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Since 1993, the Church has celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes as World Day of the Sick. If one celebrates this feast just as World Day of the Sick, one would have done the needful especially with the many illnesses plaguing humanity. We live in a very “sick” world, this valley of tears. Yet there is much more to Lourdes than just healing or better still than just healing for physical ailments. In the Novena prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes, four Marian titles are evoked namely: Mother of Mercy, Comforter of the Afflicted, Refuge of sinners and the Immaculate Conception. And we could as well add: Mother most amiable.After celebrating Mary as Mother of God on January 1st and setting that as the axis on which to build Marian Spirituality and proceeding on January 18th to celebrate Mary as Mother of Hope both less known Marian celebrations, we now turn to a popular Marian celebration, Our Lady of Lourdes.
Between 11th February and July 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to a young French girl, Bernadette Soubirou in France. We could take each of these 18 appearances and draw out meaning for our spiritual lives. Permit me offer nine for the next nine days of this novena. I invite you on this journey to Lourdes to ask: what are the lessons from Lourdes to us today? When Mary appeared to Bernadette it was not just for her own sake but for the community. And so over the next nine days, let us prepare and embark on this spiritual journey to Lourdes. Mary, our mother continues to speak to us from Lourdes. Let us prayerfully discern what the message of Lourdes is? We will find the presence and smile of Mary, the silence of Mary, childlikeness and courage of Bernadette, I am the Immaculate Conception, are a few of the themes we shall broach.
The Physical Presence and Smile of Our Lady of Lourdes.
It was at the grotto in Massabielle that the Virgin Mary appeared to young Bernadette who had gone to fetch wood with her sister and a friend. Mary appeared to her and shows herself as present to Bernadette. She graces her presence with a gentle smile. It is not a dream Bernadette is having. It is real. The ruffling sound of the bushes attracts Bernadette who looks and then sees the shining beauty of the Virgin Mary. There is something special about physical presence.
The digital revolution has made “presence” easier but also more impersonable and intangible. Think about zoom meetings and the digital hugs. In spite of this, one is always fascinated by the number of people traveling by road and by air during Thanksgiving. Physical presence and family relationships have an intrinsic link. This is what the incarnation is all about - God became man. There is something special about physical presence. This is part of the lure of celebrity cult. Think of your favorite musician for example when you learn s/he is in town. You want to go see, touch, take pictures with them. You want to be in their presence. The apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mother at Lourdes is thus is a big deal. She “shows” up. She makes her presence felt like she did at the Wedding Feast at Cana. There is something quasi “sacramental” about physical presence. In the story of Jesus raising Lazarus back to life, Martha said to Jesus, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Jn.11:21).
During her earthly life, the Gospel never presents Mary without Jesus except when he is buried. When she visits Elizabeth, she brings Christ. She is present at the wedding feast in Cana. She is present at the foot of the Cross. Where Mary is, Christ is present. Her physical presence is illuminating. The brilliance and brightness of her beauty points not to her but to her Son. What would it feel like being in Mary's presence.
As if her presence is not enough, she graced it with a gentle smile in response to young Bernadette's question of who she was. The question of her identity instead produces a smile. It could be “provocative” but No! It is the soothing smile of a mother who understands. It is not boisterous laughter but a smile - a gentle smile. It is a reassuring smile. It seems to be a smile that echoes the words of Angel Gabriel to Mary: Do not be Afraid! Mothers know something of the smile of their children. There is more to this smile and Pope Benedict XVI affirms this when in his homily at Lourdes in 2008 stated:
Before introducing herself…Mary first taught Bernadette to know her smile, this being the most appropriate point of entry into the revelation of her mystery.
Knowing the smile of Mary, requires that we get to know Mary. To identify her smile requires familiarity with it. Mary smiles too with us all at Lourdes.
This smile is also an acknowledgement of human dignity. Mary the Mother of God smiles at Bernadette, a child of God worthy of a divine smile.
Mary's smile then is not just some random act of gaiety. It is deeply spiritual as it affirms the dignity of the one she encountered.
What is more, this smile expresses something about God Himself.
This smile is a true reflection of God's tenderness, is the source of an invincible hope. Unfortunately we know only too well the endurance of suffering can upset life's most stable equilibrium. It can shake the finest foundations of confidence and even leads people to despair of the meaning of and value of life. There are struggles that we cannot sustain alone, without the help of divine grace. When speech can no longer find the right words, the need arises for a loving presence, we seek them the closeness not only of those who share the same blood or are linked to us by friendship but also the closeness of those who are intrinsically bound to us by faith.
I would like to say humbly to those who suffer and to those who struggle and are tempted to turn their backs on life, turn towards Mary. Within the smile of the Virgin lies mysteriously hidden the strength to fight against sickness and for life. With her equally is found the grace to accept without fear or bitterness to leave the world at the hour chosen by God.
To seek Mary's smile is not an act of devotional or outmoded sentimentality but rather the proper expression of the living and profoundly human relationship which binds us to her whom Christ gave us our mother.
No matter what we are going through, Mary from Lourdes is with us and is smiling. Let us turn to her.
Mary's example is an invitation for us to be present physically to others. Even when we show up, let us be present . Let us bring a smile to others.
