Quinquagesima Sunday

By Father Scott Archer

February 11, 2024

“And they understood none of those things…” (Lk 18:24).

On February 11, 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, the eldest child of François and Louise Soubirous of Lourdes, France, was sent to gather firewood with her sister Toinette and their friend, Jean Abadie. Toinette and Jean had crossed the canal in front of the grotto of Massabielle, which connects to the river Gave, while Bernadette started removing her shoes and stockings to do the same.

It was then that she heard a blast like a gust of wind. She looked toward the Gave and noticed the poplar trees were quite still. Hearing the sound again, she looked up to a dark niche in the grotto, where a light suddenly emanated and, in the light, stood a beautiful young Lady in a white dress, the bottom of which covered most of her bare feet, save for the tips, which were adorned with gold roses. She wore a long white veil, a blue sash was about her waist, and she held a rosary. The Lady smiled in welcome.

This was the first of eighteen apparitions of the Blessed Mother to St. Bernadette. In the third apparition, Our Lady told her, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next.” The faithful began to gather at the grotto, but the authorities did not believe her; nevertheless, she never wavered from her account of the apparitions

During the eighth apparition on February 24, Our Lady uttered the word, “Penance,” and told her to, “Pray to God for the conversion of sinners.” With a look of sadness, she asked Bernadette if she would kindly “get down on her knees and kiss the ground as a penance for sinners.”

The next day, Our Lady spoke one word thrice in succession, “Penance, penance, penance.” She then requested, “Go drink at the spring and wash in it. You will eat the grass that is there.” Bernadette thought she meant the river Gave, but she beckoned with her finger toward the cave. She dug in the ground and was eventually able to find a small amount of dirty water, which she drank and with which she washed. She then ate the leaves of a plant. The sight of the muddy-faced visionary provoked unease and horror in the crowd. Afterward, Bernadette was asked, “But do you realize that people think you’re crazy for doing things like that?” She simply responded, “For sinners…”

As we begin the season of Lent, it is imperative that we take to heart the lesson of Our Lady of Lourdes, whose feast is today. Bernadette was met with mockery and disbelief, yet she was always attentive to the words of the Blessed Virgin who had come to call the world back to the Gospel, prayer, and penance.

The Apostles of Our Lord were spiritually blind when He spoke to them of His suffering and death. As many times as Christ had foretold what would happen to Him in Jerusalem, they could not imagine a suffering Christ. We often recoil at the thought of penance, yet self-denial is a necessary part of our Catholic life.

We cannot attain the kingdom of heaven if we seek the path of ease and give into our unbridled passions. Our Lady said, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next.” True happiness lies elsewhere, and penance is our faithful companion on our pilgrim journey through this life.
 

Incidentally, later in the day following the acts of penance that caused such discomfort and disgust to the crowds, water began to rise from the hole dug out by Bernadette. The blind, the sick, and the lame who washed in the waters were miraculously cured, and physical miracles and conversions still occur at the grotto, thanks to the obedience of a sickly girl from the poorest family in Lourdes who heeded the call of Our Lady to pray for sinners and do penance.