Feast of the Notre-Dame de Lourdes
To All the Marian Devotees of the Epiphany of the Lord
The Feast of the Notre-Dame de Lourdes: I am the Immaculate Conception
The Virgin Mary herself desired this tie: What the Sovereign Pontiff defined in Rome through his infallible Magisterium, the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, blessed among all women, wanted to confirm by her own words, it seems, when shortly afterward she manifested herself by a famous apparition at the grotto of Massabielle. Certainly, the infallible word of the Roman Pontiff, the authoritative interpreter of revealed truth, needed no heavenly confirmation that it might be accepted by the faithful. But with what emotion and gratitude did the Christian people and their pastors receive from the lips of Bernadette this answer which came from heaven:
I am the Immaculate Conception!
(Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Le Pelerinage de Lourdes, 1957, Paragraph No. 16.)
Dear parishioners, the pilgrimage of Lourdes is founded on the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin to a poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous. The first apparition occurred 11 February, 1858. There were eighteen in all; the last took place 16 July, of the same year. Bernadette often fell into an ecstasy. The mysterious vision she saw in the hollow of the rock Massabielle was that of a young and beautiful lady: Lovelier than I have ever seen, said the child. But the girl was the only one who saw the vision, although sometimes many stood there with her. Now and then, the apparition spoke to the seer who also was the only one who heard the voice. Thus, she, one day, told her to drink of a mysterious fountain, in the grotto itself, the existence of which was unknown, and of which there was no sign, but which immediately gushed forth.
On another occasion the apparition bade Bernadette go and tell the priests she wished a chapel to be built on the spot and processions to be made to the grotto. At first the clergy were incredulous. It was only four years later, in 1862, that the bishop of the diocese declared the faithful: justified in believing the reality of the apparition. A basilica was built upon the rock of Massabielle by M. Peyramale, the parish priest.
However, in 1873, the great national French pilgrimages were inaugurated. Three years later the basilica was consecrated and the statue solemnly crowned. In 1883 the foundation stone of another church was laid, as the first was no longer large enough. It was built at the foot of the basilica and was consecrated in 1901 and called the Church of the Rosary. Pope Leo XIII authorized a special office and a Mass, in commemoration of the apparition, and in 1907, Pius X extended the observance of this feast to the entire Church; it is now observed on 11 February. Let us all make our spiritual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lourdes.
Dear Epiphany Community, Mary’s message at Lourdes was fourfold: First, was a call back to God through her stark message of: Penance, Penance, Penance! Mankind’s ego was being so puffed out in its anti-God movement that the only place it could begin to find Him again would be on its knees, humbly acknowledging its rejection. The second part of the message was the importance of the Rosary as Mary prayed it with St. Bernadette who continued that practice the rest of her short life. The third part is about Mary’s overall purpose at Lourdes and all her apparitions, bring souls to Jesus in the Eucharist. This is why she asked that a church be built where she appeared – a place where Jesus would heal souls through the sacrament of Penance and feed them with His very Life in the Holy Eucharist.
And the fourth part, which is the most profound, is tied up in Mary’s revelation of her name when she told St. Bernadette: I am the Immaculate Conception. This revelation of Mary spoke to a deeper truth of Mary that the Church had not yet been privileged to understand, a revelation that spoke to such an intimate union with the Holy Spirit that Mary’s very identity was, as it were, completely dissolved into the mystery of the Holy Spirit. This title spoke to Mary’s purity of soul to such a perfect degree that she was completely possessed by the Holy Spirit so that wherever she was would be found the power and work of the Holy Spirit in an unparalleled way.
Dear friends, nevertheless, in Bernadette’s time, the Grotto was a dirty, hidden, damp and cold place. It was there that the Virgin Mary, dressed in white, a sign of total purity, the sign of the Love of God, in other words, the sign of what God wishes to accomplish in each of us, deigned to appear. There is a contrast between this damp and obscure Grotto and the presence of the Virgin Mary: The Immaculate Conception. It reminds us of the Gospel: the meeting of the wealth of the goodness of God and the poverty of the human person: Jesus goes to sit at the table of sinners, because he came to search out that which was lost. This is not all!
Our Blessed Mother is the model and patron of purity and chastity. She is also a remedy for those of us who are seriously tempted, or live in the occasion of sin. She is the perfect woman, the purest of all mothers and virgins. Her purity and obedience to Almighty God are an example for all of us. Our devotion to Mary Immaculate is a powerful spiritual remedy. When we turn to Her, as children in need, she comes to our aid. She intercedes for us and obtains special graces to avoid persons, places and situations that test our human weakness.
It is a place where God leaves us a message, a message that is nothing other than that of the Gospel. God comes to tell us that he loves us – this is the heart of the Message of Lourdes, and he loves us as we are with all our successes but also with all our wounds, our weaknesses and our limitations.
During the 3rd apparition, the Immaculate Conception said: I cannot promise you happiness in this world only in the next and the famous words of the Gospel: he who wishes to be my disciple, let him take up the cross and follow me and the Immaculate Conception tells Bernadette that true happiness cannot be found externally, but only within intimate spirit. Honesty, accepting responsibility, goodness and generosity lead to happiness. Hence, Bernadette Soubirous says: I am happier on my bed of pain than a queen on her throne. To obey is to love, suffering in silence for Christ is joy, to love sincerely is to give everything, above all suffering.
The apparitions of our Blessed Mother to Saint Bernadette Soubirous, lead all who go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to the never-failing mercy of God, incarnate in her Divine Son. All who go on pilgrimage to Lourdes experience the profound personal healing that Christ alone gives, the healing that comes from being carried in God’s arms and lovingly caressed upon his lap. Many also experience physical healing, a sign of the far greater and deeper spiritual healing offered to all who approach our all-merciful God with faith.
Dear parishioners, as we reflect in a particular way on the power of the Rosary (Especially, when we pray the Rosary in the afternoon of 09 February at St. Thomas) for healing the suffering and for strengthening those who care for us. The Sorrowful Mysteries especially, assist us to unite our sufferings to the Passion and Death of Christ, and, with Christ: to transform them into occasions of grace and life (John Paul II.) When praying the Sorrowful Mysteries, you are encouraged to make changes to your interior life. The Virgin Mary adds: Pray to God for sinners. This is a wonderful message to remember when you make pilgrimage to Lourdes or in everyday life. Let us make this Marian Pilgrimage as Pilgrims of Hope!
Happy Feast of the Our Lady of Lourdes to All the Marian Devotees of the Epiphany of the Lord!
Fraternally,
Fr. John Peter Lazaar SAC
Pastor