We woke up in Sioux City this morning, which still feels strange to write.
Father LeRoy’s car needed something fixed, and since there was no reason to hurry home, Bishop Mueller kindly let us stay at his big house near Grandview Park. Father said it was a blessing disguised as a broken automobile, and I think he may be right.
After Holy Mass, we carried our books to Grandview Park. It was the most beautiful place our Reading Club has ever met. The bandshell stood white and grand beyond the flowers, and there were blossoms everywhere, bright as Sunday dresses. Mini settled in the grass like she owned the park, and Shaggycoat found the pond right away. He splashed so happily that Father said even beavers must sometimes give thanks in their own way.
We sat at our table with our books open, and Father asked me to read my chapter summary.
Today’s chapter was about the Prefect, Baron Massy, who came to Lourdes during the Council of Revision. Instead of seeing the faith of the people as something holy and consoling, he treated it like a public nuisance. He gave a speech to the mayors, saying that the Grotto had become an illegal oratory because people had left candles, religious objects, and offerings there.
The Prefect claimed to respect religion, but then ordered the police to remove everything from the Grotto. He also commanded that anyone claiming to see visions should be arrested and taken away for medical treatment. He wanted Bernadette stopped, the Grotto stripped bare, and the people frightened into silence.
The chapter says this happened on May 4, right at the beginning of Mary’s month. That made me sad. It seemed as if the Prefect was trying to begin the Month of Mary by taking away candles from Our Lady’s Grotto.
When I finished, nobody spoke for a moment. The flowers were moving in the breeze, and we could hear Shaggycoat splashing in the pond.
Then Robert said, “It sounds like he was afraid of candles.”
Father smiled a little and said, “Sometimes, Robert, men in power are not afraid of candles. They are afraid of what the candles mean.”
Sister Mary Claire said the poor people at Lourdes were not trying to rebel. They were only praying, leaving little signs of love, and drawing water from a place where God had given them hope.
Father said that faith gives poor people courage, especially when the world gives them very little else. He said that taking away someone’s place of prayer can wound the heart more deeply than people realize.
I looked toward the white bandshell and all the flowers, and I thought about the Grotto at Lourdes. It was not grand like Grandview Park, but Our Lady chose it. That made it beautiful in a way no one could take away.
Before we left, I read our prayer.
Dear Blessed Mother,
help us never to be ashamed of prayer.
Keep our hearts gentle, brave, and faithful,
even when others do not understand.
Teach us to love the little candles,
the quiet places,
and every sign that points us to God.
Amen.
Father made the Sign of the Cross and blessed us.
Then Bishop Mueller came by and said there was nothing pressing back home, and since Father’s car might take another day, we were welcome to stay a little longer. Father looked pleased, Robert looked very pleased, and Shaggycoat looked as if he had already decided the pond was his new parish.
So perhaps we will have another Reading Club meeting in Sioux City tomorrow.
I hope so.
Love,
Kathy
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