Our Lady of Lourdes

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If I should ever forget you.....

There is a quotation in Sacred Scripture regarding Jerusalem that reads:

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if I should ever forget you..."

There are many holy places that this passage would apply to including Jerusalem. But for us, when we hear this passage, our minds race to that sublime shrine where honor is given to Our Lord Jesus through His Mother Mary, her shrine at Lourdes in France.

"Lourdes, Lourdes, if I should ever forget you...."

Lourdes is such a tribute to, and affirmation of, the love and care, the concern, patience, and attention that is showered on us by our Heavenly Family. It is also a magnificent prayer of faith the world has been given in the the desire of Our Sweet Mary, Bernadette's Aquero (Dear One), to take care of our physical and spiritual needs. The natural question we are asked after we have visited Lourdes is, "Did you see any miracles, any cures in Lourdes?"

Praise you, Jesus, we have seen so many miracles, so many gifts from Son to Mother, and Mother to children. Lourdes is the Wedding Feast of Cana, multiplied a thousand fold. We can just picture Jesus and Mary up in heaven. "Mother, it's not my problem", and Mary, just smiling, saying to us "Do whatever He tells you". Miracles abound in Lourdes.

We have seen miracles in Lourdes. We have seen cures in Lourdes. But physical healings are not the greatest miracle of Lourdes. What is the Miracle there? Is it solely in the fact that the Mother of God came here to visit a young, uneducated girl? Is the Miracle the many cures that have taken place here? Is it the Spring, the miraculous waters that have poured out for the last 130 years, and show no signs of letting up?

Indeed, all these things are miracles, gifts from Our Lord Jesus through His Mother, His loving, giving Mother. But I believe that these were just the beginnings of a greater miracle, a catalyst of the real miracle, the ongoing miracle, the miracle of Church. The word Catholic stands out like a neon light in Lourdes. At any given time, tens of thousands of Catholics from hundreds of points on the earth can be found here, praising God, loving His beautiful Mother, and saying, "Yes, Lord, thank You Lord, I believe. I trust You with my life'".

What is it all about? What happened in Lourdes?

Why did Mary come? What was so important at this time in history, in this country? It's easy in retrospect to understand the need for divine intervention in 1858. In 1854, in the face of massive opposition, one of Mary's staunchest supporters, Pope Pius IX proclaimed to the world what had been believed down through the centuries, but had never been made a Dogma of the Church. The Immaculate Conception was declared fact, and all Catholics were required to believe this. There had been a popular heresy spreading throughout Europe at this time, Pantheism, which claimed that man was equal with God. By this proclamation, Our Lord Jesus through the Pope declared that with the exception of Jesus, only Mary was conceived without Original Sin. The rest of the human race are heirs of Adam and Eve, and all that goes with it.

This proclamation caused more problems than it meant to solve. Rumbling went on inside the Church, and outside in Protestant circles. It was outrageous, they said, to give this singular honor to a woman. The enemies of the Church claimed Mary was from Adam as we all are; that she came into the world with the same stain of sin that everyone else was born with. "It was one thing for the peasants, the uninformed, to believe in this superstition", they ranted. "How could the Church make this farce into dogma?"

Our Lady of Patience, my Mary, who has never given up on us in 2,000 years, waited. One year went by. The situation was bad. Two years went by. Not much change took place in the attitudes of her children towards the new Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The third year passed. But still she waited. And then she did the predictable. She found a remote town of no great importance, and within that speck on the earth, she chose a simple child of the poorest family in the region, and led her to a garbage dump. From that vantage point she was to send out a message to the world for all time, loud and clear, confirmation of Pope Pius' IX dogma, in the statement she made in the 16th Apparition on the Feast of the Annunciation,

Que soy era Immaculada councepciou

I am the Immaculate Conception

But wait, we're getting ahead of ourselves. We have to go back to the beginning, to that cold winter day in February, 1858, when my Mary blessed this sleepy little hamlet, nestled in the Pyrenees mountains in the south of France, with her presence. It had been a bitter winter for the Soubirous family. The father, Francois Soubirous, was a "good old boy"; he had a great need for acceptance. When Francois went to the local cafe, he had to buy drinks for everyone. When people bought flour from his mill, any hard luck story would be good enough for Francois to extend credit to them. When they didn't pay their bills, he understood their sad story. But his creditors didn't understand his sad stories, and so, in short order, he lost his business and the mill.

