On December 8, 1854, over 150 years ago, Pope Pius IX
announced the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception to the world. Only 3 years later, the apparition of a young
girl appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubrious in Lourdes, France,
identifying herself with these words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Through this apparition of the Virgin Mary to
this young girl in France, the Blessed Mother revitalized & continues to
energize the faith of millions of believers.
The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes was officially declared by the Church
in 1907, & we continue to honor the Virgin Mary with this feast on February
11 to this day.
Countless pilgrims, many of them poor or sick, travel to
Lourdes each year due to the many ways healing has come to the faithful on
these pilgrim visits. The pilgrims come
to Lourdes inspired by Jesus and his mother Mary, by the love, mercy, and
compassion that they both exemplify in our faith. We hear in the Gospel today of the great
compassion Jesus displays toward the crowd, how he does not want to send them
away hungry, thirsty, and tired. We only
can imagine what this experience was like for the crowds, how they were moved
and touched by Jesus in this act of compassion and generosity. May the Blessed Virgin Mary continue to lead
us to Jesus, and may we place our faith in the healing presence he has in our
lives.
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