Prayer to Christ within Us

"Remember, there is one who listens to you, so do not hesitate to pray
to him. But he abides within you. You need only purify the inmost
recesses of your heart.

He is the Lord our God, the Word of God, the Word made human, Son of
the Father, Son of God and Son of Man."
--St. Augustine--Sermon on John 10, 1

Prayer: O Word before all time, by whom time was made, born in time
although you are eternal life, you call us who are bound by time and
make us eternal.
--St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 101 (2), 10

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June 27th - Our Lady of Perpetual Help
(1863)

The image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help measures around 50 centimeters
(25 inches) high. It is in the Byzantine style, painted on wood with a
gold leaf background. The Virgin is there with Her divine Child; each
of them has a golden halo. Two Angels, one on the right and the other
on the left, present the instruments of the Passion to the Child Jesus
who is frightened, whereas the Blessed Virgin looks at the pathetic
scene with calm, resigned sorrow.

The image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help had long been venerated on the
Isle of Crete. The inhabitants of that island, fleeing a Turkish
invasion, took it with them to Rome. By the invocation of Mary under
the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the ship transporting Her
holy image was saved from a terrible storm.

On March 27, 1499, the portrait of the Virgin of Perpetual Help was
carried in triumph through the streets of Rome. Preceded by the clergy
and followed by the people, it was placed over the main altar of St. Matthew’s church, near St. Mary Major. Thanks to the care of the
Augustinian friars, the holy image became the object of a very popular
devotion which God rewarded for several centuries with many miracles.

During the disturbances of the French Revolution (1789-1793), the
French troops occupying Rome destroyed St. Matthew’s church. One of
the friars serving in that sanctuary had the time to secretly remove
the miraculous Madonna. He hid it so well that for sixty years, no one
knew what had become of the famous painting.

God permitted a concourse of providential circumstances which led to rediscovery of the venerated image. In 1865, in order to return the
holy picture to the same spot it had been prayed to before, Pius IX
gave orders to have it taken to the Esquiline Hill, in St. Alphonsus Liguori’s church, built on the site of old St. Matthew’s. On April 26, 1866, the Redemptorists solemnly enthroned Our Lady of Perpetual Help
in their chapel.

From that time on, thanks to the zeal of the sons of Saint Alphonsus
and the countless miracles obtained in their pious sanctuary, devotion
to Our Lady of Perpetual Help has had an extraordinary development. To acknowledge and perpetuate the remembrances of these precious favors,
the Vatican Chapter crowned the holy image in great pomp on June 23,
1867.

In 1876, Pope Pius IX erected an Archconfraternity in St. Alphonsus’
church under the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Today the
Blessed Virgin is invoked by this name throughout the Western Church.

Source: Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année,
Mame: Tours, 1950, pp. 463-464 – Brothers of Christian Schools, 1932
ed., p. 483.


Saint Quote:
To those who wish to stand in God's grace, neither the guardianship of
saints nor the defenses of angels are wanting.
--Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Bible Quote:
Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains
alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.  (John 12:24-25)


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Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Arguably the most popular Madonna by far, her maternal love
and protection show so clearly in her image, sheltering the
frightened Child Jesus, who, running to her consolation so fast
that he has nearly lost his sandal, sees the Archangels Michael
and Gabriel with the instruments of His Crucifixion.
In times of need we can follow the example of Our Lord, and flee
to the protection of His, and our, Blessed Mother.

Say each day for nine days:

See at Your feet, O Mother of Perpetual Help, a poor sinner who
has recourse to You and confides in You.

O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me! I hear You called the refuge
and the hope of sinners; be my refuge and my hope.

Help me, for the love of Jesus Christ; stretch forth Your hand to a
poor fallen creature who recommends himself/herself to You,
and who devotes himself/herself to Your service forever. I bless
and thank Almighty God, who in His mercy had given me this
confidence in You, which I hold to be a pledge of my eternal
salvation.

Mary, tender Mother, help me. Mother of Perpetual Help, never
allow me to lose my God. Amen.

(Say the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, three times each)

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