Bob Lord - Saint Bernadette of Lourdes

Published by Bob and Penny Lord atSmashwords

Copyright 2010 Bob and Penny Lord

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St. Bernadette of Lourdes

I cannot promise you happiness in thisworld, but in the next.

There are Saints among us whose greatestvirtues have been their lifelong battles against their humannature. Those of us who are privileged to study their lives, have atendency to ignore what we believe to be their shortcomings, in aneffort to go directly to their source of sanctification. When we dothis, we miss the teaching the Lord has to give us by the exampleof His suffering servant. We go for the dream, and miss thejourney. The sanctification is in the journey.

St. Bernadette used to complain about theaccounts she read on the Lives of the Saints, in that they allseemed too sugar coated. She said of the Saints, They were humanbeings with faults and weaknesses, like all of us. Mother Angelicaonce said, referring to the authors of lives of the Saints, Theyshould all be given forty years each in purgatory, for making theseSaints seem so perfect. Bernadette probably felt the same way.

To the little Saint of Lourdes, the manygifts she was given during her lifetime: one, that of beholding thepresence of Mary, the Mother of God, eighteen times in the year1858; another, her ecstasies during those Apparitions, were justthat, gifts. She believed that these were aids from the good God tohelp her get through a sacrificial life amidst a barrage ofattacks, and to suppress her own fiery inclination to fight thoseattacks. She prayed the gifts would offset her imperfections, whichincluded a strong will, a fierce temper, and a stinging tongue.What she may never have known is how Our Lord Jesus and His MotherMary were able to use these traits for their glory.

We once wrote that Bernadette was a simplegirl, an illiterate at the time that Our Lady appeared to her, butnever did we consider her a stupid girl. Her behavior throughoutthe period of the Apparitions, her inner strength to hold upagainst great powers in the government and the Church, are a strongindicator of this. Her life after the Apparitions, and in theConvent of St. Gildard in Nevers, is proof of her strength.

We never knew much about Bernadette. As ayoung man, I became enraptured by the Apparitions of Our Lady toBernadette, after reading The Song of Bernadette. I fell in lovewith Mary, but never thought much about Bernadette. Even the firsttime Penny and I visited Lourdes, we didnt see or hear much of thelittle visionary. This is as Bernadette wanted it. With theexception of the Cachot, where she lived during the time of theApparitions, the Boly Mill, where she was born, and the MaisonPaternelle, where the family lived after the Apparitions,Bernadette is not considered a major part of the Shrine. ButBernadette is very important, both as the intermediary for Maryduring that period of time in 1858, and as a role model.

Once I got to know her, I came to love her.There is much in Bernadette which can be used in our everydaystruggle to reach the kingdom, to be part of the Communion ofSaints. We can learn from her. We can use her lifelong struggle forsanctity as a teaching in our own lives.

Bernadette at the time of the Apparitions

Bernadette once said, in reflecting on herlife, that the reason Mary chose her was because she was the lowestof the low. What do you think of me? Dont I realize that theBlessed Virgin chose me because I was the most ignorant? If she hadfound anyone more ignorant than myself, she would have chosenher.

She really underestimated her role in theApparitions at the grotto of Massabiele in the little hamlet ofLourdes. Our Lady needed one such as she knew Bernadette could be.This was a very important message she was bringing the people ofthe world. She could not take a chance on trusting a weak person,who could be reduced to tears, or shot down at the first sign ofadversity. She needed someone who would have the strength to standup before the powers of hell, and Bernadette was that person.

Another time our Saint said, The BlessedVirgin used me like a broom. What do you do with a broom when youhave finished sweeping? You put it back in its place, behind thedoor! referring to her much sought after life of seclusion at thecloistered Convent in Nevers. Without her being aware of it, shewas exhibiting a great deal of depth of spirit, abandonment to theLord, and humility. Penny and I call our ministry the Lordsballoon. We believe we are allowed to rise as high as He wants, forHis Glory, but when He is finished with us, He will stick a pin inthe balloon.

Everything in Bernadettes early life wouldagree that she was the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, if wewere using the worlds mentality. Her family was so poor that theybrought the poverty level of the area down to a new low. Her fatherhired out for wages just under what was paid for a work horse.Between her mother and father, they could not earn enough money tobring them up to the poverty level. At the time of the firstApparition, they had been reduced to living in a former prisoncell, the Cachot, which had been condemned for being below humanstandards.

Bernadette was a sickly girl from birth. Shesuffered from Asthma all her life. She was undernourished as aresult of the familys living conditions. She was sent to a farm inBartres, to live with the woman who had breast-fed her when she wasan infant. Only this time it was because there was not enough room,or enough food to care for her in Lourdes.

She loved her family, especially her father,Franois. When she was sent away to Bartres during her childhood,he always found excuses to visit her there. She was the oldest, andfor him, the most special. He grieved for his child, but could notsee her being with the family under such austere conditions. Sowhen Bernadette sent countless messages home to bring her back,they were unanswered. However, Our Lady had a plan.

Bernadette had been promised when she wassent to Bartres, that she would be able to study with the Priestthere for her First Holy Communion. She was almost fourteen at thistime, and the only girl of her age in Lourdes who had not receivedFirst Holy Communion. We have to believe that she was under themantle of Mary all her life, but especially at this time. She wasextremely good in her work, which turned out to be her downfall.She was given more and more responsibility as a shepherdess, whichgave her no time to go to Catechism lessons. She found herselfworking in the fields all day long. The two children of the familyshe stayed with, left each morning for Catechism lessons, whileBernadette went out into the field. This hurt her terribly.

Shortly after she arrived at Bartres, thePriest left to enter a Monastery. When he left the village, thefoster-parents of Bernadette felt guilty that they had not kepttheir promise to let her attend Catechism lessons. Thefoster-mother tried to teach her at home, but she could only read alittle, and Bernadette not at all. In addition, the lessons tookplace after dinner was over, and all the chores had been completed.Under the best circumstances, it would have been difficult for thechild to learn, but this was an impossible situation. She had aproblem retaining information to begin with, and that, coupled withthe fact that she was exhausted when they began, turned it into adisaster. Bernadette was extremely frustrated.