The Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

A blessed feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes to you.

For the past nine days we had been walking a novena

together, sharing our thoughts, prayers, art and messages from

Blessed Mary with you.

Early this morning I created a special altar for Our Lady of Lourdes.

I lit the candles and Ave Maria candle shades
 that I brought back from my pilgrimage
to one of the most sacred sites in the world. 

I sprinkled the healing waters that
She gave to us in the springs of Lourdes,

 and I waited on Her voice.

'My Beloved children
You can make a difference.  
You have heard this often and most probably

just block it out as it usually means more pressure to perform,

and more demands to be met. 
 Bu,t my dear beloveds, you can make a difference

by truly being who you are.  
You are the divine spark of God and without you,

specifically you, there can be no living breathing world which is the

Beloved of God.  
This calls for Courage and Faith, both of which

are available in your own inner wellspring.  
You have everything that you need

to access your deepest and greatest power.  
You are a power house

of genius and potential and this does
not always look like it sounds.
All you have to do is open the tap through
intent and willingness.

The challenge is to find the courage to turn within.
To look in your deepest heart and to hear the voice that
is calling on you and asking you to actively engage in life
and to participate in bringing to birth the compassion
and empathy from which all humans are created. 
The challenge is to find the inner strength to stand up
for what you believe in, despite the logic and reasoning 
and rationale of others; despite statistics and scientific evidence
that tries to persuade you to believe differently.

Your heart is your inner compass and it is always focused
on True North.  You and I are the only Ones who know what your
heart truly says and calls for.  When you actively participate in 
your own life and your own healing, it is like a flag
being tethered to a flag post.  Without commitment and without
discipline and boundaries there can be no unfurling of the flag.
Often you fear taking responsibility and often you fear being
held accountable.  It is so much easier to fly freely in daydreams
and ideology of a better world that will come to pass.
However, the mirror of Divine Sophia only reflects back to you that which
is within yourself.
Heal the wasteland of your heart and the world out there will heal. 

You may be looking around you and see the dire plight

of other living beings.  
You may be looking in the mirror and see someone who

is caught up in suffering and fear.  
And you may be feeling powerless and

haunted by past memories of feeling and being
deeply disempowered.

But all of that can change.  

If you build your house on Faith, 
your own faith on the implicit divinity and

goodness of the Creator,
 by any name that you may choose to call Him and Her,

then you will be led to the door of the Sacred Heart 
which houses your own heart.

There is no boundary between you and the Divine 
nor between you and the Beloved other
than the boundaries created by your own mind.

You are the Beloved for whom this world has been created 
and you have the power

to make a difference.

The smallest act of loving yourself; 
 the smallest act of being kind to yourself;

the smallest act of reaching out to another in pain or distress or hunger;

these all have the power to change the image that the world is reflecting to you.

As you let the Light of your own heart shine on yourself

and on others and on the Earth, you become

the Gift that Life has gifted to this world.

Ave Maria

When I went back into the house I found a small
robin bird inside my bedroom which opens on to
the Mary garden in which set the altar
to Our Lady of Lourdes

This is what Animalspeak by Ted Andrews says about the

appearance of the Robin Redbreast :

The Robin Redbreast 

The robin redbreast is a bird of Spring, a time of new growth and new beginnings. It flies into our lives on the winds of change asking us to weed our personal gardens and plant new seeds for our future. Rebirth and renewal require changes in all areas of life that have become stagnant and outdated. The robin redbreast teaches us to how to make these changes with joy in our hearts. Its song is a happy one reminding us to let go of our personal drama and learn to laugh with life. If this medicine is underdeveloped those with this totem are continually challenged by the prospects of change. Difficulties arise and emotional discord can surface. Learning how to release our attachments to the old is one of the life lessons the redbreast helps us master. 

This bird packs a powerful punch. It holds strong significance in ancient myth and lore. One legend had its origins in European mythology, in which the bird of Spring was associated with the New Year and represented divine sacrifice and the rebirth of the spirit. 

In Medieval Europe the robin redbreast was often depicted attending the Christ child, an emblem of the Passion to come. It was told how, at that fateful hour, it was the tiny robin who flew to Jesus' Crown of Thorns, striving valiantly to pluck the spines away with his beak. Unfortunately the bird succeeded only in tearing his own breast on the thorns. Ever since then it was thought that all robins wore red feathers on their bosoms as a badge of honor. The robin redbreast is a bird of divine service. Those with this totem often have past life ties to the Christ energy. They make excellent priests and missionaries. 

The red coloring of the robins chest is linked to the kundalini in man. This life force lives coiled up within the base of the spine. When sufficient spiritual growth has been attained it uncoils, rising up the spine to create heightened awareness. This process enhances psychic vision which leads us into enlightenment. Those with this medicine are dedicated spiritual seekers. Growth can be slow and arduous. With patience, compassion and proper focus spiritual ideals are achieved. 

Robins lay powder blue eggs. This is the color associated with the throat chakra in man. It is also linked to heavenly inspiration. Because the throat chakra's main function is to express the will of God and the egg is symbolic of new life, this helpful little totem teaches us how to assert the creative will of God in all we do. It leads us into new beginnings without fear by restoring faith within our hearts.

Myself and Mary Beben thank you for travelling these nine days with us and

invite you to share on your own blog, should you feel called to do so, and to link back here.

blessings
Hettienne and Mary