Our Lady of Lourdes


As my readers know, today is a special day for me, as it marks the anniversary of my Marian consecration. Today is the feast of  Our Lady of of Lourdes -- the anniversary of the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to St. Bernadette Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to a poor, uneducated, sickly fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St. Bernadette) 18 times in the hollow of the rock at Lourdes, called “de Massabielle”.

On March 25, the feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1858, she said to the little shepherdess who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Because the dogma of the Immaculate Conception had been officially proclaimed less than four years earlier, and Bernadette could not have even known of its existence, when Bernadette repeated the words, it gave credibility to her apparitions. It was confirmation from heaven that the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was indeed true.

During one of these apparitions, when Bernadette was told by Mary to begin digging in the ground; she obediently did so, to the townspeople’s scorn. Water immediately began flowing from the spot where Bernadette dug, a tiny stream that has since has grown to the size of a small river. Thousands of healings have been reported as the result of people bathing in or drinking this miraculous water. The walls of the grotto where the Blessed Mother appeared are lined with the crutches of the lame who have walked away from the waters, totally healed.

What is the message of Lourdes?

First, we are called to look at the grace and holiness of Christ in Mary, become converted, and be healed spiritually. It is a call to enter fully into the mystery of the redemption.

The second message was that of prayer. In order to be more fully conformed to the will of God, we must pray without ceasing. Prayer leads us to the Spirit of God.

The third part of the message was Bernadette herself – simple Bernadette. She was uneducated and poor. She could not explain things very well. But, she had a pure heart. And, it was this purity of heart that opened her up to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and to experience the fruits of the redemption.

Our Lady made some rather bizarre requests of Bernadette – to eat grass like salad, to dig in the dirt and mud with her hands to find a healing stream. Though humbling, Bernadette willingly performed these tasks despite the fact that she was laughed at and mocked by the townspeople. Mary’s appearance and Bernadette’s response present a picture of what it means to love God with our whole heart, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is a visible expression of purity of heart that calls us "Be it done unto me completely and fully according to your word. Accomplish in my life fully what you want to accomplish." This is in contrast to our culture where one’s own will, pleasures, desires, and interests take precedence. In our self-centered culture, the motto is, "Be it done according to my will."

Thus, the message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

Let us follow the example of Bernadette in her purity of heart, obedience to God's will, and love for God and neighbor. May our hearts be purified by the Holy Spirit, as we follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


Pope John Paul II's Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

Official Site of Lourdes

Place Your Petition at the Grotto of Lourdes

FEBRUARY 11th HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: Personal Reflections

~© February 11, 2011 Jean M. Heimann

Comments

  1. Hi Jean. I just discovered your wonderful blog. Where do you get the energy from?

    Thanks for the reminder about the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes today. I have been praying recently by simply reciting the words, "I am the Immaculate Conception." This doctrine is a gift of faith from the Church. It is another of the mysteries of our faith.

    I hope you don't mind a personal off topic comment. I have composed a song based on the Prayer to the Holy Trinity by Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. I've posted it both on my PublicVigil blog and on YouTube.
    http://publicvigil.blogspot.com/2011/02/o-trinity-that-i-adore.html
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADvvM4PMNxI

    Peace be with you.

    ReplyDelete

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