Third Apparition- LOURDES

Thursday 18 February 1858

The girls who had been present returned to Lourdes and began to describe the extraordinary sight they had witnessed. Few people believed them.

But not everyone laughed. Antoinette Peyret was a leading light in the Children of Mary, in Lourdes. Desperate to know more of what was happening, she found all sorts of excuses for visiting the Soubirous family. Each time she would question the little one about what she had seen. The answers never changed.

Upon hearing Bernadette describe the beautiful Lady, Antoinette was moved to tears; she believed this was her friend Elisa Latapie, who had been the president of the Children of Mary before her untimely death a few months beforehand.

Accompanied by her friend Madame Millet, Antoinette arrived at the Cachot in time to hear Bernadette pleading with her mother to be allowed to return once more to the Grotto. Louise was stern in her replies to Bernadette. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity for the pair to ask permission to be allowed to take the child to the Grotto, where they promised they would let no harm come to her. After some soul-searching and many tears, Louise granted their request.

The following morning, before dawn began to light the sky, the two ladies called at the Cachot. After collecting Bernadette, the trio left to attend Mass in the church. Following this, they left for the Grotto. Madame Millet carried with her a blessed candle, which she used to burn on special feast days. Antoinette Peyet took with her a pen and paper, hoping the mysterious Lady would write some messages for them.

Arriving at the Grotto, Bernadette ran on ahead. By the time the two older ladies caught up with her, she was already on her knees in prayer, her Rosary in her hand. The candle was lit and the two women knelt also. After a few minutes, Bernadette exclaimed "She comes! Here She is!". The two women could see nothing, but Bernadette was captivated by the sight she beheld.

Bernadette was happy and smiling, occasionally bowing her head. However, she gave no sign of ecstasy on this occasion. Since the Lady was about to speak, it was important that the child retain full use of her faculties. After the completion of the Rosary, Antoinette handed Bernadette the pen and paper.

"Please, ask the Lady if She has anything She wishes to tell us and in that case if She would be so good as to write it down".

As the child moved toward the opening, the two ladies also moved forward; without looking back, Bernadette signaled to them to remain where they were. Standing on tip toe, she held up the pen and paper. She appeared to listen to words addressed to her, then lowered her arms, made a deep bow and returned to the place she just left. Antoinette asked what the Lady had replied.

"When I presented the pen and paper to Her She began to smile. Then without being angry She said 'There is no need for me to write down what I have to say to you'. Then She seemed to be thinking for a moment and added 'Will you be so kind as to come here every day for fifteen days?' "

"What did you answer?" asked Madame Millet.

"I answered 'Yes'" said the child in all simplicity. Asked why this request had been made, Bernadette replied, "I do not know - She did not tell me". Madame Millet asked why Bernadette had signed to them to stay where they were. The child said this had been done in obedience to the Lady. Somewhat distressed, Madame Millet asked Bernadette to enquire of the Lady if their presence was disagreeable to Her. Bernadette raised her eyes to the niche, then turned and said - "The Lady answers, 'No, her presence is not disagreeable to Me' ".

Once more the three began to pray. Bernadette's prayers were frequently interrupted - she seemed to be having a conversation with the invisible Lady.

At the end of the vision, Antoinette asked Bernadette if the Lady had told her anything else. Bernadette replied -

"Yes. She said to me, 'I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next'."

"Since the Lady consents to speak to you," enquired Antoinette, "why do you not ask Her for Her name?". Bernadette replied that she had already done so. Asked what Her name was, the young girl replied -

"I do not know. She lowered Her head with a smile, but She did not answer."

Second Apparition- LOURDES

Sunday 14 February 1858

From that day forward, little Bernadette could think of only one thing - the beautiful Lady she had seen. Her normally fun-loving nature had become grave and serious.

Louise continued to tell her daughter that she had to be mistaken - Bernadette did not argue, but she could not believe that she had been the prey of an illusion. Even her mothers warning that this may have been a trick of the devil seemed impossible - how could Satan carry a Rosary and pray the Gloria?

On the Friday and the Saturday, Bernadette intimated her desire to return to Massabieille - her mother ignored her pleas. On Sunday, Bernadette heard within her soul a summons, calling her once more to a meeting with the beautiful Lady of the rock.

She told Marie of this, who in turn mentioned it to Madame Soubirous, who again refused permission. Jeanne Abadie then pleaded the cause. Finally, Louise relented and gave permission - after all, if this was an illusion, it would prove itself to be so.

Bernadette had told no-one outside the family what had occurred on Thursday. Marie, on the other hand, had not been so reserved. Several of the local young girls knew the secret. These girls were then summoned by Marie to come to Massabieille.

