St. Bernadette's Vision, A Narration by Nastia

Today we finished reading Bernadette, Our Lady's Servant together as our morning read-aloud. It was especially meaningful, having made a pilgrimage to Lourdes last April. We could picture the scenes perfectly because we had prayed at the grotto and stood inside the Old Jail. What a blessing.

I asked the middle girls to write or draw a narration, and this was what Nastia (10) wrote:

Bernadette's sisters were going to gather firewood, but Bernadette could not go because she had a cold. Her sisters were off. Bernadette asked if she could go along, but her mother said, "No." But then she said it was okay if she kept her shoes and stockings on, so Bernadette said that she would keep them on.

When she got to the grotto, the others had already run across to the other side. Bernadette threw stones into the water to make stepping stones, but they sank right away. She started to take her shoes off when a soaring gush of wind blew. Bernadette looked up and then she started to take her stockings off and she heard another gush of wind.

Then she saw the most beautiful lady Bernadette had ever seen. She fell onto her knees and took out her rosary and started praying. And that's the story of Bernadette. She had seen the Blessed Virgin.


Not bad for a little girl who spoke nary a word of English five years ago. I find it so interesting to discover what they remember, what made it into their little hearts. We started reading the book a couple of weeks ago, so I was amazed how many details she remembered from the first chapter. I also was a bit surprised that she included no information beyond the first chapter. I suspect she ran out of steam, since it took her quite a while to write it all down.

Nevertheless, she remembered the crucial part: She had seen the Blessed Virgin.