Sing4Him
September 19th, 2008, 10:58 AM
Thousands of sick flock to Lourdes to see pope, pray to Mary
By John Thavis
Posted: 9/19/2008
LOURDES, France (CNS) -- From an altar ringed with wheelchairs and stretchers, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged thousands of sick people at Lourdes to seek solace in Mary's smile and maternal love.
Their devotion to Mary at a time of need is not "pious infantilism" but a sign of the highest spiritual maturity, the pope said Sept. 15.
It was the pontiff's last day in France and he dedicated it to the ill and infirm, who packed Rosary Square at the Marian sanctuaries in the Pyrenees town of Lourdes.
The pope administered the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to 10 people during the liturgy. Addressing each by name, he gently anointed their foreheads and hands with oil and invoked the mercy of the Lord.
The group receiving the sacrament included men and women, young and old, who met for the first time before the liturgy. As the youngest among them, a German girl, sat waiting for the Mass to begin, an elderly French nun in a wheelchair next to her reached out and held her hand.
Behind them stretched hundreds of the distinctive covered blue wheelchairs used to transport many of the sick at Lourdes. Most were there for the pope, but all had come to pray to Mary.
"I get a great feeling of well-being here. I'm in touch with God through Mary, right here in Lourdes," said Frank Nelson, a 72-year-old Irishman, who has been coming to the sanctuary since 1948.
Seated in a wheelchair next to others in his pilgrim group, he added that he also has come for "some healing," after undergoing two hip operations, stomach surgery and treatment for prostate cancer.
In his sermon, the pope said devotion to Mary can help break the isolation of suffering. Far from being an act of "outmoded sentimentality," he said, turning to Mary demonstrates that people "know precisely how to acknowledge their weakness and their poverty before God."
He recalled that St. Bernadette Soubirous, who experienced visions of Mary 150 years ago in Lourdes, first noticed Mary's smile. This smile remains a source of hope for many who endure illness and distress, he said.
http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=6875
By John Thavis
Posted: 9/19/2008
LOURDES, France (CNS) -- From an altar ringed with wheelchairs and stretchers, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged thousands of sick people at Lourdes to seek solace in Mary's smile and maternal love.
Their devotion to Mary at a time of need is not "pious infantilism" but a sign of the highest spiritual maturity, the pope said Sept. 15.
It was the pontiff's last day in France and he dedicated it to the ill and infirm, who packed Rosary Square at the Marian sanctuaries in the Pyrenees town of Lourdes.
The pope administered the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to 10 people during the liturgy. Addressing each by name, he gently anointed their foreheads and hands with oil and invoked the mercy of the Lord.
The group receiving the sacrament included men and women, young and old, who met for the first time before the liturgy. As the youngest among them, a German girl, sat waiting for the Mass to begin, an elderly French nun in a wheelchair next to her reached out and held her hand.
Behind them stretched hundreds of the distinctive covered blue wheelchairs used to transport many of the sick at Lourdes. Most were there for the pope, but all had come to pray to Mary.
"I get a great feeling of well-being here. I'm in touch with God through Mary, right here in Lourdes," said Frank Nelson, a 72-year-old Irishman, who has been coming to the sanctuary since 1948.
Seated in a wheelchair next to others in his pilgrim group, he added that he also has come for "some healing," after undergoing two hip operations, stomach surgery and treatment for prostate cancer.
In his sermon, the pope said devotion to Mary can help break the isolation of suffering. Far from being an act of "outmoded sentimentality," he said, turning to Mary demonstrates that people "know precisely how to acknowledge their weakness and their poverty before God."
He recalled that St. Bernadette Soubirous, who experienced visions of Mary 150 years ago in Lourdes, first noticed Mary's smile. This smile remains a source of hope for many who endure illness and distress, he said.
http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=6875