Bernadette's Spring

Thursday, October 16, 1956

Dear Diary,

This afternoon, Sister Mary Claire and I walked down to Bernadette's Spring the one that feeds into Indian Creek. The air was cool and smelled like wet grass, and the trees along the creek were turning yellow and gold. The water from the spring bubbled up so clear that we could see the pebbles on the bottom. Sister said the spring reminded her of the one at the Lourdes Grotto, and she smiled when she told me both springs flow about the same—quietly, steadily, and full of life. Mini followed along the bank, splashing her little paws and chasing floating leaves.

Earlier at Mass, Father LeRoy read the Gospel where Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, warning them that they honored the prophets but did not follow their teachings. Father said Jesus was trying to open their hearts so they could see that it is not enough to know God’s words—we must live them. “Faith isn’t only in our heads,” he said, “it has to reach our hands and hearts.”

Sitting beside the spring, Sister Mary Claire explained it to me in her gentle way. She said that truth and love are like the spring’s water—they must flow outward, not stay hidden or still. “When we keep God’s love moving in us,” she said, “it brings life to everything it touches.” I liked that very much. I watched the water sparkle and thought maybe the spring itself was teaching the same lesson.

Evening Prayer:

Dear Jesus, help me to keep Your love flowing in my heart like Bernadette’s Spring—clear, steady, and kind. May my words and actions bring Your goodness to others, just as the water brings life to the creek.

Amen.


Love, Kathy