Our Lady of Lourdes

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. On Feb 11th 1858 the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette a fourteen year old who was from a very poor family, while she was playing in the woods with her friends near a stream. Her friends had crossed the stream but due to her poor health she remained back. Suddenly there was a gush of wind which made her glance towards the cave near the stream. There in the grotto she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary in white with a blue belt around her waist. She had a yellow rose on each of her feet. She experienced several  visions between February 11th and March 25th of 1858. Each time she felt an interior impulse to go to the cave near the stream to see the Blessed Mother who identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. Only in 1854 Pope, Pius IX had officially declared as doctrine of the Church the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother which was not well known in other parts of the world, especially by a poor fourteen year old in Lourdes, France. On one occasion Our Lady asked for "Penance" for the sins of the world by praying often the rosary and to kiss the ground as sign of penance. In another appearance Our Lady asked her to dig the ground and drink the muddy water from the ground as penance to the disgust of the onlookers. After a few hours the water became a clear spring with pure water and many healing miracles occur even today to those who drink or bathe in the water from this spring. These miracles are scientifically examined and several were approved including a man from Italy who had part of his pelvic and femur bones destroyed from cancer  and on bathing in the water the bones grew back. The x-rays of the before and after are now available as evidence of the authenticity of this miracles and similar miracles in Lourdes, France. Several thousands of pilgrim visit Lourdes each year seeking the healing touch of God through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. 
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!