A Choice Had to Be Made

Dear Diary,

Our Reading Club met again today at the clubhouse, and Father LeRoy asked me to read my chapter summary.

I explained that the governor was becoming more and more troubled by the crowds at Lourdes. The pilgrims remained so peaceful and prayerful that the police had no excuse to interfere with them. He could either admit that he had been wrong and leave the people alone, or he could use force to close the Grotto. The chapter kept saying that he must either retreat or advance boldly.

There was also growing doubt about the first examination of the spring water. A local chemist said it was only ordinary water and contained nothing that could explain the miraculous cures. Many other scientists agreed, so the town council asked the famous Professor Filhol to make a new and final examination.

“The governor must have been worried about what the professor would discover,” Robert said when I finished that part.

Father nodded. “Yes, because if the water proved to be ordinary, the cures would become even harder to explain away.”

Sister Mary Claire said quietly, “They kept searching for something in the water, when perhaps they should have been looking toward Heaven.”

We all thought that was very true.

Then I read about Bernadette making her First Holy Communion on the feast of Corpus Christi. Even while important men were examining the water of the spring, Our Lord was entering Bernadette’s pure and humble heart.

“That was my favorite part,” I told everyone. “Bernadette did not care about being noticed. She only wanted to love God.”

Robert smiled. “She certainly didn’t want to become rich from any of it.”

That began another lively discussion. Bernadette would not trade her plain rosary for one made of precious stones because her poor rosary suited her better. She also refused money from a priest, even when he suggested that she give it to the poor.

“She wanted to serve God without being paid,” Sister said.

“And that made her honesty even clearer,” Father added. “She and her family sometimes lacked bread, yet she would not profit from the favors God had given her.”

The chapter ended with government officials praising the governor and urging him to take stronger action against the Grotto and the miracles. Still, no one seemed to know what could actually be done against peaceful people who only wished to pray.

After our discussion, Father brought out a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a quart of cold Jersey milk. The milk was rich and creamy, just the way we all like it, and the doughnuts disappeared very quickly.

When everything had been cleared away, Father asked me to read our closing prayer.

“Dear Blessed Mother, help us to be humble and honest like Bernadette. Teach us to love prayer more than praise and to serve God without seeking any reward. Give courage to all who must choose between what is easy and what is right. Keep our hearts pure and peaceful, and lead us always closer to your Divine Son. Amen.”

Father LeRoy then raised his hand and gave us his blessing.

It was a good meeting, and I kept thinking about Bernadette’s poor little rosary. It was not made of precious stones, but I think it must have been very precious to Heaven.

Love, Kathy

The Peaceful Crowds of Lourdes

Dear Diary,

Our Reading Club met again today in the clubhouse. When everyone was settled, Father LeRoy asked me to read my chapter summary.

I explained that newspapers in Paris and other parts of France had begun writing about Lourdes. Some praised the government officials for trying to stop the gatherings, while the Catholic newspapers said the Church should be allowed to examine the Apparitions and decide what was true.

Still, every effort to discourage the pilgrims seemed to bring even more people to the Grotto. Some came because they believed, some hoped to be healed, and others came only out of curiosity. Spring had returned, the roads were easier to travel, and thousands made their way through the hills and valleys to pray and drink from the Spring.

What impressed everyone most was how peaceful the crowds remained. Even when the police removed candles, flowers, money, and other offerings, the people continued praying quietly. One night, someone tore up the pipe from the Spring and covered the water with rocks, dirt, and sand. The people were very upset, but they still did not become violent. The mayor soon ordered the pipe replaced and the Spring cleared.

The stonecutters of Lourdes had planned a large procession for Ascension Day, but they were afraid their anger toward the officials might lead to trouble. Instead, they gave up the procession and even canceled their yearly dance out of respect for Our Lady.

When I finished, Robert said it seemed that the officials could carry away the candles and flowers, but they could not remove the faith from the people’s hearts.

Sister Mary Claire said the patience of the pilgrims was one of the strongest parts of the chapter.

Father LeRoy nodded and said, “True peace is not weakness. It often takes greater courage to remain calm than to strike back.”

Then Sister suddenly asked who had brought lunch.

Everyone looked around the room.

It turned out that each person had thought someone else was bringing it. Thanks to Sister’s quick thinking, we ended up with a pitcher of cool Kool-Aid and a plate of crackers.

