Keeping the Company of the Saints: St. Bernadette Soubirous

 "Every moment that I live I shall spend in loving."
~ St. Bernadette Soubirous ~

The Grotto at Lourdes

The Bells of the Angelus 

The bells of the Angelus, Call us to pray. 

In sweet tones announcing the sacred Ave 

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. 

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.  

An angel of mercy, led Bernadette's feet, 

Where flows the deep torrent, Our Lady to greet. 

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. 

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.  

Immaculate Mary, Our hearts are all thine. 

Protect us, your children, Who kneel at thy shrine. 

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. 

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

The Spring

Several years ago, on the Feast of our Blessed Mother's nativity and the days surrounding it, my husband, Catherine, and I were privileged to visit Lourdes with most of my family and some friends. Prior to thinking about or planning our trip to Lourdes, we learned that I was pregnant and decided that if we had another daughter, we would name her Bernadette. While we were in Lourdes, we read a plaque that shared the date of St. Bernadette's birth and I commented to my husband, "St. Bernadette's birthday is the day after my ultrasound due date."

Catherine at the Grotto

On St. Bernadette's birthday, I went to my doctor for a non-stress test and he told me, "You need to get to the hospital. You're having contractions every two minutes and you're 5 centimeters dilated." I wasn't feeling any pain or discomfort and had no idea that I was in labor. I asked the doctor if I could please call my husband before heading to the hospital. When my husband arrived at the hospital, I said to him, "This is a girl." He asked, "How do you know?" I responded, "Because it is St. Bernadette's birthday and we chose the name Bernadette for a girl." My husband jokingly replied, "Watch the baby be a boy." However, I knew in my heart that our baby was a girl.

Catherine and her daddy at the Grotto

For our daughter's Baptism, her godmother gave her goddaughter Fr. Lawrence Lovasik's Our Lady of Lourdes. Although I had watched The Song of Bernadette many times, I think that this was the first book that I ever read about "our Lady's little servant" and I thoroughly appreciated this children's book.

Some of my family, Bernadette's godmother, and me
outside St. Bernadette's home

As Bernadette grew, I knew that I wanted to teach her more about the patron saint after whom she was named. My parents gave her the video Bernadette: The Princess of Lourdes. My parents-in-law gave Bernadette their old copy of Saint Bernadette (A First Book for Little Catholics) (out of print) by Fr. Gales. I purchased Saint Bernadette Soubirous: And Our Lady of Lourdes by Anne Eileen Heffernan, FSP and Mary Elizabeth Tebo, FSP and the vision book Bernadette: Our Lady's Little Servant by Hertha Pauli. Last February, I read the latter book to all of my children. They all liked listening to and learning from the story. Bernadette expressed an interest in learning more about her patron saint, so I checked Bernadette Speaks: A Life of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Her Own Words by Rene Laurentin out from the library for her. She and her older sister enjoyed this book. We also watched Navis Pictures' film St. Bernadette of Lourdes on either February 11 or 18.

 

In the spring or early summer of this year, I spoke with Fr. Dennis Gordon, FSSP about the Catholic camps that he was hosting. During our conversation, we talked about St. Bernadette and he recommended the book, Saint Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 by Abbe Francois Trochu. I am thankful that he did so.

My children gave me Saint Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 for Christmas. This book gave me a greater appreciation of and love for St. Bernadette, and a great desire to return with my family to Lourdes and to visit Nevers (I became sick previously, so we didn't make it to Nevers). It also impressed on my mind that St. Bernadette didn't become a saint because she saw Our Lady of Lourdes; rather, she became a great saint because she did her best to live her life according to God's will. Only someone who was living their life according to God's will could write:

"O Jesus, keep me under the standard of your Cross... Let the crucifix be not merely before my eyes and on my breast, but in my heart, alive within me! Let me be crucified alive like Him, transformed into Him by the union of the Eucharist, by meditation on His life, on the inmost feelings of His Heart, drawing souls not to myself but to Him, from this high Cross to which His love fastens me alive for ever!"

