Lenten Campaign 2025
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April is the month dedicated to the Most Holy Eucharist, and this April finds us right in the middle of Lent, journeying with the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, helping us prepare for the Triduum, which this year begins on Holy Thursday, April 17.
Holy Thursday is the day we recollect Christ's Agony in the Garden. St. Bernadette Soubirous, whose feast day on April 16, is the day before Holy Thursday this year, is a great saint to help us journey through the Triduum with a deeper understanding of the humility and love befitting a child of God.
As Christ humbled himself in the Garden, falling upon his face in prayer, St. Bernadette humbled herself in a muddy Grotto through an obedience that brought the world many graces.
St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was just 14 years old when she began seeing apparitions of Our Blessed Mother in a grotto in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. Bernadette would often pray the Rosary when she visited the grotto, which is a reminder to us all of the Lenten call to frequent prayer.
The apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes brought about the founding of the famous Marian shrine there. “I am the Immaculate Conception,” Our Lady famously revealed to St. Bernadette.
Prayer moves mountains:
Our Lady revealed to St. Bernadette the gift of the healing waters at Lourdes. There have been countless miracles and healings associated with bathing in the waters there.
The spring at Lourdes itself came about through St. Bernadette’s cooperation with what the Blessed Mother asked of her: the obedient response to Our Lady’s request for Bernadette to scrape, on her hands and knees, in the mud at the back of the grotto until the healing spring came forth.
Mary told St. Bernadette to drink from this spring. This was muddy water, but St. Bernadette obeyed. Here is a prayer to the Immaculate Conception which is wonderful to pray in Lent.
Fasting and Sacrifice offers God selfless love:
The kind of humility St. Bernadette showed is reflected in the saint’s own words, spoken without any bitterness but only with love:
“The Blessed Virgin used me like a broom. What do you do with a broom when you have finished sweeping? You put it back in its place, behind the door!”
This spirit of humble self-denial is a key part of fasting and sacrifice during Lent.
“Penance, penance, penance!” The angel at Fatima famously urged the world. St. Bernadette of Lourdes did many acts of sacrifice and penance and even offered up her painful death out of love for Jesus and Mary.
In the penitential spirit of St. Bernadette, why not offer up the challenges and pains of your day? Cleaning when tired? Taking care of a sick family member? Extra busy at work? Each of these scenarios is a possible opportunity if it used right: to complain less and offer it up.
Alms support the sainthood of those who give and receive
When she was growing up, St. Bernadette’s family suffered such hardships as disease, poverty, eviction, and the wrongful imprisonment of Bernadette’s father. They could barely make ends meet, so any scrap of food or bit of help they received was pivotal in keeping the family alive.
One of the members of that family would someday be a saint. We know that giving alms is one of the Lenten pillars, but what we may forget is that charity does not simply benefit the soul of the giver. Those to whom we give alms just may be future saints: and the meal or housing or education they receive from you may just make the difference in their lives that allows them to go on living, and to journey closer to changing the world through sainthood: just like St. Bernadette.
Imagine helping to support a saint on their journey — what a grace! Need an idea for Lenten alms? Here’s one: why not support a whole community of saints-in-the-making? Here’s a link to provide Lenten alms to a zealous Catholic parish in Sri Lanka struggling to rebuild their Catholic church, stone by stone.
Here are three quotes from St. Bernadette to inspire us all month long:
“The light of faith shines brightest in the darkest moments.”
This is a great quote to remember whenever we are struggling. St. Bernadette went through many hard times, and her tough life lends even more credibility to her profound statement.
“O Jesus, Jesus, I no longer feel my cross when I think of yours.”
This quote is a wonderful reminder too, as we often pray in the Stations of the Cross (which is a wonderful Lenten devotion), “behold the wood of the cross upon which is hung our salvation.”
“The Eucharist bathes the soul in light and love.”
Before Lent ends, let us try, if at all possible, to receive the Eucharist more often than usual — not only on Sundays, and always in a state of grace. It is the Eucharist which will refresh us as we continue on our journey through this valley of tears, and bring us true and lasting joy.
To celebrate the Feast of St. Bernadette, why not make the presence of holy water a beautiful and powerful part of your family’s prayer life? Get a holy water font and install it near the main entrance and exit of your home. Keep an ample supply of holy water to be able to keep re-filling it. Get a free Lent-themed holy hour to pray with the inspiration of St. Bernadette and console the hearts of Jesus and Mary. St. Bernadette, pray for us!