Mini sat beneath the table, watching every cracker that passed from hand to hand. Robert glanced around, broke off a small piece, and slipped it to her when he thought no one was looking. I saw him, but I did not say anything. Mini ate it so quickly that she looked innocent again before Father LeRoy even turned his head.

It was not much of a lunch, but we laughed and agreed that Kool-Aid and crackers tasted quite good when shared among friends.

Before we left, I read our prayer:

“Dear Blessed Mother, help us to remain patient and peaceful when we are misunderstood or treated unfairly. Teach us to answer anger with gentleness and to keep our hearts close to Jesus. Please watch over the sick, the troubled, and all those searching for faith. Amen.”

Father LeRoy gave us his blessing, and we gathered our books and went our ways.

Kathy

The Hand Made Whole

 
Dear Diary,

This afternoon our reading club met in the old garage. Father LeRoy came over after dinner, and Sister Mary Claire helped arrange the chairs near the open doors. Mini settled beside me, ready for the meeting.

When everyone was quiet, I presented my chapter summary.

The spring at the Grotto continued to flow clear and plentifully, and many graces were being received there.

One of the most remarkable cures was that of Catharine Latapie-Choust, a poor farm woman whose right hand had been badly injured in a fall. For eighteen months, three of her fingers remained bent and useless. Her doctor finally told her that she would never regain the use of them.

One night, Catharine felt a powerful inward voice telling her, “Go to the Grotto, and you will be cured.”

Although she was near the time for her baby to be born, she set out at three o’clock in the morning with her two children. They traveled by moonlight and reached Lourdes at daybreak.

After praying at the Grotto, Catharine placed her injured hand in the spring water. At once, her fingers straightened and became strong and supple again. For the first time in eighteen months, she was able to join her hands in prayer.

Soon afterward, the pains of childbirth began. Catharine prayed to the Blessed Virgin that she might be allowed to return home first. The pains stopped, and she made the long journey safely. Shortly after arriving home, she gave birth to a healthy son.

When I finished reading, a lively discussion followed.

Robert said Catharine’s courage amazed him almost as much as her cure. Sister Mary Claire pointed out that Catharine did not make a great display when her hand was healed. She simply knelt and thanked God.

Father LeRoy said that was one of the most beautiful parts of the story. True faith, he said, trusts God and remembers to be grateful.

Lunch was cold milk and Nestlé’s Baked Just Right cookies. Robert inadvertently dropped part of his cookie under the table, and Mini found it before anyone else noticed. She looked quite pleased with her unexpected share of lunch.

Before we left, I read the prayer:

“Blessed Mother, teach us to trust God when the road ahead seems dark. Help us to pray with confidence and to give thanks for every grace we receive. Lead the sick and discouraged closer to your Son. Amen.”

Father LeRoy gave us his blessing and dismissed the club.

As the afternoon sun shone through the garage doors, I looked at my own hands and thought of Catharine joining hers together after eighteen long months.

Sometimes the simplest prayer must feel like a miracle.

Good night, dear Diary.

What Chemistry Could Not Explain

Dear Diary,

This evening, Sister Mary Claire and I went to Saturday evening Holy Mass. Father thought it would be easier for everyone if the Reading Club met beforehand, so we gathered beneath the apple tree while the afternoon was still warm and bright.

After everyone had settled down, Father asked me to read my chapter summary.

I explained that the Prefect, Baron Massy, was still searching for some ordinary explanation for the cures taking place at Lourdes. Since he could not have Bernadette arrested as insane, he turned to chemistry. He hoped that an official examination of the spring water would prove that its natural mineral properties were responsible for the healings.

A chemist named M. Latour de Trie examined the water and found that it was clear, without any unusual smell or taste, and very much like ordinary water. It contained several common minerals, but nothing that could truly explain the remarkable cures. Even so, the chemist suggested that medical science might someday discover special healing properties in it.

Father said this was exactly the explanation the Prefect had wanted. If the cures could be blamed upon minerals, there would be no need to admit that anything supernatural was happening.

But there was an embarrassing disagreement. While the Prefect’s chemist praised the water and predicted that it might become one of the mineral treasures of the region, the Prefect’s own newspaper mocked it as dirty water and made jokes about the many cures being reported.

We all smiled a little at that. Sister Mary Claire said it showed how difficult it is to keep an argument straight when people have already decided what they want to believe.

Robert said, “One report says the water is valuable, and the other says it is worthless—but both are being used to deny the miracles.”

