EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT GOD DOING MIRACLES AT LOURDES

The Catholic shrine of Lourdes where Jesus' mother supposedly appeared in 1858 in a magical vision is the miracle healing capital of the world.  Lourdes is renowned for its miraculous healings.  Lourdes is in France. It nestles among the Pyrenees. A destitute asthmatic child of thirteen, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed she saw an entity who was alleged to be Virgin Mary in a grotto or cave at the dump of Massabielle eighteen times between the 11th of February and July 18th.

Mary interestingly never mentioned she would heal anybody.  The miracle spring which is said to be a miracle was in fact already there when Mary supposedly made it appear.  This alone gives a loophole for saying that Mary the miracles are down to something other than the visions or the holiness of the place.
 
The entity asked for a chapel and people to come in procession. She never asked for a massive basilica and shrine. It is interesting that the vision asked Bernadette for a chapel. She did not intend then to work many cures for if you do you will need more than a chapel!
 
The vision could have been achieved by remote viewing. There is no reason even for a believer in the miraculous visions to hold that Mary actually went to Lourdes. So there is no need for a shrine on the basis that Mary was there for there is no indication at all that she was. The fuss about the shrine and the great crowds going there indicate that Catholics are more interested in heavenly visions than in the message. It is about the magical occult side. They act as if the place became magic since Mary set foot there. Few Catholic pilgrims to Lourdes even know the messages Mary gave or even care. And running to a place where Mary allegedly stood makes no sense if they believe Jesus comes down and takes the form of bread and wine in their parish churches daily.
 
Though the pilgrims should emphasise Mary's message rather than the visions, they should make a priority of knowing the Pope's teaching. The pope as Vicar of Christ, according to Catholic belief, communicates Christ's truth. Messages from Heaven then are nothing in comparison to what he has to say.
 
The healings of Lourdes have made it into a super-shrine. Thus it is hard to believe that the Catholic Mary is responsible for these healings. It undermines the Catholic teaching about Jesus in communion and the pope being his spokesman. Mary never promised healings and Bernadette herself said that the cures were nonsense.
 
Of extreme significance is what Bernadette said to the Jesuit Pere Langlade in 1863. He asked her if she had seen the Blessed Virgin. Her reply was that she did not say she seen the Blessed Virgin but she seen the apparition. Clearly she did not regard the alleged cures as miracles that showed Mary had appeared to her.
 
A miracle is a supernatural event. It like God doing magic. Religionists who are on the quest to experience miracles open themselves wide to deception. St John of the Cross had plenty to say about that. Also, they evidently think their religion is so ridiculous that they need to see miracle or a sign from God before they can manage to believe.
 
Lourdes has no credibility as regards visions from God. It is commonly thought that if the apparitions alone are doubtful or seem unconvincing then the authenticating power of the healings of Lourdes makes up for it.

Bernadette never used the miraculous spring or its water even when she was dying. Some say she believed the spring was not for her but she could have tried it and left it up to God. There would be no blasphemy or sin in that. It was an insult to refuse to let God have a chance to cure her through the waters if he wanted to. Bernadette was astonishingly sceptical of the first miracle cures and said that healing had never been mentioned by the vision. This girl was called stupid and gullible. One would expect then that if she was she would have been more open to the miracles. I would take her attitude as evidence that she faked her vision and still won the world over which made her realise that people would convince themselves that any lie was the truth and made her sceptical. Or perhaps gullible people only believe apparitions have no power to heal when they have had no apparition.