St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Dec. 8, 2007 through Dec. 8,2008

150 Anniversary of the Apparitions at Lourdes

It has been written that St. Bernadette desired to be a Carmelite nun, but because of her poor health was not able to enter the Order. She eventually entered the Sisters of Charity at Nevers, France.

The 18th and final apparition of Our Lady to Bernadette took place on July 16, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Our Lady remained silent during the final meeting with Bernadette. They looked at each other with love. This holy exchange is a perfect example of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel as our role model of perfect contemplation.

As Carmelites, the main point of our rule is allegiance to Jesus Christ, and an offshoot of that main point is to imitate the Virgin Mary who pondered the Word in her heart. We can see in the life of St. Bernadette how Mary led her to contemplation.

Let start at the beginning: In the first apparition Mary shows herself to Bernadette, smiles at her, but remains silent.

Do you remember your first encounter with Christ? The moment he first called you to intimate friendship with him? How difficult was it to pray from the heart for the first time?

Second Apparition: Bernadette throws holy water at the apparition. People tell her it could be the devil.

After the invitation from Christ, we begin to doubt that we are worthy to be loved by Him. We ask ourselves, "Is this from God?" Family members and friends wonder what is going on with us!

Third Apparition: Our Lady asks Bernadette, "Would you do me the favour of coming here for fifteen day?" "I do not promise to make you happy in this life but in the other."

Our Lady asks us to remain faithful in prayer, faithful to our commitment as Carmelites to seek the face of God in prayer on behalf of the Church. We must die to ourselves and the world. We begin to mortify ourselves and experience joy in God alone. Worldly things no longer attract us.

Fourth, Fifth, Sixth & Seventh Apparitions: Bernadette and Our Lady deepen their friendship They pray together and even laugh together.

In the life of Carmel, our prayer life becomes deeper when we trust in the Lord as little children. We run to him and tell him everything; the joys and sorrows of our life. He is there to cry and laugh with us.

Eighth apparition through the Twelfth: Our Lady with an air of sadness repeats: "Penance, penance, penance." "Pray to God for sinners." She asks Bernadette to kiss the ground for sinners...to eat the grass for sinners.

Now that our relationship with our Beloved has grown stronger, he asks us to suffer with him, to take up our cross after him. The life of a Carmelite is a penitential one. Sometimes as lay Carmelites, we forget this aspect of our rule. We may adhere to the required prayer and spiritual reading, but do we really desire to mortify ourselves for the love of Christ?

Our rule states:

The Secular Carmelite highly esteems the invitation of the Lord to deny himself and willingly to take up his cross daily and follow Him; he will therefore gladly mortify himself in union with the sacrifice of Christ, remembering too Our Holy Mother Teresa's remark that "prayer cannot be accompanied by self-indulgence"

The Secular Carmelite will be especially faithful to the Church's penitential discipline. He will also, in accordance with the promptings of grace, and as far as circumstances will allow,make use of other means of mortification, particularly on those days and at those seasons that have a distinctive penitential character.

The thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Apparitions: Our Lady asks Bernadette to "go tell the priests that people should come here in procession and that a chapel should be built here."

Bernadette is sent on mission. Our Carmelite vocation calls us, too, to evangelize by our way of life and our witness of prayer on behalf of the Church. We are also called to have a particular apostolate in which to share in the missionary life of the Church. Whatever that may be, making rosaries, helping the poor and the sick, teaching our Catholic faith-we must step outside of ourselves, for our vocation is not just between me and God.

Sixteenth Apparition: Feast of the Annunciation. Our Lady reveals her name: "I am the Immaculate Conception."

Bernadette has been faithful to Our Lady's request, to her commitment to meet our Lady for fifteen days. She is rewarded.

Bernadette reminds me of the apostle John at the foot of the Cross in which Our Lord entrusts her to his home. Now Bernadette stands before Our Lady on behalf of the Church ready and eager to hear her beautiful name: Immaculate Conception!

Seventeenth Apparition: Miracle of the candle. Bernadette in ecstasy.

Our Lady has led Bernadette on the road of deep prayer. Now she experiences God with her whole being. She has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa explain in detail about deep mystical experience in prayer. We know that this type of gift is just that-pure gift, infused by God. As St. Teresa says, it cannot be produced by one's own effort.

St. Bernadette experienced Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Our Lady of Silent Prayer at the Grotto in Lourdes. Let us pray for each other that we imitate the humble virgin Bernadette and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel , to be open and available to listen to the Word of God, proclaim it to the world, and meditate on it in our hearts day and night.

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, ocds