Our Readers Club met again in the little clubhouse today. Sister Mary Claire got busy right away at the tiny kitchen counter Robert had put in for us. With the little Frigidaire underneath and the hot plate on top, it is beginning to look almost like a real kitchen.
Sister said that after all the crackers, frosting, and doughnuts we have enjoyed, she was making something healthy today: hot oatmeal with raisins.
She warmed four cups of Jersey milk in a saucepan. Then she stirred in two cups of rolled oats, one-half cup of raisins, and a pinch of salt. She cooked it slowly until it was thick and creamy.
Sister spooned it into our bowls and topped each serving with a pat of butter, brown sugar, and a little more rich, icy-cold Jersey milk from the Frigidaire.
Before she added the raisins and sugar to the last little spoonful, she fixed Mini her own small dish of plain oatmeal with a splash of cold milk. Mini ate every bit and licked the dish so carefully that Robert said she had given Sister’s cooking her highest approval.
Robert said the oatmeal was good enough to make a person forget it was healthy. Sister said that was the mark of good cooking.
Afterward, Father LeRoy opened the Lourdes book.
“Kathy,” he said, “please read your chapter summary.”
I stood with my notebook and began:
“As June came to an end, visitors arrived in the Pyrenees from all over Europe. There were sick people seeking health, travelers enjoying the mountains, learned men studying what had happened, and curious people who simply wanted to see Lourdes.
“Rich and poor, believers and unbelievers, writers, businessmen, priests, and important officials all heard about Bernadette, the Grotto, the miraculous Spring, and the people who had been cured.
“God had first shown His work to the humble people living near Lourdes. Now He was bringing the rich and powerful to see it too. It was like Bethlehem, where the shepherds came before the Wise Men.
“The police still tried to keep people from the Grotto, but the barriers and threats were becoming useless. Some came because of faith and others because of curiosity, but they all saw the people who had been healed.
“One day the police stopped the famous Catholic writer Louis Veuillot. He gave them his name without fear and continued toward the Grotto.
“Another time, a lady was discovered kneeling near the barrier. When the officer demanded her name, she calmly said she was the wife of Admiral Bruat and the governess of the young Prince Imperial. The officer quickly dropped the charge because she was important.
“This showed how unfair the rules had become. Powerful people could disobey, while poor and ordinary people were punished.”
When I finished, Robert shook his head.
“So it depended upon who you were,” he said. “That does not sound like justice.”
“No,” Sister Mary Claire answered. “A law should not be heavy for the weak and light for the powerful.”
Father LeRoy nodded. “The officials could close a path, but they could not close every human heart.”
I said I especially liked the comparison with Bethlehem. Our Lady first appeared to Bernadette, a poor and simple girl, just as the angels first announced the birth of Jesus to humble shepherds.
“That is often God’s way,” Father said. “He does not judge importance as the world does.”
Robert said all the visitors must have carried the story of Lourdes home with them.
“Yes,” Sister said. “Every visitor became another messenger.”
Before we left, Father asked me to lead our prayer.
Dear Blessed Mother,
Thank you for watching over Bernadette and leading so many people to Lourdes. Help us remember that every person is precious to God, whether rich or poor, famous or unknown.
Give us courage to do what is right. Teach us never to favor the powerful over the weak, and give us simple hearts that recognize God’s work.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Amen.
Father LeRoy blessed us in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Mini curled up beneath the table afterward, warm and satisfied from her little dish of oatmeal and milk.
Good night, Diary.
Kathy
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