As Our Lady of Lourdes wished to be known as supremely beneficent – but evidently this is merely a suggestion that should only be heeded if one has the inclination – I suggest the following: on Her feast day, think of a great grace to ask of Our Lady.
We must be bold in our prayers.
We should ask for bold things, but not foolish ones. Sensible and difficult graces, we should ask for them. And, at the same time, ask Our Lady with great insistence. Let each of us think of a spiritual grace and a temporal grace on this special Feast. A grace that pertains to sanctification and then something else that we may desire temporally, if it is for the good of our soul.
This leads to some reflection on life. It leads us to broaden our perspective on our spiritual life and, in this way, to have a more precise view of ourselves, our activities, and our paths, and to offer a grateful prayer to Our Lady. Therefore, I suggest that you do just that.
…However, we must never forget that in the Gospel, physical illnesses are treated as symbols of illnesses of the soul. Just as some suffer from physical paralysis, others suffer from spiritual paralysis; some suffer from physical blindness, others from spiritual blindness; deafness, muteness, and other things.
If we have defects of the soul that we would like to correct, this would be the appropriate time for us to bring them to the feet of Our Lady and ask Her to heal us. It is a request that has much validity, because if Our Lady so desires to heal perishable, mortal bodies, how much more will she desire to heal imperishable and immortal souls!
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not come to earth to save bodies; He came to earth to save souls, and therefore our requests cannot fail to be very pleasing to Him.
We should ask for ourselves or for someone we care about, someone for whom we do apostolate; for a soul whose difficulties frighten us; for a friend whose afflictions or temptations and dangers constitute a source of concern for us.
This is an extract of a talk given by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira on 10 February 1965, on the “Saint of the Day.”
Footnotes:
- Source: https://www.pliniocorreadeoliveira.info/DIS_SD_650204_Lourdes_e_a_Mediacao_Universal.htm#.Y-b8XHbMJPY