Bernadette armed herself with a small phial of Holy Water and left for the Grotto. As soon as she arrived at the grotto, she fell to her knees opposite the niche, and began to pray. Almost immediately, she exclaimed - "There She is! There She is!"

One of the girls present told Bernadette to throw Holy Water on the Lady, in case it really was Satan. Bernadette did as requested. "She is not angry", she related, "On the contrary, She sanctions it with Her head and is smiling at all of us". The girls knelt around their little companion and began to pray.

Bernadette then fell into ecstasy; her face completely transfigured and radiating happiness. Her expression was indescribable.

Just then a stone fell from the top of the Grotto, causing alarm among the girls. It was Jeanne - having been left behind, this was her revenge. Bernadette showed no reaction. The girls called to her, but she was unaware of their presence, her eyes remaining fixed on the niche. Thinking she was dead, the other girls began to cry out; their cries were heard by two of the Nicolau women from the Savy mill, who ran to the Grotto; seeing the ecstatic Bernadette, they called to her, attempted to move her, covered her eyes - all to no avail. Madame Nicolau then ran to get her son, Antoine, a young man of twenty eight years. Believing this to be some kind of joke, he came to the Grotto and could not believe the sight he found there.

He said later - "Never had I seen a more marvellous sight. It was useless for me to argue with myself - I felt I was not worthy to touch the child".

Urged by his mother, Antoine gently pulled Bernadette away from the Grotto, leading her toward the Savy mill. All the way there, Bernadettes eyes remained fixed a little in front and above of her. It was only upon her arrival at the mill that she once more returned to earth, her ecstatic expression gradually disappearing and her face becoming once more that of the simple millers daughter.

The Nicolaus then asked Bernadette what she had seen and she related what had occurred at the Grotto; again she had prayed the Rosary accompanied by the Lady, who moved Her lips only at each Gloria, and who had again disappeared at the conclusion of the prayers.

By now, Louise Soubirous had been summoned to the Savy Mill. She was crying, thinking her little child was dead. She was angered to find Bernadette sitting telling her story; "So, you want to make us a laughing stock! I'll give it to you with you hypocritical airs and graces and stories of the Lady!".

She was prevented from striking the child by Madame Nicolau, who cried - "What are you doing? What has your child done to be treated like this? It is an angel, and an angel from Heaven that you have in her - do you hear? I shall never, never forget what she was at the Grotto!"

Madame Soubirous burst into tears once more, worn out with emotion and frustration. She then led the young girl home. On the way, Bernadette occasionally glanced behind her.

Feast Day of Our Lady Of Lourdes

First Apparition

Thursday 11 February 1858

At half past twelve on a cold February day, Mary, the Mother of God, descended from Heaven who met our little shepherdess in a lonely grotto. The meeting was entirely unexpected. Who could possibly describe the following scene better than Bernadette herself?

"The Thursday before Ash Wednesday it was cold and the weather was threatening. After our dinner, our mother told us there was no more wood in the house and she was vexed. My sister Toinette and I, to please her, offered to go and pick up dry branches at the riverside. My mother said no, because the weather was bad and we might be in danger of falling into the Gave. Jeanne Abadie, our neighbour and friend, who was looking after her little brother in our house and who wanted to come with us, took her brother back to his house and returned the next moment telling us that she had leave to come with us. My mother still hesitated, but seeing that there were three of us, she let us go. We took first of all the road which leads to the cemetary, by the side of which wood shavings can sometimes be found. That day we found nothing there. We came down by the side which leads near the Gave and having arrived at the Pont Vieux we wondered if it would be best to go up or down the river. We decided to go down and taking the forest road we arrived at Merlasse. Then we went into Monsieur de la Fittes field, by the mill of Savy.

"As soon as we had reached the end of this field, nearly opposite the grotto of Massabieille, we were stopped by the canal of the mill we had just passed. The current of this canal was not strong for the mill was not working, but the water was cold and I for my part was afraid to go in. Jeanne Abadie and my sister, less timid than I, took their sabots in their hands and crossed the stream. However, when they were on the other side they called out that it was cold and bent down to rub their feet and warm them. All this increased my fear and I thought that if I went into the water I should get an attack of asthma. So I asked Jeanne, who was bigger and stronger than I, to take me on her shoulders. 'I should think not!' she answered - 'If you won't come, stay where you are!'.

"After the others had picked up some pieces of wood under the grotto, they disappeared along the Gave. When I was alone, I threw some stones into the water to give me a foothold, but it was no use. So I had to make up my mind to take off my sabots and cross the canal as Jeanne and my sister had done.

