Sprirituality which can change our hearts and transform the world
Adapted from Lourdes Magazine
The Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Mgr Jacques Perrier, agreed to the idea of an aid, in alphabetical order, to help us prepare for the 150th anniversary in 2008. A carefully chosen word by Bishop Perrier will enlighten us on an aspect of the message given to Bernadette. Letter A is for Apparition.
Below are links to the articles listed alphabetically. Click on any letter to jump to the article
The Apparition – A Fresh Look
Spirituality which can change our hearts and transform the world
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- Bernadette sees our Lady with her own eyes
- Our Lady speaks to Bernadette
- The gestures of both Our Lady and Bernadette towards each other
The message :- Our Lady spoke: “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next.” - Her reference to “ in the next” signifies the Kingdom of heaven.
- The coming of Our Lady at the Grotto was always preceded and followed by “brightness”, which only Bernadette perceived. It brings peace and tranquility.
- Those who were with her understood that she had entered into a different experience. To a certain extent, they too, were drawn to this same experience.
The Fresh Look :B for Bernadette
Bernadette enjoyed an incomparable richness: the love of her family. This love enabled the family to endure many hardships. It was nourished by prayer. At the time of the apparitions, she was 14 years old, she could neither read nor write, and had not yet made her First Communion. But she knew her Rosary, and the beads never left her pocket.
Bernadette speaks:
In Bartres and Lourdes:
- “When one thinks that the good God permits it, (suffering), one does not complain.”
- “I only knew my Rosary”
- “The Virgin was so beautiful, I cannot wait to die to see her again.”
- “The Blessed Virgin likes to be asked”
On Suffering:
- “The Blessed Virgin picked me up like a stone”
- “My Passion will last until I die”
- “On my bed with the crucifix I am happier than a queen on her throne!”
- “Let us work for heaven. The rest is nothing.”
Practical Exercise:
Why did God choose Bernadette? “Because I was the most ignorant”, she humbly replied. It is in the acceptance of our weakness that the grace of God comes through. Perhaps this new perspective in faith could gradually help us to see the weakness of others in a different light… Francois Vayne-(paraphrase)
C for Cachot
The dungeon, the prison, the home of Bernadette!
This was where her family of six lived before and during the apparitions. The family’s misfortune forced them to take shelter in this dungeon, barely twenty meters square. The very word and place evoke all the grief of the Soubirous. It meant misery and shame for them. Despite this, Bernadette was so blessed because as one of the poor she carried her cross willingly and lovingly.
Today the Cachot has become one of the Sanctuaries of Lourdes.
Practical exercise: The Soubirous family “shouted” their prayers, according to a cousin. They only had God on the eve of the apparitions. They never abandoned their faith. May we find the same strength in all circumstances in our life.
Around the world: Fr. Regis-Marie de La Teyssonniere, in his travels compared the Soubirous family’s situation to the millions of people who have no decent roofs over their heads. They have no material things to speak of, but when he talked to them about Bernadette, they understood that she was one of them, a friend, a sister, someone they could relate to. “The joy, beyond the cross, enriches the hearts of these poor people…and they open their hearts to the Gospel which transforms their lives.”
D for Dates
“Bernadette is so faithful to divine grace that even the dates are meaningful:
Practical Exercise: Divine Providence is at work in our lives, and certain dates remind us of it. Our personal “holy story”, like the date of our baptism, could make us thankful and could become opportunities to meditate, praise and intercede for others.
Around the world: Fr. Regis-Marie writes that the 11th of February, the day of the Virgin of Lourdes, is so important in many countries that this feast is always preceded by a novena. In some regions it is celebrated on the 11th of each month. In this way Our Lady fills the poorest of her children with the “grace of Lourdes” almost constantly.
E for Eucharist
Eucharist in Christian Life today and in the spiritual path of Bernadette.
The first apparition took place just before Ash Wednesday. During Lent and the Paschal season, Mary will be Bernadette’s catechist. After she was able to receive Communion, she tried to attend Mass as often as possible. At Nevers, when she was too sick to be carried to the chapel, she practiced “Spiritual Communion” or Communion of desire. She wrote: “Masses are celebrated perpetually at some point of the globe. I join myself to all those Masses, especially during the nights which I pass often without sleep.”
By her infirmities, her suffering, her sense of uselessness which she offered to God, she shared in the sacrifice of Christ of which the Eucharist is the Sacrament. She called her sickroom the “white chapel.” This is why one can really say that Bernadette lived the Eucharist even in her own body.
Her prayer: O Jesus, give me the bread of humility…the bread of obedience, the bread of charity, the bread of strength to break my will and to mold it into yours.”
She wrote: “I was nothing, and from this nothing Jesus made something great. Yes I am in some way sharing in the divinity by Holy Communion.”
We could ask the Lord for the grace to renew in our hearts the desire for His Eucharistic presence, especially on Sundays.
F for Family
At the beginning, Bernadette’s family was not poor. Life was happy for them at Boly Mill, “the mill of happiness.” But death strikes two brothers at an early age. Then work became scarce for her father, Francois. The family moved from one mill to another, from one set back to another until they ended up living in the old prison cell of the town, the Cachot.
Through all these misfortunes the family kept their faith and mutual love. Less than a year after their move to the Cachot, the first apparition occurred. Bernadette’s parents were reticent about her claims – they already had enough problems, will they be accused of encouraging their daughter in order to gain some money? They were concerned of what the people would say.
