HIRTEENTH TT OFHIRT HE TMONEENT H CLUBTH Volume 30, Number 2, February 2018 By Marc Massery they were amazed by Bernadette’s change in appearance during each This is the fourth article in a series apparition. Bernadette would stare, on approved apparitions of the Blessed transfixed in ecstasy at the heavenly Virgin Mary. visitor, unconscious to the world n 1858, Mary, the Immaculate around her. Conception, appeared to a poor Finally, during the third apparition, I 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Sou- the woman spoke to Bernadette, ask- birous, in Lourdes, France. ing her to come to the grotto for the On a cold February day, Bernadette next 15 days in a row. went to collect firewood with her Bernadette did as she was in- sister and a neighbor near the River structed, and soon word spread about Gave. Bernadette’s two companions these strange occurrences. Hundreds crossed the water ahead of her. As and eventually thousands of people Bernadette took off her stockings to accompanied Bernadette as she wade across, she heard a great wind. returned to the grotto every day to Strangely, nothing swayed except converse with this mysterious woman. the branches around a nearby grotto Throughout these apparitions, the called Massabielle. woman implored Bernadette to do Suddenly, a golden cloud envel- penance and to pray for the conver- oped the grotto. There, surrounded sion of sinners. by a soft light, appeared the most During one encounter, the woman beautiful woman Bernadette had OUR LADY asked Bernadette to drink from a ever seen. The woman was dressed nearby fountain. Not seeing a spring, in a white gown and wore a blue Bernadette went to drink from the sash. She had a rosary draped over VISITS LOURDES river. But the woman instructed her her arm, and yellow roses were lying to dig in the floor of the grotto. After at her feet. Bernadette rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Full of Bernadette dug for a short while, a small spring surfaced. fear, she took out her rosary beads and started to pray. Upon their 16th meeting, the woman revealed her identity Peace enveloped her as she watched the beautiful woman to Bernadette, saying, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” following along on her own rosary beads. After the Rosary, the Bernadette did not know what this meant at the time. The mysterious woman smiled and suddenly disappeared. dogma of the Immaculate Conception had only been defined Bernadette told her companions what she had seen. When four years earlier by Pope Blessed Pius IX. Bernadette’s mother heard the story, she thought that her In 1862, Pope Blessed Pius IX authorized the veneration of daughter was telling tales. the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. Today, more than 3 mil- The following Sunday, Bernadette returned to the grotto lion pilgrims visit Lourdes every year to bathe in the healing full of hope and saw the beautiful woman once again. Though waters flowing from the spring that Bernadette discovered, Bernadette’s companions could not see anything themselves, with thousands reporting miraculous cures. v This month’s activities Consider: Contemplate Pray: How have Act: Pray a Rosary the Scripture passages Marian apparitions for a loved Lk 1:42 and Lk 6:43-44. affected my faith? one’s health. Quote of the month ‘Except by Prayer’ We are like ivy, which cannot “ By Mark Pollock support itself, but which, if it twines round a tree, can grow to great hrough the Rosary, both my heights. Our souls, which also need mother and father had pow- support, grow rapidly in perfection T erful healing experiences. Several years ago, my late mother if they trust the Mother of Mercy. had a heart attack. Since the block- We see this in the many saints age in her coronary arteries was too who made rapid progress by long to place stents, the doctors loving and honoring her.” decided to give her a medication — Blessed Michael Sopocko (1888-1975) that would prevent further extension of the clot. They made no plans to remove the blockage. Three to four FATHER CALLOWAY’S BOOKSHELF years later, my mom had another medical event. When I talked to the St. Joseph Gems cardiologist about my mother, he By Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC said that he was surprised to learn that she had ever had such a blockage. According to him, the block- age had not only shrunk but was gone completely. I don’t know how this blockage cleared except by prayer. I know that my large Catholic family said many Rosaries for her health. More recently, my father was suffering from pneumonia and had a large empyema over one of his lungs. The doctor suggested we gather the family and be with him during his final days. About 15 to 20 of my family members, many