By the year 1856, his family had been dishonored to the point of being forced to live in a one-room former prison in Lourdes, called The Cachot (the Cell, or Lock up). The reason it was no longer used as a prison was because it was considered below human living standards. Into this hovel, Francois and Louise Soubirous, and their four children moved. Le Cachot is approximately 15 by 20 feet. These are intolerable living conditions for 6 people.

Into this background, we bring Bernadette Soubirous, an illiterate, extremely unhealthy little 14 year old girl. Bernadette was always a good girl, a holy girl, a humble girl. For someone as famous as she became, she had no exaggerated impressions of her self worth. When asked how she felt about receiving such a special gift from Our Lady, she made the statement " What do you think of me? Don't I realize that the Blessed Virgin chose me because I was the most ignorant? If she had found anyone more ignorant than myself, she would have chosen her." She said of herself, "The Blessed Virgin used me like a broom. What do you do with a broom when you have finished sweeping? You put it back in its place, behind the door."

February 11, 1858 started out as just another cold winter day in Lourdes. There had been snow in January. Earlier on this particular day, there had been a bitter cold rain. It had stopped, but a light drizzle remained. Cold winds whipped through the little village, searching for breaks in the armor of coats, scarves, mittens and boots. It was no day to be out.

The sharp winds penetrated the walls of the Cachot, causing a chill to run through Louise Soubirous. She looked to their meager supply of twigs and branches which were used for the fireplace. It was almost gone. She turned to the girls, Bernadette, her oldest and sickest, and Toinette. She didn't want Bernadette to go for the wood. Bernadette, on the other hand, wanted to go out. She felt she was a drain on the family because of her illness. She was also suffering cabin fever, from being indoors so much. She begged her mother to let her go with Toinette. Finally, Louise gave in. She had no way of knowing as she watched the two girls leave the house that the Bernadette who left would never return. She had been touched by the Lady from Heaven; and would never be the same.

We take you to a place high in the sky, so you can watch the drama of February 11, 1858 unfold, where heaven and earth meet, the divine touches the human, and the world is affected for all time. On earth, we see Bernadette and Toinette frolicking through the town, picking up a playmate, Jeanne Abadie. They don't even know where they are being directed. Their chore is to pick up firewood, wherever they can find it. At the other end of the spectrum, we see the clouds open, and a bright light appears from Paradise, moving slowly towards earth. The little girls wind their way through the town, then down the hill in the direction of the River Gave. From our vantage point, we can hear choirs of angels singing joyous hymns in anticipation of the miracle that is to take place. If we could see into God's dimension, we would be able to witness these angels surrounding and carrying the most magnificent creature the Lord has ever placed on the earth. Slowly, they descend from the Heavens, the drama building. We can feel our hearts pounding as the angels and the Queen get closer and closer to earth.

The children approach the River Gave. They see a cave on the other side. It's the Grotto of Massabiele, a garbage dump. But it's dry inside. They can see sticks and twigs on the ground. Bernadette hesitates crossing the river, for fear she will catch cold. Her mother will kill her if she finds out that Bernadette even entertained the idea of crossing. The girls chide her. She feels a flush of anger and resentment rise up in her cheeks. She takes off her stockings and begins to wade across the water. At the same time a streak of light flashes across the sky at meteoric speed. We don't know if the other children see it. But as Bernadette walks out of the water, she is thrown to her knees by an unknown force. Before her is a brilliance that is indescribable. It's dazzling, yet there is a softness, a warmth, a shimmering, but oh, so much more. She looks to an alcove at the right of the grotto. She is speechless. The choir of angels reaches its highest pitch as the eyes of Bernadette and the Lady meet. An electric beam rivets the gaze of the two together. Bernadette feels her heart swelling. She is afraid it will burst. She cannot breathe. She trembles; her fear turning into excitement, wonderment. She can't take her eyes off the Lady. It has begun. The Queen of Heaven comes to speak to her people. God puts aside the laws of nature, and creates MIRACLE!

