I have traveled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, with the men and women of the Order of Malta and about 60 individuals with various health conditions who have come to Southern France to seek Mary’s intercession as well as wash and drink of the healing waters of this renowned Catholic haven of mercy.
At the end of a long day, filled with wonderful moments of grace, I offered the Mass in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary for the many pilgrims from the United States. Following is the homily I presented to those gathered.
The homily was based on the readings for the Mass of Virgin Mary, Fountain of Salvation. The first reading presented the Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of water from the temple of Jerusalem (Ez. 47:1-12). The gospel reading presented Jesus, speaking the temple, inviting all those who thirst to come to him (Jn. 7:37-39).
Recently, I was returning from a confirmation at Sacred Heart Parish in Alturas, a remote high desert town in Northeastern California. The route returning to Sacramento took my driver and I through Reno, Nevada, back over the mountains into the Sacramento Valley.
Many years of drought have been answered by a prolonged, unrelenting litany of storms washing over the state. The long, cold, tempestuous winter plummeted the mountains with snow. Now, the warm rays of the spring have turned-on nature’s spigot. Sheens of water could be seen seeping from rocks. These tiny trinkets found one another, forming little channels, that became brooks, which found their way to rising rivers rushing through granite gorges and flowing down into the fields and orchards thirsty for their fluid treasure.
After the worryingly long drought, the dramatic resurgence of water is a Genesis moment offering a divine renewal of all creation. There is a spirit of life that only water can give. By its very nature water, especially rushing water, seems so sacramental. The playful, noisy torrent cascading down from the mountains awakens us to the prophetic beauty of Ezekiel’s words.
Jesus’ words in the gospel echoed the same prophetic exuberance. He was standing in the temple of Jerusalem when he spoke. Approaching the moment of his passion, Jesus exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.” From the temple of his own body, anguishing on the cross, would flow tumbling torrents of mercy over all humanity.
To the waters of this amazing mercy, we have come. We stand along the river Gave to be soothed by her soft lullaby. In its tender murmur the Lady, Our Lady of Lourdes, the Fountain of Salvation, whispers to us the words she spoke to the servants long ago at the wedding feast of Cana, “Do whatever he tells you.” Her tender hands urge us to the waters where the healing hands of her Son stir them with life: “Do whatever he tells you.”
Jesus beckons us to his temple, the temple of his body. “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink” because ‘rivers of living water’ will flow from within you, the waters of my grace, the cleansing waters of divine mercy.”
At Cana, Jesus instructed the servants to fill the large stone jars with water. He instructs us to do the same. We must fill the stoney vessels of our hearts with his living water. We must fill them to the brim. Here, the living water of Jesus will change our hearts. His water will seep into the rocky crevices of our conscience and the brittle barren soil of our souls so that new life may bloom and blossom.
Softened by his grace, the Lord Jesus will mold us into the temple of his Eucharistic body. As Mary’s body became the sacred tabernacle of the Lord, Jesus will now make us part of the sacred temple of his body. In the blessed days before us, heeding Mary’s maternal counsel, we will become what we receive. We will become part of the Body of Christ. With Jesus as the capstone, we will become part of the one temple from where his grace will flow in us. May his grace also flow through us to others.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux has wise counsel for us as we contemplate the convergence of holy temples and flowing waters that surround us in the Blessed Domain of Lourdes. The Mellifluous Doctor recommends that instead of being channels of God’s grace, we should be reservoirs of God’s grace. He counsels allowing ourselves to be filled with the living waters of the Lord’s mercy. Then divine charity overflows from us to others.
Let the Lord Jesus fill us with his wisdom and mercy as he once so filled the soul of the young virgin of Nazareth she exclaimed to her cousin, Elizabeth, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” This evangelical joy flowed from a heart full of the power of the Most High. The surging waters of life of which Ezekiel prophesied, was enjoyed by Mary and she shared her joy with Elizabeth and continues to share her joy with us.
Mary shared in her son’s divine joy. In her womb, she shared our human nature with her son so that the amazing joy of the divine word could fill and overflow in our humanity. Inspired by Our Lady’s humble generosity, bring your humanity to the Lord. We are the earthen vessels the Lord wishes to fill with his wisdom and mercy so that we can be his temple, a sacred reservoir filled to the brim with divine delight. Bring your worries and woes, your aches and anxieties. Let us together come before the Lord Jesus with our lowliness so that he may bless us with the flowing stream of water and blood that pour forth from the wondrous, wounded temple of his crucified body.
In this Eucharist, Jesus brings us close to his sorrowful passion so that he can transform our own suffering. We become what we receive. We become part of the one temple of Christ’s body making an acceptable offering to the Father. His voice echoes in the prayers we offer to the Father during these days. Our voice resonates with the Lord’s pleading and petitions from the cross. His voice was heard because of his obedience. We are heard because Christ humbled himself to become one body, one prayer, one voice with us. He humbled himself for us. The Father hears us because he recognizes the voice of his son. The Spirit of the Father will lift us up as he lifted up the son.
Trusting in the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Fountain of Salvation, we ask that the rivers of living water will fill us to the brim and overflow in the joy and charity of Christ.
Read more from Lourdes: First Dispatch - Second Dispatch - Third Dispatch - Fourth Dispatch - Fifth Dispatch