Father nodded and said that truth does not become less true merely because people disagree about how to explain it.

The Prefect had acted very quickly. He had ordered the offerings removed from the Grotto, considered arresting Bernadette, abandoned that plan, and obtained the chemist’s report—all within only a few days. Yet after all his activity, he was still waiting anxiously to see what would happen next.

Would the spring dry up in the summer heat? Would the people stop coming? What would Bernadette do? The Prefect watched everything closely, hoping that the whole matter would simply come to an end.

We discussed how people sometimes search for complicated explanations because the simplest truth frightens them. Father reminded us that faith does not oppose true science. Chemistry could tell what was present in the water, but it could not explain why certain people were suddenly healed through it.

Just then, the church bell began to ring across the yard.

Father closed his book and smiled. “That is our signal.”

Everyone stood, and Father gave us his blessing. Then he asked me to lead our Reading Club prayer.

“Dear Lord, help us to love the truth, even when it surprises us. Keep our hearts humble and teach us never to place our own opinions above Your wisdom. Through the prayers of Our Lady of Lourdes, strengthen our faith and lead us always closer to You. Amen.”

We gathered our books and hurried toward the church together as the bell continued ringing.

It seemed like the perfect ending to our meeting—and the perfect beginning to Holy Mass.

All for Jesus,

Kathy

When the Cures Could No Longer Be Denied

Dear Diary,

After Holy Mass this morning, we met at the Reading Club, and Father asked me to read the chapter summary.

Today’s chapter told how the doctors and scientific men of Lourdes could no longer deny that people were really being cured by the water from the Grotto.

At first, they had laughed at Bernadette and called her visions childish nonsense. Then, when the cures began, they tried to say that the sick people had been healed by their own imaginations. But as more cures took place and the evidence became harder to dismiss, that explanation no longer worked.

So they changed their argument.

Now they said that the water must contain some very powerful natural mineral. In that way, they could admit that the cures were real without admitting that God had anything to do with them.

The chapter included a letter written by Doctor Lary about a woman named Galop. Rheumatism had made her left hand almost useless. She could not spin, make her bed, draw water from the well, or safely carry glasses and dishes.

After one visit to Lourdes, where she used the water from the Grotto, she regained nearly all the use of her hand.

Doctor Lary honestly admitted that she had greatly improved, but he believed the water must contain alkali. Other medical men began using the same explanation for almost every cure, even those that happened so suddenly that ordinary mineral water could hardly account for them.

The believers then asked a very sensible question.

Why had this remarkable spring appeared at the exact moment Bernadette, while in ecstasy, heard the Lady tell her to drink and wash? Why had it come forth during the heavenly visions? And why were the sick going to it with prayer and faith rather than upon the advice of their doctors?

The unbelievers answered that it was all chance. They said Bernadette had accidentally uncovered the spring while digging in the earth during a hallucination.

But the faithful thought that explaining everything by chance did more violence to reason than believing that God had acted through Providence.

By the end of the chapter, the men who had first denied the spring, then denied the cures, and finally admitted both, began speaking of government control. They said the water ought to belong to the State or the town and that no one should be allowed to use it without a doctor’s permission.

Some even said that a bathing establishment would be more suitable at the Grotto than a chapel.

That was how matters stood when the Prefect’s measures against the Grotto began, along with the attempt to have Bernadette confined as insane. But Curé Peyramale unexpectedly stepped forward and prevented it.

When I finished reading, everyone was quiet for a moment.

Father said the chapter showed how error often retreats one step at a time. First it laughs at the truth. Then it denies the truth. Finally, when the truth can no longer be denied, it tries to explain it without acknowledging God.

Sister Mary Claire said that the doctors were right to examine the cures carefully. Faith does not ask anyone to be careless or foolish. But she said it was not reasonable to decide beforehand that no explanation involving God could ever be accepted.

Robert said, “They were willing to believe that the water could do almost anything, just so long as Heaven received no credit.”

That began a lively discussion.

Father reminded us that truth does not need to be frightened or hurried. It remains true even when people laugh at it, argue against it, or try to explain it away.

I liked that very much.

Before the meeting ended, Father led us in prayer. We thanked God for the gift of reason and asked Him to protect us from pride. We also prayed for doctors and scientists, that their learning might always be joined with humility and an honest love of truth.

It was another peaceful Reading Club meeting. The story of Lourdes becomes more interesting with every chapter, because the more the truth was resisted, the more clearly it seemed to shine.