Bernadette did not want to tell anyone what had happened at the Grotto. She could not help but share it with her sister and Jean Abadie. But she did not want it to go beyond them. Children being what they are, however, the word spread like wildfire; the results of which were predictable. Jean Abadie spread the story around the town, while Toinette told her mother. Louise Soubirous beat both children. She ordered them not to go back to the grotto, or to spread any more lies. Secretly, she feared that Bernadette was hallucinating as a result of her illness.

Through Marian intervention, Bernadette was allowed to return to the Grotto on Thursday, February 18th. This was an important day for Bernadette. Within a few minutes after having knelt, she went into ecstasy. Mary came to her. She asked the Lady to write down who she was, and what she wanted. The Lady smiled broadly, and spoke to Bernadette for the first time. "It's not necessary". She looked at Bernadette very lovingly. She spoke again. "Will you do me the honor of returning here every day for a fortnight (Two weeks)?"

Bernadette could feel her heart leap for joy. She promised gladly to return. The Lady's expression became somber. She looked at Bernadette almost sadly. She spoke very softly, "I cannot promise you happiness in this world, but in the next."

The young girl did not understand what Mary meant. She was so filled with happiness at the prospect of being with the beautiful Lady for two weeks, she couldn't think about anything beyond this time. She was to know the meaning of the Lady's words very shortly. They set the stage for Bernadette's life. But it was all right. It was enough, having this Heavenly vision before her. She made her FIAT. She said "Yes" to the Lady.

Thursday, February 25th was a very special day for Bernadette, the authenticity of the apparitions, and the future of Lourdes as a major Marian shrine. It rained relentlessly that morning. Bernadette walked down to the Grotto of Massabiele from Le Cachot with her mother and her aunt Bernarde. Both ladies tried to protect the sickly girl from the weather, but the winds and rain lashed at their bodies, through their clothes. They felt the cold down to their bones.

When they arrived at the Grotto, to their amazement, there were over three hundred people gathered there, sitting in the rain, trying to protect themselves from the weather, waiting for the Lady.

Bernadette had had a meeting with the blustery Cure Peyramale the day before. She conveyed Our Lady's wishes for a chapel to be built there, and for people to come in procession. As the child repeated Mary's request, the priest about went through the ceiling. In a voice which could be heard all over Lourdes, he commanded the Lady to perform a miracle whereby the rose bush at the Grotto would bloom roses in February. Bernadette repeated to Aquero the request by the Cure Peyramale. Mary had neither time nor patience to listen to the blustering of the local parish priest. She motioned Bernadette to come very close to her, to where the child could almost touch the feet of Our Lady. Bernadette was overcome with emotion, being so near to the Lady; she kissed the Rose Bush, causing little drops of blood to appear on her nose. Mary spoke to her in the local patois.

MARY - Go to the spring yonder and drink and wash yourself.

Bernadette jumped backwards, keeping her eyes on the Lady, wanting so to please her. She thought to herself. Spring? What Spring? She assumed Aquero meant the mill stream, and so she fell to her knees, and began to slide towards it. When she had almost reached the place, she turned back to be sure this was what Mary had meant. Our Lady shook her head. It was not the right place. The child thought, it must be the River Gave. She headed for the River, which was some distance away. Mary called out, "Not to the Gave, please".

Bernadette was at a loss to know what the Lady meant. She twirled around uncertainly, then started back towards Mary. Our Lady repeated the message: "Go to the spring yonder and drink and wash yourself". Then, in an effort to help the girl, she added "Go eat the plants you will find yonder." Bernadette looked around, wondering where she could find plants to eat. Over to the right in a corner was a small clump of grass sticking out of the rock. She ran over to it, and began to chew it. The grass tasted bitter, but she did not mind. So far, so good. She had taken care of the last part of the request. But where was there a spring to drink from? She looked around desperately, as if there were a time limit involved. She was afraid if she did not obey Mary's commands immediately, the Lady would realize how stupid she was, get disgusted and leave.

