“In the evening when you go to sleep, hold your beads, doze off reciting them, do like those babies who go to sleep mumbling, ‘Mamma! Mamma!'” St. Bernadette Soubirous (b. 1844- d. 1879)
The advice, in the above quote, from St. Bernadette might sound silly to sophisticated ears, but so be it. The little saint of Lourdes was simply stating a spiritual truth: the truth that Our Lady is our Mother, and it is good, and right, to place ourselves into her care, as Our Lord did.
St. Bernadette was a saintly girl who was graced with seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Here is a bit of her story:
At age 14, the poverty-stricken, asthmatic Bernadette Soubirous saw a vision of a beautiful Lady in a grotto on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes, France. Though Bernadette was despised, disbelieved, and harrassed by local French authorities, crowds began to gather when news spread and when she wouldn’t recant the story of her vision.
On 25 February, Bernadette was told to dig in the earth, which she did to much mockery, but there, the healing waters of the now-famous Lourdes shrine were discovered where the Lady had appeared, and on 25 March, the Lady of the vision announced that she was the Immaculate Conception and that a church should be built at the site. Bernadette became a nun at Nevers, France and, suffering much from physical ailments, died young. Her body remains incorrupt at her convent to this day. St. Bernadette’s story can be seen in the 1943 movie, The Song of Bernadette, starring Jennifer Jones, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Saint. source
Our Lady identified herself to St. Bernadette as The Immaculate Conception, a title which sums up everything about who Our Lady is (more reading on this may be found, here).
St. Bernadette, model of childlike trust, pray for us.
May you have a beautiful day, and weekend,
•SCF
Image, St. Bernadette Soubirous, source