Dieu, Père riche en miséricorde | God, our Father rich in mercy, grant us the vision of the Immaculate Conception
9-day novena from Nov 29-Dec. 8 Feast + Pilgrimage info to Lourdes for Dec 6, 7, 8, 9 and vespers on Dec. 10 at the Basilica of Our Lady of the the Rosary
« Je ne vous oblige pas à me croire ; mais je ne peux que répondre en vous disant ce que j’ai vu et entendu » dit Bernadette à l’abbé Fonteneau le 28 août 1858. |
"I don't force you to believe me; but I can only answer by telling you what I have seen and heard," St. Bernadette said to Father Fonteneau on August 28, 1858.
MUSEUM DESCRIPTION:1 OIL ON CANVAS - MUSEU DEL PRADO, “THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION” by: PETER PAUL REUBENS (1628-1629)
“Wearing a red tunic, blue robes and a crown of stars, the Virgin treads on a serpent carrying the apple of Sin, in keeping with the customary iconography for this Catholic image. By placing Mary over a globe, Rubens made one of his most striking images of the Immaculate Conception. The two angels carrying a palm and a laurel-leaf crown are a classic reference to Mary’s triumph. References to Classical culture were customary in Rubens, and are strengthened here by the choice of a model based on sculptures of Antiquity.”
A CAMINO TO LOURDES…
“A pilgrimage to Lourdes is just one step on the path of life. Our entire existence is a pilgrimage to our Heavenly home. A foretaste of this paradise is already offered to us in shared love, the fruit of God’s merciful heart. He came to us as a tiny baby so that we would not be afraid of him, so that we would not be afraid of each other anymore.
In Lourdes, on 25th March, the Lady said her name to Bernadette:
“I am the Immaculate Conception”.
I am the creature who is completely transparent to the Light: I let the Love of the Saviour who comes to take flesh in me, flow freely. The created and the Creator are one in the womb.” (The Sanctuary at Lourdes)2
THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER [1st Edition]
November 29 | 29 Novembre [EVENING POST, PACIFIC TIME]
Dear Readers and Friends in Jesus Christ:
Thank you for being part of this Rosary Journey as our podcast investigates the why behind our prayers.
In today’s post, we journey briefly to the Sanctuary at Lourdes where the apparitions took place 4 years following the solemn proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception as decreed by Pope Pius IX.
Read our previous post by Rembrandt here:
!["Immaculate Conception" as defined by Pius IX (Bull Ineffabilis) [Musings by: Rembrandt]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bddec63-b1e8-41a6-ac6d-22708f592a7d_2819x1614.png)
Massabielle, France:
The Church recalls on March 25, 1858 an event that took place a dark and damp grotto in Massabielle, France, where Our Lady spoke with Saint Bernadette who asked her questions and was told: "I am the Immaculate Conception" (“Je suis l’Immaculée Conception.”)
For those new to the story of St. Bernadette, here is a classic film worth reviewing to reimagine the story in pictures based on the book by the same title and authored by Franz Werfel:
“THE SONG OF BERNADETTE”: LINK TO VIDEO HERE
FILM IMAGE OF OUR LADY
PREPARATION FOR THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
We invite our readers to consider starting the Novena Day 1: The Immaculate Conception today, Nov. 29th, 2023 for EVENING PRAYER until Day 9, Dec. 8.
LINK TO NOVENA to the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION [LINK IN FOOTNOTES BELOW]3 or follow a novena of choice from your prayer booklets / journals.
Excerpt from online reflections (short citation):
“A Meditation as a Preparation for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.”
by Fr. Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC4
”In the common version of the Hail Mary, we use the phrase "full of grace" to translate the Greekkeichartomene. Unfortunately, this translation - which comes from St. Jerome's Vulgate Latin translation - portrays a rather static view of grace. Some commentators of the Bible prefer to use the words, "you who have been completely transformed by grace." The idea behind such a different translation is based on the following reasons: 1) the Angel Gabriel greets Mary (chaire) and bids her rejoice by that very greeting; 2) typically, we greet someone and then call them by name. If this analogy is drawn out in the scene of the Annunciation, then Mary's name - according to the angel is not her HebrewMiriam- but ratherkeicharetomene, "the one completely transformed by grace."
This word is of key importance because it is the Scriptural evidence for Mary's Immaculate Conception. However, as Catholics, we often focus on the negative element of salvation and redemption: freedom from sin. In the Byzantine tradition, Mary is called "Panhagia" - theAll Holy One. If Mary is freed from sin, this does not mean merely an emptiness. Rather, it signifies a fullness: full of grace, as we so often repeat. However, Mary is not merely filled with something but with someone: grace is the manifestation of the indwelling of the Trinity within the soul.