There was nothing there but some wet ground near the grass. Approaching a state of panic, she dropped to her knees, and began to dig in the dirt with her hands. She looked like a little squirrel, burrowing into the earth. Down a ways, she felt liquid, most likely from the last flood, she thought. But if this was what the Lady wanted, she would give it to her. The obedient daughter dug deeper and deeper until there was a little puddle, just enough water to cup in her hands. She tried to get it out of the ground, but wound up picking up a combination of water and mud. She washed her hands and face, getting mud all over herself. Then she tried to cup enough water in her hands to drink. What she accomplished was swallowing a handful of mud. Almost immediately, her stomach rejected it; she began to gag. She couldn't get it out of her throat. Her mother and aunt ran to her with some water; the sorrowful figure vomited up the dirt, grass and water. The insensitive crowd began to laugh when she covered her face with mud. When she vomited, they became hysterical. Surely, she was mad.

Bernadette cried hard tears, partly because of the physical discomfort of the mud in her throat, partly because she was embarrassed, but mostly because she had failed the lady. Her mother was noticeably angry as she took the child away. Everybody else left the grotto, mumbling that the whole thing was lunacy, and Bernadette had gone crazy. The attention of the onlookers was so much on Bernadette that no one noticed a little puddle of water filling up the hole Bernadette had dug, which overflowed and began to trickle, forming a pool. This was the beginning of the Miraculous Spring, which has not stopped flowing from that time to this.

From this time forward, every time Mary appeared to Bernadette, she asked her to drink and wash in the spring. By this time, the child could cup her hands and get enough water to drink. The people assumed that this was a special ceremony just for Bernadette and the Lady. But as we can see 130 years later, and as the people at Lourdes came to realize shortly after the Apparitions, Our Lady was really talking to the people. She wants us to "Drink and wash ourselves in the spring".

On Thursday, March 4, the fortnight ended. For the last visit from Our Lady, close to ten thousand people crowded the Grotto, and the banks of the Gave River. Nothing spectacular happened. Our Lady repeated her request for the Chapel to be built there, and for people to come in procession. As far as the world was concerned, the apparitions had ended. Bernadette had done her part. The Lady gave her many messages, and now it was over. But what had really happened? Why had she come? What was she trying to say?

Thursday, March 25

The Feast of the Annunciation.

Bernadette wakes up like a shot, in the middle of the night. Her body is raised out of the bed to a sitting position. Her heart pounds so loudly she is sure it will explode. She knows; she can feel the call of the Lady, her "Aquero". The girl's entire body tingles with anticipation. She has to go to the Grotto. Before 5 in the morning, she can wait no longer. She tells her parents, bundles up as best she can, and leaves.

As she walks out of the "Cell", the Cachot, a blast of winter wind hits her full force. The powers of darkness are screeching, calling in all the evil spirits available, to make it difficult, even impossible, for this moment to happen, for the young girl to keep her rendezvous with the Lady. This has to be an important meeting; satan has pulled out all the stops. He lashes out at her with torrents of cold wind. As she walks the distance to the Grotto, a small crowd builds behind her. It's as if there's a radar screen, a network, something uncanny, that the people of Lourdes know her movements so early in the morning. They follow behind her. She is oblivious to everything but the Lady and the Grotto.

At the Grotto, there is already a small crowd of believers assembled. Word has gone quickly from door to door in the small village. Soon lights go on in the homes, and people file out, half dressed, rushing to the Grotto. Bernadette sees, as she arrives, that Our Lady is waiting for her. She runs to her special spot, where she kneels. The winds stop suddenly. She is blanketed by the warmth of the vision. Bernadette goes into a trance. This is the deepest ecstasy she will ever experience. As in previous apparitions, she gets up at times and walks deep within the grotto, talks very seriously with the Lady, and returns to her spot. This happens a few times.

Bernadette tells us that in this apparition, she asks the Lady to identify herself three times. The Lady smiles. The child pictures Cure Peyramale, shouting out his demand that the Lady tell Bernadette who she is. Bernadette tries a fourth time.

