|
A PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES
An Encyclical letter of His Holiness Pius XII during the Centenary Year of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lourdes pilgrimage, which We had the pleasure of making when We went to preside in the name of Our predecessor Pius XI at the Eucharistic and Marian celebrations closing the Jubilee of the Redemption, left in Our soul deep and sweet memories. We are firmly confident that in this jubilee year Our Lady will want to respond again with liberality to the expectations of her children. But We are especially convinced that she urges Us to recall the spiritual lessons of the apparitions and set them upon the path which she so clearly traced for us.
These lessons, the faithful echo of the teachings of the Gospel message, throw particular light on the contrasts which oppose the judgment of God to the vain wisdom of this world. In a society, barely conscious of the ills which assail it, which conceals its miseries and injustices under an outward appearance of bright and carefree prosperity, the Immaculate Virgin, never touched by sin, showed herself to an innocent child.
With maternal compassion she looks upon this world which has been redeemed by the blood of her Divine Son, but in which sin sows so much ruin. And on three occasions she made her urgent appeal: "Penitence, penitence, penitence!" She even appealed for outward manifestations: "Go and kiss the earth in penance for sinners." And to this gesture must be added a prayer: "You must pray to God for sinners." This same injunction was made in the time of John the Baptist, and at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, showing men the way to return to God: "Repent!" And who would dare say that this appeal for the conversion of hearts is not applicable to our times?
But how could the Mother of God come to her children except as the messenger of forgiveness and hope? The water already flows from beneath her feet: "Omnes sitientes, venite ad aquas, et haurietis salutem a Domino." (All ye who thirst, come to the waters and ye shall draw health from the Lord.). At this spring, where gentle Bernadette was the first to go and drink and wash, there will flow away all the miseries of the soul and body. "And I went and washed and I see," the blind of the Gospel and the grateful pilgrim will be able to respond.
But, as it was with the crowds which pressed around Jesus, the healing of physical wounds remains as a gesture of mercy and a sign of that power which the Son of Man has to remit sins. The Virgin invites us to the blessed grotto on behalf of her Divine Son, for the conversion of the heart and in hope of pardon. Will we heed her? In this humble response of man who admits himself to be a sinner there resides the true greatness of this jubilee year.
The Church would have a right to expect great good, if each pilgrim to Lourdes and even all Christians united in heart with the centenary celebrations realized in the first place this action of sanctification within himself "not in word, neither with the tongue, but in deed and in truth." There is everything to invite the Christian to this action of sanctification, for nowhere except, perhaps, at Lourdes does one feel so moved to prayer, to the forgetting of oneself and to charity.
For instance, the sight of the stretcher-bearers and the serene peace of the invalids; of the fraternity which assembles faithful of all origins in one single invocation; the sight of the spontaneity of helping each other and the fervor with which without affectation the pilgrims kneel in front of the grotto. At seeing all these things, the best persons are compelled by the attraction of a life more completely dedicated to the service of God and to their brothers; the less fervent become conscious of their lukewarmness and once again return to the road of prayer; the more hardened and incredulous sinners themselves are often touched by grace, or at least if they are honest, do not remain unmoved by the testimony of this "multitude of believers with only one heart and one soul."
But this experience of a few brief days of pilgrimage does not in itself generally suffice to engrave in indelible letters the appeal of Mary for a genuine spiritual conversion. A return to a regular reception of the sacraments, to the respect of Christian morals in everyday life, and the rallying to the ranks of Catholic Action and to the various institutions recommended by the Church: is it not true that only on these conditions can the great crowds expected to gather at Lourdes in 1958 yield, according to the expectations of the Immaculate Virgin herself, the fruits of salvation so necessary to mankind today?
The world, which in our days offers so many legitimate motives for pride and security, knows also nowadays a terrible temptation to materialism, often denounced by Our predecessors and Ourselves. This materialism is not to be found only in the condemned philosophy which rules the politics and economic life of a segment of humanity. It rages also in the love of money, the ruin of which increases according to the dimensions of modern enterprises, and which unfortunately determines so many decisions which weigh on the life of the people. It expresses itself in the cult of the body, in the excessive search for comforts and the flight from all the austerities of life. It prompts one to despise human life, the life itself which is destroyed before it is able to see the light of day.
It resides in the unrestrained search for pleasure which exhibits itself without modesty and even attempts to seduce souls which are still pure with reading matter and entertainments. It shows itself in the lack of interest of one's brother, in the selfishness which crushes man with injustice and deprives him of his rights, in a word, in that concept of life which regulates all things only in terms of material prosperity and earthly satisfactions. "And I will say to my soul, the rich man said, Soul, thou has many good things laid up for many years; take thy ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Thou fool, this night do they demand thy soul of thee.'" (Lk.12: 19-20)
To a society which in its public life often contests the supreme rights of God, which would conquer the universe at the expense of its soul and has hastened to its own ruin, the Virgin Mother sent out a cry of alarm. Christians of every class and every nation will seek to meet one another in truth and in charity, and to banish misunderstanding and suspicion. The weight of social structures and economic pressures burdening the good will of men is undoubtedly enormous and often paralyzes it.
But if it is true as Our predecessors and We Ourselves have insistently stressed, that the question of man's social and political peace is above all a moral question, no reform can be fruitful, no agreement can be stable without a change and purification of hearts. The Virgin of Lourdes, in this jubilee year, recalls this to all men! And if in this solicitude Mary looks upon certain of her children with special predilection, is it not, beloved sons and venerable brethren, toward the small, the poor and the afflicted whom Jesus loved so much?
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest" she seems to say together with her Divine Son. Go to her, you who are crushed by material misery, defenseless against the hardships of life and the indifference of men. Go to her, you who are in mourning and assailed by moral trials. Go to her, beloved invalids and infirm, you who are truly welcomed and honored at Lourdes as the suffering members of Our Lord. Go to her and receive peace of heart, strength for your daily duty, the joy of sacrifice offered.
The Immaculate Virgin who knows the secret ways of grace in souls and the silent work of the supernatural leaven in this world, knows the great price which God attaches to your sufferings united to those of the Saviour. They can greatly contribute, We have no doubt, to this Christian renewal of society which We implore of God through the powerful intercession of His Mother. May there be added to the prayers of the sick, of the humble, of all the pilgrims to Lourdes, that prayer to Mary that she may also turn her maternal look toward those who are still outside the limits of the only fold, the Church, so that they may come together in unity. May she look upon those who seek and are thirsty for truth, and lead them to the source of living waters.
May she cast her glance upon the immense continents and their vast human areas where Christ is unfortunately so little known, so little loved; and may she obtain for the Church the freedom and joy to be able to respond everywhere, always youthful, holy and apostolic, to the expectations of men.
"Kindly come . . .," said the Virgin to Bernadette.
This discreet invitation which does not compel, which is addressed to the heart, and requests with delicacy a free and generous response, the Mother of God puts forward again to her sons of France and of the world. Christians will not remain deaf to this appeal; they will go to Mary. |