Several years ago, I accompanied a small group of pilgrims to Lourdes. I must confess I am not as a rule a "shrine go-er." I didn’t really look forward to the trip at all. In fact I was, I suppose, a reluctant pilgrim. But I felt it was my duty, so I went.

One of the highlights of any pilgrimage to Lourdes was the "baths." The water for the baths comes directly from the spring dug by Bernadette with her bare hands. It flows into stone tubs or troughs. Mary’s instructions were: "Go and drink from this spring and wash yourself there."

We had to wait almost two hours. Lourdes is high up in the Pyrenees Mountains and on this particular morning a chill wind blew snowflakes at us from across the stream that flows past the Grotto. It was there Our Lady appeared to the humble peasant girl, Bernadette, on eighteen occasions.

By the time one of the volunteers waved us into the stone room with its wet floors, I was trembling from the cold; so were the others. We were directed behind some curtains that shielded the room from public view. I saw a stone trough and about three steps leading down to the water. I thought, "How on earth am I ever going to get into It!" But there was no turning back!

We were asked to take off our clothes and hang them on a hook. We did, all but our shorts. Then, I was directed behind a curtain. I removed my shorts, and a man took a dark blue cloth that had been soaking in the spring water and wrapped it around by waist. Literally, it took my breath away. I gasped! I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. Then, I was led to the steps above the trough. There was one man on either side of me. They guided me down two steps. The water was up to my knees. I didn’t want to make a sound, but I kept gasping. I couldn’t catch my breath. To my embarrassment, I was trembling from head to foot.

The man on my left spoke English. He was so gentle and so understanding! His words of consolation and healing made the numbness in my legs almost bearable. They helped me down the last step and walked me to the end of the trough; the water was about hip high.

The man on my left asked, "What prayer would you like to say?" I told him, "The Hail Mary." We said it together, very slowly. Then, he whispered in my ear, "Now, pray the prayer you say every day during Mass when you wash your hands. Do you remember? ‘Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sin’"? I prayed it slowly, quietly, trembling at every word.

Then, very softly, he said, "Sit down." I did, and they tipped me backward until I was totally immersed. They helped me up. One gave me a little statue of Mary to kiss. The other poured me a small cup of fresh, clear water from the spring to drink.

There were no towels, so I dressed as quickly as I could. As I was leaving, the man who had been on my left took my hand and smiled. What a gift he had given me! Much later I remembered wondering: How did he know I was a priest.

Each of us "bathed" in the waters all three days that we were in Lourdes. Each time was a baptismal moment of healing and cleansing.

Our Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858, as "The Immaculate Conception." Since that time, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have journeyed to Lourdes, begging Mary’s merciful intercession.

Padre Pio never went there (so far as we know). But our spiritual father and friend was one of Mary’s most devoted sons. "I revere the mystery of your Immaculate Conception," he wrote, "and I ardently wish that through it, you may purify my heart so that I may love your God and my God. Pour into my heart the love that burned in yours for Him." We, too, will pray, as Padre
Pio did, that all our hearts will be open to the love of God.

When I returned from Lourdes to the United States, as I celebrated Mass, I came to the moment of washing my hands, "Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sin," I stopped. In a flash of insight, I knew I had met Christ in Lourdes. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was He who led me into the cleansing water and who prayed The Hail Mary with me. When it was
over, Our Lord smiled at me and took my hand. It was Christ within that gentle volunteer giving me consolation and peace and healing.

I know that each one of us had a spiritual healing of Our Risen Lord, an awesome gift.

I am sure if we sit down and think about the gifts that Jesus has given to us, we all will have our own special story. The same way that when we send our contributions to those in need, we work through Jesus and it is because of  your generosity that we are able to do this. We can help so many of His children. The same way that volunteer took my hand, we can touch someone’s hand, someone’s life. Please help us to continue our works of mercy for those who are so special in His eyes and the eyes of Padre Pio.

God love you,
Fr. Robert McQueeney, Spiritual Director