The Reading Club met again today in the open air. We spread a large blanket beneath the apple tree behind the church, and the breeze made the leaves rustle softly above us. Mini settled at the edge of the blanket as though she belonged to the club as much as anyone.
Robert surprised us by bringing a double chocolate cake that he had made all by himself. He piled each slice with thick, heavy whipped cream. Sister Mary Claire said she never knew Robert had such hidden talents, and Father LeRoy said there was nothing hidden about the enormous slices he cut!
After we were settled, Father asked me to read my chapter summary.
I explained that the officials who opposed Lourdes had nearly lost their battle in the Pyrenees, so the newspapers began a new campaign in Paris and even in foreign countries. Some writers declared that miracles belonged only to ignorant times and refused even to examine the evidence. Others changed the facts, calling Bernadette deceitful and the spring merely a little trickle of water. One newspaper even printed a completely invented story claiming that the whole apparition had been rehearsed beforehand.
Robert said it was strange that men who called themselves enlightened would make up stories instead of searching honestly for the truth. Sister Mary Claire said pride can close a person’s mind before the evidence is ever considered. Father reminded us that refusing to look at the truth does not make the truth disappear.
We ate our wonderful cake afterward. Mini sat beside Robert hoping for a crumb, but chocolate is not good for dogs, so he gave her a little dish of plain whipped cream instead. She seemed perfectly satisfied.
I ended our meeting with a prayer that we might always be humble enough to seek the truth, even when it surprises us. Father LeRoy gave us his blessing, and we folded the blanket and went home very full and happy.
Today was such a pretty summer day that our Reading Club met on the grass near the farmhouse. The willow branches moved softly in the breeze, and everything smelled warm and green after morning Mass. Mini stayed close beside us while we sat on the picnic blanket.
Father LeRoy asked me to read my chapter summary. The Bishop’s inquiry and M. Filhol’s report had taken away every good reason for keeping people from the Grotto. The water was safe, and the Church was carefully studying what had happened.
The officials should have admitted their mistake and removed the barriers, but their pride would not let them.
Sister Mary Claire said pride sometimes makes people hold tightly to what is wrong, even when the truth is plain. Father said it takes humility and courage to say, “I was wrong.”
Afterward, we had chocolate sundaes. Mine had plenty of chocolate syrup and a cherry on top. Mini could not have chocolate, so she had a little dish of vanilla ice cream and seemed perfectly happy with it.
I prayed, “Dear Lord, keep pride out of my heart. Help me to love the truth and humbly admit when I am wrong. Amen.”
Father gave us his blessing, and we stayed beneath the willow a little longer, enjoying the lovely day.
The Reading Club met inside our clubhouse today. It was warm and cheerful, with the window open and the leaves rustling outside. Father LeRoy, Robert, Sister Mary Claire, and I gathered around the table with our books.
Sister brought the most wonderful frosted buns. The frosting was thick and white, and Robert said they looked almost too pretty to eat. Almost! We had them with cold Jersey milk from the little refrigerator.
Father asked me to read my summary of Chapter Ten. It told how Professor Filhol, a respected chemist from Toulouse, carefully examined the water from the spring at Lourdes. His tests showed that it was ordinary, wholesome drinking water and contained no powerful minerals or medicines that could explain the remarkable cures.
Robert said this made the cures even more difficult for the officials to dismiss. Sister Mary Claire explained that honest science had not opposed the truth. Instead, it had removed the false claim that the water itself was some kind of natural medicine. Father said true faith never needs to fear a careful investigation, because truth cannot contradict truth.
Before we left, I thanked God for our little clubhouse, our books, our friends, and for helping us recognize the truth with both our minds and our hearts.
Father LeRoy gave us his blessing, and our meeting was adjourned.
The Reading Club met beneath the apple tree behind St. Mary’s again today. There was just a little coolness in the air that made it seem as though fall might not be so far away.
Robert brought a quart jar of cold Jersey milk, and Father LeRoy surprised us with big nickel Hershey candy bars. What a treat! Mini watched us from beneath the picnic table until Robert filled a little dish with milk for her. She drank every drop.
Then Father asked me to read my chapter summary.
“The Minister of Public Worship wrote to Bishop Laurence after hearing exaggerated stories about Lourdes. He wanted the Bishop to condemn everything without first examining the facts.
“Bishop Laurence answered calmly. He explained that a few children had behaved foolishly near the Grotto, but the trouble had quickly ended. The priests of Lourdes had acted prudently and had not encouraged the pilgrimage.
“The Bishop would not condemn people merely for praying, especially when no disorder had taken place. Since the crowds and reports of cures continued to grow, he appointed a Commission to investigate carefully. His reply was so clear and reasonable that the Minister had no answer.”
Robert said the Minister wanted a decision before knowing the truth.
