lourdes, sarah la kali, notre dame, sare coeur)
Chapel of the Miraculous Medal
When I visited this chapel I wrote about my wonderful experience, bathing in Mary's Love while sitting there.
Soon the images seen by my eyes disappear and only a brilliant golden light is visible. The light has a silver rim to it and it is alive and palpable with wisdom and knowledge which cannot be translated into words. This is the Presence of Divine Mary. The light translates into my physical body and energetically there is deep movement in and through my body. Then my heart fills with a feeling that seems physical. Everything and everyone around me is bathed in this beautiful light and they all glow in love. The Light becomes stronger and more powerful and I see the intense Light at the centre of it all and also at the centre of each and every person. And the quality of this Light is Good and only Good - pure and beautiful and innocent! And it does not matter what happens on the exterior : nothing can corrupt or diminish that Light which is you and me. - http://www.path-of-divine-love.com/2012/10/mary-grace-of-miraculous-medal.html
We will visit :
PARIS
Notre Dame de Paris
Sacre Coeur de Montmartre
Chapel of the Miraculous Medal
La Madeline Temple
and
Chartres of the famous Chartres Blue glass and the Black Madonna!
Yesterday we visited the Sacre Couer in Montmartre along with hundreds of tourists. The beautiful and sacred atmosphere of the church was virtually non-existent with tourists disobeying the instructions not to take photographs, children touching everything, you get the picture. However, my daughter and I was determined to immerse ourselves in the energies and we were not disappointed. We both felt the light humming in our hands and arms as we approached the beautiful golden statue of Mother and Child. It felt like a door opened in my chest and throat and a million birds flew out, suffusing myself with the Love that includes everyone and everything. Next we entered the Virgin chapel. The walls were covered in images of the sacred woman in Her different roles and aspects. The compassionate and nurturing energy was intense and palpable. The air here was cool and soothing and it felt like an expanse of space. We stayed as long as we could. - http://www.path-of-divine-love.com/2012/07/drinking-from-waters-that-truly-quench.html
Travel by air or train to Marseille and then to Saint Maximin de la St Baume where we will stay at the old convent next to the Basilica de Madeleine
and from there to Saintes Maries de la Mer for the Sara la-kali Festival on Friday 24 to Sunday 25 May
and then on to Lourdes
I Love You Always
Blessings
Hettienne Bhaktymayi Maria Ma
A beacon of light in the darkness.
Winds swirling, moving white light blending with white cloth.
A smile, a halo, hair or light?
She is calling, walking ahead, leading, guiding, gently shining
the Light.
I follow, one foot forward, then another,
tentatively, unsure, until finally,
breaking out in a run,
feet secure, heart pounding,
following blindly,
following Her. - Hettienne Bhaktymayi Maria Ma - 2004
The year after I found Mary's Well in
Glastonbury, I attended the International Goddess Conference in Glastonbury - the first of many to follow. That year the focus was on Bridie or Brigid and her swan.
If you have been following the story, you will know that Hestea/Vesta led me to St Brigit and Michael's Tower in Glastonbury.
I stayed in the same bed n breakfast as before and this time I shared the space with Sister Mary McAleese, a Brigidine nun from Kildare!
From her I learnt that Brigit is also known as Brede or Mary of the Gael! You may remember my mention of the one book that made such an incredible impact on my life. I read 'In this House of Brede' by Rumer Godden when I was fourteen - I still own that copy. I have given many books away since, but never that one. I could not explain to you why the book was so important, other than that I always felt that there was a story behind the words that only I could 'see'.
When those nuns told me that Brede was St Brigit, the key fitted the door and the following year I travelled to Kildare, Ireland to the sanctuary of St Brigit, Mary of the Gael.
The nuns are Brigidine nuns, living in Kildare in Ireland. They are part of a community known as Solas Brihde, devoted to the all-encompassing Celtic St Brigit : saint, poetess, protector and healer.
They have restored the original Brigit sacred pilgrimage site along with a small publication, guiding pilgrims in the power and symbolism of the pilgrimage to Brigit.
The original site dedicated to Brigit, Celtic Goddess, is still to be seen in the grounds of the Catholic Church
erected on the same site.
This shrine, near Kildare, was located near an ancient Oak that was considered to be sacred by the Druids, so sacred in fact that no one was allowed to bring a weapon there.
The shrine is believed to have been an ancient college of priestesses who were committed to thirty years of service, after which they were free to leave and marry.
During their first ten years they received training, the next ten were spent tending the sacred wells, groves and hills of the goddess Brigid, and the last decade was spent in teaching others.
Nineteen priestesses were assigned to tend the perpetual flame of the sacred fire of Brigid. Each was assigned to keep the flames alive for one day. On the twentieth day, the goddess Brigid herself kept the fire burning brightly.
The goddess Brigid was also revered as the Irish goddess of poetry and song. Known for her hospitality to poets, musicians, and scholars, she is known as the Irish muse of poetry.
The Feast Day of Brigid, known as Imbolc, is celebrated at the start of February, midway through the winter. Like the goddess herself, it is meant to give us hope, to remind us that spring is on its way.
The lessons of this complex and widely beloved goddess are many.
The Celtic goddess Brigid lends us her creativity and inspiration, but also reminds us to keep our traditions alive and whole. These are gifts that can sustain us through any circumstance.
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