Once upon a time (I’ve ALWAYS wanted to begin a post or a story with those words) three women attended a meeting of the Charismatic Renewal in Lourdes, France. This is the site of one of the most visited Marian Apparition shrines in the world. The Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared there to a poor, uneducated peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous eighteen times in late Winter through Spring, 1858.
This is not that story. It is the story of the three women and an organization they started in France in 1979 that helps people become liberated from alcoholism.
Marion Cahour, a doctor specializing in alcoholism, was accompanied by two friends, Marie-Claire, who was a recently retired nurse with an enthusiasm for people, and Zélie, a mother of six children.
The story goes that while at Lourdes during this Renewal they were confronted by an alcoholic hotel hostess who had repeatedly insulted them after they returned to their hotel room. Now, Marion Cahour’s father had died from alcoholism in 1922 when she was just 14. She later entered medical school and worked with alcoholics throughout her career. (By the way, in 1979 she was 71 years of age. Just like Mother Angelica who started EWTN at the age of 58, this shows that one is never too old to begin something that establishes a legacy.) They hit upon an idea during the torchlight procession, that of turning to Jesus to free people from alcoholism. They created a cardboard sign with the words:
“Jesus Savior heal us of alcohol, Thank you!”
The sign and their public declaration were reportedly well received given that they were not expelled from the solemn ceremony. To quote from their website (links at the end of this post):
When they arrived at the Crowned Virgin, the master of ceremonies came to pick them up and brought them up the whole esplanade to place them on one of the side stairs of the basilica, in the middle of the banner carriers, just below a large lamppost so that they can be seen everywhere.
“Keep straight, carry the sign high,” his friends blew him, but the advice was useless. Thousands and thousands of eyes converged on them, on this sign, an unusual cry of misery and hope. When the Salvation ceremony at the Blessed Sacrament was completed, the cord of the many bishops in red or purple dresses at the foot of the basilica turned around and discovered them. One of them detached himself and came to them: “I congratulate you, ladies, he told them, for your courage and faith, it is above all this word “THANK YOU” that strikes me. (It was already a sign of recognition from our Church).
“Stay straight, hold the sign up,” his friends blew to him.
Then they were overwhelmed by a crowd of pilgrims from all sides, especially by groups of Italian and Spanish women, who shouted “alcohol-alcohol” while kissing their hands. For the three of her, it was a novelty. Their eyes got wet and after two hours they were still on the spot.
They returned in 1980 with family and friends burdened by alcoholism. The nascent movement, obviously infused by the Holy Spirit and encouraged by His Immaculate Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, began. The Mission of the Pilgrims of Living Water (Pelerins del Eau Vive in French) was born!
From their site:
We are a Catholic mission that has existed since 1979, at the service of alcohol patients and their families, believers or unbelievers, who are either sick or have relatives who suffer from this disease (called codependents). It was created by Marion Cahour (see history of our mission) and is a Catholic mission constituted as a private association of the faithful, recognized by the Bishop of Nantes. Our foundation and spirituality place them in the Health Pastoral Care deployed in the Catholic Church
The Pilgrims of the Living Water are groups of Christians experienced by the ravages of alcohol, sick or codependent, whether in their personal lives, in that of their families or friends.
Cahour had the notion that alcoholism is a disease of the soul.
“…at the origin of this dependence, there is a disease of the soul”
-Marion Cahour, The Pilgrims of the Living Water founder
I agree completely with this! I’ve written before on that and you’ve probably heard on your own about how people have a “hole in the soul” and they yearn to fill it. Many fill it by inappropriate means such as addictions, sex, drugs, and a host of other things which all have one thing in common: they do not fill that “hole in the soul.” That hole can only be filled by one thing: God.
Eau Vive meets once a week for 90 minutes in support groups called “Hearts,” to share, listen, and pray the Rosary. They also recite the “Prayer of the Glass of Water.”
It refers to the Gospel of the Samaritan woman according to Saint John ch 4, v10 and 13.
“If you knew the gift of God and who is the one who says to you: “Give me a drink”, it was you who would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Jesus answered: “Whoever drinks from this water from the well will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from this water that I will give him, will never thirst again.”
This is also done at home in a private ceremony:
Every evening: (because the victory of the next day is won the night before)
Fill a glass of water by reciting the “Our Father” so that it becomes the glass of water given to the Samaritan.
Every morning: when you wake up, swallow it in confidence by saying:
“Jesus the savior, heal me of alcohol. Thank you” and then reciting the “Prayer of the Glass of Water:”
My God, come to my help
Lord to my rescue.
With the help of the Holy Spirit,
I decide to prefer today
Jesus Christ, my savior to my alcohol.
Blessed Virgin Mary,
I put my choice in your hands.
Pray that I will hold on,
O my father from heaven,
Hear my sick cry,
Take pity on me,
And give me the courage
To start this prayer again tomorrow.
Our Lady of Impossible Missions
Pray for us.
“Jesus Savior
heal us
of alcohol
Thank you!”
Finally, they work in a spirit of communion and reparation in something called the “Living Water of the Glorious Cross.” The…
…pilgrims of the Living Water of the Glorious Cross … offer in the communion of the saints their present sufferings to support the sick and their families wounded by this “ALCOHOL” scourge.
They will pray more particularly for those who struggle and hang out in a long fight of relapses, not to mention those who have died or will die without having experienced the release of their drug. They are entrusted with the great intentions of the Mission and the friends whose journey is the most difficult.
This mystical and contemplative branch will be the best lightning rod against the mortal danger of any division within the mission of the “Pilgrims of the Living Water”.
I learned about this group while reading a book on the 150th Anniversary of the Apparition of Lourdes; containing 150 ‘miraculous stories’ of healing and conversion, as well as stories of particular importance to the growth of the Shrine of Lourdes, one of these stories was about a man who ‘had it all’ and lost it because of the drink. He had a conversion experience while homeless in Paris when he chanced upon a Catholic Church where young people were praying the Rosary with some homeless people. He prayed for deliverance, the people took him in and helped get his life together and he joined Eau Vive.
You may have noticed that the “Prayer of the Pilgrims of Living Water” harkens to the Matt Talbot Way method of transferring your love for alcohol onto Jesus: ”
“With the help of the Holy Spirit, I decide to prefer today Jesus Christ, my savior to my alcohol.”
The links I promised, follow. They are all in French, but most modern browsers have a translation function. Please make use of it because the information is quite wonderful and useful!
Their homepage: Pelerins del Eau Vive
Their history: History of the Mission
Their program of recovery: What do we offer?
Their locations: Our ‘Hearts’ (None in the United States or Canada, alas. All appear to be in French-speaking countries.)
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Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)