Our Lady of Lourdes

In 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a humble 14-year-old French girl in a grotto near the town of Lourdes in France asking for, among other things, prayer and penance for sinners. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette 18 times that year.

On the ninth appearance, Our Lady Lourdes as was made known, she had Bernadette dig up a spring of water where none had been found before. The water flowing from this spring, although pure, did not have any extraordinary scientific or medical properties. It has nonetheless been the source of countless miraculous cures  till this day.

The Church investigated the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes thoroughly and Bishop Laurence of the diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes declared them to be authentic in 1862. About four to six million pilgrims visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes annually.

Bernadette herself entered the convent of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Nevers in 1866, serving our Lord with dignity, grace, and love in what was left of her short life. She passed away from tuberculosis in 1879 and was canonized as Saint Bernadette in 1933. To this day her body remains incorruptible (

no signs of decomposition or decay), which is a sign of the miracle associated with her. 

 “one must have faith and pray; 

the water will have no virtue without faith.”

Saint Bernadette

Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes

O' ever immaculate Virgin,

Mother of Mercy,

Health of the Sick,

Refuge of Sinners,

Comfortess of the Afflicted,

you know my wants,

my troubles,

my sufferings.

Look upon me with mercy.

When you appeared

in the grotto of Lourdes,

you made it a privileged sanctuary

where you dispense your favors,

and where many sufferers

have obtained the cure

of their infirmities,

both spiritual and corporal.

I come, therefore,

with unbounded confidence

to implore your maternal intercession.

My loving Mother,

obtain my request.

(mention your request) 

I will try to imitate your virtues

so that I may one day

share your company

and bless you in eternity.

Amen.

"O my mother, in your heart 

I placed all my anguish 

of my heart and it is there 

that I gain strength and courage."

Sainte Berrnadette Personal Notebook p.28

Monday, February 11, 2013
Our Lady of Lourdes (Optional Memorial)

First Reading

Genesis 1: 1 - 19

1	In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2	The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
3	And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4	And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5	God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
6	And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
7	And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so.
8	And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9	And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
10	God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11	And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so.
12	The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
13	And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14	And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
15	and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so.
16	And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.
17	And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth,
18	to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19	And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Psalm

Psalms 104: 1 - 2, 5 - 6, 10, 12, 24, 35

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, thou art very great! Thou art clothed with honor and majesty, 2 who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent, 5 Thou didst set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken. 6 Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 10 Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 12 By them the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures. 35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

Gospel

Mark 6: 53 - 56

53	And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennes'aret, and moored to the shore.
54	And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him,
55	and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was.
56	And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.