travelling long distances, gathered to visit him in the Intensive Care Unit. We decided to pray the Rosary together out loud in his hospital room. Once we finished one set of mysteries, we decided to say an- other. As we prayed together with my dad, we watched his vital signs stabilize on the monitor. I don’t know if it was a miracle, but I do know that it played an important role in his immediate improvement. These experiences have encouraged me to continue to pray the Ro- To order: ShopMercy.org l Product code: TH-SJEM sary. I intend to pray it every day, although that does not always hap- Popes, saints, and blesseds have much to teach us pen. I usually pray with a cheap set of rosary beads, but I also have about St. Joseph, the second greatest saint next to a wooden-beaded rosary that I had blessed in Rome by Pope Francis Our Lady. St. Joseph Gems is the third book in the when my wife and I were there for the canonization of Pope St. John Gems series. In Marian Gems and Rosary Gems, I Paul II and Pope St. John XXIII. collected quotes for each day of the year for you to Frequently, I pray the Rosary in the Adoration chapel at my parish, use as a daily devotional. Now, in St. Joseph Gems, Our Lady of Lourdes in Washington, Missouri. I also use my time you can spend your entire year with St. Joseph! in the chapel to read. I read Champions of the Rosary by Fr. Don- Visit marian.org/13th/bookshelf ald Calloway, MIC, and now I am reading the Diary of Saint Maria to see the entire bookshelf. Faustina Kowalska. Though Jesus does not speak to me like He did to this saint, for a while, I have experienced some unusual occurrences MARIAN DATES where it seems like Jesus is in agreement with what I am saying. He Feb. 2: The Presentation of the Lord; First Friday answers me with sudden and intense emotions and tingling sensa- Feb. 3: First Saturday tions. At times, these have caused a sudden outburst of tears and a Feb. 11: Our Lady of Lourdes deep sense of humility. Feb. 14: Ash Wednesday In the end, I say the Rosary because I am a huge sinner, and I real- ize that I need all the help and grace I can get. Feb. 15: Blessed Michael Sopocko Do you have a testimony to the power of the Rosary? E-mail it to Feb. 20: Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto [email protected] v February 2018 Thirteenth of the Month Club † Marian.org octor Mark Miravalle, these people have not often had professor of theology and very much education. Mary uses Dmariology at Franciscan these men, women, and children to University of Steubenville, explains assist in the purity of the transmis- Marian apparitions, Marian dogma, sion of the message. and why we live in a particularly Marian age. What else should we know about the age of Mary? What’s consistent about the In addition to the many Marian approved Marian apparitions? apparitions, we’ve had more defini- Mary gives messages specifically tions of Marian dogma in this time focused to a given culture, taking than in any other comparable age. into account the particular needs In 1854, [Pope Blessed] Pius IX of the region to which she appears. defined the third Marian dogma: Mothers are great the Immaculate Conception. In with details. 1950, Pope [Venerable] Pius XII But even defined the fourth Marian dogma: though there are Mary’s Assumption. many approved Apparitions can influence dog- apparitions, Mary matic definitions. For example, it has been giving us was the apparition to St. Catherine Dr. Mark one fundamentally Laboure, the “Miraculous Medal Miravalle unified message. apparition,” in 1830 that served She calls us to re- as a form of final confirmation to turn to the Gospel and to live gen- Pope Pius IX to define the dogma erously, especially through prayer of the Immaculate Conception. and penance. Mary reveals herself The prayer that must be said in these private revelations in the along with the medal is, “O Mary, hopes that we will receive the full- THE AGE OF conceived without sin, pray for us ness of public revelation. Public who have recourse to thee.” Private revelation comes from Scripture revelation helps direct the develop- and Tradition. Private revelation is ment of doctrine. It encourages ongoing and accentuates something ARY M the Church to highlight aspects of in the Gospel that God wants us to the Gospel that are particularly important for a given age. focus on and appreciate in a new and higher way. What are some common misunderstandings regarding Have there been more Marian apparitions recently? Mary’s Immaculate Conception? There have been more approved Marian apparitions since Many Catholics only see Mary’s Immaculate Conception in 1830 than any other comparable period in the history of a negative context — that the dogma simply means Mary was the Church.