Sunday:       FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES          
Date:         February 11, 2000
Year:         B
The readings: [1 Kgs 11:29-32, 12:19; Mk. 7:31-7]
The message:  Through Mary to Jesus.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  739

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Good morning to all of you on this beautiful day of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, our heavenly mother, "she who's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ, her role flowing directly from this union" [Catechism of the Catholic Church # 964] always be a cherished intercessor on your behalf for many years to come.

From today's Reading of the Holy Gospel of Mark, we perceive the union of Jesus and Mary in the ministry of healing. For those who are not fully aware of the circumstances related to the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, I will summarize the origin of this great Feast.

On February 11, 1858, in Lourdes, France, Our Lady appeared for the first time to Bernadette Soubiroux who was then fourteen years old. In total, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 18 times, the last apparitions being on July 16, 1858.

During these blessed moment, Bernadette often fell into an ecstasy. Even though others were present at the time, no one else but Bernadette experienced the vision or heard the voice of Our Lady.

During one apparition, Our Lady told Bernadette to drink water from a mysterious fountain that suddenly gushed forth and which had not previously existed. On another occasion, Our Lady told Bernadette to tell the local priests that she wanted a chapel built on the spot and procession made to the grotto where Our Lady appeared. This was the beginning of thousands of pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The first reaction of the clergy was total disbelief. But, after only four years, in 1862, the local Bishop of the Diocese declared that the faithful were "justified in believing the reality of the apparition." Consequently, a basilica was built and consecrated in 1876. The first basilica, no longer large enough to handle the thousands of annual pilgrims, was quickly replaced by the construction of another basilica that began in 1883. Consecrated in 1901, it was called the Church of the Rosary.

As to how this Feast came to be part of the Church Liturgy, it was Pope Leo XIII who authorized a special office and a Mass, in commemoration of the apparition. Then, in 1907, Pope Pius X extended the observance of this Feast to the entire Church that is now observed on February 11 th.

In only fifty years after the date of the apparitions, it had been recorded that there were 5,297 pilgrimages and 4,919,000 pilgrims who have visited Lourdes. This excludes the many private pilgrimages of those who were drawn to Lourdes. The local train station estimated that Lourdes was getting over one million visitors per year.

The people came from every country. Of 2013 prelates, this included 546 archbishops, 10 primates, 19 patriarchs and 69 cardinals who had made a pilgrimage to Lourdes.

While all these figures are over-whelming, what was most remarkable was the number of cures that took place through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. While spiritual cures cannot be measured in number because they are beyond our human perception, the reported number of physical cures that took place during the first fifty years of Lourdes, those that the Catholic Church has recognized, are estimated to be about 4,000 cases.

The type of cures that were obtained through Our Lady of Lourdes consists of disease or infirmity such as tuberculosis, tumours, sores, cancers, deafness, blindness, etc.

As we heard from today's Gospel, when Jesus healed the man who was deaf and who had an impediment in his speech, those who were present were astounded beyond measure. They were zealous to report what He had done.

This same wonder happens over and over at Our Lady of Lourdes. The people are continuously astounded. There exists no natural cause to explain the outcome of these cures. These cures can only be attributed to supernatural intervention, the grace of God the Father shining on His children by the power of the Holy Spirit because the believers placed their faith in Jesus through Mary.

Today, we are also celebrating the "World Day of the Sick." This is a perfect opportunity to turn to Our Lady of Lourdes and beseech her on behalf of those in need for her to intercede before her Son Jesus to once more bless the people with supernatural interventions. God's Divine and miraculous intervention of grace, mercy and love will once more affirm the Words that are found in the Holy Bible regarding Mary, "Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed." [Lk. 1:48]

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labour of the house of Joseph.

About that time, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open country when Ahijah laid hold of the new garment he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. He then said to Jeroboam; Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes. One tribe will remain his for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." [1 Kgs 11:29-32, 12:19]

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Gospel Reading...

"Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a man who was deaf and who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. jesus took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.

Then looking up to heaven, Jesus signed and said to the man, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened.' And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, 'He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.'" [Mk. 7:31-7]

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