Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Above all: Eucharistic devotion

FEAST of Our Lady of Lourdes*
February 11
22nd WORLD DAY of the SICK

"I entrust this Twenty-second World Day of the Sick to the intercession of Mary. I ask her to help the sick to bear their sufferings in fellowship with Jesus Christ and to support all those who care for them. To all the ill, and to all the health-care workers and volunteers who assist them, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing." - Pope Francis (for full text, see link below)

 Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, France
  

“All the shrines of Mary,
scattered throughout the world,
have become above all
centers of devotion to the Eucharist,
as if the Mother of Jesus had appeared,
here or there,
in order to lead the faithful to the
adoration and love of her blessed Son.”
 
Pope Bl. John XXIII

*Lourdes, France, has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith.  It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to more generously serve God. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said are the words that introduce the film, Song of Bernadette:

“For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary.
For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”

  

Only known picture of St. Bernadette at the Grotto
(taken after the apparitions of 1858):
 

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us, and especially the sick and suffering.

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