“That is how injustice often begins,” Sister Mary Claire said.
Father nodded. “Bishop Laurence had the courage to wait for the facts.”
Before we left, Sister said tomorrow’s meeting would be back in the Readers Clubhouse.
“And lunch will be on me,” she added.
We bowed our heads, and I prayed:
“Dear Lord, help us to be patient, truthful, and slow to judge. Bless Bernadette and our Reading Club. Amen.”
Father gave us his blessing, and Mini came out from beneath the table licking the last drop of milk from her nose.
After morning Mass, the weather was so beautiful that our Reading Club met beneath the apple tree. Mini rested beside me while the leaves made dancing shadows across our books.
Father LeRoy asked me to read my chapter summary.
I explained that Bishop Laurence had scarcely issued his order when he received a letter from M. Rouland, the Minister of Public Worship.
The officials had sent greatly exaggerated reports about the false visionaries at Lourdes. No one knew for certain who had encouraged the children, so a careful historian could only tell the known facts and leave the rest for the reader to judge.
M. Jacomet and M. Massy tried to use the foolish visions to distract people from Bernadette, the spring, and the cures. But Abbé Peyramale quickly stopped the false visionaries, and the public was not deceived.
M. Rouland, however, trusted the official reports without examining them carefully. He urged Bishop Laurence to condemn what was happening at Lourdes, even though the Bishop was already studying everything patiently and wisely. It was strange to think that this same Minister would later approve the building of a great church at Massabielle.
Robert said, “He believed the reports because they came from important officials.”
Sister Mary Claire nodded. “Important people can still be mistaken.”
Father said it was a lesson about rumors. “The Bishop waited, listened, and examined the facts. That is always wiser than judging too quickly.”
After our discussion, I prayed:
“Dear Blessed Mother, help us to love the truth and never judge others by rumors. Keep our minds clear, our words kind, and our faith strong. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. Amen.”
Father gave us his blessing, and we closed our books.
Then Sister Mary Claire and Robert hurried to the church basement and returned with a cart piled with Iowa loose-meat sandwiches, potato chips, baked beans, and vanilla pudding with whipped cream.
Robert grinned and said, “Well, it is Sunday dinner, you know.”
We ate beneath the apple tree while Mini watched every bite. Sister finally gave her a little dish of plain hamburger, which she ate very neatly.
It was a beautiful Sunday, Dear Diary—Holy Mass, a good lesson about truth, and Sunday dinner beneath the apple tree.
Father LeRoy surprised our Reading Club today by saying he had an errand to do in Sioux City. He invited Sister Mary Claire, Robert, Mini, and me to ride along, and said we could discuss the chapter in the car.
We followed the Big Sioux River toward the city. Everything was beautiful and green from all the rain. The trees were thick and full, and the river appeared now and then between the branches. As we passed Stone Park, Father slowed down so we could admire the wooded hills.
“Now, Kathy,” Father said, “you may read your chapter summary.”
I opened my notebook.
“Bishop Laurence had waited a long time before speaking officially about Lourdes. After hearing many trustworthy witnesses, he decided the time had come to investigate.
“On July 28, 1858, he appointed a Church commission to study Bernadette’s visions, the spring at the Grotto, and the cures connected with its water. Priests, doctors, and scientists were to examine the evidence carefully and question witnesses.
“The Bishop wanted to know whether the cures and visions could be explained naturally or whether they were truly supernatural. He asked the commission to seek the truth without leaving anything unexamined.”
When I finished, Robert said, “The Bishop was very careful.”
“Yes,” Sister Mary Claire answered. “He did not believe too quickly, but he did not refuse to listen.”
Father said, “Faith has nothing to fear from an honest search for truth.”
Apparently Father had planned more than just an errand. He reached into a little ice chest and brought out granola bars and a quart of cold milk packed carefully in ice. We passed the granola bars around, and Sister poured the milk into paper cups while Father drove.
Mini received a small corner of Robert’s granola bar, although Sister said granola bars were not really made for dogs.
After Father finished his Church errand in Sioux City, he drove us to Riverside Park. He had packed a real picnic without telling us. We sat beneath a shady tree near the river and ate sandwiches, boiled eggs, pickles, apples, and the rest of the cold milk.
The river moved quietly past us, and everything smelled green and clean. Father said it was good for a Reading Club to leave its regular meeting place once in a while, especially when the road itself gave us so much to look at.
Before we left, I read our prayer.
“Dear Blessed Mother, help us to seek the truth patiently and honestly. Keep us from judging too quickly, and teach us to listen with humble hearts. Amen.”
Father blessed us and our journey home. Then we packed the picnic things into the car and followed the Big Sioux River toward Littlemore, with the green trees and fields shining in the afternoon light.
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.