"I had just begun to take off my first stocking when suddenly I heard a great noise like the sound of a storm. I looked to the right and to the left, under the trees of the river, but nothing moved; I thought I was mistaken. I went on taking off my shoes and stockings, when I heard a fresh noise like the first. Then I was frightened and stood straight up. I lost all power of speech and thought when, turning my head toward the grotto, I saw at one of the openings of the rock a bush - only one - moving as if it were very windy. Almost at the same time, there came out of the interior of the grotto a golden coloured cloud, and soon after a Lady, young and beautiful, exceedingly beautiful, the like of whom I had never seen before, came and placed herself at the entrance of the opening, above the rose bush. She looked at me immediately, smiled at me and signed to me to advance, as if She had been my Mother. All fear had left me, but I seemed to know no longer where I was. I rubbed my eyes, I shut them, I opened them; but the Lady was still there continuing to smile at me and making me understand that I was not mistaken. Without thinking of what I was doing I took my Rosary in my hands and went on my knees. The Lady made with Her head a sign of approval and Herself took into Her hands a Rosary which hung on Her right arm. When I attempted to begin the Rosary and tried to lift my hand to my forehead, my arm remained paralysed, and it was only after the Lady had signed Herself that I could do the same. The Lady left me to pray all alone; She passed the beads of Her Rosary between Her fingers but She said nothing; only at the end of each decade did She say the Gloria with me.

"When the recitation of the Rosary was finished, the Lady returned to the interior of the rock and the golden coloured cloud disappeared with Her".

When asked to describe the Lady of the vision, Bernadette said -

"She has the appearance of a young girl of sixteen or seventeen. She is dressed in a white robe, girdled at the waist with a blue ribbon which flows down all along Her robe. She wears upon Her head a veil which is also white; this veil gives just a glimpse of Her hair and then falls down at the back below Her waist. Her feet are bare but covered by the last folds of Her robe except at the point where a yellow rose shines upon each of them. She holds on Her right arm a Rosary of white beads with a chain of gold shining like the two roses on Her feet."

Bernadette then continued with her story -

"As soon as the Lady had disappeared Jeanne Abadie and my sister returned to the Grotto and found me on my knees in the same place where they had left me. They laughed at me, calling me an imbecile and asked me if I would go back with them or not. I now had no difficulty in going into the stream and I felt the water as warm as the water used for washing plates and dishes.

'You had no reason to make such an outcry' I said to Jeanne and my sister Marie, while drying my feet; 'the water of the canal is not as cold as you would make me believe'. They replied, 'You are fortunate not to find it so - we found it very cold'.

"I asked Jeanne and Marie if they had noticed anything at the Grotto - 'No', they answered. 'Why do you ask us?'. 'Oh, nothing' I replied indifferently. But before we got to the house, I told my sister Marie of the extraordinary things which had happened to me at the Grotto, asking her to keep it a secret.

"Throughout the whole day, the image of the Lady remained in my mind. In the evening, at family prayer, I was troubled and began to cry. My mother asked what was the matter. Marie hastened to answer for me and I was obliged to give the account of the wonder which had come to me that day.

'These are illusions' answered my mother - 'You must drive these ideas out of your head and especially not go back to Massabieille'.

"We went to bed but I could not sleep. The face of the Lady, so good and gracious, returned incessantly to my memory and it was useless to recall what my mother had said to me; I could not believe that I had been deceived."

From Catholic Online www.catholic.org

Feast Day of Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX (13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest reigning Pope in Church history, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed Papal infallibility. The Pope defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin and that she lived a life completely free of sin.

Giovani Maria Mastai Ferretti came from the Marche region of Italy. His election to the papal throne in 1846 was soon followed by the first signs of a turbulent age. His prime minister, Count Rossi, was assassinated and the Pope himself forced to flee Rome and take refuge in Gaeta in southern Italy.

The short-lived Republic of Rome disintegrated shortly after Pius IX left, and the Pope was able to return to his home on the Quirinal Hill in 1850. But the "Risorgimento," or the unification of Italy, was under way.

For 20 years Pius IX struggled to defend the territories of the Church while Camillo Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi, the brains and brawn of the Italian Nationalist movement, picked away at his lands; closing monasteries and selling sacred art as they went.

On September 20, 1870, they invaded Rome and Pius IX was once again forced to flee from the Quirinal, this time taking refuge in the Apostolic Palace attached to Saint Peter's Basilica. Victor Emmanuele II, the first King of Italy, occupied the Quirinal Palace, and Pius IX died eight years later imprisoned within the Vatican walls.

