SFOM-May 24

LITANY OF OUR LADY
HELP OF CHRISTIANS

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the-world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
O Help of Christians, pray for us.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may love God with all my heart.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may in all things conform my will to that of thy Divine Son.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may always shun sin, the only real evil.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may always remember my last end.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may often and devoutly receive the Sacraments.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may avoid every proximate occasion of sin.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may never neglect prayer.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may ever remember to invoke thee, particularly in time of temptation.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may always be victorious in the hour of temptation.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may generously pardon my enemies.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may arise quickly, should I have the misfortune of falling into mortal sin.That I may courageously resist the seductions of evil companions.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may be strong against my own inconstancy.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may not delay my conversion from day to day.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may labor zealously to eradicate my evil habits.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may ever love to serve thee.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may lead others to love and serve thee.

O Help of Christians―grant that I may live and die in the friendship of God,

O Help of Christians―In all necessities of body and soul― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―In sickness and pain―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―In poverty and distress― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―In persecution and abandonment―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―In grief and dereliction of mind―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―In time of war, famine and contagion, In every danger of sin―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When assailed by the evil spirits―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When tempted by the allurements of a deceitful world―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When struggling against the inclinations of my corrupt nature―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When tempted against the holy virtue of purity― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When death is nigh― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When the loss of my senses shall warn me that my earthly career is at an end― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When the thought of my approaching dissolution shall fill me with fear and terror―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When at the decisive hour of death, the evil spirit will endeavor to plunge my soul into despair― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When the priest of God shall give me his last absolution and his last blessing―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When my friends and relations, surrounding my bed, moved with compassion, shall invoke thy clemency on my behalf―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When the world will vanish from my sight, and my heart will cease to beat―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When I shall yield my soul into the hands of its Creator― Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When my soul will appear before its Sovereign Judge―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When the irrevocable sentence will be pronounced―Come to my aid!

O Help of Christians―When I will be suffering in Purgatory, and sighing for the vision of God―Come to my aid!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Let Us Pray
O God, Thou hast chosen the glorious Virgin Mary to be our Mother and the Help of all Christians; grant that through her prayers, Thy Church may be strengthened, so that She would accept all trials patiently, and overcome all obstacles through steadfast love, and, in so doing, She would manifest the truth of Jesus Christ to the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

THE HISTORY ... THE REASON ... THE POWER
OF OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

Since the Apostolic Age, Christians have turned with great confidence to the Blessed Virgin Mary for spiritual and temporal help. Knowing that the Mother of God is also our spiritual Mother, Christians have sought her maternal aid and intercession with the Divine Majesty. And Mary Immaculate, being the marvelous Mother that she is, often comes to help her children before they even come to implore her avail, sometimes before they are even aware of their particular need. Our Lady’s solicitude at the Wedding Feast at Cana manifests this maternal trait of anticipating the needs of her children. Remember: Mary notices that the young couple had run out of wine at their marriage feast. No one had said a word about it to her, yet she mentions the plight of the married couple with tact and delicacy to her Son. And Our Lord hears and answers her prayer!

The ancient prayer the Sub Tuum indicates that the early Church, not only venerated the Mother of God, but actively sought her help through prayer.

Sub tuum praesdium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix.
Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus,
Sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God;
Despise not our petitions in our necessities,
But deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

From the Roman Breviary, Raccolta #333. (S. C. Ind., April 5, 1786; S. P., Dec. 12, 1935).

A translation of the third century Greek manuscript (which varies from the more familiar Latin text) reads:

Under your mercy,
we take refuge, Mother of God,
do not reject our supplications in necessity.
But deliver us from danger.
[You] alone chaste, alone blessed.

Mary’s title “Help of Christians” is one of the invocations in the well-known Litany of Loreto (also known as the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The invocation Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians) originated in the sixteenth century. In 1576 Bernardino Cirillo, archpriest of Loreto, published at Macerreta two litanies of the Blessed Virgin, which, he contended, were used at Loreto. One a form which is entirely different from our present text, and another form (“Aliae litaniae Beatae Mariae Virginis”) identical with the Litany of Loreto, approved by Clement VIII in 1601, and now used throughout the entire Church.

