A Young Pilgram has Change of Heart

My trip to Lourdes this summer was an experience of a lifetime, one that I am certain I will never forget. The things I learned, the emotions I experienced, and the memories I made will last me forever. I am so grateful to have spent two entire weeks with the most giving group of people I have ever met. The loving attitude expressed by every person was inspiring. This trip changed me as a person; in my faith, and in the way I look at life. Lourdes showed me how to appreciate everything in my life and to never let a day go by where I wasn't thankful. I would never have experienced this if not for Fr. Wayne Watt. Thank you.

K.McIntyre, YouthGroup, W.Watts, Chicago, 8-06

Reflections at the Grotto on Good Friday

As I sat quietly at the Grotto on Good Friday the scene before me was of a world much different from the one I left behind. It was a world as Christ would have it; the sick and unfortunate are loved and cared for tenderly; not looked down upon or abandoned; a world in which those in need come humbly to pray and to beg for God’s help at this holy place.

As I reflected on the scenes before me, the infirmed on stretchers, in wheel chairs, the crippled with canes or walkers, young, old, I saw the cross of Christ before me. I was a bystander on the Way of the Cross. I was seeing God’s special people. They are called by God the Father to help His Son carry His cross by joining their sufferings to His.

I don’t know which scene moved me more: the victim of palsy pulling a malade in a cart, or the happy faces of the mindless as they were pushed closer to Mary’s place, or the soothing hugs given to the demented as they cried out, or the peaceful faces of the aged after passing through the grotto and touching the rock or the faith and the intensity of prayer of a young couple whose heads were bowed and hands were gripped in great supplication.

And I couldn’t help but think that the loving attentive caregivers were Simons who were helping Christ carry His cross by helping the sick carry theirs. For me it was a unique and grace-filled way of praying the Stations of the Cross on this Good Friday.

Written by Barbara Murphy, Arlington, VA
Order of Malta, 4-2006

Pastor of Scranton, PA learned of Lourdes from Mom

I had a long association with Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette. Like Bernadette, I was asthmatic when I was younger. Many a night my mother stayed up with me hacking and coughing. I took comfort in the fact that Our Lady chose one like myself when she appeared at Lourdes.

I have never been abandoned in my prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes. Her intercession is my hope and consolation in life. I visited Lourdes once on a pilgrimage. It was a wonderful experience.

Fr. Kenneth M. Seegar, Diocese of Scranton, PA

The Grotto of Our Hearts

Perhaps you are reading this and thinking: I remember my own trip to Lourdes. Or maybe you are thinking: I hope someday to go to Lourdes. Just as likely you are thinking, maybe even with some sadness or disappointment, I may never be able to go to Lourdes - because of illness or financial constraints or lack of time. But it’s good to remember that God gives us the ability to pray deeply wherever we are. While Mary appeared to Bernadette in a specific locale, and at a specific time, the Spirit is with us always and everywhere. We need not travel to southern France to encounter God’s presence in our lives. God dwells within us already, and just as important as the grotto of Lourdes, where Mary spoke in 1858, is the grotto of our hearts, where God speaks to us every day.

Fr. James Martin SJ, Lourdes Diary, Loyola Press 2006

Barbara Murphy & Melinda Henson, Lourdes 2006

Called to be "Simons"

I was fortunate to be in Lourdes during Holy Week. At the Grotto on the afternoon of Good Friday, I reflectively watched the steady stream of malades (the sick and infirmed) make their way on stretchers. To me it seemed that each one of them was carrying a cross. It is the cross of their infirmity, and the path to the Grotto was their Calvary. I recognized that each one had been chosen by God to walk the Way of the Cross with His Son. In their hearts they join their sufferings with His for the salvation of the world.

My reflection continued. I then looked on those who were pushing the stretchers or pulling the carts. At that moment I saw new meaning in their effort. I saw each of them as "Simon", the helper of Jesus. As "Simon", they were each helping their malade carry his cross.

When I go to Lourdes on pilgrimage, I receive the opportunity to care for the sick. Whether I push or pull a cart, or when I lend an attentive ear or hold a hand, give a back rub or merely smile, I know I am helping God's loved ones, the sick, carry the cross. I too become Simon.

Written by Barbara Murphy, Arlington, VA - May 2006

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