Editorial: Lourdes and the Eucharist

Lourdes and . . .

The   International Eucharistic Congress recently took place in the town of Lourdes, in France.

A place that everyone recognizes as probably the most popular of all the Marian shrines throughout the world. It is certainly fitting that Lourdes was chosen for this Eucharistic Congress. For more and more people, Protestants as well as Catholics, are beginning to understand even more clearly the link that exists between a genuine devotion to the Mother of God and a deeper love for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

The history of the Church shows that when devotion to Our Lady diminishes or is downgraded in the eyes of people there follows a consequent diminishing of devotion to Christ in the Eucharist. We have only to look at the results of the Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries, and to look at the events of the past several years in the Church, to be convinced of this elementary truth: where the Blessed Virgin is neglected, Christ is neglected as well.

. . . the Eucharist

The history of the Church points as well to the other side of the coin: where our Blessed Lady is held in honor and esteem, where her role in our redemption is recognized, where devotion to her flourishes, there we invariably find a greater love and respect for Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.  The crowds of people who flock to the different Marian shrines throughout the world give ample testimony to the truth that devotion to Our Lady does not lead one away from Christ, but rather draws us closer to Him.

This is, after all, a truth that is clearly evident from a simple reading of the Gospels. The shepherds of Bethlehem came to see Christ in the stable – and it was Our Lady who presented Him to them. The wise men from the East, St, Matthew tells us, “found the child with Mary his mother”.  The angel ordered St. Joseph to: “take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.” At the marriage feast of Cana, Christ worked His first miracle because His mother, who was there along with His disciples, asked Him to come to the aid of the young couple. And finally, when He was dying on the cross, she was there to join with Him in His offering of Himself for our salvation.

The Link Between Devotion to Our Lady . . .

The Second Vatican Council stressed the fact that, in the life of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary ‘”makes significant appearances.”

And she continues to make significant appearances, not only through her apparitions, but specially through the grace she gives us in order to make us more like her divine Son. The link between devotion to Our Lady and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is something that the crowds who attend Marian shrines, like Lourdes, sense with their Catholic instinct. They are convinced that the Eucharistic Christ is the same Christ who was conceived of the Holy Spirit in Our Blessed Lady, the same Christ who was born of her in the stable of Bethlehem, the same Christ who changed water into wine at her request at the marriage feast of Cana, the same Christ who died for us on the cross in the presence of His Blessed Mother.

. . . and Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

For those who attend the International Congress, the event is not only memorable, but above all an opportunity to manifest their love for the Eucharistic Lord. Most of us, however, will not have the opportunity to share their enthusiasm and devotion by being present at the ceremonies.

But, in a very real sense, we can participate and derive a similar spiritual growth and development of our devotion to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as those who have the privilege of attending the Lourdes Congress. For the same Christ is present in our tabernacles as is present at the Eucharistic Congress. The Eucharistic Lord is not limited by space and time as our corporeal bodies are, as anything material is limited to the space that it occupies.

Whether we attend at Lourdes or not, the occasion can be a great outpouring of God’s grace for all of us.

It is the same Christ that we adore in our own churches, the same Christ that present our petitions to, the same Christ that we receive in Holy Communion.

We should remember to unite ourselves with the crowds at Lourdes, and in union with Our Blessed Lady, make the occasion an opportunity to revive and renew our devotion to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.