# Our Lady of Lourdes: The Marian Creed and the Ninth Day of the Novena
*2017-02-10*

> Bill Young celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes by reflecting on the role of Mary as intercessor and completing the ninth day of the novena.

## Mary as Our Intercessor

Today is February 11th, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. As we conclude our nine-day novena, I want to reflect on how we go to Jesus through Mary. Mary is our intercessor. I recall seeing an interview where a Catholic priest was speaking with a Baptist minister. To explain the role of Mary, the priest used the example of how, when we are young, we often ask our mother to go to our father for something we need or when we are in trouble. This is how Mary acts as our intercession with our Lord Jesus. While we can certainly go directly to Jesus, it is wonderful to have that motherly help.

## The Marian Creed

I would like to share the Marian Creed: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I believe in the Virgin Mary and I firmly believe in her with all my heart. I believe in her divine maternity and in her perpetual virginity; in her Immaculate Conception; in her mission as Co-redemptrix by the side of her Son, our Redeemer. I believe in her Assumption and heavenly glorification in body and soul. I believe in her as the image of the Church, which shall have her fulfillment in the age to come. I believe in her spiritual maternity, in her ecclesial maternity, and in her true queenship. I believe in her intercession of grace for the growth of the divine life of souls. I believe, therefore, in her loving presence at the side of all creatures as their mother, Help of Christians, Our Lady of Perpetual Help. I believe in the universal triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, because this is her hour. I give my heart to you, Mother of my Jesus, Mother of Love.

## The Story of Our Lady of Lourdes

On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The Church officially declared that the mother of our Redeemer was miraculously preserved from every stain of original sin and from any inclination to evil from the moment of her conception, by the merits of Jesus Christ. Less than four years later, on February 11, 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to a humble Bernadette in Lourdes and identified herself as 'The Immaculate Conception.'

## Concluding the Novena

We complete the ninth day of the novena to Our Lady of Lourdes. This novena reminds us that no matter how hopeless circumstances appear, there is always hope for those who pray. After reciting the Litany of Our Lady of Lourdes and the Apostles' Creed, we offer our final petitions. I want to thank Our Lady for the graces given throughout these nine days. As a resolution, I suggest going on a pilgrimage once a year to a Marian sanctuary or a spiritual retreat. For those in South Florida, I highly recommend Ave Maria University in Naples; it is a holy place with a wonderful museum dedicated to St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

*We are encouraged to resolve to visit a Marian sanctuary annually to deepen our devotion and thank Our Lady for her intercession.*