150 Years Ago; Forever Lourdes

150 Years Ago...

Bernadette de Soubiroux

was blessed enough 

to be granted 

an august audience 

with the Holy Virgin Lady 

in Lourdes, France... 

Her "spiritual sisters" 

such as her venerable

fellow French countryfolk,

Thérèse de Lisieux, 

(seen in the composite picture above, 

at Bernadette's left) 

and so many others

like these two

are truly in a class

all their own.

The third one of note,

and most modern of the three,

is Lucia Dos Santos

from Fatima, Portugal.

She was granted numerous

audiences with the Luminous Lady,

Mother of Our Saviour,

starting in 1917.

She only passed away in 2003.

Of all the messages that she received,

the most urgent and most pressing

is still so very actual today;

to convert RUSSIA.

Many were those who thought it

out of whack with world events now -

yet, with recent activity,

the European Union's criticism

and American ingerence in

Russian policies

concerning Georgia most notably

- with the prospect of another

COLD WAR looming...

The Fatima urging is VERY actual

indeed.

Lourdes deserves to be celebrated

in this 150th anniversary

And the current pope, 

Benedict XVI,  

delivered a beautiful message 

while in Lourdes and Paris 

for this occasion: 

one that told of the 

supreme liberty 

found in the 

absolute dignity 

of purity. 

Bernadette is a great example 

of just that. 

So is Thérèse. 

And so is Lucia. 

So are a great many other 

"spiritual sisters" 

of lesser renown, too; 

they may have not been 

privy to communicating 

with the Holy Mother 

or with Our Redeemer 

Himself - but they are 

without a shadow of a doubt 

purity incarnated 

in our less-than-perfect

sinful world...  

There are countless more like these -

and all are spiritual sisters of great worth

and above average merit

in the Eyes of Our Lord.

As we recognize Bernadette, once again,

let us have a thought for all the rest too -

including those next-to-no-one 

has ever heard of, 

such as those I make mention of 

here and elsewhere...

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