This second form contains the invocation Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians). Possibly the Catholic warriors, who returning from Lepanto (October 7th, 1571) visited the sanctuary of Loreto, saluted the Holy Virgin there for the first time with this new title; it is more probable, however, that it is only a variation of the older invocation Advocata Christianorum (Advocate of Christians), found in a litany of 1524. Torsellini (1597) and the Roman Breviary (May 24th, Appendix) say that Pius V inserted the invocation in the Litany of Loreto after the battle of Lepanto; but the form of the litany, in which it is first found, was unknown at Rome at the time of Pius V.

In 1624, the German Catholics of Passau, in Bavaria, enshrined a picture of Mary Help of Christians from the 15th century in a newly built Shrine to Mary Help of Christians. Pilgrims to the Shrine traditionally uttered the aspiration: “Maria, hilf!” (“Mary, help!”).

Near the end of the 17th century, Emperor Leopold I of Austria took refuge in the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Pasau, when 200,000 Ottoman Turks besieged the capital city of Vienna, but a great victory occurred thanks to Mary Help of Christians. On September 8th, the feast of Our Lady’s Birthday, plans were drawn for the battle. On September 12, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Vienna was finally freed through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. All Europe had joined with the Emperor crying out “Mary, Help!” and praying the Holy Rosary.

The feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was instituted by Pius VII.
In 1809, Napoleon’s men entered the Vatican, arrested Pius VII and brought him in chains to Grenoble, and eventually Fontainbleau. Military reverses forced Napoleon to release the Pope, and on May 24th 1814, Pius VII returned in triumph to Rome. Twelve months later, the Pope decreed that the feast of Mary Help of Christians, be kept on the 24th of May.

By order of Napoleon, Pius VII was arrested, on July 5th, 1808, and detained a prisoner for three years at Savona, and then at Fontainebleau. His imprisonment lasted over five years. The Holy Father vowed to God that, if he were restored to the Roman See, he would institute a special feast in honor of Mary. In January, 1814, at the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon suffered a military reverse and setback. As a consequence, Pius VII was brought back to Savona and later set free, on March 17th, the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, the Patroness of Savona. The journey to Rome was a veritable triumphal march. The pontiff―attributing the victory of the Church, after so much agony and distress, to the Blessed Virgin―visited many of her sanctuaries on the way and crowned her images (e.g. the Madonna del Monte at Cesena, Madonna della Misericordia at Treja, Madonna della Colonne and Madonna della Tempestà at Tolentino).

The people crowded the streets to catch a glimpse of the venerable pontiff who had so bravely withstood the threats of Napoleon. He entered Rome, on May 24th, 1814, and was enthusiastically welcomed. To commemorate his own sufferings and those of the Church during his exile, he extended the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (at that time it was on the third Sunday in September) to the universal Church, on September 18th, 1814. When Napoleon left his exile on the island of Elba and returned to Paris, his general, Murat, was about to march through the Papal States from Naples; Pius VII fled to Savona (on March 22nd, 1815), where he crowned the image of Our Lady of Mercy, on May 10th, 1815, and established the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians in gratitude for his release from captivity.

After the Congress of Vienna and the Battle of Waterloo (where Napoleon was defeated), he returned to Rome, on July 7th, 1815. To give thanks to God and Our Lady, Pope Pius VII, on September 15th, 1815, instituted for the Papal States the feast of “Our Lady, Help of Christians”, to be celebrated, May 24th, the anniversary of his first return. The Dioceses of Tuscany adopted it on February 12th, 1816; from there it has spread nearly over the entire Latin Church, but is not contained in the universal calendar. The hymns of the Office were composed by Brandimarte. This feast is the patronal feast of Australia, and, in accordance with a vow taken in 1891, it is celebrated with great splendor in the churches of the Fathers of the Foreign Missions of Paris.

It has attained special celebrity since the time of St. Don Bosco (1815 - 1888), who founded the Salesian Congregation. St. John Bosco, who was born a month before the institution of the feast of Mary, Help of Christians, had a great devotion to Our Lady under the title of Help of Christians. On June 9th, 1868, St. John Bosco founded the Salesians (priests and brothers) and named his congregation of sisters Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. He also founded the Archconfraternity of Mary Help of Christians ― to promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady. He built the Salesian mother church in Turin, and dedicated it to Mary Help of Christians. St. John Bosco wrote of his congregation, the Salesians: “The principal objective is to promote veneration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary Help of Christians. This title seems to please the august Queen of Heaven very much.” The Salesian Fathers have carried the devotion down through the centuries since then.

