Feast of St. Bernadette
Soubirous
If we are not in God’s grace, may He put us there. If we are in God’s grace, may He keep us there. – Amen.
If we are not in God’s grace, may He put us there. If we are in God’s grace, may He keep us there. – Amen.
Tonight,
we celebrate the life of St. Bernadette Soubirous. She is the patron Saint of
the sick, the poor and those who are ridiculed for their faith.
Bernadette was born onJanuary 7, 1844 , in Lourdes , France
The family was so poor, they were forced to live in a single room. But this wasn’t just any room. It was so dank, so unsanitary that it was a condemned prison cell. It wasn’t even considered fit for prison-convicts! Living there was cruel and unusual punishment. But a family of 7 lived in this single cell and, we are told, they lived harmoniously. The family is remembered as being kind, polite, disciplined and loving, in spite of the inhuman conditions they were living in. Still, the poverty, lack of medical care, living in a damp, condemned prison cell would leave indelible marks of suffering on Bernadette. For one example, she fell ill with cholera as a small child and suffered severe asthma. For another, poverty forced her family to cut her education short and put her to work as a child.
OnFebruary 11, 1858 , Bernadette and 2 young
girls went out of the village and into the woods to collect firewood. The 2
girls walked ahead, while Bernadette stopped to take her socks and shoes off
before crossing the stream. She didn’t want them to get wet. Suddenly, a wind
blew and Bernadette saw something out of the corner of her eye, she turned to
look… She saw a vision of the lady in white. The young girl was, at first,
afraid, so she brought out her rosary. The lady in white brought out a rosary
too and they began to recite together. Then the lady disappeared without ever
having spoken a word to the young girl. This is how the story of St. Bernadette
begins.
Bernadette was born on
The family was so poor, they were forced to live in a single room. But this wasn’t just any room. It was so dank, so unsanitary that it was a condemned prison cell. It wasn’t even considered fit for prison-convicts! Living there was cruel and unusual punishment. But a family of 7 lived in this single cell and, we are told, they lived harmoniously. The family is remembered as being kind, polite, disciplined and loving, in spite of the inhuman conditions they were living in. Still, the poverty, lack of medical care, living in a damp, condemned prison cell would leave indelible marks of suffering on Bernadette. For one example, she fell ill with cholera as a small child and suffered severe asthma. For another, poverty forced her family to cut her education short and put her to work as a child.
On
Bernadette
would continue to have visions at the grotto, from February 11th to
March 4th. Before long, the entire population of Lourdes
The town’s police saw these crowds as a dangerous threat, as public panic or hysteria, the next thing to a riot. So they arrested Bernadette and they interrogated her, they harassed her. Why was she going out to the woods, what was she seeing? Was she charging admission? Was she in this for any kind of fame or profit, or gain? When it became clear that the girl was innocent, the police handed her over to psychiatrists to be tested, to see if she needed to be put into the insane asylum. But she passed all their tests, she was deemed to be lucid and sober as a judge. In the end, they had to set her free.
The Church authorities, for their part had an extremely hard time. First, they wanted to know who or what Bernadette was seeing? Was this spirit damaging to the souls of the people ofLourdes
Remember our reading: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.” God has long history of this, just within the New Testament alone; Jesus was a carpenter, his disciples were mostly fishermen, Mary Magdalene (a woman) was chosen to be the first evangelist of the resurrection. Even Mary, herself, sang; “My heart praises the Lord… for he has remembered me, his lowly servant.” She wasn’t just being modest – she really was socially lowly, being betrothed to a poor man.
I’d like to think that Mary chose Bernadette because she saw something of herself in the girl, because she felt she could relate with her. But Bernadette would not have been able to see or understand that kind of honor or kinship. Bernadette was once heard to exclaim; “Don’t I realize God and the Blessed Virgin chose me to carry the message because I was most ignorant? If anyone could have been found that was more ignorant than myself, she would have been chosen!”
This was pretty much the extent of Bernadette’s visions, except for one more thing; Mary told Bernadette to eat some wi1d herbs and dig in the dirt with her hands, then a spring would well up. Bernadette was obedient, she got on her hands and knees ate the wi1d grass and dug. She 1ooked crazy! On a11 fours with mud around her mouth, pawing at the ground… A 1ot of peop1e wa1ked away in disgust, having 1ost faith. But it happened. There, the healing waters ofLourdes
Bernadette did not see the shrine. She withdrew from society and joined a cloistered order of nuns. She spent the rest of her short life in prayer, dying at the young age of 35 of illness… When asked why she didn’t go to the shrine for healing, Bernadette simply said; “it isn’t for me.”
Who is it for? What’s it about? What are we really looking at here? What are we looking for?
If we look at this one vision, we don’t learn much, except about the Catholic doctrine of the “Immaculate Conception”. If that. It’s something that doesn’t mean much to us, it doesn’t strengthen our faith or give us anything to hang onto.
If we look at the healing waters ofLourdes
If we look at how Bernadette was interrogated, harassed and ridiculed her whole life long, and yet retained both her dignity and her faith. That’s something we can hold onto, something that changes us and strengthens us. The Psa1m sings beautifu11y of Bernadette tonight; “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. … sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You…”
The town’s police saw these crowds as a dangerous threat, as public panic or hysteria, the next thing to a riot. So they arrested Bernadette and they interrogated her, they harassed her. Why was she going out to the woods, what was she seeing? Was she charging admission? Was she in this for any kind of fame or profit, or gain? When it became clear that the girl was innocent, the police handed her over to psychiatrists to be tested, to see if she needed to be put into the insane asylum. But she passed all their tests, she was deemed to be lucid and sober as a judge. In the end, they had to set her free.
The Church authorities, for their part had an extremely hard time. First, they wanted to know who or what Bernadette was seeing? Was this spirit damaging to the souls of the people of
Remember our reading: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.” God has long history of this, just within the New Testament alone; Jesus was a carpenter, his disciples were mostly fishermen, Mary Magdalene (a woman) was chosen to be the first evangelist of the resurrection. Even Mary, herself, sang; “My heart praises the Lord… for he has remembered me, his lowly servant.” She wasn’t just being modest – she really was socially lowly, being betrothed to a poor man.
I’d like to think that Mary chose Bernadette because she saw something of herself in the girl, because she felt she could relate with her. But Bernadette would not have been able to see or understand that kind of honor or kinship. Bernadette was once heard to exclaim; “Don’t I realize God and the Blessed Virgin chose me to carry the message because I was most ignorant? If anyone could have been found that was more ignorant than myself, she would have been chosen!”
This was pretty much the extent of Bernadette’s visions, except for one more thing; Mary told Bernadette to eat some wi1d herbs and dig in the dirt with her hands, then a spring would well up. Bernadette was obedient, she got on her hands and knees ate the wi1d grass and dug. She 1ooked crazy! On a11 fours with mud around her mouth, pawing at the ground… A 1ot of peop1e wa1ked away in disgust, having 1ost faith. But it happened. There, the healing waters of
Bernadette did not see the shrine. She withdrew from society and joined a cloistered order of nuns. She spent the rest of her short life in prayer, dying at the young age of 35 of illness… When asked why she didn’t go to the shrine for healing, Bernadette simply said; “it isn’t for me.”
Who is it for? What’s it about? What are we really looking at here? What are we looking for?
If we look at this one vision, we don’t learn much, except about the Catholic doctrine of the “Immaculate Conception”. If that. It’s something that doesn’t mean much to us, it doesn’t strengthen our faith or give us anything to hang onto.
If we look at the healing waters of
If we look at how Bernadette was interrogated, harassed and ridiculed her whole life long, and yet retained both her dignity and her faith. That’s something we can hold onto, something that changes us and strengthens us. The Psa1m sings beautifu11y of Bernadette tonight; “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. … sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You…”
But there’s more to Lourdes Lourdes Fatima , Medugorje, laSallette, even Norwood , Ohio
Did I say, “no one left behind?” Yes, I did! There is one other thing that is incredib1y specia1 about the Marian shrines in this new mi11enium and here is where I find the greatest mirac1e of a11;
“The Indian Express* reports an upsurge in Hindus, Muslims, and
Buddhists visiting Catholic shrines dedicated to the Blessed Mother. In an
unexpected twist of globalization, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and other
pilgrims regularly worship at famous Roman Catholic shrines to the Virgin Mary
such as Did I say, “no one left behind?” Yes, I did! There is one other thing that is incredib1y specia1 about the Marian shrines in this new mi11enium and here is where I find the greatest mirac1e of a11;
When I’d first reported this news to Mother Pau1a, she responded with the 2 words I choose to c1ose with; “Sa1ve Regina”!
