"An Anglican at Lourdes" ??!! :) x 5

Adapted from this source: The Jesuit magazine, "America," October 13, 2008.

"Archbishop Williams referred to Mary as the spotless mother"


"Last summer, when the turmoil in the Anglican Communion was making headlines (Am., 8/4), Austen Ivereigh suggested on America's blog In All Things that the archbishop of Canterbury should send his quarreling bishops to Lourdes to help foter a sense of unity.

"Though Mr. Ivereigh says that he was writing half- mischievously, this has come to pass.

"On Sept. 25, Archbishop Rowan Williams delivered a moving homily at an ecumenical celebration at the Marian shrine, presided over by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

"Archbishop Williams referred to Mary as the spotless mother and reminded listeners that as the apparitions to St. Bernadette surprised those who thought they knew everything about the Mother of God, we too need to be ready for surprises.

"Using the image of Mary's encounter with Elizabeth, he suggested that we should be open to times when life stirs inside, heralding some future with Christ that we can't get our minds around...."