Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, Our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous eighteen times near Lourdes, France.  Mary called the people to prayer and penance and to the care of the poor and ill. To this day, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a popular destination for the faithful with special devotions to Mary and for those seeking miraculous healings. Each year, it attracts more than 3 million visitors worldwide. It marks the site where St. Bernadette not only saw Our Blessed Mother, but also where, at Mary’s instruction, Bernadette discovered a spring of water that is said to have miraculous healing properties.

While there have been more than 7,000 miraculous recoveries attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes at the French shrine, the Catholic Church has confirmed a total of 70 medical miracles there. Sister Bernadette Moriau is the 70th, cured of cauda equina syndrome, a disorder of the nerves and lower spine when she visited Lourdes in 2008. After a ten-year study of her case, the Church recognized it as a miracle.

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11, discover more about the miracle by watching this 60 Minutes segment from December 2022, below.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!

David J. Conrad

Today, this Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus reminds us that the people who live in the light of Christ and doing the work of good deeds will be “the salt of the earth” and will “glorify our heavenly Father” by being a light and salt for all. Salt, for ancient people, was an important preservative, a seasoning, and a symbol of healing. Leaven is what causes bread to rise—the impetus for deliciousness and joy, satisfying all hunger. Light was difficult to attain and maintain in those times—and so it was valuable for all its goodness in uncovering any truth in any darkness.

​We often think of Jesus’ teaching as prescriptions for getting to heaven (even though we don’t always follow them). He’s not saying that those who live this way are going to heaven—He is saying that they will be gift for the Kingdom here on earth. What He speaks of are descriptions of a free life: a life free from secular stresses and choices. Jesus’ teaching is very often a description of the final product rather than a detailed process for getting there. When you are able to do and to live those descriptions, this is what holiness looks like. When you act in Gospel ways, “The Kingdom of God is among you.” Jesus doesn’t seem to be concerned about control, enforcement, or uniformity. His priority is proclamation, naming, and revealing. Then He trusts that good-willed people and a reliable, trustworthy God will take it from there. (Let go and let God!)

“If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?” asks Jesus today. In other words, how can we be salt for those around us if we lose sight of Gospel living? We’re supposed to be the salt for the world, but if we do not live the Gospel, what hope do we have of offering anything new to anyone? We are supposed to be the leaven, raising up those around us. Jesus says, “You are light for the world; a city built on a mountain cannot be hidden.” Our job as Disciples is to be a shining truth; to live the truth as best we can, and let it fall where it may. Words to live by.

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc