Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for Us...
It’s a rainy Sunday in Philadelphia. My sister gave birth to my second niece, Juliette Elizabeth, this morning and today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. I’ll be honest I’ve never thought about today’s feast day on any past February 11th, but it was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and I looked at the water I collected from Lourdes on my bookshelf. Now with my new niece’s birthdays to come, I’ll be sure to never to forget. How fitting that Heaven touched Earth on this day in 1858 and today a baby was born and my family feels the same way.
I often talk about how my faith has always been such a gift, but there are aspects I am still discovering or rather realizing they were there all along. An example of this being my relationship with Our Mother, Mary. Just like a good and faithful mom, she has always been there, guiding and interceding, whether or not I realized.
"God who made the sun, also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. All its light is reflected from the sun. The Blessed Mother reflects her Divine Son; without Him, she is nothing. With Him, she is the Mother of men."
~Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
My first memory of praying by myself involves looking at an image of Mary and my six year old self finding peace in a moment of fear and worry. When my great-grandma died I remember going through her house and the grandchildren taking something to remember her by. I picked her tall statue of Mary and it still rests on my bedside table. Usually I just pass by or hang my growing collection of Rosary beads and retreat necklaces around her neck, but every so often I am reminded of who she is and the gift Jesus gave us moments before he died: His Mother. My Catholic grade school teachers always talked about Mary like they knew her. They had this personal relationship with her as daughters, moms, teachers, wives, and women. It was intriguing and beautiful and I always admired it. There’s one part of my grade school life I never really talk about, it wasn’t a major acheivemt or activity that took up a lot of time, but looking back it made a difference. I was a Rosebud, a member our junior rosary society for the girls of St. Catherine of Siena School in grades 2-8. We met once a month. Meeting at school praying the Rosary, talking about Mary, and doing a craft one month and then visiting the local nursing home the other month. It was simple. So many years of the same routine. It didn’t take up a huge part of my life. Most years none of my classmates partook because it wasn’t “cool.” More often than not, I found myself among younger girls and I was often selected to lead the prayers for them or read to them. My sister and I partook every year including the annual May crowning when an 8th grade Rosebud crowned Mary after the living Rosary. There was an honor guard of first communicants and people from the parish brought flowers and sang Marian hymns. My 8th grade year I was the one who was selected to place the crown of flowers on Mary’s head and it was such a special moment. I have more significant moments of achievement or honor for sure, but to this day the feeling was unique and the genuine beauty I found in my surroundings and the task.
Throughout high school I was often drawn to Mary as the ideal woman and servant of the Lord. I still am. She was humble and obedient. She raised the son of God. She knew what it felt like to feel a sword pierce her heart. She knew the pain and fear of losing Jesus in the Temple, the same emptiness we feel when we lose Him. She was receptive, maternal, generous, and sensitive and in all things her life reflected God’s glory. Last year I led a group through Marian Consecration and as I continue to discover the graces, that journey was a reminder of just how humbly active she is in the lives of her children, anticipating our needs before we could even ask. Being on my knees after those 33 days preparing my heart, was such a special moment of closeness to the Lord through her. It was a moment of certainty and conviction of the faith, so strong and genuine.
I can vividly remember watching an animated film on St. Bernadette, the story of a French girl out doing her chores when a beautiful woman with flowers and light appeared and continued to appear eventually revealing her identity saying “I am the Immaculate Conception.” It’s funny the things that stick with you from Catholic school, that was in my third grade class in 2007. Ten years later, summer 2017, I had the opportunity to go on pilgrimage: El Camino de Santiago. It would be my first time in Europe so I found some travel buddies and we made the decision to fly out early and explore parts of France, places where Mary appeared to people like us. First where Mary appeared to St. Katherine Laboure and gave her Miraculous Medal and then Lourdes.
I remember getting off the train into a place immediately quite different than anywhere I had ever been before. Walking past the home of St. Bernadette you knew it was special. Even the Cathedral had the appearance of a large magnificent castle, but it did not feel like a Catholic Disney World. It was something greater. Green tree lined mountains, blue skies, puffy clouds straight out of a children’s book, and a river of rushing water surrounded the little town. Every single angle was a view of Divine Majesty.
That day happened to be the World Military Pilgrimage. Armed Forces of many countries filled the streets and Church. It was a day that I wish I could have bottled up because it was filled with faith. True, authentic faith given only by God. Even within the touristy types were awe-stuck. I am so hesitant writing this posts because words and photos will never be able to encapsulate the feeling and certainty of that day. Our hearts knew. We prayed the Angelus in that grotto where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette. I touched the walls and the spring that has cured so many of disease and infirmary. I stood among the infirmed and handicap heading to the baths because they had faith they could be cured. Not only was there faith, but there was hope. Even when people entered in wheelchairs and left in wheelchairs, they left smiling, confident that God had worked in their life in the way they needed it most. There were a list of intentions I took on the camino from friends and strangers and I knelt there in the grotto copying them and leaving them there in Mary's care to present to God. I felt connected to her. If you can imagine there was faith and hope, surely there was the greatest virtue of all present: Love. Love in how people respected the other and strangers just seemed to meet the other where they were. Love in families and groups visiting. Love in the beautiful devotion to Mary. But the greatest love was the one that penetrated my our own heart in the prayer of spoken and unspoken words in our time in such a holy place.
Today looks absolutely nothing like that perfect May day, but on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes let us remember the power of Truth, beauty, trust in the Lord, and grace. Let’s think about little Bernadette and the simple life she lived. If Mary appeared today would we even notice her in the hustle and bustle? Let’s think about child-like faith and Bernadette’s awe-struck reverence as a young girl. Do we remember that Jesus himself told us to have faith like children? Let’s remember the suffering and pain which Saint Bernadette faced as a chronically ill girl and remember Our Blessed Mother’s promise to her of happiness in the next world. How has the Lord worked through our own suffering and the grace we receive in bearing a piece of His Holy Cross? Let’s remember that miracles can happen at any time to anyone. Do you have expectant faith? Scripture reminds us that greater workers than that will be done! Jesus gave sight to the blind and the paralyzed walked when He spoke. A total of 67 miraculous healings have been recognized at Lourdes since 1858. Mary knows the way to her son’s Sacred Heart better than anyone. Let’s think about how we can trust her in her intercession, how we can be servants of Love, and how she can purify our intentions.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Are you interested in Marian Consecration this year beginning March 6th and ending on the Feast on the Annunciation on April 9? Fill out this interest form or email pennnewmanselfreconciliaiton@gmail.com
Images Courtesy of Gabbie
1. Statue of Mary in the grotto in Lourdes
2. Mary in my home parish at the May Crowning when I was in 8th grade
3. Kneeling at my Marian Consecration last year
4. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France
5. Gallery of miscellaneous Lourdes pictures (if you're interested google images probably has better ones)