Once, while waiting for an important appointment in one of Mater Dei’s Medical Outpatients Departments, I happened to see the following quote by Chiara Lubich on a noticeboard: “In life we do many things, say many things, but the voice of suffering offered out of love - which is perhaps unheard by and unknown to others - is the loudest cry that can penetrate Heaven”.

How true this thought is! The voice of the suffering certainly penetrates Heaven. And it does so with such an extent that Heaven has no other choice other than to respond to it immediately and with its utmost compassion. Heaven is forced to intervene when fallen humanity is caught up in its suffering sinfulness. In fact on February 11, 1858, Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Subirous for the first time at the Massabielle Grotto on the Spanish border.

What was the hub of the Blessed Virgin’s message to humanity from the remote village of Lourdes? Pope Benedict XVI gave his inspiring answer at the general audience of September 17, 2008 when he evaluated his September 12-15 apostolic trip to Paris and Lourdes.

“Appearing to Bernadette, in the Grotto of Massabielle, Mary's first gesture was, in fact, the Sign of the Cross, in silence and without words. And Bernadette imitated her in turn making the Sign of the Cross though her hand was trembling. And so the Virgin gave a first initiation on the essence of Christianity: The Sign of the Cross is the height of our faith, and doing it with an attentive heart we enter into the full mystery of our salvation. The whole message of Lourdes is contained in this gesture of the Virgin! God has so loved us that he gave himself up for us: This is the message of the Cross, ‘mystery of death and of glory.’ The cross reminds us that there is no true love without suffering, there is no gift of life without pain”.

Life is undoubtedly God’s unconditional gift to us, his sons and daughters. Nevertheless this gift is seriously hampered by sickness. The latter can tear us apart to the point that it can rob us our lives. When confronted with such an atrocious tragedy many rebel against it. And, to add insult to injury, others even lose their faith in God’s goodness. How can God ever claim to be merciful when he allows his children to die in such a humiliating and horrendous way?
Here comes Lourdes’ message!

The power of the Cross, which is “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1Cor 1:23), for those who believe, whether Jews or Gentiles, is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). From the Cross the Crucified Christ summons us to show mercy as Our Father has showed us mercy in a sublime manner when he sent his Son so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Lourdes stands for a Christ who, by giving his own life for us on the Cross, powerfully demonstrates the deep love God nurtures for every human person especially for those who are afflicted by sickness or pain. The Crucified Good Samaritan is inviting every one of his disciples to “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

That is why Pope Benedict XVI reminds us: “We need to draw from the infinite love of God, through an intense relationship with him in prayer, the strength to live day by day with concrete concern, like that of the Good Samaritan, for those suffering in body and spirit who ask for our help, whether or not we know them and however poor they may be”.

Go and do likewise!

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap

San Gwann