~ Saint Bernadette Soubirous, pp. 341-342 ~

This month, as in years past, we will be receiving a call from my dad on February 18 (the day that the French celebrate St. Bernadette's feast day), wishing our daughter well on her patron saint's feast day. He is so good about remembering our special days. I wish that I were better about celebrating my children's name days. I am embarrassed to say that we often do nothing beyond mentioning that it is their patron saint's feast day and praying, "St. ____, pray for us" after our grace before meals. Other times, we will also read a book (if available) and/or watch a movie about the patron saint. Occasionally, we will have a special dessert on a name day. We have a special meal for the feast of St. Agnes on January 21 and the feast of St. Patrick on March 17. Hopefully, by being reminded who they are named after and by learning about their patron saints, my children will fall in love with their name saints and be inspired to live their lives according to God's will, embracing their crosses and thanking God for everything.

"...When you realize that God permits a thing,

you do not complain."

~ Saint Bernadette Soubirous, p. 33 ~

St. Bernadette, priez pour nous!

Immaculate Mary

(sung each evening by candlelight in Lourdes)

Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing.

Who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King. 

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria! Ave, Ave, Maria!

In Heaven the blessed thy glory proclaim;

On earth we thy children invoke thy sweet name. 

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria! Ave, Ave, Maria!

Thy name is our power, thy virtues our light,

Thy love is our comfort, thy pleading our might.

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria! Ave, Ave, Maria!

We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,

And bless, Holy Mary, the land of our birth.

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria! Ave, Ave, Maria! 

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!

The Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes (an easier novena prayer) begins tomorrow, February 2, Candlemas (a.k.a. the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and ends on February 10, the day before the Feast of Our Lady Lourdes. We will be praying one of the above novena prayers for our baby who I will be holding in my arms the day after the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

I am joining Meredith at Sweetness and Light for Keeping the Company of the Saints.

I Have a Little Shadow

My Shadow

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

We're Missing Him

and I think that he is missing us, too. Yesterday, when I spoke to Brendan, he asked, "What are you doing at home?" "Does Elizabeth have more teeth?" "Is she saying any new words?"

I also learned that it was Brendan and my sister who suggested that my brother-in-law take Theresa (Brendan's best friend) and his daughter, who is the same age as Theresa, crabbing this weekend. Brendan thinks that Theresa will "have the time of her life" with her uncle and cousin.

They're in Rodrigues

I spoke to Brendan, my dad, and my sister this morning. They arrived safely in Rodrigues. Brendan was very happy to see my dad. They have always had a special bond. After arriving, he helped take my dad's dog, Dot Com, for a walk. He also herded some goats and fed the chickens. I won't be surprised if Brendan tells us that he wants to stay with my dad longer than three weeks, or suggests that we move there.

My sister told me that while they were traveling, Brendan had only slept for three hours. She pointed out that during that time, I had slept for two nights. After speaking with me, he was going to take a shower and go to bed. My sister sent a text message a couple of hours later and let me know that he was sleeping soundly.

The Travelers are in London

Well, the travelers (my older sister and my eldest son) left last night. We are all missing my son's smiling face.

My sister and Brendan called a few minutes ago to say that they had arrived safely in London and were waiting for their connecting flight at Heathrow. My sister shared that Brendan is very excited, wired, and has not stopped moving (he's always had a hard time staying still). She also told me that his bug vacuum was confiscated, as it looked too much like a gun. Oops, I guess we should have packed it in his suitcase. We will hopefully hear from them tonight (tomorrow morning for them) before they take a little plane to see my dad.

Cross-posted here. Brendan asked me to record his visit to my dad there.

Travel Prayers

Please say a prayer for my eldest son (who is still very young) and my eldest sister. They will be leaving in a couple of days to visit my dad for three weeks.

My sister has a "heart of gold" and is always willing to help others. She and my son are the only two going and she has promised to take extra good care of him and my dad. She will be celebrating her wedding anniversary and her birthday while she is away, without her husband and three daughters.

Please pray that they arrive and return safely.

Seafair Clown's Balloons

It was a bear, until I started taking it apart.

Sporting a New Hat

Look at My Balloons

Cousins...Can you guess which one is the clown's son?

We Spent a Few Days at the Ocean

Walking to the Beach

Playing with the Sand

Father and Son

You Found Me

Hiding

Waiting for a Wave

It's Going to Get Me

The Water is all Around Us, Daddy

More to come...maybe.

A Sneak Peek of Our Vacation

Real Deer

Patrick was truly amazed by the deer that we saw this weekend. He exclaimed more than once, "It has eyes!" He was also heard saying, "It has feet and it walks!"

