Martin on Lourdes

It is, of course, as I have written elsewhere, the 150th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearances to Bernadette Soubirous at the grotto at Lourdes.

Fr. James Martin, who writes beautifully about his experiences at Lourdes in his book, My Life With the Saints, has taken another trip there, to help out with the pilgrims and the masses and the baths, and here is what he says this time:

The best part of the trip? That’s easy: being with the generous Knights and Dames, the tireless volunteers and companions, and especially the hopeful malades. Each of the malades comes to Lourdes for different reasons and were at different places with their illnesses. (This year I heard anger for the first time, which struck me as bracingly honest and real). But all were hoping for some sort of healing—physical, emotional or spiritual. With all the good humor and faith of the malades, it’s sometimes easy for me to forget the deep emotions that lay just underneath the surface, but conversations can quickly turn serious over breakfast, lunch or dinner, or while you’re waiting in line for a bath. Tears come quickly at Lourdes and flow as fast as the Gave River, which runs silently past the Grotto.

Spiritual healings come frequently at Lourdes, but after I returne people always ask me about the physical ones. So: any miracles? Yes, though maybe not as dramatic as the 66 authenticated ones. For example: One man in our group had suffered from the injuries that occurred during the first Gulf War, and, as a guest of the Order of Malta, had come to Lourdes seeking healing. His eyesight, never good, had deteriorated since being injured. As he told me while we were waiting in line for the baths, as soon as he landed in Lourdes his eyesight somehow seemed to get even worse. Someone suggested he take off his eyeglasses to let his eyes rest. A few minutes later, he told me, he could see perfectly well. “Look,” he said, “I can read your nametag from here.” And he did, from a few feet away. “I haven’t been able to see that well for 25 years!”

What do you make of that? Well, as one character says in “The Song of Bernadette,” for those without faith no explanation is possible; for those with faith no explanation is necessary.

I suspect that the whole piece may be “entirely too Catholic” for some of my readers, and I apologize for that; but I found it a fascinating and entertaining read. I had hoped either my son or my husband would make it to Lourdes this year, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Ah, well. In God’s own time.