Our Lady of Perpetual Help
This is my favorite Marian feast. While it is quite a lesser known one, it means a lot to me. She has helped me in many a way and I wanted to call attention to her before the day was done. Here is a little on it.
Stats
Artist: St. Luke (technically it is a copy of his painting)
Size: 21 by 17 inches
Surface: Wood
Style: Byzantine
Story
The image depicts the child Jesus in His Mother's arms with one shoe off. The story goes He had a vision of His passion and in freight fled to His Mother and in the process lost his shoe. The vision is represented by the Archangels Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel holds the right holds the Cross and Nails while Michael holds the spear and sponge of wine and gall. Mary looks to us as a reminder of what Christ endured for our sakes.
History
It is said to be a copy the original that was venerated in Constantinople until 1453, when it was destroyed by the Turks. This copy was in the Crete’s possession. A merchant, wanting it to be preserved it took it to Italy. However, the merchant fell ill after arriving in Rome, and eventually passed on. His friend promised to find the painting a suitable church but his wife convinced him to keep it under their roof a few more days. Days became months and months would have become years but Our Lady took it into her hands to ask for it’s prompt placement into a church. She appeared 3 times to the man, but he fell ill and passed on. Convinced that the picture was safest under her roof the wife kept it until her daughter came to her telling that a beautiful Lady had appeared to her while looking at the picture. The message was simple; Our Lady of Perpetual Help wants to be placed back in a church. Our Lady appeared to the child a second time stating she should be placed in the church between the Basilica of St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran, the Church of St. Matthew, the Apostle. There it hung for about 300 years and was a means of countless miracles, cures and needed graces. The church was destroyed during Napoleon’s reign of terror in 1789. Later it was discovered that one of the Augustinians (whom cared for the church) had taken the picture out of harms way just in time. When Pope Pius VII returned he gave the Augustinians from St. Matthews the house and church of St. Mary’s in Posterula. The picture was placed in their private chapel, as St. Mary’s already had Our Lady of Grace enshrined in it. So the picture stayed in the private chapel for 64 years.
Some time after the Redemptorists were granted land to build a monastery and the Church of St. Alphonsus. Upon research by one of the priests it was discovered to be the same site of the old Church of St. Matthew. Father Michael Marchi, a Redemptorist, heard his fellow brother’s talk about the old lost image, and recalled his times spent praying in the Augustinians in Posterula’s chapel. An old lay brother had told him of the many miracles worked by Our Lady. Eventually they learned of the pictures history and Our Lady’s request and after deliberation they decided to ask the Holy Father, Pope Pius IX for intervention. He granted the request for the paintings restoration and commissioned the Redemptorisits to make Our Lady of Perpetual Help known everywhere.
***This is a summary of the information presented by Pauline Books & Media in their Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help booklet.
I personally find this picture to exemplify what it means to be a mother, and I have often looked to it for comfort in times of need.
0 comments:
Post a Comment