The professed little sisters and brothers receive the lamb to be worn as a symbol of their final step in becoming full members of the community - Therese and David delight ls Benedict by kissing her lamb... Arriving home a week ago with a bad flu respiratory bug - we are now all sick from it! It is the type of illness that robs you of all interests - no appetite, or desire to write on blogs, or ability to do much of anything in the way of work due to weakness and fever. As I was packing to go I found that my suitcase was very light with none of the usual stuff like matching accessories or an outfit for this possible occassion or other... I could have cared less - all I wanted was some clean clothes to put on for the 3 days I would be there and the sweaters to keep me warm in their drafty old house... My life was simplified by this illness. I had no desire to stop for any food on the trip as my appetite was nonexitant too! I now feel very much responsible for the sick people around me and am very much aware of all that they are facing... It isn't fun, but it made it necessary to just step away from all the things that I filled my days with and head to bed! 
Today as Maria has finally succumbed to the illness - she and her 2 little ones are home and have accomplished their big push to go to Missouri to her husband, Joseph's, graduation from Basic Training. The huge undertaking with her two sick kids came off well, and they had some peaceful hours together as a family. Now here they can let down and recover from the illnesses... with rest and fluids and back in a less hectic routine. WE have a goal to send off the sweater that Maria crocheted/knitted for her sister in France - little Sister Hallel. I have been baking chocolate cookies and writing a lengthy letter to her. I had Maria model her, one of a kind, sweater made in the exact color of wool as her habit!
Maria is especially proud of the way that the pockets turned out..."They are narrower on top and wider on the bottom, and as a result of this mistake they feel like they hug your hands! I know that it isn't they way it was supposed to be, but I think that it feels good and warm for Hallel." I think that Hallel will be thrilled and as Maria says there is not much chance that someone will get her sweater by mistake - it is truly a one of a kind warm sweater! And one that was truly made with lots of LOVE!
Jesus and your wonderful mother, who probably sat by the fire at night and sewed your robes as you grew from a child to a man... maybe she even wove the fabric from which they were made and with love and her unique way made the clothing that you wore into the years of your ministry and path to your cross. This pose reminds us of that cross that we all have been called to embrace in our lives... this illness has taken all that clutter in our lives and shown us how little we need it or desire it. Thank you for the Lamb's reminder of the supreme sacrifice that we are all called to make for you in our lives and most of all in our families. Jesus, we trust in you! Amen and Halleluia! 
Bless-bless, BarbA famous cure from Lourdes
"The case of Gabriel Gargam is probably one of the best known of all the thousands of cures at Lourdes, partly because he was so well known at the Shrine for half a century, partly because it was a twofold healing, spiritual and physical. Born in 1870 of good Catholic parents, he gave early promise of being a clever student and a fervent Catholic. The promise was not fulfilled in the most important respect for, at 15 years of age, he had already lost his faith. He obtained a position in the postal service and was carrying out his duties as a sorter in December of 1899, when the train on which he was traveling from Bordeaux to Paris collided with another train, running at 50 miles per hour. Gargam was thrown fifty two feet from the train. He lay in the snow, badly injured and unconscious for seven hours. He was paralyzed from the waist down. He was barely alive when lifted onto a stretcher. Taken to a hospital, his existence for some time was a living death. After eight months he had wasted away to a mere skeleton, weighing but seventy-eight pounds, although normally a big man. His feet became gangrenous. He could take no solid food and was obliged to take nourishment by a tube. Only once in twenty-four hours could he be fed even that way. He brought suit for damages against the railroad. The Appellate Court confirmed the verdict of the former courts and granted him 6,000 francs annually, and besides, an indemnity of 60,000 francs.
Gargam's condition was pitiable in the extreme. He could not help himself even in the most trifling needs. Two trained nurses were needed day and night to assist him. That was Gabriel Gargam as he was after the accident, and as he would continue to be until death relieved him. About his desperate condition there could be no doubt. The railroad fought the case on every point. There was no room for deception or hearsay. Two courts attested to his condition, and the final payment of the railroad left the case a matter of record. Doctors testified that the man was a hopeless cripple for life, and their testimony was not disputed.
Previous to the accident Gargam had not been to Church for fifteen years. His aunt, who was a nun of the Order of the Sacred Heart, begged him to go to Lourdes. He refused. She continued her appeals to him to place himself in the hands of Our Lady of Lourdes. He was deaf to all her prayers. After continuous pleading of his mother he consented to go to Lourdes. It was now two years since the accident, and not for a moment had he left his bed all that time. He was carried on a stretcher to the train. The exertion caused him to faint, and for a full hour he was unconscious. They were on the point of abandoning the pilgrimage, as it looked as if he would die on the way, but the mother insisted, and the journey was made.
Arrived at Lourdes, he went to confession and received Holy Communion. There was no change in his condition. Later he was carried to the miraculous pool and tenderly placed in its waters – no effect. Rather a bad effect resulted, for the exertion threw him into a swoon and he lay apparently dead. After a time, as he did not revive, they thought him dead. Sorrowfully they wheeled the carriage back to the hotel. On the way back they saw the procession of the Blessed Sacrament approaching. They stood aside to let it pass, having placed a cloth over the face of the man whom they supposed to be dead.
As the priest passed carrying the Sacred Host, he pronounced Benediction over the sorrowful group around the covered body. Soon there was a movement from under the covering. To the amazement of the bystanders, the body raised itself to a sitting posture. While the family were looking on dumbfounded and the spectators gazed in amazement, Gargam said in a full, strong voice that he wanted to get up. They thought that it was a delirium before death, and tried to soothe him, but he was not to be restrained. He got up and stood erect, walked a few paces and said that he was cured. The multitude looked in wonder, and then fell on their knees and thanked God for this new sign of His power at the Shrine of His Blessed Mother. As Gargam had on him only invalid's clothes, he returned to the carriage and was wheeled back to the hotel. There he was soon dressed, and proceeded to walk about as if nothing had ever ailed him. For two years hardly any food had passed his lips but now he sat down to the table and ate a hearty meal.
On August 20th, 1901, sixty prominent doctors examined Gargam. Without stating the nature of the cure, they pronounced him entirely cured. Gargam, out of gratitude to God in the Holy Eucharist and His Blessed Mother, consecrated himself to the service of the invalids at Lourdes.
He set up a small business and married a pious lady who aided him in his apostolate for the greater knowledge of Mary Immaculate. For over fifty years he returned annually to Lourdes and worked as a brancardier. The Golden Jubilee of his cure was the occasion of a remarkable celebration during the French National Pilgrimage in 1951. Mr. Gargam sat in a chair in the Rosary Square, surrounded by 1,500 sick and 50,000 other pilgrims while a description of his twofold healing was given by the celebrated apologist, Canon Belleney. His last visit to the Shrine was in August 1952: he died the following March, at the age of eighty-three years. "
No comments:
Post a Comment