"Love without limit"

July 3, 2015

Nevers, France

“Jesus gives everything to the one who has left everything.”

I am still in the process of figuring out how I can leave everything. How I can deny myself and create room in my heart for God to enter more deeply. I am still in the process of letting go of worldly things and committing myself to Christ and virtue. I have a ways to go before I have “left everything,” but I know that as I let go of what keeps me from Christ, He is able to give me His everything, His Love.

As I left Düsseldorf, I sent away some of my luggage and felt my life being simplified. I still have everything I need, and I am able to live a pretty comfortable life out of a backpack and little carry on, but letting go of my luggage has been so freeing.

St. Bernadette lived such a simple life. Her example truly has moved me. The town of Nevers, France was so quaint. It felt wonderful to be in such a quiet, still place after being in a city for so long. The quietness was freeing.

Yesterday afternoon, I had the opportunity to visit the church where St. Bernadette’s body is still fully intact. Being present in the church where Bernadette lived, and seeing her lying there reminded me of all that I have learned through the stories of her life.

Her story contains too many details for me to possibly explain them all, but I’ll try to give you a little summary. St. Bernadette was not born poor, but her family became poor when she was only a child. She lived in poverty, with many health issues, without complaint. When she was a young teenager, the Virgin Mary appeared to her in a Grotto in Lourdes. Bernadette was not well educated due to her poor health. She struggled with persecution since she was not viewed as intelligent, but she always held firm to the truth of her experiences. Many people questioned Bernadette’s story and she always courageously and simply responded with the details of her experience. At the age of 22, St. Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, France and committed her life to Jesus and her vocation as a religious sister. She passed away in Nevers and was canonized as a saint in 1933. During the process of her canonization, her body was exhumed and found to be intact. Her body remains miraculously preserved in Nevers.

I heard St. Bernadette’s name for the first time at a conference for Catholic University students called SEEK in 2013. There were over 6,000 students at the conference and we had the opportunity to receive confession. During my confession, the priest told me to ask St. Bernadette to pray for me to have courage. I jotted her name down since I hadn’t heard of her before, and I left to pray.

As the years have gone by, I have slowly learned about St. Bernadette and the parallels of our two lives. Her continuous trust in God and willingness to be courageous in sharing His truth has inspired. The experiences and stories of her life have taught me so much about my life and have opened my eyes to ways that I can come to know God more and follow His will more closely.