What does all this mean for us, who desire to honor her Immaculate Conception? Mary is for us the example of someone who has been "completely transformed by grace" - through her relationship with the living God.SEE FOOTNOTES FOR THE FULL ARTICLE / REFLECTION
SANTUAIRE in LOURDES 6-10 DÉCEMBRE, 2023:
2023 is the 90th Anniversary Celebration of Canonization of St. Bernadette
Visiting France?
Consider a side trip to the Santuaire in Lourdes from 6-10 Décembre.
Programme des célébrations, see below:
Watch Live from the Grotto any time of day via this link:
JEUDI 7 DÉCEMBRE, LOURDES, FRANCE
11h15 : messe des pèlerins à la basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire
14h00 : Pas de Bernadette
15h30 : chapelet à la Grotte
20h30 : Procession mariale aux flambeaux avec les reliques de sainte Bernadette, suivie de la vénération des reliques et d’un hommage à sainte Bernadette en présence de la chanteuse Eyma, du spectacle Bernadette de Lourdes – basilique Saint-Pie X
VENDREDI 8 DÉCEMBRE, LOURDES, FRANCE
10h00 : Messe internationale présidée par Mgr Micas, suivie de la procession à la Grotte pour l’Angélus et l’hommage floral à l’Immaculée
14h00 : Parcours des statues de Bernadette (FR)
14h30 : Ode à l’Immaculée, méditation musicale animée par les chantres et les musiciens
du Sanctuaire, à la basilique Notre-Dame du Rosaire
15h30 : Chapelet à la Grotte.
16h15 : « La sainteté de Bernadette » conférence du Père Horacio Brito au centre information (FR).
17h00 : Adoration, bénédiction du Saint-Sacrement : basilique Saint-Pie X
20h30 : Procession mariale aux flambeaux.
See above programme for other details.
Organise a pilgrimage to Lourdes
Are you planning to come to Lourdes with a group? On a pilgrimage? To prepare sacraments? Three or four days, for a spiritual time? With sick, elderly or young people? Whether you are Pilgrimage Directors or Hospitality Presidents, group leaders, catechists, priests, chaplains, travel agencies… welcome!
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a major pilgrimage site which welcomes many young, sick, disabled and vulnerable people. Attentive to their needs and their protection, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has established a charter for the protection of minors and vulnerable people, as well as awareness and information material for pilgrimage organisers.
SEE THIS PAGE FOR DETAILS:
https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/organiser-un-pelerinage-a-lourdes/
USE THE FOLLOWING DIGITAL TOOLKIT TO PRAY IN FRENCH WHEN IN FRANCE:
PRAYER
Lord God,
give to your people the joy
of continual health in mind and body.
With the prayers of the Virgin Mary to help us,
guide us through the sorrows of this life
to eternal happiness in the life to come.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
CONTINUE TO ADVENT CONSECRATION JOURNEY HERE for DAY 9 AS A NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION:
The Rosary Hour Podcast Team
FOOTNOTES
“Un pèlerinage”
“Le pèlerinage à Lourdes n’est qu’une étape sur le chemin de la vie. Notre existence tout entière est un pèlerinage vers la Patrie du Ciel. Un avant-goût du terme nous est déjà offert dans l’amour partagé, fruit de la Miséricorde du cœur de notre Dieu. Il s’est fait tout petit pour que nous n’ayons pas peur de lui, pour que nous n’ayons plus peur les uns des autres.
A Lourdes, le 25 mars, la Dame dit son nom à Bernadette :
« Je suis l’Immaculée Conception. »
Je suis la créature parfaitement transparente à la Lumière : je laisse passer l’Amour du Sauveur qui vient prendre chair en moi. La créature et le Créateur ne font plus qu’un dans le sein de la Femme.”
(Santuaire, Lourdes)
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/immaculate-conception-novena-322 EWTN daily novena can be replaced with Pray More Novenas: https://www.praymorenovenas.com/immaculate-conception-novena. This site sends you a daily reminder to pray the novena.
Consecration Day is December 8.
December 8, 2016: ABOUT: Fr. Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC, is a Marian of the Immaculate Conception in the United States of America. The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a fraternal community of consecrated life in the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to the devotion to Mary Immaculate, praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and service to the Church. The Marian Fathers have also be entrusted with spreading the Message and Devotion to the Divine Mercy.
SOURCE WITH FULL TEXT HERE:
https://marian.org/confraternity/meditation/solemnity-immaculate-conception-2016:
“Being Immaculate meant that Mary never left this relationship with the living God. She did nothing "special" to gain God's favor. She rather received God's favor when it was given, for she knew that she had done nothing to merit such favor. Let us, too, then live in God's favor - bestowed upon us in Baptism through no merit of our own. Let us never leave this relationship with the living God, so that through all the ordinary events of life, we too may be made immaculate - we too may be "completely transformed by grace."