In Bernadette's own words,

"Aquero (the Lady) drew apart her clasped hands, and let both her arms hang down. Then she put her hands together again at the level of her breast, lifted her eyes towards Heaven, and said

'I am the Immaculate Conception'"

The sky opened up. The clouds disappeared, and the Heavenly Hosts of Angels shone as they had on that Blessed Day in Bethlehem. Choirs of Angels sang in praise of the Glory of God. A beam of light shot down from Heaven to the alcove, surrounding the magnificent creation God had made. Cherubim and Seraphim floated down and positioned themselves around Mary. A soft breeze enveloped the child and the Lady. Bernadette could feel the tingly flush of warmth that emanated from Our Lady.

The Cycle was complete. A Miracle that had occurred before the beginning of time, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, passed down through the years as tradition, proclaimed on earth by Pope Pius IX in 1854, was confirmed by Heaven in 1858 in this little grotto nestled deep in the Pyrenees, in a hamlet of no consequence, to this chosen saint, who had no idea what the words of the Lady meant.

My Mary is so splendid. Her unpredictability is so predictable. She has such a great heart. She loves her priests so much. She had to give this priest, Pope Pius IX, the courage of his convictions. She stood behind him and fortified him. She loved this little girl so much, she created a bond between them so strong it would support Bernadette the rest of her life. The message went out to all the world, and has never stopped.

For the first 50 years, the cures and miracles were attributed mainly to immersion into the miraculous baths. But Our Lady's plan was not yet finished. When organized pilgrimages began to go to Lourdes, a custom was initiated, called The Procession of the Blessing of the Sick, in which a procession began from the Grotto of Massabiele, all the way around the grounds of Lourdes, down to the front of the Basilica of the Rosary. The sick were lined up in front of the Basilica. The very last person in the Procession was JESUS, in the Blessed Sacrament. As the celebrant faced the people from the front of the Basilica, and raised the King of the World in the monstrance, cries could be heard from various parts of the shrine. Litters pushed through the crowds, moving very quickly to the hospitals. Miracles had occurred! Those of us who have a great devotion to, and faith in the power of the Eucharist, call these, Miracles of the Eucharist at Lourdes. Today, the people at Lourdes attribute half the cures to the Miraculous Baths, and half to the Miracle of the Eucharist in the Procession of the Sick.

Bernadette left Lourdes in 1866 for the Convent of St. Gildard in Nevers, France, 600 miles to the north of Lourdes, and 300 miles south of Paris. The prediction of Mary to Bernadette on February 18, 1858, followed her all her life. "I cannot promise you happiness in this world, but in the next." Victor Hugo, a French novelist and playwright of the 19th Century summed it up well. He said Our Lady asked Bernadette to eat bitter herbs and drink muddy water. This was to be the pattern of Bernadette's life. She bore it well not only during the time of the Apparitions, but also for the 13 years she spent in the Convent of St. Gildard in Nevers.

Bernadette died in 1879. She was officially made a member of the Communion of Saints in 1933, less than 60 years after her death. In addition, the body of Bernadette has never decomposed. When we bring our pilgrims to the Chapel of the Saint at the convent of St. Gildard in Nevers, they cannot believe that they are looking at the actual body of the little saint. After the initial shock, they agree that St. Bernadette is more beautiful today than the day she died.

There is a small book available at Nevers, written in many languages, called The Body of Saint Bernadette, by Fr. Andre Ravier. It is a compilation of documents in the Archives of the Convent of St. Gildard, of the Diocese and the City of Nevers. It authenticates that her body was never embalmed or preserved in any way, nor did it contain chemicals which could cause natural preservation.

Mary is a good friend. She is faithful and loyal to those who love her. Bernadette gave up her life at Lourdes, for Mary, her Aquero. She was rewarded for that, or perhaps it is we who have been rewarded. When I kneel at the altar rail at Nevers, less than ten feet away from the beautiful shepherdess of Lourdes, I think she's sleeping. I feel a closeness, a kinship with St. Bernadette. She is truly the unsung heroine of Lourdes.

While at the Convent of St. Gildard, Bernadette was once asked by a young child "Sister, have you seen the Virgin Mary? Was she very beautiful?" Bernadette's answer was

"Oh! So beautiful that when one sees her once, he longs to die......to see her again!"

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