Customer Reviews

Lourdes: Font of Faith, Hope, and Charity

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This being the 150th anniversary of the apparition in Lourdes of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette, Paulist Press commissioned Elizabeth Ficocelli to do a book covering Lourdes - Lourdes: Font of Faith, Hope, and Charity. The author found that while there was a wealth of books on the saint and Lourdes in other languages, that there were not that many in English.

This book is not just another biography on Saint Bernadette, but goes much farther. The first three chapters do an excellent job of going over Bernadette Soubirous early life and the history and circumstances of the time along with a nicely detailed description of the apparition and the reaction by Bernadette and the towns people. You get easily drawn into the times and the reactions both positive and negative that occurred. Also covered is her life in the convent and just how accurate was the Virgin Mary telling her "I cannot promise you happiness in this life, only in the next."

A subsequent chapter covers the growing coverage on Lourdes and some of the battled between various authors documenting the events and the errors that cropped up. I found this chapter highly ironic for those covering the life of the saint were quite willing to expose the errors of other authors while never correcting there own.

The next two major sections of the book cover the start of the pilgrimages to Lourdes, Bernadette's canonization, miracles both physical and spiritual, and the reality of Lourdes today. One thing I really liked about the book was that it was pitch perfect in its theological descriptions. It contained one of the best descriptions of canonization and sainthood that I have read and even got the detail right that papal canonization are in fact infallible. Throughout the book this same attention to detail is quite evident.

Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was the descriptions of Lourdes today and the large number of volunteers that help make possible the throngs of pilgrims who visit possible in the first place. Since a large number of people who visit Lourdes have physical disabilities a lot of care and attention is needed and these volunteers certainly see there work as a sacred responsibility and as a service to Christ himself. These chapters also cover some of the authenticated miracles in the history of Lourdes along with an explanation of the extremely thorough process for recognition and why only a relatively few number of miracles are recognized. Also covered are spiritual conversions at Lourdes and while these would not be considered officially by the Church as miracles, they are obvious examples of God's grace. While the large majority who go to Lourdes will not experience a physical healing, there are quite a number of spiritual healings that occur there and of course sometimes there are both physical and spiritual healings. One interview of a person who was healed and his healing recognized as one of the authenticated cures is quite interesting in that he had pretty much given up hope and that his brother was the one who brought him to Lourdes. He now brings pilgrims to Lourdes everywhere himself.

The is really quite an excellent book even for those who are quite familiar with St. Bernadette's biography and even includes an excellent introduction by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR where he say he owes much to his recovery after the accident to Our Lady of Lourdes. Normally I am quite skeptical to books put out by Paulist Press, but I have zero qualms over this one and highly recommend it.

Elizabeth Ficocelli has writen a wonderful blend of history and spiritual truth that has come out of the print and captured my heart. It is a incredibly balanced book on events that lead this believer to examine her own heart and how her own personnel healing came about.

This is a great resource on the historical and contemporary Lourdes. The first chapter of the book presents the story of the apparitions in a simple, straightforward manner. Some of the earliest accounts of Lourdes suffered from exaggeration and lack of full adherence to the facts. Elizabeth applies her journalistic skills to create an accurate and factual account of the historical Lourdes. She tells the inspiring story of Bernadette and the other visionaries and outlines how Lourdes grew from a sleepy little town to a place that attracts on a yearly basis an estimated 5 million people of all faiths. In addition, Elizabteh has created a great guide to the modern day Lourdes that will be an invaluable resource for anyone planning a pilgrimage to the site.

This is the best book I have ever read on Our Lady of Lourdes. First, the author corrects numerous factual inaccuracies that have been perpetuated over the many years concerning St. Bernadette's personal history as well as the origin of this miracle itself that took place so long ago. Second, the author refreshingly holds no bias in simply providing her own account in experiencing the still-ongoing miracles of Lourdes among the millions of pilgrims that journey there each year. Third, there is that wonderful catholic touch of mystery and mysticism in her writing - an intangible one might say that lends both credibility and substance to this definitive analysis of Lourdes. Last, and what I found most illuminating about this author's account is how she so poignantly and accurately connects the miracles/apparitions of Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Lourdes, and the inevitable leap one needs to understand the ever-controversial apparition of Our Lady of Fatima: specifically, why is Our Lady often sad, weeping and warning us? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a book that is the real deal, so to speak, at a most affordable price.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's approach to a beautiful story and her ability to demonstrate in a tangible way the message and meaning of Lourdes. This is a story told through the eyes of a person of great faith and insight.

Lourdes Font of Faith, Hope and Charity by Elizabeth Ficocelli is an amazing book. very detail which will help me with my trip to Lourdes. I got so excited about everything that has happen in Lourdes and can't wait to get there.

Thank You Elizabeth for a great book.
sandra

My wife and I will forever be grateful to Ms. Ficocelli for her excellent work on Lourdes. After having read Font of Faith Hope and Charity during our Church's Book Club, we were inspired to take a Pilgrimage to Lourdes and even worked with the North American Volunteers to host a Virtual Pilgrimage for our Parish. This quick, informative, and moving book not only brought a couple from Los Angeles to Lourdes, it brought the Lourdes experience to more than 600 parishioners as well as hundreds of school children, elderly, sick and imprisoned people needing Our Blessed Mother's healing love and guidance to her Son. This is the very definition of a "good read"!

Dan Revetto
Northridge, California

Ms. Ficocelli has done it again! This book is well-written and inspiring, as all of her others have been!

Excellent book to learn about the Lourdes and the message of the apparitions. The author is vivid and clear in her narration. Well written book!

I highly recommend Elizabeth's books - Lourdes, Shower of Heavenly Roses and The Fruits of Medjugorje! They all grabbed my interest right from the beginning and held it till the end. I found them very interesting, inspirational and easy reads. Looking forward to future books by the author. EXCELLENT books and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!