Pope Benedict XVI in Lourdes

VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI in Paris and Lourdes  - "Mary left death behind her; she is entirely re-clothed with life, the life of her Son, the risen Christ. She is thus the sign of the victory of love, of good and of God, giving our world the hope that it needs."

Lourdes (Agenzia Fides) – On Saturday, September 13, the Holy Father Benedict XVI flew from Paris to Lourdes, where he was received by local authorities. At 6pm, he visited the three sites of the "Jubilee Path" that has been created for pilgrims to Lourdes this year, as it is the 150th anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions there. The Holy Father then visited the Church of the Sacred Heart, where he stopped in front of the baptismal font where Bernadette was baptized. He also paid a brief visit to the "Cachot" where Bernadette lived with her family. Lastly, he visited the Grotto of Massabielle, the site of the apparitions. At 9:30pm, from the lower terrace of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Holy Father watched the closing stages of the torchlight procession and gave an address on the apparitions of Massabielle and the dialogue between the Virgin Mary and Bernadette.

"It is hardly surprising that Mary should be beautiful, given that—during the apparition of 25 March 1858—she reveals her name in this way: 'I am the Immaculate Conception.' Let us now look at this 'woman clothed with the sun' (Rev 12:1) as she is described for us in Scripture... Mary left death behind her; she is entirely re-clothed with life, the life of her Son, the risen Christ. She is thus the sign of the victory of love, of good and of God, giving our world the hope that it needs. This evening, let us turn our gaze towards Mary, so glorious and so human, allowing her to lead us towards God who is the victor."
Benedict XVI then pointed out that, "Lourdes is one of the places chosen by God for his beauty to be reflected with particular brightness, hence the importance here of the symbol of light." Following the example of Bernadette, who from the fourth apparition onwards, on arriving at the grotto, would light a votive candle each morning and hold it in her left hand for as long as the Virgin was visible to her, "soon, people would give Bernadette a candle to plant in the ground inside the grotto. Very soon, too, people would place their own candles in this place of light and peace. The Mother of God herself let it be known that she liked the touching homage of these thousands of torches, which since that time have continued to shine upon the rock of the apparition and give her glory."

In the course of the apparitions, Bernadette "prays the rosary under the gaze of Mary, who unites herself to her at the moment of the doxology. This fact confirms the profoundly theocentric character of the prayer of the rosary. When we pray it, Mary offers us her heart and her gaze in order to contemplate the life of her Son, Jesus Christ." After recalling the profound Marian devotion of John Paul II, and how he encouraged the recitation of the Rosary, the Pope said: "May Lourdes, the land of light, continue to be a school for learning to pray the Rosary, which introduces the disciples of Jesus, under the gaze of his Mother, into an authentic and cordial dialogue with his Master!"

The Pope then made reference to the torchlight procession that "the torchlight procession expresses the mystery of prayer in a form that our eyes of flesh can grasp: in the communion of the Church, which unites the elect in heaven with pilgrims on earth, the light of dialogue between man and his Lord blazes forth and a luminous path opens up in human history, even in its darkest moments. This procession is a time of great ecclesial joy, but also a time of seriousness: the intentions we bring emphasize our profound communion with all those who suffer... Mary teaches us to pray, to make of our prayer an act of love for God and an act of fraternal charity. By praying with Mary, our heart welcomes those who suffer... Lourdes is a place of light because it is a place of communion, hope and conversion."

Recalling Jesus' invitation to "keep your lamps burning" (Lk 12:35), the Pope mentioned that "this act of walking through the night, carrying the light, speaks powerfully to the depths of ourselves, touches our heart and says much more than any other word uttered or heard. This gesture itself summarizes our condition as Christians on a journey: we need light, and at the same time are called to be light... To live Christian love, means at the same time to introduce God's light into the world and to point out its true source."

In anticipation of the feast to be celebrated the following day, the celebration of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, Benedict XVI explained that "the death of Jesus is a death which becomes a light for the nations... Through the Cross, our whole life gains light, strength and hope. The Cross reveals the whole depth of love contained in the original design of the Creator; through the Cross, all is healed and brought to completion. That is why life lived with faith in Christ dead and risen becomes light." The Pope concluded by saying that, "a quiet encounter with Bernadette and the Virgin Mary can change a person's life, for they are here, in Massabielle, to lead us to Christ who is our life, our strength and our light."

(SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/9/2008)

Links:
Complete text of the Holy Father's address
http://www.evangelizatio.org/portale/adgentes/pontefici/pontefice.php?id=1214