On February 11, the Roman Catholic Church honors Mary as Our Lady of Lourdes in the form of optional memorial feast. It is because February 11, 1858, was the first in the series of Marian apparitions, totaling 18 times, until July 16 of that year, in Lourdes, France. The apparitions were made solely to Bernadette Soubirous, then 14-year-old peasant girl, who was later canonized on the feast day of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), 1933.
So, what is the significance of this series of
Marian apparitions to St. Bernadette, from February 11 to July 16, 1858, in
Lourdes?
Speaking of Lourdes, what comes to our mind first is
the medically verified healing effects of the spring water in Lourdes. But, did
Mary appear 18 times to St. Bernadette to bring up the spring of healing water?
The Marian apparitions to Bernadette cannot be reduced to the spring. In fact, Mary
appeared to her to call for conversion of our hearts from sinfulness to purity
through penance. And, to remind this, she also expressed her desire to build
her shrine. Mary chose St. Bernadette to serve her for this purpose. Therefore,
we must understand the significance of the spring of Lourdes in the context of
our need of conversion for the purity of hearts. The emerging of the spring of the
healing water in Lourdes is meant for cleansing ourselves for purity by washing
off our sinfulness to be drawn closer to God for those who are humble enough to
submit themselves to God’s care (James 4:6-8; cf. 2 Chronicles 7:14). And, St.
Bernadette, for her humility, is a good example for this. So, Mary told
Bernadette, “Drink from the fountain and
bathe in it”, upon pointing her attention to the ground where the spring to
be found underneath. And, Bernadette said to those who came to the spring, “One must have faith, one must pray: this
water would have no virtue without faith!”, emphasizing the importance of
faith, reflecting Jesus’ words on faith and healing (i.e. Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke
7:50).
The Gospel Reading for the 4th Sunday in
Ordinary Time, B, (Mark 1:29-39) is about Jesus’ healing not only Simon
(Peter)’s mother-in-law but many in the town of Capernaum. And the Gospel
Reading for the 5th Sunday (Mark 1:40-45) depicts how Jesus healed a
leper. So, this year (2021, Cycle B), the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, as well
as, the World Day of the Sick, is observed between Sundays with the Gospel
readings on Jesus’ healing ministry.
In reflecting the First Reading (Isaiah 66:10-14c)
and the Gospel Reading (John 2:1-11), a common theme across these readings is
water. In the first reading, it is the flowing water in the river of peace
(Isaiah 66:12), while it is the water in six jars to be turned into wine at the
wedding reception (John 2:6-10). While the stream of peace (Isaiah 66:12) may
point to the stream in Ezekiel 47:1 and Zechariah 14:18 in the context of the
post-exilic restoration of Jerusalem, it may further lead to the stream in the
ultimate New Jerusalem upon the consummation of Christ’s mission at the eschaton (Revelation 7:17; 22:1) in the
context of the new creation and the completion of the Kingdom of God. Then, what
leads us to benefit from the river steaming the water of life from Christ and
his throne in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1), the capitol of his Kingdom
is the water that Christ gives. Remember, Christ is the reservoir of
life-giving water (John 4:14; 7:38), and the water of life flows from Christ is
also the Holy Spirit upon his glorification through his Resurrection and Ascension
(John 7:38). The motif of Jesus the Christ as the source of this life-giving
water is discerned from the Gospel Reading (John 2:1-11).
The Gospel Reading for the optional memorial feast
of Our Lady of Lourdes (John 2:1-11) calls us remember that Mary would not have
been known as Our Lady of Lourdes unless her Son, Jesus, were not Christ, the
Son of the Most High – unless he was the 7th water jar.
Jesus, the 7th jar? What does it mean? –
you may ask. And why seven?, you may ask.
First, allow me to explain why seven – why there had
to be 7 water jars, though there were only 6 jars written in the Gospel Reading
(John 2:1-11).
To simply put, the number 7 has a symbolic
indication for completion, as well as, completeness, in the Jewish thinking. Perhaps,
this concept reflects God’ blessing of the completion of His Creation on the 7th
day as Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3). So, John describes seven miraculous signs that
Jesus performed in his Gospel: Transforming water into wine at the marriage banquet in Cana (2:1-11); Healing the royal official’s
son in Capernaum (4:46-54) ; Healing of a disabled man at the Bethesda pool in
Jerusalem (5:1-18); Feeding the five thousand our of two five loaves of bread
and two fish by the Sea of Galilee (6:1-15); Walking on the surface water of
the Sea of Galilee (6:16-21); Healing the man born blind in Jerusalem (9:1-41); Raising Lazarus from the dead in
Bethany (11:1-44).