Pius IX holds the record as the longest reigning Pope, having sat on the throne of Saint Peter for 32 years. (In fact, many superstitious Romans claimed the fall of the Papal States was due to Pius' outliving his tenure of 25 years -- the time Peter himself had been Bishop of Rome.)

Pius IX's great contributions to the universal Church are well known: He declared the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 and published the "Syllabus Errorum," a list of 80 censured propositions; this document foresaw the future trials the Church would suffer.

He also called the important First Vatican Council in 1869-70, which formulated the doctrine of papal infallibility on questions of faith and morals in the Church. It also spoke of man's ability to know God through the use of reason, a very apt teaching for today's world.

But here in Rome, Pius IX's international persona and historical protaganism are almost eclipsed by the ubiquitous evidence of his indefatigable service as Bishop of Rome.

During his long reign, train tracks were laid to connect the Eternal City with the rest of Italy. For the first time Romans walked at night through gas-lit streets and the Jewish Ghetto was abolished. Laymen were invited to join the papal government and countless new jobs were created to restore the flagging Roman economy.

Very few churches in Rome do not bear a plaque commemorating a restoration financed by Pope Pius IX, who sought to revive the great historical sanctuaries of the Eternal City, which languished after years of neglect.

His generosity continued despite the growing hostility of the Roman followers of Cavour, who had already chased him out of the city once.

Feast Day of Saint Agatha

Although we have evidence that Agatha was venerated at least as far back as the sixth century, the only facts we have about her are that she was born in Sicily and died there a martyr.

In the legend of her life, we are told that she belonged to a rich, important family. When she was young, she dedicated her life to God and resisted any men who wanted to marry her or have sex with her. One of these men, Quintian, was of a high enough rank that he felt he could force her to acquiesce. Knowing she was a Christian in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought before the judge - - himself. He expected her to give in to when faced with torture and possible death, but she simply affirmed her belief in God by praying: "Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil."

Legend tells us that Quintian imprisoned her in a brothel in order to get her to change her mind. Quintian brought her back before him after she had suffered a month of assault and humiliation in the brothel, but Agatha had never wavered, proclaiming that her freedom came from Jesus. Quintian sent her to prison, instead of back to the brothel -- a move intended to make her more afraid, but which probably was a great relief to her. When she continued to profess her faith in Jesus, Quintian had her tortured. He refused her any medical care but God gave her all the care she needed in the form of a vision of St. Peter. When she was tortured again, she died after saying a final prayer: "Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul."

Because one of the tortures she supposedly suffered was to have her breasts cut off, she was often depicted carrying her breasts on a plate. It is thought that blessing of the bread that takes place on her feast may have come from the mistaken notion that she was carrying loaves of bread.

Because she was asked for help during the eruption of Mount Etna she is considered a protector against the outbreak of fire. She is also considered the patroness of bellmakers for an unknown reason -- though some speculate it may have something to do with the fact that bells were used as fire alarms.

Prayer:
Saint Agatha, you suffered sexual assault and indignity because of your faith. Help heal all those who are survivors of sexual assault and protect those women who are in danger.

Padre Pio’s Secret:His Shoulder Wound

Shortly after World War II was over, a young Polish priest who was studying in Rome, Fr. Karol Wojtyla, visited Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo. This encounter took place around 1947 or 1948. The young priest spent almost a week in San Giovanni Rotondo during his visit, and was able to attend Padre Pio’s Mass and make his confession to the saint (who died in 1968, and was canonized in 2002).

Apparently, this was not just a casual encounter, and the two spoke together at length during Fr. Wojtyla’s stay. Their conversations gave rise to rumors in later years, after the Polish prelate had been elevated to the Papacy, that Padre Pio had told him he would become Pope. The story persists to the present day, even though on two or three occasions "Papa Wojtyla" denied it.

Recently, new information about this visit has come to light, according to a new book in Italian published by Padre Pio’s Friary, Il Papa e Il Frate, written by Stefano Campanella. As reported in this book, the future Pope and future Saint had a very interesting conversation. During this exchange, Fr. Wojtyla asked Padre Pio which of his wounds caused the greatest suffering. The priest expected Padre Pio to say it was his chest wound, but instead the Padre replied, "It is my shoulder wound, which no one knows about and has never been cured or treated."

Centuries earlier, Our Lord himself had revealed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux in a vision, that his shoulder wound from carrying the heavy wooden cross caused him his greatest suffering, and that the cross tore into his flesh right up to the shoulder bone.

