Traditional Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

June 27 is the historical feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.  The devotion to the Blessed Virgin under this title stems from a miraculous image painted in the thirteenth century in Crete.  At one point the painting was stolen by a merchant, who brought it to Rome.  On his deathbed he asked a local Roman to place it in a church where it could be venerated by many people.  The Roman and his wife decided to keep the painting instead.

Our Mother Mary appeared to the Roman's six-year old daughter, asking her to take the icon to St. Matthew's Church; the family then obeyed.  This miraculous image remained in the Church of St. Matthew for nearly 300 years where many graces were obtained through our Lady's intercession.  However, in 1798 Napoleon invaded Rome and ordered the destruction of the churches.  At this time in history, the icon disappeared.

Nearly half a century later a young altar boy was told by an old religious sacristan that the old image hanging in their chapel had been  rescued from destruction; it once hung in St. Matthew's Church.  He wanted the boy to remember, so the story would not be lost.  Later that same boy became a Redemptorist in Rome.  When the order took over St. Matthew's Church, which was now in ruins, the Redemptorists read of a beautiful, old icon that once hung in the church.  The former altar boy remembered the sacristan's story, and he and the other Redemptorists appealed to Pope Pius IX for permission to restore the image to the grounds of St. Matthew Church as Mary had originally wished.  The pope, who had prayed before the image in St. Matthew's as a boy agreed to their request, but with St. Matthew Church in ruins, the icon was placed in the newly built church of the Holy Redeemer and St. Alphonsus, which was located near the old church grounds.  Pope Pius IX gave the Redemptorist Order as their mission to spread devotion to the icon and Mary under the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The icon depicts our Lady with a loving, but sorrowful, gaze upon us, encouraging us to ponder her Son and His passion.  In this image she is also known as Virgin of the Passion.  The Greek letters above her tell us she is the Mother of God, while the other Greek letters reveal the names of Baby Jesus, St. Michael, and St. Gabriel.  The Christ Child's gaze is resting upon something in the distance that has made Him afraid.  One sandal is slipping off as He hastily went to His Mother for protection.  He is also gripping her thumb with both hands for comfort and safety.  What did our Lord see that frightened Him so?  His gazed recognized His future Passion, His Sufferings for our redemption.  The angels also reveal His Passion; St. Michael holds the lance, the urn filled with gall, and the reed and sponge.  St. Gabriel carries a cross and four nails.

Just as our Lord in this image sought His Mother and clung to her for protection, may we also imitate Him.  May we turn to our Lady in all our needs, with love and devotion, trusting her to protect us and guide us to her Son.  May we ponder this beautiful image of our Lady of Perpetual Help, remembering our Lord's Passion and Mary's sorrows all done out of love for us.  The prayer below invokes Mary under this title, begging her for help and showering her with words of devotion.

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Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour 

O Mother of Perpetual Succour, grant that I may always invoke thy most powerful name, for thy name is help in life, salvation in death. Ah, Mary most pure, Mary most sweet, let thy name henceforth be the breath of my life. Tarry not, O Lady, to come to my succour, whenever I call upon thee, for in all the wants which shall befall me, I wilt never cease to call upon thee, and to repeat again and again: Mary, Mary! 

What comfort, what sweetness, what confidence, what tenderness, does my soul feel in the mere mention of thy name, in the very thought of thee! I thank the Lord for having given thee, for my good, this name so sweet, so amiable, so powerful. But merely to pronounce thy name is not enough for me. I wish to do so out of love: I wish that love may remind me to call thee always, Mother of Perpetual Succour. Amen. 

Pater Noster … Ave Maria … Gloria Patri (For the intentions of the Holy Father)

God bless!

+JMJ+