Lourdes Pilgrimage - Day 9
Home Again, Home Again
That was quite a trip; it’s almost hard to believe it’s already done. Kirrily’s friend told her it would be like going through Catholic Boot Camp, and Kirrily agrees! Six masses in six days at six different churches, along with prayers, processions, adorations, meditations…
Throughout the pilgrimage, we were told how blessed and lucky we were to have gotten on the trip at such late notice. The Order of Malta starts selecting malades months in advance, but because of Amelia’s urgent need (and the prompting of April Costigan), we managed to sneak in less than a week ahead. We barely had time to pack!
We met a lot of wonderful people, priests, nuns, dames, knights. Everyone loved Amelia, and how happy she was to be there with them.
I’m glad she was a light to others. She’s always been cheerful, even as a baby.
Nearly everyone said Mary must have a plan for her, or she wouldn’t have gone to Lourdes. We had hoped that plan involved a miraculous cure, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. So now we’re all back at home, ready to get back to our regular lives.
I hope they’ll remember Amelia and continue to pray for her. She’s such a sweet little pea, and none of this seems fair or right. But we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, or even why this is happening to her now. The only answer Job got was, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” I guess we’ll have to humbly accept that answer, as well.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
O Most Holy Mother of my Jesus, you who saw and felt the extreme desolation of your dear Son, help us in our own time of desolation.
And you saints of Heaven who have passed through this trial, have pity on those who are suffering it now and pray that we be given the grace to be faithful until death.
And in a particular way, dear St. Bernadette, we ask for your intercession for the intentions on our heart, that Amelia be cured of her metachromatic leukodystrophy.
St. Bernadette, how great is your humility! After all the attention your received from the apparitions, you referred to yourself as “the broom placed behind the door after it has been used.” You said, “Those who are humble of heart will be glorified. How beautiful the heavenly crown will be for those who are genuinely humble despite outward humiliations, those who follow the humility of the Savior in every way.” Through your physical trials and difficulty learning, the Lord was your strength. Teach me true humility that recognizes that the Lord is the source of my strength.
Jesus, grow in me, in my heart, in my spirit, in my imagination, and in my senses, by your modesty, your purity, your humility, your zeal, and your love. Grow with your grace, your light, your peace. Grow despite my resistance and my pride. Grow as you did at Nazareth before God and before men, for the glory of your Father.