I had the opportunity to go to Lourdes twice. My first time was in November of 2004 when I had the opportunity to preside and preach at the Mass in the Grotto. I was also able to go into the water (bath) that still flows today from the spring that Bernadette had dug at Our Lady's request. I also visited the convent in Nevers where she lived and died and her body is incorrupt.
 The incredible recovery of a French man, who walked the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route in Spain after being cured of a paralysed left leg following a trip to Lourdes is being examined as a possible 68th miracle of the shrine. Serge Francois, a TV repair worker said he felt a warm glow spread down his herniated leg during a visit to Lourdes in 2002. After having prayed at the Lourdes Grotto (above) Mr Francois reported the healing to the international Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL) and 20 doctors have agreed on the remarkable nature of the healing. “In the name of the Church, I publicly recognise the ‘remarkable’ character of the healing from which Serge Francois benefited at Lourdes on April 12, 2002,” said Bishop Emmanuel Delmas of Angers in western France, where Francois lives. “This healing can be considered a personal gift from God to man, as an event of grace, as a sign of Christ the Saviour.” Bishop Delmas said Mr Francois’ case would now be examined further before it is officially recorded as the 68th miracle of Lourdes. He said that because of advances in medical science it was becoming increasingly difficult to officially class a remarkable healing as a miracle. PARIS — Thousands of people, many disabled or ailing, were evacuated Sunday from the shrine at Lourdes in southern France after a bomb threat on the Catholic holy day of Assumption. Some 30,000 pilgrims were at the site in the foothills of the Pyrenees late morning when Lourdes police received a threat saying a bomb would hit the site Sunday afternoon, said shrine spokesman Pierre Adias. Police ordered everyone evacuated, and explosives experts were sent to scour the area. The pilgrims were told to leave just as the midday Mass was meant to begin. "The shrine is currently empty," Adias told The Associated Press by telephone. No other information was immediately available about the source or nature of the threat. Live coverage of Sunday's services on the website of TV Lourdes was not available, for reasons "independent of our will," according to a message on its home page. The Aug. 15 holiday sees a particularly large influx of pilgrims at Lourdes, reputed for its healing powers. Some pilgrims came to this year's ceremonies in wheelchairs, others supported by loved ones, in images shown on French television. Assumption marks the heavenly assumption of the Virgin Mary, and is a public holiday in France and several other countries. The Roman Catholic shrine at Lourdes has a special meaning for the suffering, many of whom believe that its spring water has the power to heal and even work miracles. The sick bathe in pools of the cool water and take it home in plastic jugs and vials in the shape of the Virgin Mary. Thousands of people have claimed to be cured there, and the Roman Catholic church has officially recognized 67 incidents of miraculous healing linked to Lourdes. Pope Benedict XVI came to Lourdes in 2008, marking the 150th anniversary of visions of the Virgin Mary to a Lourdes peasant girl, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, who was later made a saint. | Let us not close our hearts, let us not lose confidence,
let us never give up: there are no situations which God cannot change. Pope Francis 
"God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have a mission; I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons; He has not created me for naught. I shall do good—I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of peace while not intending it if I do but keep his commandments. Therefore, I will trust him." Blessed John Cardinal Newmann
ObamaCare violates our religious liberty; Planned Parenthood takes our taxpayer dollars for its abortion business; and atheists are removing Christianity from America. Get your armour on for this satanic battle is here in our backyard.
Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth through me. Fill me with Your life and Your grace, that my soul may be sanctified. Increase in me the gift of holy wisdom, that I may use wisely the gifts You have given me. Increase in me the gift of understanding, that I may hear and respond to Your call. Increase in me the gift of Your good counsel, that I may always follow God's will. Increase in me the gift of knowledge, that I may grow in holiness by knowing God and myself more fully. Increase in me the gift of love, that I may serve as Christ's hands and feet and voice sharing Your love with everyone I meet today. Come, Holy Spirit! Renew the face of the earth through me! Amen.  Consecrate Yourself to Mary
Using the Consecration Prayer of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort I, (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose you this day for my Mother and Queen. I deliver and consecrate to you, as your slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to you the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity.  
 AuthorFr. Neil Buchlein, Pastor  Mass in St. James Ivan and Fr. Neil at Blue Cross  Find a Catholic Church: http://masstimes.org/  Pray, Pray, Pray by Paddy Kelly (Br. John Paul Mary)
The world is like a river of which we drink
but our sins pollute the water And now the river is flooded so we must build and ark of faith and trust in divine providence I was in a room of darkness it wasn't enough to open the window for air I had to unlock the door so I searched for the key and what I found was Our Lady of Medugorje saying to: Chorus: Pray, pray pray pray, pray pray pray, for a happier day, oh come on and pray, pray pray pray, pray pray pray, and the Lord will show you the way. Me and my brothers and sisters we were struggling between heaven and hell We found it hard to understand how we got sunk into a spiral of negative and demonic spells So we went on a pilgrimage searching for healing at the heavenly wells We came across a wise man telling us children it's very simple, conversion, mass the sacraments and Chorus Oh we've got to pray, pray pray pray, pray pray pray for a happier day Need a childlike faith to enter into heaven 'til the harvesters come don't be afraid We all have our crosses to carry if we carry them humbly there's no need to worry If we forgive we'll be forgiven then our purified hearts will feel the presence of God's eternal love burn inside I ain't no religious expert but I don't have to be to know that God ain't illusion I'm testifying what I witness 'cause a faith without acts is a dead faith that's why I wrote this song so we can Chorus Oh we've got to pray, pray pray pray, pray pray pray for a happier day Pray pray pray for a happier day Got to pray for a better day Pray pray pray for a happier day Got to pray for a better day Pray pray pray for a happier day Got to pray for a better day Pray pray pray for a happier day Got to pray for a better day Pray pray pray for a happier day The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen. We seek to do as best we can in everything that is expected of us in order to become holy. The most important thing is to draw near to God by living for him; everything else is secondary.
- Blessed Josaphat Chichkov (1919 - 1952), Priest  ArchivesMay 2013  Favorite Links:
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