In the town of Lourdes, France, in the year 1858, there was a town dump named Massabielle, a name which means Big Rock. The large rock overhang towered above the area where townspeople left their trash. It was in this dank area that the Blessed Mother Mary appeared to young Bernadette Soubirous. After one of these apparitions, Our Lady of Lourdes directed St. Bernadette to dig in the dirt. A trickle of water appeared in that literal "wasteland" (see Ez 47:1-2). That small trickle in the wasteland soon became a flow of miraculous healing water which has touched the entire world (cf Ez 47:8-9).
The trickling of the waters of Lourdes resembles the trickle of water from the temple into the harsh wasteland of the desert (Ez 47:1-2). These trickles miraculously multiply God's "power now at work in us," leading to growth in the Spirit which is "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20). As the mustard plant grows into a tall shrub from the tiniest of seeds (Mt 13:32), so our Baptism gives "fresh," abundant life where there once was desolation (Ez 47:9).
Renew your Baptism today and at Easter. "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22). Let the living water of the Spirit become a river within you, flowing from you "to provide eternal life" (Jn 4:14), healing, and fruit (Ez 47:12) to increase the Kingdom of God.
| PRAYER: | Father, may rivers of Your life-giving water flow through me (Jn 7:38) to transform the culture of death into a civilization of love (see Ez 47:8-9). |
| PROMISE: | "God is our Refuge and our Strength, an ever-present Help in distress." –Ps 46:2 |
| PRAISE: | William became a Catholic because he came to believe that Jesus was really present in the Eucharist. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College