540. May 24, Our Lady, Help of Christians

Meditations no. 471 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

The Blessed Virgin defends her children from all evil.

In many places the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of Auxilium Christianorum, a phrase added to the litany of Loreto in the sixteenth century to thank our Lady for the help she granted Christians at Lepanto. It is an advocation which expresses the confidence of Catholics in their Mother in heaven, a mother always ready to defend her children from every evil.

Throughout history, the Blessed Virgin has always given her protection to the Church, but in times which were difficult ones, humanly speaking, at open attacks from the enemies of Christ, Mary has gone even more clearly to the aid of her children. It is not surprising then that one of the oldest witnesses to this devotion to Mary is confident prayer. I refer, our Father said, to that antiphon composed centuries ago which we continue to repeat even today: We gather under your protection, holy Mother of God. Do not reject the prayers we say to you in our need, but save us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Our passage through this earth is like a long and dangerous voyage; a protracted trip through all the seas of the world, in the teeth of wind and storm, sailing onward towards the safe harbour which the Lord offers us in glory. On the horizon of our life, the Blessed Virgin is Stella maris, the star who guides us, who protects us, and invites us to change course when we lose our bearings.

In me is to be found every grace of doctrine and of truth, every hope of life and of virtue (Sir 24: 25). How wise the Church is to put these words on our Mother’s lips so that we Christians do not forget them. She is our safety, the Love that never fails, the refuge ever open to us, the hand ever ready to caress and console.

One of the Fathers of the early Church said that we should try to keep in our minds and in our memories a clear summary of the life of the Mother of God (cf. St John Damascene, Homiliae in dormitionem B. V. Mariae 2, 19). I expect you have often looked up points in handbooks on medicine, mathematics, or other subjects, where they list, for quick reference, the immediate remedies or measures to be taken so as to avoid elementary mistakes in these subjects.

We should often meditate, in the calm and quiet of our prayer, on all we have heard about our Mother. The reward will be that the story of her life will become engraved on our souls; we will find ourselves going to her without hesitation, especially when we have no one else to turn to.

Omnipotent and merciful God, we now ask in the words of the liturgy, who gave us the perpetual help of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a defence for all Christians, graciously grant that by struggling in this life and strengthened by her help, we may merit to be victorious over the evil of the enemy in the hour of our death.

The May pilgrimage, a sign of trust in and gratitude to Mary.

As a sign of our confidence in the powerful help of the Blessed Virgin, during the month of May we live the Custom of the pilgrimage. From ancient times, Christians have visited on certain feast days a shrine, a renowned sanctuary or an image of our Lady which is especially venerated. It is a way of showing our Lady our affection and trust.

In the life of the Work, we have also felt a need to go to our Lady in pilgrimage, but without outward show. It is a demonstration of our filial affection expressed with a simple action suggested by our love, without attracting attention, a visit to our Mother, in the city or in the countryside, to speak with her and tell her once again that we love her.

Our Father left a detailed written account of the birth of this Custom. On the 2nd of May 1935, in the company of two of his sons, he prepared to go to the shrine of Our Lady of Sonsoles in Avila. Beforehand, in the Mass, when I made the Memento, I asked our Jesus with great insistence - with a power beyond my own - to increase in us, in the Work, our Love for Mary, and that this Love might be shown in deeds.

Once in the train, without wanting to, I kept thinking about the same thing: our Lady is no doubt happy with our affection which has taken shape in wholesome Marian customs: a picture of her with us always; a son’s greeting as we come in and go out of our room; the poor of our Lady; the collection on Saturdays; omnes… ad Iesum per Mariam. Christ, Mary, the Pope… ! But in the month of May something more was needed. Then, I caught sight of the ‘May pilgrimage’, as a custom which had to be introduced, which has been introduced, in the Work.

The pilgrimage is a sign of affection for the Blessed Virgin who has protected and guided Opus Dei from its birth. Since 1935, our Father wrote, during many visits to shrines of our Lady, I have often reflected and meditated on the wonderful affection which so many Christians have for the Mother of Jesus. And I have always seen it as a response of love, of filial love and thanksgiving to our Lady, a sign of a child’s affection For Mary is closely tied to the greatest sign of God’s love - the Word made flesh who took upon himself our sins and weakness.

Praying the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary and the litany of Loreto is a channel for our contemplative spirit during the pilgrimage. The joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the life of the Blessed Virgin weave a crown of praises which the angels and saints in heaven repeat unceasingly. Each Hail Mary, each greeting given to the Virgin is a fresh beat of a loving heart.

The spirit of penance is also present in the pilgrimage. These are small mortifications which we offer joyfully to the Blessed Virgin for the needs of the Church, for the intentions of the Father, for the vocation of our friends - going on foot for the whole trip or at least the last part; cheerfully accepting the discomfort of the journey or of bad weather; refraining from a small refreshment which one would normally have on a stroll or outing…

In this way, our pilgrimage will be full of presence of God; it will be an eloquent sign of our contemplative life, which always and everywhere tries to open up channels to maintain a dialogue with our Lord and with his Mother.

The apostolic meaning of the pilgrimage.

Together with a spirit of prayer and penance, the pilgrimage has another characteristic feature: apostolic spirit. Our vocation leads us to see souls in the people who walk beside us, souls whom we must take to God our Lord.

On our way to visit the shrine of Sonsoles, which I mentioned earlier, we passed some wheat fields. The wheat shone as it waved in the breeze, and I remembered a part of the Gospel where Jesus said to his disciples: Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months and then comes the harvest’? Well, I say to you: Lift up your eyes and behold that the fields are already white for the harvest (John 4: 35). And I realised again that our Lord wanted to put the same yearning into our hearts as he had in his own. And I left the road to pluck some ears of grain to keep as souvenirs.

We have to open our eyes; we have to look around us and recognise how God is calling us through the people at our side. We cannot turn our backs on others, ignoring them, because we are caught up in our own little world. That wasn’t how Jesus lived. The Gospel often speaks of his mercy, his ability to feel the sorrow and share the needs of others. He consoled the widow of Naim (cf. Luke7: 11-17); he wept at the death of Lazarus (cf. John 9: 35); he felt compassion for the crowds that followed him with nothing to eat (cf. Matt 15: 32); he also had pity on sinners, on those who go through life without knowing light or truth. And when he landed, Jesus saw a large crowd, and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things (Mark 6: 34).

When we are truly sons of Mary, we understand this attitude of our Lord, and our heart expands and becomes tender. We feel the sufferings, doubts, loneliness and sorrow of all other men, our brothers. And we urgently want to help them and speak to them about God, so that they can treat him as their Father and understand the motherly care which Mary is offering them.

The pilgrimage is an excellent opportunity to enter into the lives of others, to open up horizons for them, to awaken - in souls who are ready for it - the divine call to sanctify ordinary life. Many noble decisions can arise when one makes a visit to the Blessed Virgin. And our Lord, his Church and the Work need them to spread the light of Christ to all nations, and, among the confusion and ignorance enveloping so many souls, to make shine out the truth of God which we must make accessible to everyone with the example of our lives, with our words and with the gift of tongues.

We shall finish our prayer today with words from our Father which ought to set the tone for our proselytism: Be daring. Count on the help of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Without ceasing to be a mother, our Lady is able to get each of her children to face his own responsibilities. Mary always does the immense favour of bringing to the cross, of placing face to face with the example of the Son of God, those who come close to her and contemplate her life.