OUR LADY OF RANSOM - 24 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 24th of September

Marian Feast Days

O glorious Virgin, Mother of God, blessed among all nations, worthy of praise and the greatest of praise, intercede for me with thy beloved Son. O honoured Lady, Mother of the King of Angels and Archangels, assist and deliver me from every difficulty and danger.

O Blossom of the Patriarchs, the Virgins and the Angels, Hope of Glory, Beauty of Virgins, Admiration of the Angels and Archangels, remember me, and forsake me not, I beseech thee, at the terrible hour of my death. O Star of the Sea, Gate of Heaven, Temple of God, Palace of Jesus Christ, Harbour of Safety, Power of all Nations, Pearl of all Sweetness, Hope of the Faithful; O Queen who shelters the guilty, who surpasses in radiance the Virgins and the Angels, thy presence gives joy to all the hosts of Heaven.

Therefore, O Mother of Mercy, I place in the protection of thy holy hands my going out, my coming in, my sleeping, my waking, the sight of my eyes, the touch of my hands, the speech from my lips, the hearing of my ears, so that in everything I may be pleasing to thine own beloved Son. Amen.

OUR LADY OF RANSOM

It was the Blessed Virgin Mary who gave St Peter Nolasco (1180 - 1245) the inspiration to found the Mercedarian order.

An apparition of Our Lady on the night of August 1-2, 1218. She advised him to found an order for the ransom of captives, which he did on August 10, 1218, by founding the Mercedarian order. Thus the saint had decided to devote his life entirely to ransoming Christian slaves from Mohammedan captivity.

Our Lady of Ransom, Virgin of the Redemption of Captives, "Maria de Mercede", "Mary of Mercy", was first celebrated in the Mercedarian Order. Pope Innocent XII introduced the feast for the whole Church on September 24. These days, it is still found in local calendars.