Aidan Weber 2/11/25 (From our February Print Edition)
Join Our Email List
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
The Empty Tomb Project is a non-profit organization – 501(c)(3) – please support our mission by making a tax-deductible donation. DONATE HERE
Read “Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine”
Let Us Begin: New Book on the Life and Power of St. Francis
The University of Notre Dame houses majestic sites such as the Golden Dome, the 80,000-seat Notre Dame Stadium, the aptly nicknamed “Touchdown Jesus” mural, and the ornate Basilica of the Sacred Heart. However, in troubling times students head to the depths of campus. There lies the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. At the Grotto fellow students and I experience a closeness that attracts us to the site. Even those who have distanced themselves from the faith find themselves at the grotto during a late-night stroll. The peace, quiet, and closeness to the divine elevate the entire scene.
The Grotto is a one-seventh replica of the original grotto in Lourdes, France where Mary appeared to 14-year-old St. Bernadette Soubirous 18 times over six months in 1858. Mary’s first appearance occurred on February 11th, and 32 years later Pope Leo XIII declared that date the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. In accord with Mary’s plea in one of her appearances a stunning basilica now stands at the site of the apparition, and the Grotto has become one of the most popular Catholic pilgrimages. Bernadette responded to this apparition by becoming a nun, and finding joy in her suffering which consisted of cholera, asthma, aneurysms, bone decay, partial deafness, and tuberculosis because Mary promised her “Not happiness in this world, but in the next.” The apparition confirms our faith as Catholics and demonstrates Mary and Christ’s desire to be with us.
The Church Fathers regard miracles as further proof of what Catholics hold to be true by faith. God, in His infinite love, confirms what we believe by appealing to our senses. Miracles are in no way a substitute for faith, but they confirm what has been revealed by God in Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Mary’s appearance to St. Bernadette confirms what Scripture and Tradition have revealed: Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ who sacrificed himself out of love for us so that we can live with God eternally in Heaven. If all these things weren’t true Mary wouldn’t have been able to appear to St. Bernadette.
Furthermore, there have been 7,000 reported healings at the Grotto in Lourdes by pilgrims. The Church has fully accepted 70 of these as miraculous. The Catholic Church investigates these claims with their Office of Medical Observations in France, which uses seven criteria to confirm if these healings could be miraculous, including there being no possible medical explanation. A panel of 33 international doctors explores the claims, calls for copious tests, and produces its findings to be peer-reviewed by anyone. The latest miracle in 2013 took 8 years to confirm, and the case was independently reviewed by 300 different doctors who could find no medical explanation for the sudden healing of Sister Bernadette Moriau who had been left wheelchair-bound since 1980. The head of the Office of Medical Observations, Dr. Alessandro de Franciscis, encourages all doctors to review the case because there is no medical explanation.
A common question I receive as a college student trying to live his faith is: why God doesn’t just perform a miracle for someone to prove His existence. Why can’t he just make me levitate for a second to prove His existence? I proposed this question to my theology professor one day, and He responded by saying, “You mean why didn’t He send Mary to Lourdes or Fatima to appear to us?” He of course did, and my professor went on to list other miracles, and it begged the question: how many times must God do this for it to be enough for us? My faith life was radically changed when I considered how I’d respond if Mary appeared to me. In my mind, I said obviously my life would be transformed, but I had to consider: do I not believe? Do I not already believe what she revealed at Lourdes? Why must she appear to me, and why have I not already made those radical changes I said I would if she did appear to me?
The truth is Christ appears to us every day. He appears in the sacraments and prayer because He is not done with us. He wants a personal relationship with us all. He constantly works through the Church and by the love we have for one another because God is love. Sometimes in our fallen nature we need more tangible experiences like an apparition in Lourdes, which He grants us. However, let the Lord give you the strength to see daily apparitions of Him. More importantly, respond to them like St. Bernadette. Consider how your life would change if you were in St. Bernadette’s position – then live accordingly.
Aidan Weber is a Long Island resident who is currently studying theology at the University of Notre Dame.
Join Our Email List
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Empty Tomb Project 