A Holy Life: St. Bernadette of Lourdes Book

Bernadette, at the time of her visions at Lourdes, was illiterate. She learned to read and write a few years later, and the writings she left amount to drafts of letters and the kinds of things a saint would jot down on cocktail napkins, if ever a saint was stuck in a bar. This was a fascinating read, especially the second Chapter, which is a "tiny anthology" of a slim notebook Bernadette kept. Some of the passages are not original (and often misquoted in interesting ways) and others are her own ruminations and saintly yearnings. She is obsessed with the crucified Christ and desires for him to make her his mystical bride. She believes that the more she suffers, the more Christ will love her. There are many amazing poetic quotes here. Before I read this, I assumed that Bernadette was like the Amelie of saints, kind of simpleminded and wide-eyed and cutesy. But I see now that I was blinded by Jennifer Jones from the 1943 movie and the actual Bernadette was a much dourer beast.