On May 14, 1862, St. John Bosco dreamed about the battles the Church would face in the latter days. He saw a pope steering the Church, as the Ark of the Salvation, through stormy seas. A fleet of hostile vessels threatened the ship of the Church on all sides, which eventually, after many violent battles, found safe harbor between two columns that suddenly arose from the sea. A statue of the Immaculate Virgin stood on top of one of the columns, at whose feet was a large inscription with the words: Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians). On top of the other taller and bigger column stood a Host, under which were inscribed the words: Salus Credentium (Salvation of Believers). Our Lady is not only the help of individual Christians, but the entire Church depends upon her intercessory aid.

The “Memorare” Prayer

The famous Marian prayer the Memorare expresses the confidence Christians should have in the help the Holy Virgin provides to her children.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
That never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
Implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins my Mother.
To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,
But in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady Help of Christians

Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christian,
How sweet it is to come to your feet
Imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children,
How can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?
Grant then to me, I implore you, your perpetual help
In all my necessities, in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life.
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians,
That, having invoked you on Earth, we may love and eternally thank you in Heaven.

Reflection on Mary’s Help at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571

Descriptions of the Battle of Lepanto based on the Catholic chronicles of the time do not mention an important fact found in the Muslim sources. The latter report that at a certain moment during the battle when the Catholic forces were being defeated, the Turkish fleet saw a majestic and terrible Lady in the sky. She was looking at them with such a menacing gaze that they could not bear it, lost their courage, and fled.

The battle taking place was the greatest naval battle in History to that date, and all Christendom waited in understandable suspense for its outcome. [read more here] In a certain sense, the future of Europe was being decided there. Protestantism had created a fracture in Christendom, and religious wars were springing up everywhere.

Because their forces were needed on various fronts, the Catholic nations probably could not have faced a Muslim invasion into southern Italy, which would have been the normal consequence, if the Battle of Lepanto had been lost. If Italy were invaded, in a short time the Pope would have been forced to leave his Papal Territories to avoid becoming a prisoner. Most probably, no one would have been able to stop the Turkish invasion into Western Europe.

In that immense battle, three Catholic powers were involved: Spain, the most powerful nation of the time; Venice, which was very wealthy and had a considerable naval force at that time, and Genoa. There was also a small papal fleet, everything Pope Pius V could muster together to add his material strength to face the common enemy.

In this atmosphere of general suspense, the battle took place. Descriptions of the time report how terrible it was. Catholic soldiers were jumping onto Muslim ships; Turks were entering Catholic vessels – one side killing another with tremendous carnage. Ships were sinking here and there; soldiers and knights in armor floated briefly in those turbulent waters, then sunk into the depths to meet death. Canons roared, shouts of rage and despair were heard above the din; a terrible uproar and enormous turmoil everywhere.

Amid all that confusion, two men were praying to Our Lady to give the victory to the Catholics: on those turbulent waters, there was Don Juan of Austria, the commander of the Catholic Armada; and in Rome, there was St. Pius V.

You can imagine the profound calm and great self-control necessary for a man who, in the apex of the battle with men fighting on all sides of him, could nonetheless discern the general line of the battle and note that it was going badly, even though the Catholic soldiers were fighting as well as possible. Then, remembering the teachings of our Faith, he determined to fight to his last breath of life for the cause of Christendom, still with the hope that Our Lady would intervene. That is to say, a person like this ― and such a person was Don Juan of Austria ― trusted against all trust. Against all human possibility, he expected Our Lady to intervene.

In fact, she did intervene. She appeared in the sky to threaten the enemy, and the Mohammedan navy fled. But the Catholic warriors did not see her. She did not appear to them. The Catholics had the merit of practicing a blind confidence, a pure act of faith. Only when the enemy later reported the miracle did they realize that she had helped them in the worst hour.

The Catholic knights, principally those in command who perceived the general line the battle was taking, had to seriously consider that they would either die or be made prisoners and slaves of the Turks as a consequence of their defeat. But they trusted in Our Lady that she would prevent the cause of Christendom from perishing. This represented an extreme confidence on their part.

