#WorthRevisit: Saint Bernadette

The feast of All Saints Day is right around the corner so I thought it would be a great time to share about my Confirmation Saint! Here is my #WorthRevisit with Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You:

Monday, April 16, 2012

A Special Birthday and Feast Day

First of all let me start by saying...


Happy 85th Birthday Pope Benedict XVI!

PRAYERS FOR BENEDICT XVI:

V. Let us pray for Benedict, our Pope.

R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Ps 40:3]

Our Father, Hail Mary.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

— Excerpted from the Roman Missal. A partial indulgence is attached to the versicle and response.~ Catholic Culture

In honor of the Pope's Birthday I discussed his Coat of Arms with the boys. I printed this coloring page but we didn't have time to color them today. We will continue celebrating the Pope's Birthday tomorrow with some cupcakes and coloring pages. Another great way to make today feel special is to bring yellow roses into your home. I wish I knew where to find some near my home but I am thinking about planting some maybe next year?

In addition to Pope Benedict's Birthday it is also the Feast day of Saint Bernadette Soubirous(My Confirmation Patron Saint) Today is a very special day for our family! There are actual several feast days that commemorate Saint Bernadette but we celebrate them all. Who doesn't love a reason to have a celebration with friends and family? Saint Bernadette has always had a special place in my heart and in my faith as I grew as a young adult. I admired the strength of heart that she possessed although her health and body were weak. I hope that one day every person can feel the love of Jesus and Mary, our blessed Mother the way Bernadette could. I am striving to be more like Saint Bernadette, to offer my sufferings as reparations for my sins and those of the whole world, to love God in such a way that it emits from me and my family and have patience and understandings that this world is not our real home.

You can place your petitions at the Grotto of Lourdes through this website here. The Grotto is where Bernadette dug into the mud and created a spring that is a special place of pilgrimage in Lourdes, France. It is a place that many miracles of healing has occurred.

Some of my most favorite quotes from Saint Bernadette are...

"O Jesus and Mary, let my entire consolation in this world be to love you and to suffer for sinners."

"O Jesus, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be unfaithful to you!"

"I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining. I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than his heart. Anyone who is not prepared to suffer all for the Beloved and to do his will in all things is not worthy of the sweet name of Friend, for here below, Love without suffering does not exist."

"I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them."

"O my Mother, to you I sacrifice all other attachments so that my heart may belong entirely to you and to my Jesus."

"I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety."

"From this moment on, anything concerning me is no longer of any interest to me. I must belong entirely to God and God alone. Never to myself."

"Love overcomes, love delights"

"Those who love the Sacred Heart rejoice."

"Jesus, my God, I love you above all things."

If you are interested in learning more about this special woman you can read A Holy Life: The Writings of St. Bernadette of Lourdes. I have never been able to finish this book but I hope to read it fully very soon. I will be watching The Song of Bernadette tonight with my boys. My husband will even be home in time to join in the showing. We will be praying a Rosary together as a family and hopefully get back into the routine of reciting it together as a family each night. Today was definitely fun and spiritually strengthening!

Our Lady of Lourdes, Pray for us!

Saint Bernadette, Pray for us!