Msgr. Morgan's Reflections on Our Lady of Lourdes and the Grotto
Childhood Memories of a Grotto in Ireland
One of the longest memories I have is of the opening of a grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes in my own parish in Ireland in 1950. As elementary school children, we attended and participated in the opening ceremony, and I have visited that holy place almost every year since then. It made a big impression on me, and I always dreamed of going to see the “real” Lourdes in the south of France.
First Visit to Lourdes
After a serious illness in 1961 which hospitalized me for three months and after having been told by doctors that I would not live very long and would never be healthy enough to become a priest, some friends gave my mother and I the gift of tickets to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. Like so many pilgrims, I took the bath in the holy water which started flowing when Mary appeared to Bernadette in 1858. I believe I had a healing which gave me back my health and allowed me to study of the priesthood, and the rest is history.
Bringing Lourdes to the People
Needless to say, I am grateful to Our Lady of Lourdes and have returned to the Grotto many times. In 2001, I led a pilgrimage of over 30 people from our parish to Ireland and Lourdes. While celebrating Mass close to where Mary appeared to Bernadette, I seemed to hear a “small voice” saying: “Not everyone can come to Lourdes – why don’t you bring Lourdes to the people?”
The Dream Becomes a Reality
Today the dream of having the Grotto of Lourdes on our property has become a reality, and I pray it will bring all of us closer to Mary, our Heavenly Mother, and to her Son Jesus, who is our Lord and Savior. I know you will enjoy visiting the Grotto, praying the Rosary on the Rosary Walk, visiting Mary’s Rose Garden, lighting candles in the cave, watching the waterfall and getting holy water from the tap near the cave. In the Bible, Mary is not quoted as saying very much in the gospels, but she did say to the people at Cana and to all of us, “Do whatever Jesus tells you.” When we do what Jesus asks us to do, miracles happen in our lives.
May our Grotto on Violet Road remind us that we have a Father who loves us and a Mother in Heaven, called Mary, who will pray for us during life and at the hour of our death. May Our Lady of Lourdes pray for us and our loved ones today and always.
History of Our Lady of Lourdes
Most Visited Pilgrimage Site in the World
The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France is the most visited pilgrimage site in the world – principally because of the healing properties of the waters of the spring that appeared during the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubiroux. The first apparition occurred February 11, 1858. There were 18 in all; the last took place July 16 of the same year.
The Apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette
The mysterious vision Bernadette saw in the hollow of the rock Massabielle, where she and friends had gone to gather firewood, was that of a young beautiful lady. “Lovelier than I have ever seen,” said the child. She described the lady as clothed in white, with a blue ribbon sash and a Rosary hanging from her right arm. Now and then the apparition spoke to Bernadette.
The Miraculous Waters of Lourdes
One day, the Lady told the girl to drink of a mysterious fountain within the grotto itself. Bernadette scratched at the ground, and a spring immediately bubbled up and soon gushed forth. This underground spring of water is now famous the world over for many extraordinary miracles. After another apparition, Bernadette reported that the Lady told her, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” After four years of investigations, the Catholic Church proclaimed the apparitions at Lourdes in 1858 as valid and pronounced this site worthy of pilgrimage.
The Message of Lourdes
The message of Lourdes is the Good News – the Gospel message of prayer, penance, and poverty. Miracles still flow from the miraculous waters of Lourdes – but many more of the miracles occur during the blessing of the sick with the Host Holy Eucharist in the monstrance. Our Catholic Faith teaches us that Mary leads her children to her Divine Son, especially in the Holy Eucharist. The story of Lourdes is about the healing mercy of God and about the need for faith and prayer in our lives.
Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes
O ever Immaculate Virgin Mother of mercy, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, comfort of the afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my suffering, deign to cast upon me a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors; and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities both spiritual and corporal. I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, the granting of my requests. Through gratitude for favors, I will endeavor to imitate your virtues that I may one day share your glory. Amen.