Father LeRoy kept his word today!
After Mass he called, “Everyone into the car,” and there sat his newest treasure—not a new car at all, but a beautifully kept 1936 Hudson.
Robert rode up front with Father while Sister Mary Claire, Mini, and I settled into the back. Soon we were rolling through the Iowa countryside with the windows open.
Father finally handed me a sign stating our destination.
Pilot Rock!
It stood on the farm of an old friend of his. Father seemed to know half the countryside through people he had met at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
When we arrived, I could hardly believe the size of the rock. We spread our blanket on its shady side where the great stone helped keep us cool.
Mini carefully inspected everything before settling beside me.
Sister explained that Pilot Rock was a glacial erratic, carried here by ancient ice and left behind when the glacier melted.
“So the glacier disappeared, but the rock stayed,” I said.
Father smiled. “That fits Kathy’s chapter very well.”
So I opened my notebook and began.
My Chapter Summary
Hundreds of cures had been reported at Lourdes, but the Church did not simply call them all miracles.
The Episcopal Commission carefully investigated thirty cases. They rejected cures that happened gradually, those involving medical treatment, and even remarkable spiritual conversions because such things could not be proved publicly.
The physical cures were divided into three groups. Some could have natural explanations. Others seemed probably supernatural, but the Commissioners remained cautious.
Only fifteen cures were finally judged unmistakably miraculous.
The doctors noticed that many completely different illnesses had been suddenly cured after using the same simple water from the Grotto. Yet scientific examination showed that the water itself had no special medicinal properties.
Bishop Laurence became convinced, but even then he waited.
Three years.
Then the cures were examined again. The people remained well, the witnesses stood by their testimony, and the facts had survived the test of time.
Only then was the Bishop ready to give his solemn judgment.
I closed my notebook and looked up at Pilot Rock.
“I think I understand,” I said. “This rock has survived rain, snow, wind, and years and years of time.”
“And Bishop Laurence wanted the truth to survive time too,” Sister said.
Father nodded. “He was not slow because he lacked faith. He was careful because the truth mattered.”
Then Sister announced lunch.
She brought out a beautiful peach pie, a jar of heavy cream, and cold milk.
The cream ran over the peaches and crust, and it was wonderful.
I told Father that peach pie was one thing I thought could be approved without a three-year investigation.
He laughed.
“I would still advise caution, Kathy.”
Mini sat beside me wearing her most hopeful expression until she received a little treat of her own.
Before leaving, Father asked us to bow our heads.
I prayed:
Dear Blessed Mother, help me to love the truth and to be patient when answers take time. Keep my faith strong and lead me always closer to Jesus. Amen.
Father gave us his blessing, and we packed everything back into the old Nash.
Mini jumped in first.
As we drove away, I looked back at Pilot Rock.
The glacier was gone.
The rock remained.
Three years had passed.
The cures remained.
Maybe that was the lesson of today.
Truth does not have to fear the test of time.
Good night, Dear Diary.
Love, Kathy
No comments:
Post a Comment