These reflections come from signs on the other side of the river from the Grotto in Lourdes. I found them very moving so have copied them here for your benefit – but please be aware I did not write them! Credit should be given to the Lourdes Sanctuary.
Meribah
We are still with Moses. But Moses is no longer his own. With him, under his leadership, all his people came out of Egypt. The joy of freedom! But to go where? As far as the eyes can see, is the desert of Sinai. The water is running short for both people and animals. Tomorrow, without water, it is certain death. Today it is fear. All turn against Moses: Why did he lead them out of Egypt, if it is to die in an agony of thirst?
Behind Moses, it is God himself that people blame: they suspect God is taking them on a path that leads to death. On God’s order, Moses strikes the rock and the water gushes forth. The people drink and recover their taste for life.
Centuries later, with a spear, a centurion will pierce the side of Jesus, our rock, the corner stone of our faith. The water of life will fush forth, the water that he had promised to the woman of Samaria.
“Meribah” means dispute. The people sought to quarrel with God. God forgave them, but the people must not forget.
“O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
When your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof,
Though they had seen my work” (Psalm 95:7-9)
Mary, your faith had been tested. You were anguished when you sought your Son Jesus, lost in the Temple of Jerusalem. You have been tested, but you did not doubt. You did not harden your heart. You cried over our sins, because they signify our death and because you love us as a mother loves her children.
Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Sorrows,
“Refuge of Sinners”, obtain for us the gift of tears.
May we cry over our sins so that our tears may become gleams of light.
“Happy are those who mourn, they will be consoled.”
