Mother of Perpetual Help.
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
It is interesting, but something very Catholic, very Italian was once included in the manual of prayers for devotions to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. It was a rather unusual prayer for the conversion of a sinner. In part, it went like this:
O Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, Thou knowest so well the great value of an immortal soul… All that has been done for his soul has been unsuccessful; if Thou dost not come to his assistance he will go from bad to worse. Obtain for him an effectual grace that he may be moved and brought back to God and his duties. Send him, if necessary, temporal calamities and trials that he may enter into himself, and put an end to his sinful course… O Mother of Perpetual Help, show that Thou art the Advocate and Refuge of sinners. Amen.
Of course these lines have been expunged from the current prayers to OLPH - probably to be “nice” - for contemporary sensibilities and all of that.
Whatever happened to that old “evil eye”?
June 27th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Thank you for this unexpurgated form of the Prayer to OLPH, Terry.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:30 am
LOL. Well it’s reassuring that there did, in fact, exist a prayer that justifies many of the feelings I have for some of my present co-workers & family.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:34 am
It was removed because it’s sick.
Terry, you really need to discuss all this with your pastor. Authority, when wisely used, is a very good thing.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I find that great that somebody has posted about today being Her feast day.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Lately I’ve been feeling somewhat discouraged by my lack of spiritual progress, so this prayer really strikes a chord. Although, truly, since I basically lack the courage to go after holiness for real, I don’t think I’ll be praying this in the first person. (LOL . . . I’m not asking anyone else to pray any temporal calamities my way, either. But if you could ask for courage on my behalf?)
June 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Terry, do you know which version of the Novena Prayers this was found in? Was it the Western (used by the St Louis Province of Redemptorists) or the Eastern (used by the Baltimore Province)?
Also, there is no “official” version. each parish is free to use whichever version they desire. The parishes I have been assigned to have always used the “traditional” Eastern version.
June 28th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Hi Father - it is from the Western version.
June 28th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
The most wonderful thing about Our Lady of Perpetual help is that you can be a convert or as dumb as a door ,and just gaze at the picture ,and beg for her intersession ,and still she comes.Just begging ,or pleading is required ,and in no particular order.The official prayers are just frosting on her cake.