In the Gospel Reading (John 2:1-11), which is a
well-known narrative of the first sign out of the seven that Jesus performed
during the wedding banquet at Cana. And, there were 6 stone jars to hold the
water for ceremonial cleansing.
While the ceremonial banquet was in progress, Mary
noticed that the wine being served for the quests just ran out and told her
Son, Jesus, about it (John 2:3). At first, he seemed to have felt that it was
not time yet for him to perform a sign (John 2:4), Jesus nevertheless
affirmatively responded to his mother’s concern for the wine being served at
the ceremony.
To prevent the disruption of the flow of serving
wine for the wedding banquet at Cana, Jesus commanded the servers to fill the 6
water jars to the brim and turn the water in these jars into a fresh batch of
fine wine by the time a sample drawn from one of the jars was presented to the
master of the banquet (John 2:6-9). The quality of the new wine transformed out
of the ceremonial cleansing water was much superior to the wine that was served
and ran out (John 2:10).
When the flow of regular wine ran out, the fresh
superior wine began to flow to continue the celebration of the consummation of
the wedding. Therefore, the wedding ceremony was saved from a disruption and
embarrassment thanks to Jesus performing the first miraculous sign (John 2:11)
and thanks to Mary pointing the matter to her Son’s attention (John 2:3).
So, what about the 7th jar? Where was it?
Though it is not written in the Gospel Reading (John
2:1-11), the 7th jar was not missing at the wedding banquet. It
existed there. But, it was not a stone jar like other 6 that were used to save
the banquet. The 7th jar was made with human flesh of Jesus, the
incarnated Christ, the Theos-Logos
incarnate (John 1:1, 14), sitting at the banquet together with his mother,
Mary, and his disciples, as invited guests.
The 7th jar, Jesus, was not used at the time of the wedding
banquet, except for commanding the servants to use the 6 jars to save the
banquet, at the suggestion of his mother, Mary.
Saving the wedding consummation banquet by using 6
jars of ceremonial cleansing water, turning it into the choicest wine, is a
prefiguration to the use of the 7th jar, to be broken on the Cross.
Upon crucifixion, the blood and the water gushed from the body of Jesus the
Christ on the Cross for our salvation (John 19:34; Exodus 12:3-13; Revelation
7:9-17; cf. Diary of St. Faustina, 299) and to make us worthy to be his spouse
at the eschaton (Revelation 19:6-9).
The 7th jar, the source of the salvific blood of the Lamb of God
with water, was saved until the day of Crucifixion for the 8th sign,
to which all the 7 signs that Jesus performed (John 2:1-11; 4:46-54; 5:1-15;
6:5-14; 6:16-24; 9:1-7; 11:1-45) were leading. And, ultimately, the use of the
7th jar is to save the wedding of Christ the Lamb of God to us. That
is why it was not used at the wedding in Cana.
As this 7th jar was already broken open
on the Cross, the salvific blood and water have been gushing and continue to
flow from the body of Jesus the Christ, even today and until parousia, through the Sacrament of the
Holy Eucharist, upon transubstantiation of wine mixed with water, at Mass, in
light of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper in Matthew 26:27-29. Because of the salvific
water mixed with the blood flowing from the 7th jar, in the form of
consecrated wine mixed with water at Mass, the water flowing from the spring of
Lourdes can give us not only cleansing effect but healing effect, as well, to
those who are faithful and humble.
Now, we can see and appreciate the water flowing out
of the spring in Lourdes in connection to the river of life (Revelation 22:1-2)
in juxtaposition to the river of peace (Isaiah 66:16), because of the 7th
jar, the limitless reservoir of the salvific wine mixed with water,
transubstantiated into the very blood and water flowing from the body of Christ
on the Cross.
Remember, Mary continues to work with her Son, Jesus the Christ, who has been incarnated through her unblemished flesh, for she is the Immaculate Conception. The spring of Lourdes, which was brought up for our salvific benefits by Mary, as Our Lady of Lourdes, through St. Bernadette Soubirous, shall lead our attention to the 7th water jar present with Mary during the wedding banquet in Cana, because this jar is the incarnated Christ with his mother, Mary, is the unlimited source of the salvific water and blood, lead us to the river of life in the Kingdom. And, St. Bernadette offered herself with her redemptive suffering as guided by Mary, the mother of Christ, Our Lady of Lourdes, for us to eventually be benefitted from the river of life in the Kingdom. After all, it is all in God's will as Mary remains absolutely obedient to God as His handmaid (Luke 1:38).
demonstrated her redemptive suffering
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