June 18th, 11:10 PM

Fr. Ryan’s Final Homily of the Pilgrimage - Day 8

As we gather for this final Mass of our pilgrimage, I find myself returning to a simple question:

Why did God bring us here?

Not why did we choose France.

Not why did we choose Lourdes.

But why did God bring us here, at this moment, in our lives?

Because I don’t believe this pilgrimage was an accident.

God has been at work long before we boarded a plane in Miami. Long before we packed our suitcases. Long before we ever imagined standing here in Lourdes together.

Over these days, we have visited many holy places, but beneath all of them, I believe the

Lord has been teaching us the same lesson again and again.

He has been teaching us to trust.

Trust like St. Thérèse.

Trust like Bernadette.

Trust like Mary.

Trust like the countless pilgrims who have come before us.

When we began this pilgrimage, many of us arrived carrying burdens.

Some came carrying worries about children or grandchildren.

Some came carrying grief.

Some came carrying health concerns.

Some came carrying uncertainty about the future.

Some came carrying prayers they have been offering for years.

And perhaps some came wondering if God was still listening.

The beautiful thing about pilgrimage is that it strips away many of the distractions that normally fill our lives.

For a brief moment, we step away from our routines.

We leave behind our calendars.

We leave behind our schedules.

We leave behind the noise.

And in that silence, God often reminds us of something we have forgotten:

He is here.

He has always been here.

And He has always been walking beside us.

That is what I have experienced throughout this pilgrimage.

Again and again, we have encountered places that point us toward a God who is not distant, but close.

A God who enters human history.

A God who enters our suffering.

A God who enters our weakness.

A God who enters our ordinary lives.

That is why I love Lourdes.

Because Lourdes is not a shrine built around power or prestige.

It is built around a poor girl, from a poor family, in a forgotten corner of France.

The world looked at Bernadette and saw someone insignificant.

God looked at Bernadette and saw a saint.

The world saw weakness.

God saw openness.

The world saw poverty.

God saw faith.

And isn’t that often how God works?

Again and again throughout Scripture, God chooses the unlikely.

He chooses shepherds.

He chooses fishermen.

He chooses tax collectors.

He chooses a young woman from Nazareth.

And here in Lourdes, He chooses Bernadette.

The lesson is clear.

God is not looking for the strongest.

He is not looking for the most successful.

He is not looking for the most accomplished.

He is looking for hearts that are available.

He is looking for people willing to say yes.

That is what Mary did.

That is what Bernadette did.

And that is what each of us is being asked to do.

What is remarkable about Lourdes is that the Blessed Mother did not come with a new message.

She came to remind the world of an eternal truth.

When Bernadette repeatedly asked the beautiful lady who she was, Mary finally responded in the local dialect: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

Those words meant nothing to Bernadette. She was a simple peasant girl with very little education. In fact, she did not even understand what they meant. She simply memorized the phrase and repeated it exactly as she had heard it.

Only four years earlier, the Church had solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Yet here in Lourdes, Our Lady herself confirmed that truth.

But the Immaculate Conception is about much more than a doctrine.

It is about grace.

It is about what God desires to do in every human life.

Mary was preserved from original sin by a singular grace of God. In her we see humanity as God intended it from the beginning. We see complete openness to His will. We see a heart entirely surrendered to His plan.

In Mary, we see what happens when grace is allowed to do its work.

Throughout this pilgrimage, Mary’s presence has accompanied us every step of the way.

At the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, we stood where she appeared to St. Catherine Labouré and asked that a medal be struck reminding the world of the power of God’s grace.

At Notre Dame, we stood beneath the mantle of Our Lady in one of the great Marian cathedrals of Christendom.

And here in Lourdes, she reveals herself as the Immaculate Conception.

It is as though Our Lady has been quietly walking beside us throughout this entire pilgrimage.

And what is her message in every place?

It is the same message she gave at Cana:

“Do whatever He tells you.”

Mary never points to herself. She always points to Christ.

She reminds us that grace is stronger than sin.

She reminds us that holiness is possible.

She reminds us that God is still at work.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons of this pilgrimage. We have spent these days surrounded by saints—Thérèse, Catherine, Vincent, Bernadette—and it would be easy to look at them and think they are somehow different from us.

Yet every saint began exactly where we are.

They simply allowed God’s grace to transform them.

The same grace that worked in their lives is available to us.

The same grace that sustained Mary is available to us.

The same grace that brought us to this holy place continues to work within us today.

Perhaps that is why Lourdes touches so many people so deeply.

Because here we are reminded that God does not love us because we are impressive.

He loves us because we are His.

He does not wait for us to become perfect before He draws near.

He comes to us precisely in our weakness.

As we prepare to leave this holy place, I find myself thinking about the Gospel account of the Visitation.

After Mary received the message of the angel, she did not remain where she was.

She went forth.

She carried Christ to others.

That is what we are called to do now.

Because the pilgrimage is not ending.

The pilgrimage is continuing.

Tomorrow we leave Lourdes.

But we do not leave Our Lady.

We return home.

But we do not leave behind the graces we have received.

We go back to our ordinary lives.

But hopefully we do not return as the same people.

Tonight at dinner, I am going to ask each of you to share one grace you have received during this pilgrimage.

Not because we need another activity, but because I think it is important to recognize what God has done among us.

Too often we receive blessings and immediately move on without taking the time to give thanks.

I suspect that as we listen to one another tonight, we will discover that God has been at work in ways we never expected. Some graces may seem small. Others may seem profound. But each one is a reminder that the Lord has been walking with us throughout this journey.

My prayer is that we leave here with a deeper trust in God.

A greater love for Christ.

A stronger devotion to Our Blessed Mother.

A renewed commitment to prayer.

A greater confidence in God’s providence.

And perhaps most importantly, a renewed awareness that holiness is possible.

Not just for saints whose statues fill these churches.

But for us.

For ordinary people.

For people living ordinary lives.

For people like Bernadette.

For people like Thérèse.

For people like you and me.

As your pastor, I want to thank you for allowing me the privilege of making this journey with you.

I have watched your faith over these days.

I have prayed with you.

Laughed with you.

Celebrated Mass with you.

And I can honestly say that I leave Lourdes grateful not only for this holy place, but for the gift of this pilgrim family.

In a few moments, we will receive the greatest gift of all—the Eucharist.

The same Jesus who called us here.

The same Jesus who has accompanied us throughout this pilgrimage.

The same Jesus whom Mary always points us toward.

May He continue to walk beside us when we return home.

And may Our Lady of Lourdes, the Immaculate Conception, who has gathered us beneath her mantle during these blessed days, continue to lead us ever closer to her Son.