(1858) Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to an impoverished 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous at a stone grotto near the town of Lourdes, France. During the ninth apparition, Our Lady invited Bernadette to drink from a spring that suddenly appeared in the grotto. Thousands of miraculous cures continue to be attributed to drinking from or bathing in this spring. Saint Bernadette said there is nothing special about the water; it merely assists in focusing the faith of others. On the sixteenth appearance, March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the Lady identified herself as “the Immaculate Conception.”
As with most Marian apparitions, conversion was the major theme in Lourdes. In its Latin root, conversion means “to turn around.” Recovery is all about such a course correction. Penance is a means of amends in the Sacramental economy. How does penance play a role in your recovery journey?
“Penance, penance, penance. Pray for sinners” (Our Lady of Lourdes to Saint Bernadette).
Reflection by Brad Farmer