In the first week of June, Scala News offers a reflection to inaugurate the month dedicated to the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The editorial in Icono magazine reminds us that: “Whoever has felt their heart touched by the Help of God, who is Mary, will never lose it… like the joy of the Gospel.”
A sign of love and mercy
One hundred and sixty years have passed since Pope Pius IX entrusted the icon of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorist Missionaries with the mandate: “Make her known to the whole world.” This gesture had and continues to have a very special meaning for the Congregation, so much so that it has become a sign and symbol of its missionary identity. Since that April 26, 1866, Redemptorist evangelization has remained forever linked to the heart of Mary of Perpetual Help. She has become the best sign of identity, the best ambassador, and, without a doubt, the point of reference par excellence; but above all, she has been and is—for so many—a maternal experience that welcomes, understands, and cares for humanity, particularly sensitive to her most fragile and suffering children.
That gift offered—the icon spread throughout the world—has continued to journey toward those most in need. Our Congregation, unknowingly at the time, was drawn into a current of love and mercy that only the tenderness of a mother like Mary could bring. That gesture of trust from the Pope toward the Redemptorists has experienced the miracle of multiplication: countless places, some well-known and others completely anonymous and far away, are marked by God’s love in the image of Mary of Perpetual Help. An aged image, a faded print, or a small and insignificant icon, brought by a missionary, catechist, or volunteer, have become a presence of faith for a family, a community, or a people. This is why we say that she, as an intercessor, is the soul that drives, protects, and nurtures the mission.
The frightened child, the fallen sandal, the clasped hands, the patient gaze of a mother, all show signs of God in our lives; they seem small and hidden, but they have the strength and power of transformation; they seem to change nothing because they are small and insignificant, yet they move the world. Generosity, the pursuit of goodness, commitment to the marginalized, humble prayer, and selfless gestures of welcome always bear fruit, even if we do not see them. We have no doubt about it.
We certainly live at a dizzying pace that prevents us from seeing the little things. Everything passes as soon as it happens. We consume images, events, and even encounters. However, what is precious, what touches the deepest chords of a person, cannot be erased, even if it fades; it cannot be hidden, even if it gets lost; it does not disappear, even if it gets confused. Those who have felt how the Help of God, who is Mary, has touched their heart, will never lose it… like the joy of the Gospel. This is the trust and certainty of our centennial magazine; it is also the silent and profound homage that, on this anniversary, we pay to so many anonymous Redemptorists who cared not for their own name, but for that of Mary, so that her kiss and her maternal embrace could reach all who suffer, all who have no reason to hope. Happy Feast of Perpetual Help to all.
It is 160 years since the missionary mandate of Pius IX and the Redemptorists continue to spread the presence of love and mercy of this icon of Mary throughout the world.
Fr. Francisco Javier Caballero, CSsR.
