Get to Know our Miraculous Mother
(the following blog is shared with permission from our friends at the Catholic.Store)
This week we celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes. Before we dive into the history of Lourdes and how it interestingly connects to the United States, we have a fun miracle to share from one of our customers.
“My husband and I have a practice of consecrating our children in the womb to Mary. Shortly after we find out I’m pregnant, we’re off to see our Blessed Mother. We took a trip to Lourdes when I was pregnant with my second and I had the worst nausea - on the plane to Paris, on the train from Paris to Lourdes, embarrassingly even at a nice restaurant when we arrived. When the time came to visit the shrine, I asked my husband if I could rest in the hotel and meet up with him later. He said, 'If Mary heals people at Lourdes, surely she cares about your nausea.' As soon as I dipped into the bath at Lourdes, my nausea went away! We spent the weekend praying for our little one, and what’s even more amazing is it didn’t return for the rest of my pregnancy. I realized that at Lourdes, we find Mary our Mother. She knows what and who we are carrying in our hearts. And she cares about everything we bring to her, no matter how big or how small.”
For over 160 years, Lourdes has been the setting for countless stories of Mary’s miraculous care for her children - some known and others hidden (like the story above).
But, miracles don’t just occur at Lourdes. Mary is interceding for her children everywhere. To help you carry Mary Immaculate with you, we have a lovely Miraculous Medal bracelet and necklace. The miraculous medal is the only holy medal designed by Mary herself, and she promises those who wear it will receive special graces. Order either of these special items today as a constant reminder to turn to Our Mother, for she knows what you are carrying.
Did you know?
In 1800s Europe, enlightenment philosophy had corrupted men into the belief that secular society could self-govern outside the law of God - that reason alone was necessary, not grace. The French Revolution led to the murder of many faithful Catholics. In 1858, Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes proclaiming, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” If Mary is THE Immaculate Conception, we are not. We are still subject to the corruption of sin (including our reason) and in need of grace through the mercy of God. Mary’s Immaculate conception is the closing argument to a widespread philosophical error.
In 1792, a half century before the apparitions at Lourdes, the first bishop of the United States consecrated the nation to Mary, under the title ‘the Immaculate Conception.’ In 1846, the US bishops unanimously voted to make her patroness of the United States. While our country was founded on enlightenment ideals, the bishops had the wisdom to place the success of the American experiment under Mary Immaculate. There is hope for us yet.
Mary Immaculate, pray for us! — Catholic.Store
