Our Lady of Lourdes

So, today marks the 150th anniversary of Lourdes, where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette and identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. During my pregnancy with Bernadette, I drank water that John Mark brought back from Lourdes 9 years ago (we have a large bottle of it - it still tastes sweet and fresh!). As I drank it, I begged God to heal our sweet baby. Well, he did eventually heal her in the most perfect way possible - by allowing her spirit to rest eternally in heaven.

I have thought a lot about St. Bernadette and the immense suffering she went through during her brief life. Yet Mary came to her - a humble and poor woman - and through Bernadette's faithfulness and obedience, countless miracles, conversions, and healings have occurred. At Mass today, I came to realize just how simple life was. We are here for one purpose...to get to heaven and bring as many people with us as we can. We are called to love and serve God and his people. The End. All these bumps in the road are scary and treacherous, but if we keep our hearts and minds focused on Christ, we will get there (by the grace of God). St. Bernadette was poor, uneducated, and very ill. She died in her 20's. Yet God used her to move mountains, and in the end, that was all that mattered. So, I can sit here and complain that life isn't fair. That nothing is turning out the way I had wanted it to. Or I can allow God to lead me to where he wants me to go. I can stop worrying about what tomorrow will bring and just accept where I am today. He knows what he's doing.

St. Bernadette and little St. Bernadette, pray for us! Happy Feast Day!


Christmas '07 - Eating, of course