Dear Blessed Mother, help me never to turn away from the truth merely because it leads me closer to God. Teach me to be humble, honest, and ready to accept whatever is true. Amen.

Good night, dear Diary.

Kathy

One Small Step at a Time

Dear Diary,

After Holy Mass this morning, everyone gathered once again in our little Readers Clubhouse. It is beginning to feel like a second home. Father LeRoy asked me to read today's chapter summary, and everyone settled into their chairs while Sister Mary Claire poured cold Golden Rule milk into glasses. A plate of chocolate chip cookies was waiting on the little table, but Father smiled and said we should feed our minds before our stomachs.

I stood up and read my summary.

"Today's chapter reminded us that not every miracle happened all at once. Some of the healings at Lourdes came little by little, as if Our Lady was gently leading people toward health one step at a time.

One little boy named Lasbareilles had never been able to walk because his body was badly deformed from birth. His parents lovingly rubbed the water from the Grotto on him again and again. At first nothing seemed to happen, but they never gave up hope. On Holy Thursday he took a few steps by himself, and over the next several weeks he grew stronger until he could walk almost like any other child. Other people who suffered from paralysis and epilepsy were also healed gradually after using the water of Massabielle.

The chapter reminded us that God's miracles are not always sudden. Sometimes they come quietly and patiently, asking us to keep believing even when we cannot yet see the answer."

When I finished, everyone was quiet for a moment. Father LeRoy said that sometimes we expect God to work like lightning, but often He works more like the sunrise. We hardly notice the light growing until suddenly the whole world is bright. Sister Mary Claire said she admired the faith of the little boy's mother because she never stopped hoping. Robert nodded and said that mothers probably understand hope better than anyone.

After our discussion we enjoyed the cookies and the cold milk. We laughed together, but I kept thinking about how many blessings in life seem to arrive one little step at a time. Maybe growing closer to Jesus is like that too.

Before we left, Father asked me to read our Reading Club prayer.

"Dear Jesus, thank You for bringing us together again today. Help us to trust You, whether Your answers come quickly or slowly. Give us patient hearts, strong faith, and thankful spirits. May we always remember that You are working, even when we cannot yet see the whole picture. Bless our families, our parish, and everyone who needs Your healing. Amen."

Father made the Sign of the Cross over us and gave us his blessing. We all said goodbye until next time, and I walked home feeling thankful that God never forgets His children, even when His miracles come one quiet day at a time.

Love,

Kathy

When Truth Can no Longer be Denied

Dear Diary,

This morning after Holy Mass, our Reading Club met in what everyone now calls the Readers Clubhouse. I like that name very much. Robert fixed up the old garage for me, but now it feels like it belongs to all of us.

The windows were open, and the air smelled fresh and clean. Sister Mary Claire set chocolate chip cookies on the little table, and beside them was a cold jar of Golden Rule Dairy Jersey milk.

After Father opened with a prayer, Father asked me to read my chapter summary. I stood up with my notes. I was a little nervous like I always am, but everyone was smiling, so that helped.


“Today’s chapter is called When Truth Could No Longer Be Denied.

The people who opposed Lourdes had tried for weeks to explain everything away. At first they simply denied the spring and the cures. They did not want to investigate because they had already made up their minds.

But the spring kept flowing, and more people kept being cured. Some who had been called incurable were now walking through town in good health, where everyone could see them.

The author says their mistake was denying the facts too soon. Once the truth became plain, they had to invent new explanations instead of admitting they had been wrong.”

When I finished, Father said pride can make a person shut his eyes even when the truth is right in front of him.

Robert said, “The spring was there, and the healed people were there too. They could not hide either one.”

Sister Mary Claire said God gives enough light for people to believe, but He does not force them.

That stayed with me. I hope I never become so proud that I cannot say, “I was wrong.” It seems much better to follow the truth than to protect my own opinion.

After our discussion, we had cookies and cold milk. Mini sat close to the table and behaved very well, except for watching every crumb.

Before everyone left, Father asked me to read our prayer.

“Dear Jesus, give us humble hearts that welcome truth. Keep us from pride and fear. Help us to follow the light You give us, and to trust You even when we do not understand everything. Amen.”

Father made the Sign of the Cross and blessed us.

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Go in peace.”

When the meeting was over, the sunlight was still shining through the clubhouse windows. I think every chapter is teaching us the same thing in a new way: truth belongs to God, and we should never be afraid of it.