At that same time, St. Pius V was also praying at the Vatican. He was in a meeting about anomalies in the Vatican financial balance sheets, an important matter, since it implied mortal sin should someone have stolen money from the Church. Therefore, St. Pius V had to vigilantly analyze the figures to avoid being an accomplice to such a sin.

Suddenly he stood up, probably moved by a supernatural inspiration, and went to the window of the room to pray the Rosary. As he prayed, he received a revelation that Don Juan of Austria had won the battle. He returned to the table and said: “It is not time to talk about business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory that He has just given the Catholic Armada.”

The news of the Papal revelation spread throughout Rome and the people began to celebrate. Some might have doubted the revelation and asked: “Is it really true?”

Then, in a few days, a messenger arrived and gave the official report. The Pope listened attentively to the account, without any agitation, with his customary grandeur and benevolence. Then, a great feast was celebrated in Rome, the bells of all the Churches of the Eternal City rang. From Rome the news spread to all Italy, and then to all Christendom. This was the great joy for the victory of Lepanto.

Is there an application for us?

What was the greatest heroism of the knights of the battle of Lepanto? It was not the courage to face the Turks. Certainly, to face enemies in a battle one needs courage, but you can find such courage in all battles of History. In my opinion, the greatest heroism of those Catholics who fought at Lepanto was the heroism of believing that the battle would be won by Our Lady at the moment when everything seemed lost. That act of confidence was not an imprudent or unwise act, a kind of resignation to accept whatever would happen. It was an act of fidelity to a certain interior voice of grace that invited each one to confide and pray that she would give the victory.

The good cause throughout History often finds itself in a situation similar to the Catholics at Lepanto. Everything seems lost humanly speaking, but Our Lady puts in our souls a hope that she will win the battle for the greater glory of God. Then we need to trust this voice against all probabilities and appearances to the contrary.

Many times, defeat seems inevitable, and the temptation is to say: “She promised, but it has not happened. To the contrary, everything became worse.” Real heroism is to trust even in the worst of conditions. It is to refuse to cede to the temptation, and to reply: “The worse it becomes, the closer we are to her intervention, because Our Lady does not lie, and I know that this voice that speaks within myself is hers.”

Is there any criterion to know when an interior voice comes from Our Lady or not? Yes, there is.

When the perspective of some future thing leaves us depressed, discouraged, and with the desire to give up, then this outlook normally comes from the Devil.

On the contrary, if the perspective of doing a very difficult thing that would normally cause fear, nonetheless produces enthusiasm, gives us strength to practice virtue and inspires us with the hope of victory in an almost impossible situation, then probably it is the voice of the grace speaking in our souls.

Does grace act only this way? No. Often grace inspires resignation. Our Lady can ask us to be conformed to a defeat. Then she gives us strength to endure the suffering of the defeat. St. Therese of Lisieux, for example, received such a grace to prepare herself for death, and afterward, she went to Heaven.

The two perspectives are different. When Our Lady wants to give a victory, she prepares us for that, and not for death.

This is confirmed by the reaction of St. Pius V after he knew the victory of Lepanto. He turned to God and repeated the prayer of the Prophet Simeon: “Now thou dost dismiss thy servant in peace, O Lord, according to thy word, because my eyes have seen my salvation.” That is, “That special thing for which I was born, the victory I had expected for Thy glory, has taken place. With this, my mission is fulfilled. Now Thou can take my soul for I have nothing else to do on this Earth.”

The great St. Pius V had heard the same interior voice as the knights of Lepanto. In this case, the words of Our Lord apply: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).

The voice of Our Lady speaks to our souls and tells us firmly: “Catholic Civilization will be restored, the Reign of Mary will be established on Earth.” But first, as she said at Quito as Our Lady of Good Success, all will seem to be lost and evil will have seemed to conquer. This is the voice that gives us courage to fight against all the enemies, in the worst of conditions, and all alone. There is no doubt that this voice is authentic.

What happened in Lepanto with those knights and soldiers will also happen with us. We will have the victory of Our Lady.

This is the interior message Our Lady Help of Christians gave in that battle, and gives us today. Let us ask her to give us the necessary graces to be faithful to it.

For the Novena of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady click here
For the Novena to the Sorrowful Heart of Our Lady click here