Pam & Jim

Why is Lourdes significant in your lives/faith, 160 after the apparitions?
Lourdes is significant in our lives because of the tremendous amount of grace we continually receive there. Just as Our Lady is full of grace, grace is so abundant in Lourdes. It is so easy to see and encounter God in each moment. We experience and feel God’s love for us so tangibly and that encounter heals us. It heals both the self-inflicted wounds of our own selfishness and sin, but also the wounds caused by the sins of others. It is almost a foretaste of both purgatory and heaven. As we walk with the people of God, especially those who suffer, we become more aware of our own selfishness/sinfulness; it draws us to repentance and to a greater desire to love and serve others. We also witness the beautiful way the sick are loved and treated with such great dignity. It reminds us of how God sees all of us in our brokenness and we run to the loving arms of Our Mother. With the other pilgrims from all over the world, we experience the great grace of living as one family of God. Together, we experience God’s love in the sacraments, in prayer, in our communion with the Universal Church, in the beauty of the sanctuary, in the healing of the baths. We often say it is like heaven on earth.

How is the Message of Lourdes still relevant to your lives?

It is still relevant to our lives because while we progress forward on this pilgrimage of faith, we are still sinners. The message of Lourdes is really a message of conversion. We are meant to love as God loves, but we can only do that with His grace. We could say it is especially relevant to our lives with the crazy times in which we are living. We are in desperate need of the transforming power of love.

Why are you active with Lourdes Volunteers?

We are active with Lourdes Volunteers firstly because we both felt called by Our Lady, but also because it fills us with great joy and peace. Sharing this call together as been a beautiful blessing for our marriage and our family.