J.M.J.
Happy Anniversary The Best Catholic! My Blog started out as “Psalms and the Pilgrim Daughter” some years ago, on February 17. I would love to commemorate that special day when it all began; when I answered what I felt in my heart as God’s call for me to write about the Faith.
To those who have stayed with me since the beginning of my writing pilgrimage, I am deeply grateful to you for being with me all this time.
Now, this Website has come quite a long way since, for it belongs to the Top 100 Catholic Blogs worldwide. It is an official ranking among thousands of blogs of the same category from around the world. We are Top 88 as of this month of February. Many thanks to our Readers, Sharers of the Faith and 161,000 Facebook Page Likers. I remember you in my prayers, dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. May God bless all of you.
I sincerely ask that you please pray for me, for my Blog, that it continues reaching Catholic faithfuls across the seven seas. It is my earnest wish to keep on this spiritual journey with you. Thank you so much.
Along with this Anniversary celebration is the Feast Day of Saint Bernadette Soubirous tomorrow, February 18, a week after the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11. This was the original feast day instituted for her when she was canonized, because it was on that date in 1858 that Our Blessed Mother Mary told her, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the other.” Although it was later moved to another date, traditionalists and people in her country still celebrate her old Feast Day. Catholics can observe either or both.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous is my Patron Saint, next to Saint Joseph, because I feel her significant presence in my life. It started with a devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. Saint Bernadette has been among my most favorite Saints, but it was only last year that I got to know her on a deeper level. Since then, I have fallen so much in love with her. Her intercession to God for me has been amazing.
My family bought an e-book that compiled and commented on all the writings of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, mainly her personal notes and letters to various persons. Her life in the convent after the Apparitions had mostly been hidden. In fact, she is said to be the “most secret of saints.” Unlike other Saints who preached great sermons or wrote scholarly texts, she devoted her very holy life in humility and simplicity- of service to the sick despite being afflicted with her own illnesses.
Her whole, total, and pure love for God, Our Blessed Mother Mary, the Sacraments and the Church are evidently seen in her Private Notes, considered as “the most precious document from Bernadette’s writings,” and in her letters to various people. Complete submission to God’s will was her life’s meaning.
Bernadatte is usually pictured as a quiet, small, and meek child; the sole seer of Our Lady of Lourdes at the foot of the Grotto. Though illiterate and uncatechized in her younger years, she later became a prolific writer. I learned through her writings that Saint Bernadette was an extremely sweet girl with a light sense of humor, cheerful and joyful amidst her sicknesses and intense sufferings, and always smiled (according to the ones that knew her).
Throughout St. Bernadette’s life, her ability was described as “not good in anything.” She herself said that she had the “job of being sick.” In the convent, she had been given the “job of praying” for not having talents or skills, and not being able to do much work because of her sickly condition. She was one of the least in the eyes of the society, but God saw through her pure heart. To His eyes, she was a rare favored soul of great value, worthy to be chosen for a unique mission.
Saint Bernadette’s life became extraordinary with her supernatural experience of visions of the Holy Virgin Mary. But it is her holiness that truly made her an extraordinary person. Her writings focused on the messages of Our Lady in her visions- humility, penance and conversion.
On a lighter note, I share a strong connection with Saint Bernadette when I realized that the sweetness of her tone of voice in her letters and style of writing reminded me so much of myself, of how I sound when I write my own personal handwritten letters. The similarity in our tone just makes me smile. On a more reflective note, I share with her another deep connection, knowing that I similarly go through some of the sufferings she had, and I strive for holiness like she did.
I pray that Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Bernadette Soubirous may always be with me, and those who read this with love, on my Blog’s Anniversary.
“I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety.”
Saint Bernadette’s quote above resonates how I feel in writing my Blog. I write here with sincerity, because it is my personal goal to share with you, as much as God’s grace enables me, what I know and have learned about Catholicism. Ultimately, I do this because I believe that this calling from God to write will help me get closer to Heaven. Inspired by my Patron Saints, I shall also do everything to get to Heaven, our true home. And I hope that my writings are able to have good spiritual effects on you, our dear Readers, so that someday we are going to see each other in Heaven, and live among the Communion of Saints, with the Most Chaste Spouse Saint Joseph, with Our Blessed Mother Mary, and Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, pray for us!
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
Mama Mary, pray for us!
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
Email: [email protected]
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