Is it possible that the Brittany region in the northwest of France contains the last remaining vestiges of the lost city of Atlantis? This is one of the fascinating topics that highlights a forthcoming tour of the area. “Angels and Atlantis” is a group travel program to be hosted by Kathleen McGowan and Michelle Anderson starting in late September, 2014.
One of the featured destinations, Mont Saint Michel, is so rich in both history and myth that its legends date back more than 1,300 years. To give you some background about this sacred place, we thought we would share with you an article about its history.
The History of Mont St Michel
by Bob Lord and Penny Lord
When the miracle occurred, in 708, the whole area, which is now a bay, was a forest.
Two rocky peaks broke the massive forest. One was and is still called Tombelaine and the other was known as Mont Tombe. Mont Tombe, or as it is now called Mont St. Michel, was once a Shrine to Belen, the Celtic god of Light.
It later became a Shrine to the Roman Mercury.
It did not become a Christian place of worship until the 5th century, when it was occupied by hermits from the other side of the channel (somewhere in the British Isles, as it is now known, probably from Ireland).
They set up two oratories under the protection of Saints Stephen and Symphorien.
In 708 A.D. the Archangel appeared to St. Aubert who was then Bishop of Avranches.
Michael commanded that a Sanctuary be built on Mont Tombe, in his honor.
And so, the Sanctuary was built on the very mount where the pagans worshiped. This is not unusual in the history of our Church. In Assisi, for example, there is a church called Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (Saint Mary over the temple of Minerva).
It is fitting for the Church to do this. Did not Saint Paul go to the pagan Gentiles and bring the Good News of Jesus to them, very often using their pagan beliefs to help them understand that the god, they believed in, was no match for the One and Only God.
When you visit the Shrine, you have to stop and wonder how they were able to do it, first to fight the strong pagan influence that still prevailed and then the physical difficulty?
But when God is in charge “cannot a child, with the Angel’s aid, cause the monuments of a pagan cult to tremble?”
Saint Aubert sent representatives to Monte Sant Angelo (Cave of Saint Michael) in the Gargano, Italy, to retrieve a relic from the mountain. When the emissaries returned with the precious stones from the Holy Cave, what did they find, where there formerly had been a forest, but, waves smacking upon the shores of a sea-swept bay. The forest had become an island! Do you find that hard to believe? Well, how do you explain this?
This is not only the tradition of the Shrine, but geologists have confirmed that in the eighth century, a sudden encroachment of the sea did take place around the new Christian Sanctuary that was there. Phenomenon, or as we would rather believe, miracle?
Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed “experts on the Saints.” For more information about Saint Michael appearances go to: http://www.bobandpennylord.com/St_Michael.htm
The upcoming “Angels and Atlantis” tour will cover the history and legends of Brittany from a broader perspective than that of the Lords. Co-host Michelle Anderson has been called a shaman, high priestess, angel and oracle, but she describes herself as “a girl who loves all living things.”
Kathleen McGowan is the New York Times bestselling author of The Magdalene Line series, novels which explore and celebrate the role of exceptional women in history who have changed the world through their courage. She has written several tantalizing things about Archangel Michael, with whom Mont Saint Michel is closely associated. She has even said that she may have been protected by a human manifestation of Saint Michael during a time when she was in great physical danger. The story is on her blog at http://www.kathleenmcgowan.com/was-the-man-who-saved-me-from-human-trafficking-a-real-man-or-an-angel/
For a complete itinerary of the “Angels and Atlantis” tour, please visit http://bodymindspiritjourneys.com/brittany-2014.html