Messages from the Grotto

We live in an age of instant global communication with E-mail, texts, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok leading the way. But for all our technological advancements, there is one method of communication that surpasses them all. That is prayer. No screens, no adapters, no charging of devices is necessary. A person need only turn to God and lift up to Him one’s heart. Only a gaze toward heaven is needed. While there is nothing better than to participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass or to come to church and spend time in adoration and prayer to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, one can literally pray anywhere! We could say that prayer is instant celestial communication, because it puts us in contact with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as Our Lady and all the saints and angels who are worshiping Him before His throne of Mercy in the heavenly kingdom.
 
            One place in the world that is not a church but is a spot where countless people come to pray is the Grotto of Lourdes in Southern France. To this space in a wall of rock, the Blessed Virgin Mary came to communicate with the world through the peasant girl St. Bernadette Soubirous. The small town of Lourdes was certainly off the beaten path on February 11 of 1858 when Our Lady manifested herself to little Bernadette who was gathering firewood with her sister Marie and another young neighbor girl. In an age with no radio, television or electronic communication, the Mother of God brought news of faith, hope and love to a world that very much needed to know that God exists and loves all of humanity, every single man, woman and child individually. Today, despite the amazing progress of electronic communication, humanity and every one of us desperately needs to receive the very same news that was delivered by the Blessed Mother 168 years ago. I think we need it even more. Perhaps that is why every year millions flock to Lourdes.
 
Let’s take a look at what the messages were that Our Lady announced to St. Bernadette.

• “Would you be so kind as to come here for fifteen days?” The beautiful lady who appeared to St. Bernadette in the cleft of the rock did not come to condemn, shame or “cancel” anyone. Rather, she came to invite Bernadette to come to the grotto and spend time with her. Our Lady wanted Bernadette to come and be present to her. Through Bernadette, all of humanity is called to come to the grotto. The Mother of God calls out to us today, “Come to me and spend time with me so that I can bring you to my Son Jesus!”

• “Penance, penance, penance … pray to God for sinners.” The Blessed Mother came with the message that people must make amends and put things aright in their relationship with God. It is the same proclamation her Son made when He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt 4:17). Penance is not a popular subject today, when the world is telling us there is no sin and that admission of guilt harms your self-image. By calling us to repentance, Our Lady shows us the way to true peace.

 

• “Go drink of the spring and wash yourself.” When Bernadette heard these words, she thought Our Lady was indicating the River Gave. Rather, the Virgin told her to dig in the ground to find a spring. She did, and it flowed slowly at first but then increased, and it continues to flow freely and strongly to this day. Many people have received cures from drinking and bathing in the water from the spring. I believe also that this spring to which Our Lady draws us is a sign of the spring of Blood and Water that flows from the side of her Son, Jesus from the time He hung upon the Cross. It is the source of the sacramental life of the Church. Our Blessed Mother always leads us to the Sacraments and especially to the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of her Son.

 

• “Go and tell the priests to come here in procession and to build a chapel.” Bernadette went to the pastor of the parish in Lourdes, Abbé Dominique Peyramale. At first, he was skeptical, but he later became her greatest supporter. Every procession in the Church is a reminder that the Church, and we ourselves, are on a pilgrimage to heaven. The building of the beautiful Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary above the grotto of the apparitions in Lourdes shows us that the Church is truly the Body of Christ on earth and the dwelling place of the Lord..

 

• “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The pastor asked Bernadette to question the Lady about her identity. On the Feast of the Annunciation, the Lady brought her hands to her breast in prayer, and casting a gaze heavenward she exclaimed, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” This was a profound affirmation of what Blessed Pope Pius IX had taught four years earlier—that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin and was sinless throughout her life. Our Lady’s identifying herself as the Immaculate Conception proclaims that she was redeemed in anticipation of her Son’s Passion and Death, and was the sinless and holy vessel that would bear God into the world in our own human flesh. Her role as the Holy Mother of God tells us that she stands at the center of the saving mystery of her Son and is also our most Holy Mother as well.

 

• “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next.” Our Lady points out to Bernadette, and to each one of us, that God alone in His tremendous and everlasting love can satisfy our desires, because we are made for Him. Nothing this world has to offer can fulfill us. This does not mean that the beauty and goodness of the world are not to be enjoyed by us on our pilgrim journey through life. However, we are not made for this world, but, rather, for the Presence of God in heaven.  True and profound happiness can be found only in His Presence in heaven.  

 
We realize, my good friends, that the message from the Grotto of Lourdes is one that we hear clearly and strongly during prayer. To access it we only need a heart that is lifted up and opened to God. Let us go to the Grotto in our prayers and ask the Mother of God and our Mother to teach us and form our hearts as her Son wishes.
 
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh