On the 2nd of September I arrived in Lourdes for the first
time. Anybody who has been there will know that those who are sick or infirm
are the most important people in Lourdes.
When I saw people in wheelchairs & in stretchers & indeed people who
have other needs there it really reminded me of how lucky I am. In my lazier
moments there I did think to myself wouldn’t it be great to be pushed around
the place, especially on a hot day, but you wouldn’t be long realising how
selfish a thought that is because people in those wheelchairs & stretchers
would give anything for the freedom I have of being able to go everywhere
myself. Wouldn’t it be amazing if they could, like Jesus said to the paralytic,
pick up their stretchers and walk. During the time in Lourdes you will hear the story of St.
Bernadette many times. At the time of the apparition in Lourdes St. Bernadette
and her family were among the poorest of the poor.
Our Lady has appeared to
people that weren’t considered important. St. Bernadette was a child of a very
poor family, Our Lady appeared in Knock to people who in 1879 were on the verge
of a famine and involved in a bitter Land War, she appeared in Fatima in 1917 to
children who should only have been seen and not heard and in recent years many
people go to Medjugorge to pray to Our Lady in a country that has a very tragic
history right up until the 1990’s. We might like to think that we are the
people that should be listened to but in Lourdes,
Knock, Fatima and other places, Our Lady is
telling us otherwise.
Fr. Anthony
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