Hajja Salesjana May June 2017

24 “The Church has often experienced the extraordinary help of the Mother of God in times of persecution by the enemies of the Christian faith. Therefore, from the earliest centuries of the Christian era, the custom developed of invoking the Blessed Virgin in the storms of persecution under the title of ‘help of Christians’.” (Collection of masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Vol. 1, Sacramentary, Liturgical Press, Colledgeville, MI, 3 rd revision 2011, p. 251) History of the title 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. In fact, there are two inscriptions of the first centuries of Christianity in Greek related to the Virgin Mary: Theotokos , Mother of God and Boeteia , the Helper. The Fathers of the Church referred to Mary as Boeteia . John Chrysostom used the title in a homily of 345, Proclus in 476 and Sebas of Caesarea in 532. After the Patristic period (5th century), other persons used it like Romano Melone in 518, the patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius in 560, John of Damascus in 749 and German of Constantinople in 733. Throughout the ages, Mary’s help was sought. One cannot not mention the Battle of Lepanto, when in 1571 the whole of Christendom was saved by Mary Help of Christians, when Catholics throughout Europe prayed the Rosary. In that same year Pope St. Pius V inserted the title of ‘Help of Christians’ in the litany of Loreto in thanksgiving to Our Lady for the victory by the inferior Christian fleet over the Muslim Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. Later on, while Pius VII was held a prisoner after being driven from the See of Peter by force of arms, and the whole Church was praying earnestly to God on his behalf through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the Supreme Pontiff was unexpectedly released and, on returning to Rome, was restored to the papal throne on May 24, 1814. As a result, Pius VII established a “feast in honour of the Virgin Mother under the title of “help of Christians,” to be celebrated at Rome in perpetuity on May 24, the anniversary of his safe return to the city of Rome. Today, this feast is celebrated in many particular Churches and religious institutes, especially in the Society of St. Francis de Sales, better known as Salesians, founded by Don Bosco. Mary, a mother concerned about our needs urging Christ to help us! Pope St. John Paul II during his homily at Ta’ Pinu on the 26th May 1990, exactly 27 years ago, reminded us that as Mary urged Christ to perform his first miracle at Cana, she still intervenes to help us in our needs. He stated: “St. John tells us that at the wedding feast of Cana, when Jesus began his public ministry by turning the water into wine, he worked This article was first published in the magazine Madonna Ta’ Pinu April – June 2015 and is brought here by permission of its editor. In it we find the deep historical roots of this dear title of Our Blessed Mother which Don Bosco so much loved and which has become practically synonymous with the Salesians worldwide. Mary Help of Christians by Fr. Dominic Michael Sultana