At one time, Padre had confided to Brother Modestino Fucci that his greatest pains occurred when he changed his undershirt. (Brother Modestino is currently the doorkeeper at Padre Pio’s friary in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.) Modestino, like Fr. Wojtyla, thought Padre Pio was referring to pains from the chest wound. Then, on February 4, 1971 Modestino was assigned the task of taking an inventory of all the items in the deceased Padre’s cell in the friary, and also his belongings in the archives. That day he discovered that one of Padre Pio’s undershirts bore a circle of bloodstains in the area of the right shoulder.

On that very evening, Brother Modestino asked Padre Pio in prayer to enlighten him about the meaning of the bloodstained undershirt. He asked Padre to give him a sign if he truly bore Christ’s shoulder wound. Then he went to sleep, awakening at 1:00 AM with a terrible, excruciating pain in his shoulder, as if he had been sliced with a knife up to the shoulder bone. He felt that he would die from the pain if it continued, but it lasted only a short time. Then the room became filled with the aroma of a heavenly perfume of flowers – the sign of Padre Pio’s spiritual presence – and he heard a voice saying "This is what I had to suffer!"

What is the mystical and spiritual significance of the shoulder wound of St. Padre Pio? The book by journalist Saverio Gaeta, Sulla Soglia del Paradiso (2), reports that Padre Pio said this of his spiritual children: "When the Lord entrusts a soul to me, I place it on my shoulder and never let it go." From this statement, it can reasonably be inferred that the saint offered up the suffering and the extreme pain of his shoulder wound for his spiritual children.

Frank M. Rega

(Published in "The Voice of Padre Pio," March-April 2008, pp. 23-23.)

Saint John Vianney

The body of St. John Mary Vianney is still exposed incorrupt in the Basilica of Ars.


As a priest, Saint John Mary Vianney took upon himself many of the projects parish priests take on. He set about to restore the parish church, he founded an orphanage and did acts of charity for the poor. He also did some pretty extraordinary things. He had supernatural knowledge of the future and the past, and he performed healing miracles, particularly on children. But it was in the basic duties of parish life that he excelled, namely preaching, offering spiritual direction, and, most notably, hearing confessions.

John Mary Vianney was born in Dardilly, near Leon, in 1786. His early faith formation took place within the context of the French Revolution, which pushed the practice of the Catholic faith underground. Later in his ministry, he would deal with the consequences of the revolution, which led many of the faithful to leave the Church.

The road to the priesthood wasn’t an easy path for Vianney. After finally getting his father’s permission to pursue his calling, he still needed to get caught up on his studies, as the revolution had interrupted his education. If he wanted to be a priest, he’d have to go back to school with children half his age to learn the basics of reading, writing, and Latin.

Almost nine years later, in 1815, Vianney was ordained. He was 29. Less than three years later, in 1818, the young priest was assigned as the assistant pastor of the church in Ars, a small country village located about 25 miles from Lyon in eastern France. This is where he would spend the rest of his priestly life.

Arriving in Ars, the young priest noticed the loss of Christian faith and morals around him, a lingering by-product of the French Revolution. Father Vianney soon began to awaken the faith of his parishioners through his preaching, but most of all by his prayer and his way of life. His notoriety as a holy priest grew slowly, and Father Vianney soon became known as, simply, the Curé d’Ars (parish priest of Ars).

By the 1830s, his popularity swelled to the extent that the holy priest became somewhat of a prisoner in the confessional, held there by the hundreds of faithful arriving daily to the village to see the holy curé. Between 1830 and 1845, sometimes as many as 300 people a day would pass through Ars for a chance to confess with Father Vianney.

Overwhelmed with his own sense of unworthiness and weakness in the face of such a great mission, the holy priest tried three times to escape, but all attempts failed. On the third attempt his parishioners actually sent out a search crew in the middle of the night to find him and put him back in the confessional. He stayed there until the wee hours of the morning – hearing confessions.

In 1853, a group of diocesan missionaries came to the aid of the overworked parish priest, who couldn’t seem to get out of his confessional, let alone out of his own parish to take a holiday. His own bishop even told him not to attend diocesan retreats, as Father Vianney had too many souls to attend to in Ars.

By 1855, the number of pilgrims had reached 20,000 a year, and some 100,000 in 1858. There are reports that during the last 10 years of his life, he spent as many as 18 hours a day in the confessional, and that toward the end of his life, he confessed up to 80,000 penitents a year.

Father Vianney spent the last five days of his life hearing his confessions from his deathbed. Exhausted, the Curé d’Ars died Aug. 4, 1859. He was 73.

The parish priest was beatified in 1905, and declared the patron of the priests of France that same year. He was canonized 20 years later in 1925, and declared the patron saint of all parish priests in 1929.

Taken from an article of Karna Swanson, editor of the English edition of zenit.org (June 19, 2009)