Rigaud - a brief stop on our way to Nova Scotia

On our way out to visit my parents we stopped at a shrine half way between Montreal and Ottawa, Rigaud, QC.  It is modelled after the Marian shrine at Lourdes, France.  We were travelling on a Saturday afternoon with the intention of driving through the night to NS.  We stopped at Rigaud in time to catch the Saturday vigil mass at 4:30pm.  One of Rigaud's claims to fame (According to Dave's father) is this field of rocks.  The story/legend is that this field of rocks was once a farmer's field.  The farmer apparently ploughed his field on a Sunday and when he came back the next day the field had turned to rocks:  remember to keep holy the Sabbath day!  It looked more like a dried out riverbed to me.  Nevertheless, it is a good reminder to not miss Sunday mass (or the Saturday night vigil, in our case).

It was a hot day and, like all of our children, Isaac turns beet-red after exerting himself in the heat.  Why he was exerting himself during mass is beyond me.

 I love when I catch moments like this of Hannah:  on the cusp of young womanhood.

 To the right of the grotto is a building where priests sit and hear confessions.  The priest pictured, Pere Clement, is an 84-year old priest whose fitness belied his age.  He spotted us the minute we arrived and gave us his blessing as well as beautiful stories of how the Virgin Mary has protected him throughout his life:  from his youth as the fourth of 18 children to his 40 years spent in the Amazon.  These meetings are truly moments of grace.

 Here is the outdoor mass site where we sat under the trees and participated in the Eucharist.  Poor Ben was terrified that someone would spot that he wasn't French and was determined to assimilate himself as much as possible.  His efforts extended to his reception of Communion where he attempted to receive on the hand (never having done so before) and ended up a bit of a spectacle as the priest asked him in french over and over again if he had made his First Communion.  Ben has vowed never to stop in Quebec ever again!

 Can you see the francophobia in his eyes?  Rest assured that, despite the other children's looks of piety, the bark on that tree was picked and the stones on that ground were almost swallowed.

Big and small - my nesting dolls.