Mary's Invitation

As we continue to endure this coronavirus pandemic, I think about Our Blessed Mother’s apparitions in Lourdes, France and Fatima, Portugal. Mary’s message from these apparitions is clear. We are invited to pray, particularly the Rosary, and to unite with Our Lord.

For Bernadette of Lourdes who saw Our Lady in 1858 and the three shepherd children of Fatima who saw Our Lady in 1917, there was no hesitation. They accepted Mary’s invitation to pray and to offer up their daily lives, including all that beset them, to God. Truly, they are our role models for what we face now as we contemplate Mary’s invitation.

 Strength of Faith, Hope, and Love

Faith carried the seers through all the days of their lives, especially through their days of physical, emotional, and mental anguish. Even when Mary said to Bernadette, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next,” Bernadette remained steadfast. And Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta willingly accepted when Mary asked: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?”

Through Mary, God chose Bernadette, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta for special tasks. For all of them, the grace of God was their comfort and strength. Although they were blessed, they were not spared pain and suffering; neither was Mary when Our Lady lived upon this earth. Faith gave them hope that never died, enabling them to persevere through their darkest hours.

With Mary to guide them, what Bernadette and the children endured, sacrificed, and accomplished was for the love of God and humanity. Although they did not fully understand all that they experienced in their lives, they understood their purpose. Bolstered with faith and hope, like Mary, their love for God and all people was clear and strong. With that love they prayed and offered themselves to God for the sake of our salvation and the salvation of the world.

The Task Ahead

Through Bernadette we have the healing spring of Lourdes and Mary’s message of penance and redemption. Bernadette who lived with poor health all of her life never benefitted physically from the healing spring. Instead she prayerfully united her life and sufferings with Our Lord’s work of redemption and died at the age of 34.

Through Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta we have a devotion to the Rosary for the forgiveness of sins to save us from the fires of hell and to lead all souls to heaven especially those in most need of Our Lord’s mercy. Although Lucia lived well into her 90s, sharing Mary’s message, Francisco and Jacinta died from the flu pandemic that began in 1917. They prayed many Rosaries, offering up their lives and sufferings to save souls. 

While our immediate task is to recover from the effects of the coronavirus, with Mary to guide us, we can find inspirations from Bernadette, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta to apply to our own lives. Praying in earnest, especially the Rosary, will give us the graces we need for the days to come and should we consider offering up our daily living to God, what we endure, sacrifice, and experience will not be in vain. What we accomplish is yet to be seen, but with faith, hope, and love, may our prayers and offerings bring us all closer to Our Lord. Thanks be to God!