SAINT BERNADETTE
In Her Own Words about Our Lady of Lourdes
From a Letter by Saint Bernadette
(edited by Fr. Edlefsen, for brevity)
I had gone down with two other girls to the river Gave when, suddenly, I heard a rustling sound. I turned toward the river’s bank, but the trees were still. Then I saw a cave where I saw a lady wearing a lovely white dress with a bright belt. On top of each of her feet was a pale-yellow rose, the same color as her rosary beads.
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was seeing things, and I put my hands into my dress’ fold where my rosary was. I wanted to make the Sign of the Cross but, for the life of me, I couldn’t manage, and my hand just fell. Then the lady made the Sign of the Cross. At the second attempt, I managed to do the same though my hands were trembling. I began to say the rosary as the lady’s beads slipped through her fingers, without her moving her lips. When I stopped saying the Hail Mary, she vanished.
I asked my companions if they noticed anything, but they said no. They were curious. I told them I saw a lady wearing a white dress though I didn’t know who she was. I told them not to say anything, and they said I was silly to have anything to do with it. I said they were wrong, and I came back next Sunday, feeling drawn to the place....
The third time I went, the lady spoke to me. She asked me to come every day for fifteen days. She wanted me to tell the priests to build a chapel there. She also told me to drink from the stream. She was not speaking of the Gave, and she indicated a little trickle of water nearby. I found a few drops, mostly mud. I cupped my hands to catch some liquid without success, and I scraped the ground. Only at the fourth attempt was there enough to drink. The lady then vanished, and I went home.
I returned daily for two weeks, and the lady told me to pray for the conversion of sinners. I asked what she meant by that, but she only smiled. Finally, with outstretched arms and eyes looking heavenward, she told me she was the Immaculate Conception.
Categories:
More Stories
Statement Of The Bishops Of The Province Of Baltimore And The Archdiocese Of Washington
Lifting the General Dispensation from the Obligation to Attend Mass
June 2, 2021
We, the Catholic Bishops of the Province of Baltimore and the Archdiocese of Washington, give thanks to Almighty God for the progress our country...Read more
New Guidelines for Churches
from Bishop Burbidge
May 28, 2021
In this statement, Bishop Burbidge announces the end of some of the restrictions placed on the Church during the pandemic. A pdf guide to...Read more
Our Lady of Lourdes in the Arlington Catholic Herald
May 10, 2021
The Arlington Catholic Herald featured Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in a recent article about the Migration and Refugee Services POWIR program.
...Read more
