That's right, 151 years ago today...Our Lady appeared for the first time to someone who was a nobody (Bernadette Soubirous) in a little nothing town (Lourdes) in a formerly Christian country (France) that had largely become secularized. In the ensuing decades, what mighty miracles the Lord has effected through His worldwide web of prayer warriors who, like Bernadette, are mostly nobodies in little nothing towns throughout the world, linked together by the rosary, a spiritual weapon of great humility and power. Historians have noted that since Lourdes in 1858 (and, thereafter, Fatima in 1917), great military victories have been won as oppressive armies in Austria, Czechoslovakia, the Philippines, etc. have been miraculously repelled/expelled by armies of "nobodies" praying the rosary. It is important to recall the rosary, as a particularly powerful means by which to immerse ourselves in the mystery of God's love for us, and join ourselves with the mystery of His Mother's powerful intercession, as we face our challenges today.Why the Lincoln-esque "SEVEN SCORE AND ELEVEN YEARS AGO" intro? Becaus
e tomorrow is the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birthday, next Monday is President's Day, and our country is in the midst of another civil war now. What civil war? We are now, and for years have been, a nation deeply divided about whether we will remain "one nation, under God" --- our national motto, drawn from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address --- or will become, as was France in the time of Our Lady's appearances to Bernadette in Lourdes, a godless, secular nation which mocked God by abusing its God-given freedoms. In that same Gettysburg Address, Lincoln poetically called to arms even civilians in their own way to defend the national union and godly values at stake in his day, recalling the ultimate sacrifices made by those on the battlefield before him: "...It is for us the living...to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is...for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom..."My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ through Mary, let us also be about the "unfinished work" and the "great task remaining before us". Let us also "take increased devotion" and give our "last full measure of devotion" to defend and restore "this nation, under God". As our government declares war on the unborn by multiplying its taxpayer funding of abortions domestically and internationally, let us take a stand and lock arms in prayer. As our government declares war on the family by seeking to promote homosexual rights regardless of the laws of God and nature, let us take a stand and declare with St. Paul, "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Rm.1:16).
As our government declares war on religious liberties by imposing its anti-Christian, anti-historical, anti-tolerance agenda of political correctness on us, let us acknowledge with Lincoln that "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war..." That battlefield is, my dear siblings in Jesus through Mary, in each of our nowhere towns in this great nation under God where each of us "nobodies" has been strategically placed by Our Lord.
Remember, "The Battle belongs to the Lord!" (2Chron.20:15) We are merely called to be His faithful, obedient, trusting servants in it, as were the Israelites when they saw the Lord's power bring down the seemingly insuperable walls of Jericho through persistent prayer (Josh.6). More specifically, the Israelites persistently prayed in their victory over Jericho by processing for multiple days as God prescribed with the Ark of the Covenant (Josh.6:4-13) as the clear sign of His power in their midst, as the clear sign that the victory would come through His power not theirs. All they need do was to pray and obey. What a silly gameplan for a military victory!!! Yet, what an awesome victory it was against seemingly insurmountable odds. Where is our Ark of the Covenant today? The new Ark of the new Covenant is clearly Our Lady (Rev.11:19-12:2), who both bore the New Covenant in her womb, and bears our prayers to Our Lord as we join with her in persevering prayer through the rosary.
Let us again recall with St. Paul that "our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with...evil spirits... Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to...hold your ground" (Eph.6:12-13). This is spiritual warfare being waged on a corporeal plane. It is a battle for the soul of our world, our nation, our children, ourselves. Let us take up arms, raised in prayer joined with Mary Our Mother, especially praying the rosary on this the anniversary of Her apparition in Lourdes for the conversion of an ungodly nation. Knowing that Our Lord and His Mother are with us as we encircle the city of the enemy, we confidently declare, "Who can stand against us? Whom should we fear?" Let us stand firm, my dear brothers and sisters, empowered by Him who made heaven and earth, and He will in His way and time "make all things new" (Rev.21:5).
--- your brother in Jesus through Mary, Greg