Where's the Camera?

We saw a lot of deer up close this weekend, including a mother deer with two fawns. Our children held their breath, hoping the deer would not be hit, as the mother left a clearing in the trees to lead her two fawns across the street. I wish that I could share some photos, but we left our camera at home.

He Can't Help Himself

We spent the weekend at the ocean, visiting relatives. When we walked into the lobby of the hotel, my husband noticed that one of the computers had an "Out of Order" sign taped on it. I patiently waited for his request. He finally asked this morning, "Would you mind if I fixed their computer for them?" Approximately 20 minutes after my husband left our room, he was back, claiming victory. What can I say? I married a "computer nerd".

The Ocean

Last weekend, we spent a few days at the ocean visiting my in-laws, playing on the beach, and flying our kite. We had a wonderful and relaxing time.

We left for home early on July 4. As we were driving home, our van broke down. My level-headed husband called 911 and a state trooper was dispatched to help us. He told us that since it was the 4th of July we most likely wouldn't be able to have our car towed or fixed until the following day. He then proceeded to drive us, a few at a time, to a restaurant in Elma, Washington. When my husband arrived, he noticed that an auto parts place across the street was open. He went over there and ended up getting our car towed. The tow truck driver took him to a shop that was closed, but the owner happened to be working on his son's car and agreed to fix our van. While all of this was taking place, my children and I were eating at Betty's Kitchen. We finally arrived home at 6:30, after spending several hours at the restaurant. As we ate dinner that night, Brendan said, "This has been a great 4th of July. We got to ride in a state trooper's car and we ate at a restaurant when we weren't even planning on it." Thank you to all of the people in Elma, Washington who made our stay so pleasant and went out of their way to help us. May God bless all of you for your kindness.

Thank You, God!

We spent an enjoyable weekend at the ocean. We arrived on Saturday and after unpacking, we went to visit my parents-in-law. We spent the day at their new house, playing outside when it wasn't raining and enjoying the ocean front view when we were inside. The children liked looking at the "neat" things (Theresa's words). In the evening, they treated us to a delicious dinner at Galway Bay. (Here, I need to diverge a little from my topic to describe the banquet room at the restaurant. In addition, to the Irish pictures, world maps, etc., there was a photo of Blessed Mother Teresa and another one of Pope John Paul II hanging on one of the walls. A picture of Pope John Paul II, with palms tucked behind the picture, hung above one of the doors. A small picture of Pope Benedict XVI hung above the same door. St. Brigid's cross hung above the door to the entrance of the restaurant. It was nice to see a successful business that shared its faith.)

On Sunday, we woke early and went for a walk along the beach. Daddy and the children discovered, what Bernadette quickly named, Sand Dollar Island and the children's imaginations went to work. After our morning stroll, we went to Mass. Following Mass, we ate breakfast with my parents-in-law and then returned to their house. Our two oldest spent the night at their grandparents and we did our best to get a good night's rest back at the condo. Monday morning saw us back on the beach and then at my in-laws, where we said our thank yous and goodbyes.

As my husband drove home, I thought about each of my children and their visit to the beach. I thought about Patrick for whom everything was so new. He enjoyed splashing in the tide pools and touching the sand, but when he picked up some kelp, he immediately dropped it with an emphatic "Yuck!" I thought about his excitement over a dog that he saw and his constant, "Bye, doggy." as we left the beach. I thought about Theresa who didn't remember her last visit to the Pacific Ocean with its roaring waves. She delighted in finding "baby sand dollars" and enjoyed walking through the tide pools. She also took pleasure in singing to and with me, as we strolled along the beach. I thought about Brendan who had counted the days until it was time to go, making himself a fishing pole and telling us about the silver fish and the shark that he hoped to catch. He only knew one way to get to the beach, running. The only time he stopped running was to look at a snail that he or someone else noticed along the path and to pick up a bird's wing. I thought about Bernadette who wanted to find a sand dollar, so that she could study it and was excited to find "millions" of sand dollars. She seemed so happy to be at the ocean once more and let her imagination come to life. I thought about Catherine, who like her sister, was happy to be at the ocean once more. I thought about my little girl who couldn't help digging in the sand and inviting her brothers to do the same.

Thank you, God, for blessing us with a wonderful weekend!