11th February. Tuesday, Week Five

Our Lady of Lourdes.

Our Lady of Lourdes is a title under which the Blessed Virgin Mary is honoured, because of a series of visions experienced at Lourdes by Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl, in 1858. These visions were influential in the adoption of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception among Catholics worldwide. Many have experienced the Marian sanctuary at Lourdes in France as a very special sacred space, where the nearness of the supernatural can be felt, and which flows into many works of mercy towards the sick.

1st Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14

I will extend prosperity to her like a river

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory.

For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip, and dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with His servants, and His indignation is against His enemies.

Gospel Reading: John 2:1-11

The marriage at Cana in Galilee

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with His disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

A Sacred Space

The Bible proclaims the sacredness of the created world. In concluding the work of creation, God saw.. and “found it very good.” Centuries later, Solomon ponders, “Can it be that God indeed dwells among us on earth?” and went on to build the temple, yet in reverence he admits “the highest heavens cannot contain you.” We realise that God’s true temple is the universe, but see a value in building a sacred place for prayer. We build a temple for the community for the same reason that we build a home for a family. A special place is needed, at least for most people, in order to gather in love, to share and to support one another. In the church we learn to be family, bonded to one another and to God. Through the church, we have a place for prayer and guidance. Without the church we would have been deprived of the Scriptures, of the sacraments and the memory of saints.

Many have experienced the Marian sanctuary at Lourdes in France as a very special sacred space, where the nearness of the supernatural can be felt, and which flows into many works of mercy towards the sick. Periodic visits to such a shrine can indeed help to confirm our faith, but they should help rather than hinder our ability to find God’s presence within and around us in our everyday world.

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Our Lady of Lourdes

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes is one of the great places of pilgrimage in the Christian world. It is above all a place of pilgrimage for the sick. It has been said that the sick are the royalty of Lourdes. People are drawn there because we believe that it is one of those places where heaven once touched earth. Our Lady appeared there to Bernadette and ever since Lourdes has been a place of healing and great grace. People come to Lourdes because of Mary, but ultimately, through her, they are led to the Lord. It is fitting that one of the highlights of every pilgrimage is the Eucharistic procession when people from all over the world process behind the Lord present in the Eucharist. Mary’s primary role is to lead people to her Son and that is her role in Lourdes in a special way. Today’s gospel, the wedding feast of Cana, shows Mary leading people to her son. She speaks to Jesus on behalf of the wedding guests, “They have no wine,” and then she speaks to the wedding guests on behalf of Jesus, “Do whatever he tells you.” She mediates between Jesus and those present; she is a bridge between them. As a result of Mary’s mediating role the gospel tells us that Jesus’ disciples believed in him, in Jesus, not in Mary. Mary continues to lead us to her Son today. In contemplating her profile in the gospels we can see the person we are all called to be as disciples of Jesus. She show us what it means to live those words of hers, “Do whatever he tells you.” [Martin Hogan]