It is very good to be here, particularly today, on this the feast of
Our Lady of Lourdes to talk about Lourdes; it is always good to talk
about Lourdes, and for anyone who has been on pilgrimage there it is
almost impossible not to talk about Lourdes to anyone who is
interested.
Everyone here is interested in Lourdes and Our Lady's
appearance there, or we would not be here tonight. You will all be
familiar with the events that took place there in the middle of the
nineteenth century, when Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous,
a poor, sickly, illiterate, but loveable 14 year old, in a grotto in
the rocky hillside of the Pyrenees in Southern France. Eighteen
times Our Lady came to the Grotto, as a young girl of indescribable
and unreproduceable loveliness, and spoke to Bernadette there with
such gentle graciousness in the local patois. We don't know all that
was said there, but we do know that Our Lady made several requests.
These
requests include repentance, which is of course the turning towards
God; prayers for sinners; for a church to be built near to the
Grotto; and for people to come in procession. The Society of Our
Lady of Lourdes aims to do its best to respond to these wishes and
to encourage others to do the same.
The reason why it is important to do Our Lady's will
is because she is so great, because of the unique position she holds
in all our lives and because of the great debt we owe her. It is
difficult for us to comprehend her greatness or to realise her
unique relationship with all the three persons of The Blessed
Trinity. I am grateful for the writings of the French saint, Louis
Marie de Monntfort in the early 18th century who is acknowledged to
be one of the most important scholars in writings about Our Lady. He
suggests that not only was it through the Blessed Virgin Mary that
Jesus came into the world, but that it is through her that he must
reign in the world. Mary is the treasury or storehouse of riches, in
which God has enclosed all that is beautiful, resplendent, rare and
precious, even his own Son. She is also God's Treasurer, his channel
through which he causes his mercies, his graces and gifts to flow.
No heavenly gift is given to us which does not pass through Our
Lady's hands.
It is said of St Francis that once, while in a state
of ecstasy, he saw an immense ladder reaching to Heaven, with Our
Lady standing at the top. He was told that it is by this way that we
must all go to Heaven.
God has made her the Queen of heaven and earth and
our spiritual mother, as God is our spiritual father. The wonderful
descriptions of Our Lady in her litany give us just a glimpse of her
greatness.
While Our Lady is certainly an awesomely powerful
Queen, she is not at all distant or inaccessible. She is a loving
tender mother whose arms stretch out to us to direct us to Jesus,
and at whose knee we stand. It was she, in the apparition now known
as Our Lady of Guadeloupe, who said to Juan Diego on the hillside at
Peyerac in Mexico, "Listen and let it penetrate your heart, my dear
little son, do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not
fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am
your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not
your fountain of life? Is there anything else you need? Are you not
in the folds of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?" Let us be in
the folds of Our Lady's mantle, and in the crossing of her arms at
Lourdes Where better a place to be? If those of you who have already
been on pilgrimage there shut your eyes, you can feel yourself
instantly before the Grotto. You will hear the icy melt waters of
the river Gave rushing behind you, hear the screaming swifts and
swallows as they swoop and weave above you, and see in the Grotto
before you, the tunnel in the rock, that dark moist rock of
Massabielle, where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette all those years
ago. You will see the statue of Our Lady standing in the opening of
the tunnel, with roses flowering at her feet, but beautiful though
the statue is, it is as nothing compared with the exquisite beauty
and charm of Mary herself, and bears little resemblance to
Bernadette's Lady.
The Society's pilgrimage there is centred around the
daily Mass; Mass in the Grotto, Mass in the basilica above the
Grotto (built eventually at Our Lady's request), Mass on the Prairie
(the meadow across the river) or in the modern basilicas opposite
the Grotto. Our programme of the week includes participating in the
daily procession of the Blessed Sacrament and also the evening
candlelit procession, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Tent
of Adoration on the Prairie, saying the rosary together, bathing in
the baths, making the Stations of the Cross and enjoying the
pilgrimage picnic in the surrounding countryside, (usually at the
Lac de Lourdes or at the Cité
St Pierre), with plenty of tea and conversation, fresh air and
friendship.
The Lourdes Pilgrimage is not always easy. It can be
emotional, tiring and even wet. But it is a place where the sick,
the disabled and the old are considered precious, and where to help
is a privilege. Our pilgrimage includes everyone, but traditionally
concentrates on the sick, and our efforts are focused on their
pilgrimage, helping it to be a special experience for them, and
through them for the helpers and able bodied, who gain so much from
their example and friendship. There is a special atmosphere in
Lourdes of friendly and loving help and a strong sense of community
family, so much so that it has been described as the church at play.
No pilgrim leaves Lourdes untouched by special graces, generously
and lovingly given by Our Lady, and which continue to increase and
develop long after we have left.
To summarise briefly: The Society of Our Lady of
Lourdes venerates Our Lady. It specifically aims to do its best to
fulfil her wishes expressed at Lourdes and to encourage others to do
the same. The Society is deeply conscious of the importance of Our
Lady in our redemption and as loving intermediary between God and
his children. In the lovely natural surroundings of Lourdes our
pilgrimage is for all, but concentrates primarily on bringing the
sick to Lourdes to experience days of joyful attendance at Mass and
other ceremonies, amid devoted care by helpers. I am sure that we
are helped up a rung or two of St Francis' ladder by Our Lady during
our pilgrimage to Lourdes, because this is her wish: that she leads
us to her son and therefore to Heaven.
Our Lady gives us so much. I appeal
to you on behalf of The Society of Our Lady of Lourdes, to respond
to her gifts and her wishes and to give generously of your prayers
and your money to help the Society in all its work. The pilgrimage
is not cheap, despite all the lengthy negotiations by the volunteers
at the office at Mill Hill to bring down costs, and your gifts will
be gratefully received and carefully used to help many on their
pilgrimage to Lourdes. It is not easy to part with hard earned
money, but I beg you to be generous. What may seem a small act can
change the world. |
