    |                                                                  
    | > Mary at that time appeared to a girl named Bernadette at       
    | > Lourdes.  She referred to herself as the Immaculate Conception.
    | > Since a nine year old would have no way of knowing about the   
    | > doctrine, the apparition was deemed to be true and it sealed   
    | > the case for the doctrine.                                     
    |Bernadette was 14 years old when she had her visions, in 1858,    
    |four years after the dogma had been officially proclaimed by the  
    |Pope.                                                             
    |                                                                  
    | Yours,                                                           
    | James Kiefer

I forgot exactly what her age was but I remember clearly
that she was born in a family of poverty and she did not
have any education, whatsoever, at the age of the apparitions.
She suffered from asthma at that age and she and her family were
living in a prison cell of some sort.

She had to ask the 'Lady' several times in her apparitions about 
what her name was since her confessor priest asked her to do so.  
For several instances, the priest did not get an answer since 
Bernadette did not receive any.  One time, after several apparitions
passed, The Lady finally said, "I am the Immaculate Conception".
So, Bernadette, was so happy and repeated these words over and
over in her mind so as not to forget it before she told the
priest who was asking.  So, when she told the priest, the
priest was shocked and asked Bernadette, "Do you know what
you are talking about?".  Bernadette did not know what exactly
it meant but she was just too happy to have the answer for
the priest.  The priest continued with, "How did you remember
this if you do not know?".  Bernadette answered honestly that
she had to repeat it over and over in her mind while on her
way to the priest...

The priest knew about the dogma being four years old then.
But Bernadette did not know and yet she had the answer which
the priest finally observed and took as proof of an authentic
personal revelation of Our Lady to Bernadette.

(Note: This Lady of Lourdes shrine has a spring of water which
our lady requested Bernadette to dig up herself with her
bare hands in front of pilgrims.  At the start little
water flowed but after several years there is more water 
flowing.)

-Marida
 "...spreading God's words through actions..."
 -Mother Teresa



