Skip to main content

OUR LADY OF LOURDES


Today, 11th of February is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

In 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Lourdes, France to a fourteen year old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous. She made a total of 18 apparitions. Her first apparition was on February 11, 1858.


SIGNIFICANT APPARITIONS
Among our Lady's most significant apparitions were the 9th and 16th apparitions.  


1.  It was on February 25, 1858, the 9th apparition that the Lourdes miraculous spring was discovered.  In obedience to the Lady's instructions to "Go and drink from the spring," Bernadette dug a hole on the left of the Grotto, and water came out of the hole which is now the spring that cures many sickness.


2.  The Lady's 16th apparition is perhaps the most significant of all her apparitions in Lourdes.  Father Peyramale, the parish priest who was known as "the priest of the apparitions in Lourdes" requested Bernadette to get the Lady's name.  On March 25, 1858, Bernadette asked the Lady to reveal her name.  The Lady answered, "I am the Immaculate Conception."  That answer from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself served as a divine seal of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception which was declared by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854.

Divine Coincidences
It is interesting to note that there are two dates of the Lady's apparitions in Lourdes that coincides with two of the important Catholic feasts.


1.  March 25, 1858, the day when Mary told Bernadette that she is the Immaculate Conception, is also the date of the Solemnity of the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). The Solemnity of the Annunciation is celebrated every 25th of March.


2.  July 16, 1858, the date of Mary's last apparition in Lourdes, is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated every 16th of July, for on this day in 1251, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, who was the Prior General of the Carmelite Order at that time.

Replica of the Lourdes Grotto at the
Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Cebu City, Philippines

 Devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes spread not only in Europe but also in the Philippines.  So many churches have been built in this part of Asia in her honor. Today, millions of pilgrims visit Lourdes each year, and a visit to Lourdes is considered incomplete without bringing home some water from the miraculous spring.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!








Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

ST. JOHN BOSCO'S VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES

NEGROS AND CEBU PROVINCES St. John Bosco's relic is on world tour, and the Philippines is one of those countries his relic visited.  His relic made visits to different provinces, cities and towns in the country.  From December 5 to December 23, 2010, his relic visited the cities and towns of the provinces of Negros and Cebu. The relic's first destination in the Philippines was the Negros province where it stayed there from December 5 to December 11,  2010.  The relic arrived in my hometown, Cebu City on December 12 at the church of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, and from there, it visited other Salesian schools, homes, centers and the church of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. On December 23, the relic was brought back to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a farewell mass before its voyage to the nation's capital, Manila.  The relic's journey in the Philippines ended on January 15, 2011.   St. John Bosco's relic...
Read more

BLESSED JOHN PAUL II'S TOTUS TUUS

"Totus Tuus".   It is a Latin phrase which means "I am totally yours." This was Blessed John Paul II's motto addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Have you ever wondered why John Paul II had so much devotion to Mary? Source: Wikimedia Commons / cc In his book, Crossing The Threshold of Hope, John Paul II explained that his motto Totus Tuus  was not just an expression of piety and devotion, it was his total abandonment and personal consecration to the Mother of God. His deep devotion to Mary was manifested in many different ways; among these is his Coat of Arms which bears the letter M that stands for Mary. Even his coffin has a letter M on it.  He credited St. Louis Marie de Montfort for his Totus Tuus  when he read the saint's book "True Devotion to Mary." John Paul II came to know the book "True Devotion to Mary" when he worked as a factory worker at a chemical plant during World War II. He studied the book and oftent...
Read more

SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY ROSARY

The Holy Rosary is composed principally and in substance of the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary".  But what is the history of the Holy Rosary? In 1214, St. Dominic, a priest, was working hard for the conversion of the Albigensian heretics, but his efforts were hindered by the gravity of people's sins.  Feeling so depressed, he withdrew into a forest near Toulouse, France where he unceasingly prayed for three days and three nights.  He did nothing but weep and do harsh penances in order to appease God's anger.  His body was lacerated that he finally fell into a coma. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and said:   "Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?"    St. Dominic answered:   "Oh my Lady, you know far better than I do because next to your son Jesus Christ, you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation."   Our Lady replied:   "I want you to know th...
Read more