The Song of Bernadette.

 I have been reading the book The Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel.    Franz was a playwright and novelist born at in Austria of Bohemian heritage.   He was a Jew but was raised by a Catholic Governess who used to take him to Mass with her, so Franz, though a Jew, had a great respect for the Catholic Church.   Franz fought as a soldier against Germany in the First World War, and afterwards wrote a book revealing the terrible genocide incident in 1915 committed against the Armenian people.  His writing took off between the wars and he became a person of fame.   At the outbreak of the Second World War he was in Germany and he was reported as dead by the American authorities.    But Franz and his wife were in the South of France trying to escape over the border to Spain and fortunately for the Catholic Church he was told they would find safety in Lourdes.   They went there and Franz learned the beautiful story of the shrine and was captured especially by the story of  Bernadette Soubirous.   He vowed if he got back to America he would sing her song to the world, the wonderful 'Song of Bernadette'.   He soon found himself back in America and put aside everything to write this book.   And because of his reputation the book became a film.    Then the whole world knew of Lourdes and Bernadette and her wonderful humility, but most of all the wonderful love she had for her 'Beautiful Lady'.

Sometimes we are so engrossed in the Marian part of the song that we forget little Bernadette.   Yes, we praise her for being the chosen one, but what did Mary see in Bernadette to choose her.    She suffered from Asthma, she often missed school and was said to be a most ignorant pupil for her age.   She lived a hidden life with her family, and had no great gifts for others to admire.    So if Our Lady wad depending on her to move the Church to build a place of pilgrimage and reveal her message, then in the world's view there were more fitting candidates than Bernadette Soubirous, the girl her schoolfriends laughed at.    But Mary is wiser than the world.   She saw in Bernadette an honesty and goodness which the world could not break.    Bernadette would take the insults and sneers and actually think she was deserving of them, for everyone else was so much better than her.   With this deep humility she would not argue nor complain, and this virtue put her enemies to flight since her replies were always simple and honest.   Bernadette is truly a Saint who practiced humility to an extraordinary degree, and it was her humility that drew people to the shrine.   It was the Lady who showed where the spring was, it was not her, and she could not understand why people could not see this.   If Bernadette had bowed to pride and glory then Mary would not have succeeded in her mission to build a place of pilgrimage for her enemies would have triumphed.    

Another lesson I learned from the book is that Mary is not always in control of events, she depends so much on people showing faith in her.    The Bishop of Tarbes had challenged Mary to prove to him she was behind this by ordering her to remove the barricades set up by the authorities to prevent people partaking of the waters of the spring.   It was the Empress Eugenie who fearing for her sick son sent his governess to Lourdes to bring back the water.    This lady was caught and fined.   She paid her fine and the fines of the others in her situation then asked for the water.   On refusal she revealed her mission came from the Empress herself and the water was given to her.    Eugenie gave it to her son and he recovered.   She then spent three days telling her husband to open the grotto and he eventually gave in, as all good husbands are expected to do.   The Empress used persuasion and free will, and I am sure Mary was delighted. 

One of the early healings at Lourdes which interested me was that of a young girl who had suddenly found she had detached retinas in both eyes and became totally blind.    Her father had consulted many doctors and was on the point of visiting another when he read about Lourdes and the cures there.  He went with his daughter immediately to the grotto, his daughter lifted the water with her hands to her eyes and let out some fierce screaming.    She could see.  A miracle had happened.   There are many miracles at Lourdes, but it is the instant cures like this that are recorded.   A few years ago they were in the sixties, but there are many many more.   My son was one.    He was autistic from a early age and began at about ten to show challenging behaviour, that is he attacked and punched and kicked his brothers and myself.   He did this almost on a daily basis.   He was taken into care and there he did not improve.  Eventually he was put on an 'out of county placement' in Birmingham.     He was unhappy, we were unhappy, but there was nothing else to be done.   I did not want my wife to suffer a nervous breakdown.    When my oldest boy Joseph reached 18 he decided to go to Lourdes.   He went full of petitions for Kevin, and with renewed hope we began our prayers.    I was going to Birmingham on the Saturday to bring back Kevin for a few days.   I said the prayers with the younger boys on the Friday evening and they asked me to let Kevin stay in Birmingham for they were frightened.   I told them that as soon as the bad behaviour started, as in times before, he would be taken straight back.   We finished up praying to Our Lady of Lourdes.   When I collected Kevin the next day, I knew there was something different.   At home there were no tantrums or fighting and I even managed to keep him for a case conference at which one of the boys Brian sat on his knee and said "We love Kevin"    You can say it was coincidence if you did not live through Kevins bad days.    To us it was a miracle.

His special school in Birmingham also reported to us that Kevin suddenly  had gone from 4 serious incidents a day to none during this Lourdes period.

Thank you Mary, and thank you St Bernadette.    Pray for us all.