Her parents were easily swayed by the public opinion, but her Aunt Bernarde was her first supporter. She accompanied Bernadette to the Grotto. Then one by one, different members of her family would stand by her side. Her mother and her aunt Bernarde, her aunt Lucille, then her younger brother, Jean-Marie, all came with her to the Grotto.
Inspite of illness, unemployment, and poverty, the Soubirous family’s love for one another was always present, underlined and sustained by their absolute and inexhaustible confidence in God.
Whatever our difficulties today are, let us continually ask God for unwavering faith.
G for Grotto
The Grotto of Massabielle is the heart of Lourdes. An almost uninterrupted procession passes through the Grotto. On entering, the pilgrim passes by the spring, illuminated by a spotlight. At the back he often places a prayer intention. The most moving moment is when he passes underneath the niche where the Virgin appeared to Bernadette. At this spot, the rock is completely smooth, polished by a 150 years of veneration.
In the niche, the statue of Our Lady stands, with the words: I am the Immaculate Conception. At the center of the Grotto a block of local stone constitutes the altar. Masses have been celebrated in the Grotto since 1866. At the exit, the pilgrim passes close to a tower of candles.
The water, the rock, the light, the altar, the Virgin Mary, the procession which evokes the image of the Church on pilgrimage to the end of time, are all characteristic exercises of a pilgrimage to Lourdes. The procession at the Grotto takes place in silence.
The Grotto is so representative of Lourdes that it has been reproduced all over the world. These reproductions imply that the grace of Lourdes is given to the whole world, for all time and for all places. Bernadette made a practice of daily going to the grotto in her heart. May we do the same, welcoming Our Lady in our hearts.
H for Hospitality
Jesus said to His disciples: “Who ever welcomes you welcomes me…And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… none of these will lose their reward… I was a stranger and you welcomed me…”
Hospitality is profoundly Gospel-based. Christ himself gives the example in performing the most humble gesture of hospitality for his disciples: washing their feet covered with dust.
After the first apparition in Lourdes, people came in great numbers. They had to be accommodated, welcomed and offered basic needs. This is how the Hospitalite Notre Dame de Lourdes came to be. These volunteers number about 100,000. They accompany the sick and handicapped from their departure point to their return home. They come from different countries, diocese and congregations.
They give up their time and money as they pay for their own transport and accommodations. They prove the truth that it is better to give than to receive.
I for Immaculate
When the Virgin appears to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 it is a little over three years since Pope Pius IX solemnly promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (8th December 1854). This decision is the fruit of a long period of reflection in the Church, and the Pope only acts after having consulted all the bishops, catholic universities, and superiors of religious Orders.
From the first Apparition the question is constantly asked of Bernadette: who is this person appearing to you? Bernadette remains prudent. She describes the Apparition using the vague term, aquero, which means no more than “that”. But the name will be revealed only on the feast of the Annunciation, 25th March 1858.
“I am the Immaculate Conception”. Mary’s declaration of Her name affirms the dogma – she was conceived without original sin. She is free from all sin because of the unique mission given her at the Annunciation – she is to be the Mother of the Messiah, the Son of God.
Such is the first raison d’etre of the Immaculate Conception. The second reason: Mary must never be separated from the Church. If Mary is conceived without sin, then so is the Church. This is why we proclaim it “holy” in the Creed. The Church is holy, but its members are sinners. But sanctity is our vocation, and Mary leads us to this sanctity.
J for Jubilee
The word jubilee is associated with joy – it is the joy of freedom – it is the year of grace.
According to all accounts Bernadette had a cheerful temperament and spread joy around her. She found the joy of giving her life in the service of others in union with Christ. During her last days she said she was happier on her sick bed than a queen on her throne. And Bernadette was not one for inventing pious phrases.
Around the world: Many parishes under the patronage of Our Lady of Lourdes were dedicated on the occasion of a jubilee, whether it was building a new church (in 1908 in Vancouver, Canada), the actual construction, (1888 in Singapore) or its consecration (1908 in Rose Hill, Mauritius).
The Lourdes Jubilee reminds the parish of its identity and the graces received. It is the same for the replicas of the Lourdes Grotto, like the one constructed in Nagasaki, Japan in 1933. At the moment there are several projects under construction. The Lourdes Jubilee Year 2008 will see churches in Tina-sur-Mer, New Caledonia and a grotto in Hanceville, Alabama, USA.
The grace of the Jubilee is almost visible, for those who can see.
K for Kepi
Kepi signifies the public authority which tried to block the story of the apparition from being known and spreading. These came in the form of threats of prison for Bernadette and her family, arrests and depositions, intimidations, interrogations and the mockings.
The police prosecute and the local judges pass sentences. The media was divided. Even Bernadette’s partisans were sometimes more harmful than her opponents. Fortunately Bernadette is endowed with the wisdom of the humble and poor people at her trial.
How about us? Where do we stand? We have all experienced a “kepi” in our lives. This “kepi” sometimes hurts, but we can all choose to live a free and respectful relationship with authority when it is legitimate. Let us pray to bear witness to the secret of the saints: the grace of interior freedom.
The Lourdes Jubilee reminds the parish of its identity and the graces received. It is the same for the replicas of the Lourdes Grotto, like the one constructed in Nagasaki, Japan in 1933. At the moment there are several projects under construction. The Lourdes Jubilee Year 2008 will see churches in Tina-sur-Mer, New Caledonia and a grotto in Hanceville, Alabama, USA.
The grace of the Jubilee is almost visible, for those who can see.