The Cure Believes

Dear Diary,

This evening I read more from Our Lady of Lourdes, and the chapter stayed with me very quietly after I closed the book.

Bernadette went again to the Curé of Lourdes, just as the Lady had asked her. She told him, “She wishes a chapel to be erected, and processions to the Grotto to be organized.”

As I read, I could almost see it in my mind. I felt as if I were standing in the doorway with Mini beside me, watching it happen. Bernadette looked so small before the priest’s desk, with her hands folded and her face lifted up to him. But the message she carried was not small at all. It was from Heaven.

Mini seemed to be watching too, as if she knew we had stepped into something holy. I stayed quiet in my imagining, because it did not feel like a place for whispering or asking questions. It felt like a place where a little girl was obeying Our Lady, and a priest was beginning to understand.

This time the Curé did not ask for more proof. The spring had already come from the ground, and cures had begun, and God had placed His own signs beside Bernadette’s words. The Curé believed her. He still did not know the Lady’s name, but his heart seemed to know. I liked that very much. Sometimes a holy thing is known before it is spoken.

It made me think of Father LeRoy. Once, after Mass, he said that St. Bernadette did not make herself important, even when Heaven had chosen her. He said she only carried the message and left the rest to God.

“That is why she is so safe to follow,” Father LeRoy said. “She points away from herself.”

I thought of that while imagining Bernadette in the Curé’s room. She did not push or argue. She only came because she had been sent. And even when the Curé believed, he was still careful. He told her that what she asked did not depend on him, but on the Bishop. He would go and tell him.

Sister Mary Claire said true faith is not noisy or hurried. It can be very strong and still wait patiently. I thought of Bernadette, the Curé, and Father LeRoy all at once. Each one had to listen, obey, and trust God’s time.

Tonight, I keep thinking of the chapel Our Lady asked for, and of the processions to the Grotto. A little girl brought the message, a priest believed, and Heaven began to gather people there.

Evening Prayer

Dear Jesus, help me to listen when You speak quietly. Help me to be humble like Bernadette, careful like the Curé, and faithful like Father LeRoy teaches us to be. Let me carry whatever little message You give me without pride, and leave the rest in Your hands.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Resolution: Tomorrow I will try to obey quietly and not make myself important.