A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in the hospital that bares her name.
A couple of times I have heard people joke about statues or pictures that portray Mary holding rosary beads. They take a humorous view of what it must be like for the Blessed Mother to pray the rosary. “Hail me full of grace, the Lord is with me. Blessed am I among women, and blessed is the fruit of my womb….”
Funny. But moving beyond the levity, it is not hard to imagine the Virgin Mary replaying over and over, for her whole life, the message the angel spoke to her; letting God’s words shape her prayer and energize her life of faith. As the gospel account puts it, "his mother kept all things in her heart."
St. Gabriel spoke these words to the Mother of God, but they are for us as well. We are blessed and full of grace — God’s life and friendship. We carry the living God within us. We are charged to give birth to Christ in our flesh and blood.
Camden native, Bro. Rick Phillip visits the sacred shrine.
So the rosary is a prayer to and together with the Blessed Mother. We ask her to “pray for us sinners.” We can trust that Holy Mary takes our request seriously. And the prayer also provides an opportunity for us to bring sacred mysteries to our hearts together with our Mother, our Sister, the first disciple.
Last summer I took a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France with my friend Bro. Rick. Upon my return, I began working as one of the chaplains at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, NJ.
Our Lady adorns the top of Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, NJ
Both are special places to encounter God. A pilgrim shrine and a hospital take people from their usual places and activities to a space where it’s hard to avoid deep questions. In these liminal settings the Power, who is the answer to all human questioning and longing, is longing to encounter us. People usually decide to travel to a shrine whereas a hospital stay is not something anyone would usually choose. But as anyone who has ever set foot in a hospital knows there can be a lot of time to think, to worry, to wonder, and to pray.
A couple of weeks ago I sat with a woman outside the room of her husband of several decades while a crowd of nurses and doctors responded to his second “code blue” of the morning. As she held tight to the rosary beads, she said, “I feel like I’m holding on to Mary’s hand and that’s how I am getting through this.”
Lourdes, France, is a special place to meet God and to learn to see the work of God, to hear his word, to carry his beauty, truth, and goodness. Places like that exist so we can find God in every place, even hospital hallways. It is awesome that we have people, places, and practices to remind us that—at every moment, in every place and situation— we are blessed and we are full of grace.
Fr. Mike McCue, OSFS
DeSales Service Works
Chaplain at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital
Camden, NJ
