Pope proclaims message of hope in Lourdes

(September 14, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on Sunday at the Marian shrine of Lourdes in southern France renowned for miracles, telling tens of thousands of faithful they should hold onto hope in a world full of evil, torture, suffering and injustice. About 50,000 pilgrims, singing hymns and some shouldering a life-sized crucifix, gathered on a rain-soaked field known as the Lourdes prairie for the Mass marking the 150^th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. The Madonna who described herself as the Immaculate Conception appeared to a young French shepherd girl, Bernadette Soubirous, 18 times between February 11 and July 16, 1858. For the Catholic Church, the visions of Bernadette confirmed the Church’s dogma of the Immaculate Conception - proclaimed four years earlier by Pope Pius IX - which declared that Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb without any stain of original sin. The Pope’s Sunday Mass was part of his Sept 12-15 visit to France, divided between the capital, Paris and Lourdes.
In his homily at the Mass in Lourdes, Pope Benedict said that for 150 years, pilgrims have never ceased to come to the grotto of Massabielle to hear the message of conversion and hope which is the message of the Cross. And the day’s feast of the Exaltation of the Cross focuses on this message.
In his homily at the Mass in Lourdes, Pope Benedict noted that for 150 years, pilgrims have never ceased to come to the grotto of Massabielle to hear the message of conversion and hope which is the message of the Cross. And the day’s feast of the Exaltation of the Cross focuses on this message.
Speaking in French, the pope noted that the cross, the instrument of torture which, on Good Friday, manifested God’s judgement on the world, has become a source of life, pardon, mercy, a sign of reconciliation and peace. And the Church invites us proudly to lift up this glorious Cross so that the world can see the full extent of the love of the Crucified one for all. She invites us to give thanks to God because from a tree which brought death, life has burst out anew.
The Pope noted that during her first apparition to Bernadette Soubirous, Mary began the encounter with the sign of the Cross. More than a simple sign, it is an initiation into the mysteries of the faith that Bernadette receives from Mary.
The sign of the Cross, the Pope explained, is a kind of synthesis of our faith, for it tells how much God loves us; it tells us that there is a love in this world that is stronger than death, stronger than our weaknesses and sins. Mary invites all people of good will, all those who suffer in heart or body, to raise their eyes towards the Cross of Jesus, so as to discover there the source of life, the source of salvation.
The Church has received the mission of showing all people this loving face of God, manifested in Jesus Christ. For on this Cross, Jesus took upon himself the weight of all the sufferings and injustices of our humanity. He bore the humiliation and the discrimination, the torture suffered in many parts of the world by so many of our brothers and sisters for love of Christ.
Continuing in French, Pope Benedict reminded all that celebration of the jubilee of Our Lady’s apparitions in Lourdes urges us to embark upon a journey of faith and conversion. Jesus, born of Mary, is the Son of God, the sole Saviour of all people, living and acting in his Church and in the world. The Church is sent everywhere in the world to proclaim this unique message and to invite people to receive it through an authentic conversion of heart. The Pope wished that the missionary spirit which animated so many men and women from France over the centuries, continue to be their pride and commitment!
The Pope noted that following Jubilee Way in the footsteps of Bernadette we are reminded of the heart of the message of Lourdes, namely conversion, prayer and penance. Bernadette is the eldest daughter of a very poor family, with neither knowledge nor power, and in poor health. Yet Mary chose her to transmit her message. Christians too are called to render fruitful the grace of their Baptism, to nourish themselves with the Eucharist, to draw strength from prayer so as to bear witness and to express solidarity with all their fellow human beings.
By revealing herself to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, Mary discloses the extraordinary grace that she has received from God - that of having been conceived without sin. By presenting herself in this way, in utter dependence upon God, the Pope explained, Mary expresses in reality an attitude of total freedom, based upon the full recognition of her true dignity. To give oneself fully to God is to find the path of true freedom. For by turning towards God, man rediscovers his original vocation as a person created in his image and likeness.
The Pope reminded the faithful that the primary purpose of the shrine at Lourdes is to be a place of encounter with God in prayer and a place of service to our brothers and sisters, notably through the welcome given to the sick, the poor and all who suffer. In this place, Mary comes to us as a mother, always open to the needs of her children. He urged all to be touched by her gaze, which tells us that we are all loved by God and never abandoned by him! Mary comes to remind us that prayer which is humble and intense, trusting and persevering, must have a central place in our Christian lives. People who pray are not wasting their time, even though the situation appears desperate and seems to call for action alone.” To allow oneself to become absorbed by activity runs the risk of depriving prayer of its specifically Christian character and its true efficacy. The prayer of the Rosary, so dear to Bernadette and to Lourdes pilgrims, introduces us to contemplation of the face of Christ.
Noting a large number of young people in the crowd Pope Benedict told them that Mary wants to tell them that no one of them is indifferent in God’s eyes. Like Mary, the Pope encouraged them to respond generously to the Lord when he invites them to walk in his footsteps. He urged them to the generous service to the sick and to the other pilgrims. He wished that those called to marriage discover the beauty of a genuine and profound love, lived as a reciprocal and faithful gift! To those called to priesthood or religious life, he wished them all the joy that comes from the gift of self in the service of God and others.
In conclusion, the Pope reminded all that Mary’s message to them is one of hope, whatever their origin. She invites us to life like her in invincible hope refusing to believe those who claim that we are trapped in the fatal power of destiny.
At the end of the Mass Pope Benedict recited the midday Marian “Angelus” prayer and greeted the vast crowd in several languages including in English. Listen!