Foreword
I am very pleased to provide these few words on Frank Colyer’s
book A Seat at the Supper.
Mr. Colyer introduces his story by referring his readers to the
Gospel of St. Luke (Lk 14:16-20), and to the excuses given by those invited
to a banquet by a generous host for not attending. The author recasts this
parable in a fashionable Sydney setting with the objective of awakening his
readers to the significance of the apparitions of Mary at Massabielle to
Bernadette Soubirous. His clear intention is to inspire the faithful to revisit
what happened at Lourdes and to respond generously to Mary’s message,
especially as it touches on the major dogmas of our faith.
In the opening chapters, the author discusses the question of the
authenticity of the apparitions. He begins with his own pilgrimage of faith
and then proceeds to take issue with the arguments offered both by non-
believers and some modern agnostics against the miracles at Lourdes. In the
third chapter, Mr. Colyer outlines a modern Australian story in a similar
rural setting to that of the Lourdes countryside. His fictional account of a
country girl in Victoria’s Wimmera receiving apparitions is an allegory,
used to explain why the reactions of so many people today to miraculous
events differs little to that of people in the 19th century in the High Pyrenees
in the south of France.
The later chapters of the book are a diary of the apparitions, with
details of the dialogue between Our lady and Bernadette and with those who
accompanied her to the Rock of Massabielle. These accounts are
dramatically told and will appeal to those unfamiliar with the Lourdes
events of 1858. The rest of Bernadette’s life story and the developments
since her death surrounding the pilgrimages to Lourdes and the Church’s
approval conclude the book. Bernadette was canonized on 8th December,
1933, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Frank Colyer’s devotional
story is very well written and a pleasure to read. I am happy to commend it
highly to all readers, young and old alike.
Dr. George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
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