Mary's Silence
Our words are powerful when born out of silence. Studying Mary's life one cannot but come to the realization of the profundity of her silence. When we looked at Mary as Mother of God, we underlined the fact of Mary keeping and pondering things in her heart. After the wedding feast at Cana, the Gospels are silent about Mary. We find her during the passion, death and Resurrection of Christ and during Pentecost. Mary is the Queen of Silence. She prizes the value of silence and is in no rush at Lourdes. It is not the silence of manipulation that some married couples use against each other when they are angry. St Paul references this when he wrote: Do not let the sun go down on your anger Eph 4:26. When angry, many simply shut down. Mary's silence is not the silence which is the best answer to a fool, to borrow a popular expression. It is not silence born out of fear, shock or shame. Not the silence that looks the other way in the face of injustice. Rather it is the silence that wells up from the heart that seeks to treasure, to encounter and not to manipulate. Silence is the Hallmark of Marian Spirituality.
We are called to cultivate a prayer of silence. Our flippancy is quite visible in our prayer life. Our prayers are more vocal filled with so many words. We come to pray and just dive in straight. We have too much going on and we want God to listen. Our demons are too many.
One book that brings home the value of silence is Cardinal Sarah's book: The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. In Mary's presence, young Bernadette learns the great value of silence. The tyranny of noise is dissipated by the humility of silence. At one point, Bernadette showed up with à book and pen and the Blessed Mother told her: What I have to tell you is not necessary to be written down. At Lourdes, Mary did not say anything to Bernadette until the third apparition. We must learn to bask in silence in the glory of the abiding presence of Mary. Always remember where Mary is, Christ is present. Silence is not just about not talking. Silence is an act of faith; it is an act of hope; Our spiritual lives are enriched when we learn to be silent. A friend of mine says often even if in jest too many words in prayer is a sign of lack of faith.
Four Prayers from Lourdes
The Sign of the Cross, the rosary, the Immaculate Conception and the Memorare are prayers that take on an added value so to speak at Lourdes.
3.1 The Sign of the Cross
One of the first prayers we learn as Catholics is the sign of the cross. We start every prayer by signing ourselves. It is in itself a prayer. How many of us instinctively sign ourselves with the sign of the cross when in danger? Till this day, when lightning flashes which precedes the thunder rumble we often quickly sign ourselves. Today soccer players have made it a part of their ritual to mimic what looks like the Sign of the Cross as some lucky charm. However, the Sign of the Cross is a distinctively and quintessentially Catholic practice and prayer. At the heart of Catholicism is the Trinity and we are saved by Christ's death on the cross. Ask the average Catholic what they mean when they sign themselves with the Cross and you will be surprised. It is so basic and repeated so often that there is the danger of it becoming banal and merely perfunctory. Some are even ashamed when in public to sign themselves with the sign of the cross. The question is what do we accomplish when we sign ourselves with the Cross?
First it is an invitation for the Holy Trinity to be present; to come and be with us. At Baptism we became God's children through the pouring of water on the forehead and using the trinitarian formula in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. When we pray with the sign of the Cross we are making a formal profession of our faith in the Blessed Trinity - three persons in one God. We believe in One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Next when we sign ourselves with the Cross we are acknowledging the centrality of the Cross in our salvation and redemption. There is no Christianity without the Cross. The sign of the Cross is not simply a good feelif gesture merely performative but a sign that makes present the reality invoked. The grace that flows from the Cross into our lives is what we invoke when we pray the prayer of the Sign of the Cross
When Mary appears to Bernadette at Lourdes, the young girl takes out her rosary and struggles to make the sign of the Cross and only after the Blessed Mother completes the sign of the Cross does she begin praying the rosary. When Mary and Bernadette begin with the sign of the Cross, it is clear it is not t herself and for herself that she makes the apparition. She appears but points to the Holy Trinity. It is an invitation to turn to the Trinity. In the midst of whatever we are going through, Mary's apparition at Lourdes is a reminder and an invitation: Look at the Cross. Pay attention when next you are making the sign of the Cross. Know what you are doing
3.2 The Rosary
Bernadette then prays the rosary. History has it that Mary had her rosary beads with her. At Lourdes, the rosary is repeated daily. It is this beautiful prayer we are invited to pray daily. We must learn to pray the rosary and not merely to recite it. There is a temptation for the rosary to become a mindless repetition of formulaic prayer. When we pray the rosary, Mary joins us. She prays with us and for us. Remember tbe rosary is nothing but a contemplation of the face of Jesus with Mary. We learn about Christ from Mary's heart where she had kept and treasured all these things. When we pray the rosary, Mary walks with us through the Garden of roses to the Garden of Gethsemane to the tomb and beyond.
As you pray the rosary during this month and during this year in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes, imagine Mary with you. Ask her to teach you how to pray the rosary. Remember she is an excellent teacher. Her heart is full of treasures. Imagine yourself like St Bernadette encountering the Blessed Mother in the grotto of Lourdes.
3.3 The Miraculous Medal Prayer.
There is an inner connection between Mary's appearance at Lourdes in 1858 and Mary's appearance to Catherine Laboure in 1830 and that is the Immaculate Conception. There is a medal said to have been designed by Mary herself which contains the following prayer: O Mary conceived without original sin pray for us who have recourse to thee. 3x
In honor of her revelation as the Immaculate Conception at Lourdes, this is a fitting prayer especially when seen within the context of Mary's call for penance, penance, penance which we shall reflect on in the next section.
Every time we celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception.
3.4 The Memorare
A bonus prayer that has become associated with Our Lady of Lourdes is the Memorare.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence we fly into thee O Virgin of virgins my mother to thee we come before thee we stand sinful and sorrowful O Mother of the Word Incarnate despise not our petitions but in thy mercy Hear and answer them.
