This is yet another day which has been dismissed by the leaders to NOT have much importance anymore. I'm going to try to give Our Mother some of the due she deserves. The 24th of May is a day of great importance. At least it should be to all believing Catholics. I will enter what is from the Liturgy of the 24th, where Our Blessed received her title of Our Lady, Help of Christians'.
The Faithful have frequently witnessed miraculous interventions which prove that the Mother of God is ever ready with her help to repel the enemies of religion. It was on this account that, after the signal victory gained by the Christians over the Turks in the Gulf of Lepanto, through the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin, the holy Pope Pius V ordered that to the other titles given to the Queen of Heaven in the Litany of Loreto, there should be added this of Help of Christians. But one of the most memorable proofs of this her protection, and one which may be regarded as an incontestable miracle, is that which happened during the Pontificate of Pius VII. By the intrigues and armed violence of certain impious men, the Pontiff had been driven from the Apostolic See of Peter, and was kept in close confinement, mainly at Savona, for upwards of five years. During this period, by a persecution unheard of in any previous age, every possible means was resorted to in order to prevent his governing the Church of God. When lo! suddenly and to the surprise of men, he was restored to the Pontifical Throne, to the great joy, and it might be almost said with the concurrence, of the whole world. The same thing happened also a second time, when a fresh disturbance arose and compelled him to leave Rome, and go, with the Sacred College of Cardinals, into Liguria. Here again, the storm that threatened great destruction was appeased by a most prompt interference of God's providence, and the Pontiff's return to Rome filled Christiandom with new joy. Before returning, however, he would carry out an intention which his captivity had hitherto prevented him from doing: with his own hand he solemnly placed a golden crown on the celebrated statue of the Mother of God that was venerated at Savona under the title of Mother of Mercy. The same Sovereign Pontiff, Pius VII, who was so thoroughly acquainted with every circumstance of these events, rightly attributed their happy issue to the intercession of the most holy Mother of God, Whose powerful help He Himself had earnestly besought, besides urging all the Faithful to obtain it by their prayers. He therefore instituted a solemn Feast in honor of the same Virgin-Mother, under the title of Help of Christians. It was to be kept every year on the 24th of May, the anniversary of his own most happy return to Rome. He also sanctioned a proper Office for this Feast, in order that the remembrance of so great a favour might ever be vividly on the minds of the Faithful, and secure the thanksgiving it deserved.
Following is a hymn which is in honor of this title of our Blessed Mother. It is from the Office of this day.
Ofttimes, when the Faithful of Christ have been threatened by the blood-stained sword of a ruthless foe, the compassionate Virgin came down from bright heaven as their Help.
We know it from the venerable documents of our Fathers: it is attested by the sacred edifices which are enriched with the trophies taken from our enemies, and by the yearly recurrence of our solemn feasts.
Lo! a new favour demands of us today a new canticle of grateful and glad thanks to Mary: it is the favour that made both Rome and the world resound with joy.
O happy and ever memorable day! whereon the See of Peter was blessed with the return of the teacher of Faith, after a sad exile of five years.
Let chaste maidens, and innocent youths, and the glad clergy, and the people, vie with each other in celebrating with grateful hearts the favours granted by the Queen of Heaven.
O thou Virgin of virgins! blessed Mother of Jesus! add favours still to these: pray, we beseech thee, that the good pastor may lead the flock to the pastures of salvation.
O Holy Trinity, to Whom all praise is due! grant that we may praise thee through eternal years. May our souls by their hymns, laud thy Holy Name. Amen.
However, Rome is not the only spot on earth that needs her powerful help. The vineyard of Christ is everywhere being laid waste by the wild beasts. Vice and error and seduction are everywhere. There is not a country where the Church is not persecuted, and its liberty trampled upon. Society has lost its Christian Traditions; it is at the mercy of revolutions against which it has no power. Our Lady, Help of Christians, is the ONLY solution to our needs. She will not allow the people to be lost who were redeemed by the Blood of Jesus. Our Lord has entrusted everything into her care. She is our only hope!
Pray for us, Blessed Mother, that we be made worthy of the promises of your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. Not only is she the Mother of God, but she is our Mother, also.
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