Opening of the Lourdes February Days

« With Mary, pilgrims of hope »

“Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of heaven and eternal Life, as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying, not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1817).

This is what is stated in the Catholic Catechism. It's all there, beautifully distilled into a few words. Hope is that ability of a believer to look up into God's heavens and yearn for it as a priceless treasure—a treasure that Christ promises us and that the Holy Spirit supports us in pursuing despite all obstacles. In the Letter to the Romans, chap. 4 vers. 18, Paul says of Abraham: “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”. Hoping against hope. The entire Old Testament will shape, prepare, and test this attitude.

In the end, what is promised is joy, a joy that nothing and no one can take away from those who find it (Jn. 16:22). Saint Augustine puts it beautifully: "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.

The CCC at no. 1818 puts it this way:

CCC 1818: The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.

It's amazing, and we won’t have enough time to explore this completely during a pilgrimage to Lourdes or even during a jubilee year.‘

‘With Mary, pilgrims of hope’

This year, the Sanctuary invites pilgrims to become “pilgrims of hope, with Mary,” entering at the same time into the dynamics of the universal Church, and I have decreed that this Sanctuary will be a place where pilgrims can receive the plenary indulgence offered during the jubilee, and to enter into this dynamic of the universal Church in the grace proper to this place blessed by Heaven.

Becoming "Pilgrims of Hope" means deciding to embark on a journey in a specific manner, guided by the theological virtue of hope. Travelling because God loves us as we depend on Him every day as nomads, pilgrims, and unsettled people. I love saying and repeating it! Put your faith in a word that God gives you, just like Abraham did in the past. Setting out through the desert, led by a very mysterious cloud, just like the ancient Hebrews did with Moses, towards a land that flowed with milk and honey...

Setting out. The symbolism is powerful. There are great internal and external impacts for each of us. Setting out means accepting a degree of uncertainty, discomfort and deprivation. Setting out on a journey, because God wants to be our only Providence, and to put an end to our tendency to always centre everything on ourselves. We must set out to be poor at heart, so that the Holy Spirit can cry out to God and call him “Abba!” To set out to learn from him the way to heaven. Becoming “Pilgrims of Hope” means setting out with a heart full of love, desire, and trust: Christ promises eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Holy Spirit gives us the grace to desire it. Accepting these things will bring us happiness.

With Mary, in this Jubilee Year, pilgrims to Lourdes will become pilgrims of hope. Here in Lourdes, the Mother of God welcomes us and accompanies our every step as pilgrims. Here in Lourdes, Mary consoles all our sorrows, supports all our hopes and welcomes all our joys. Here in Lourdes, Mary comes to earth, and she smiles at us. Her smile conveys God's tenderness, as He becomes the travelling companion of the Emmaus pilgrims, who are all of us – sometimes blind, sometimes with burning hearts, sometimes discouraged and sometimes with wide-open eyes. Here in Lourdes, pilgrims find the strength to continue their journey with the Lord, the journey of their vocations, and the journey of their lives – this journey, which is ours, is sometimes difficult, not always straight, but always accompanied by God.

Mary is the Mother of God. She welcomed the work of the Holy Spirit and became the mother of Christ, Son of God and God himself. It was she who visited Bernadette at the Grotto of Massabielle. It is she whom we solemnly visit in this place. It is she who welcomes us again and again, and leads us to her Son, the Saviour of the world, the Prince of Peace. Mary is our sister in faith, the Mother of God and also our heavenly Mother. The Lord worked wonders for her. The Lord does and will always do great things for us.

Have a wonderful time over these Lourdes February Days! May all the meetings, conferences and celebrations help you to accompany our visitors and pilgrims on the path of Christian hope, supported by the Immaculate Conception and the prayers of Saint Bernadette!

Mgr. Jean-Marc Micas

Bishop of Tarbes et Lourdes