One of my favorite things about the Internet are wild things like this.   May of course is Mary's month, and my friends at  Order of Malta (more specifically, representatives from the Order of Malta worldwide) are in Lourdes this week for their annual pilgrimage, when they take along les malades, the sick, for spiritual and physical healing at the famous French shrine in the Pyrenees.  Anyway, here's a webcam of the Grotto, believe it or not.  So if you've never been and wonder what it's like, or have been and wish you could back, here's your answer.  This afternoon, if you listen carefully, you can hear birds singing, feet squeaking on the tiled floor by the Grotto, and canes and wheelchairs bumping along.  On the same site, there's also a webcame of the Rosary procession at night: Ave, Ave, Ave Maria...

James Martin, SJ