As you have probably heard, the Redemptorists have a devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Pope Pius IX asked the Redemptorists to “make her known” under this title. The icon depicts the Blessed Mother’s concern not only for her Son’s future Passion, represented by the instruments of the crucifixion carried by the archangels, Michael and Raphael, but her expression also conveys her empathy for all of us, her spiritual sons and daughters. When we are mired by our own inertia and hesitancy to give God our all, Mary’s eyes can convey to us her tender concern and serenity.
There was a famous Redemptorist, Fr. John Hamrogue, who would council, “Just spend time in front of her icon. You only have to look.” In other words, Fr. John was saying: “Stop talking!” Let the quiet moment of prayer speak to your heart. And, if we string enough of these “moments” together, we will be stirring aflame the desire to meditate. Contemplation, after all, isn’t only for cloistered nuns and monks.
September 8th is recognized as the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s birth. The story of Mary’s Nativity is known only from apocryphal sources like the Gospel of James, which was most likely written in the early 2nd century. This is where the names of Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, are mentioned. Roman Catholics added the Feast of the Nativity to the Church’s calendar toward the end of the 7th century after it was brought to the West by Eastern monks who had been celebrating this devotion for centuries.
If you are thinking of a birthday gift to the Blessed Mother on her birthday, how about the gift of prayer? I recommend following Fr. John’s advice to spend time with the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help. The icon is truly a window into the divine - where God is waiting for us.
Blessings,
Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.
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