Fifth Sunday of Lent, April 6, 2025
As I write this bulletin column, I am in France, leading a pilgrimage of 44 mostly Holy Redeemer parishioners (and one Saint John’s parishioner) to holy places. The highlights of our journey will be for me the visits to Liseux, the place of Saint Therese, the Little Flower, Rouen, the place of the burning of Saint Joan of Arc and Lourdes.
If you have visited my office, you may have noticed that I have a framed photo of Saint Therese and a lovely statue of Saint Joan. These are two of my favorite saints. At Saint John’s we have a long tradition of honoring Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Bernadette, the young girl who had a vision of Mary at Lourdes.
Many years ago, (in 1992) I had what I consider a miracle through the intercession of Saint Therese. The miracle at that time saved Holy Redeemer School. I consider Therese a special patron of Holy Redeemer. At Liseux, I will pray for Holy Redeemer at Liseux.
And at Lourdes, I will dedicate my prayers to Saint John’s. Our Lourdes shrine in the lower church is one of our most beloved places of prayer and the statue of the Immaculate Conception in the upper church is another place of prayer. At Lourdes, Mary declared herself to be the Immaculate Conception.
I also like Saint Joan of Arc. She heard voices and perhaps to a modern sceptic, may have seemed to be mentally ill. But she, a teen age girl, led the armies of France to great military victories. She was eventually captured by the English, France’s enemies, abandoned by her own king and country, and was burned at the stake at the age of 19. She was condemned by the church as a witch and burned and later canonized as a saint and martyr. Joan had an unusual life. When life seems to make no sense, Joan is a model of fidelity for me.
I love Saint John’s and I love Holy Redeemer and I will spend this pilgrimage in prayer for you and for my ministry.
Go Make Disciples: An Introductory Training in Missionary Discipleship
