We would like to introduce a new member of the blog team - Daisy! She'll be contributing a monthly "Marian Mondays" for the blog. Take it a way Daisy...

Happy Feast of our Lady of Lourdes! My name is Daisy. I live in Lake County, work in Northwest Cook County, and am consecrated to the Blessed Mother. That's how I'm living the lay life in Vicariate 1.

Today is one of my favorite Marian feast days. I wanted to share a reflection on how the events at Lourdes reminds young adults to stay focused on Christ.

On February 11th, the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Blessed Mother first appeared to St. Bernadette on February 11, 1858. Many people know Lourdes as a place of miracles and its healing waters, but one takeaway message from Lourdes is about finding our identities in God.

On a cold day, St. Bernadette went to the grotto to gather firewood to heat her family's home . When she looked up, she saw a beautiful lady dressed in white. When the mysterious figure finally revealed herself, she simply said, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which states how Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin, was proclaimed just four years before the apparitions.

Mary doesn't say she was immaculately conceived but that she is the Immaculate Conception. Thus, she tells us this is her identity.

At first glance, this can make her seem otherworldly and distant from our human condition, but she becomes much closer to us.

Why?

Because she shows us that our identities come from God. Though Mary's identity is extraordinary and unique, she received her identity from the same God. And she reminds us how we've been plunged into God's grace and received our Christian identity at our baptism.

The events at Lourdes speak to every age, but the message about our true identities is what young adults need to hear today. We live in a culture that encourages us to create, cultivate, and market a "personal brand."

But our identities don’t come from what we wear, where we work, where we live, our successes, or from our failures. They come from being a beloved son or daughter of God.

When we believe we are loved by God, we are healed from the crippling disease of comparing our lives to others and paralyzing FOMO.  

At Lourdes, Mary points the way forward. Through prayer and penance, we remember who we are, and we let God heal us from the inside out. This healing then extends to our families, workplaces, parishes, and communities.

Lastly, St. John Paul II instituted The World Day of the Sick to coincide with the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. We pray for the sick, caretakers, healthcare providers, and volunteers today.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.