Although not on the universal calendar, today is the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, celebrated especially by the Redemptorists who are the custodians of the revered and familiar icon of Mary, holding a frightened Jesus, as he sees the archangels Gabriel and Michael holding the instruments to be used during his passion and death. Mary looks out to us, as if to say, "See what my son is willing to do for you; please change your lives in gratitude for his total sacrifice of himself, and please trust in me, his mother and companion through all his sufferings, and yours as well."
The icon dates back to the 12th century, but is known for a fact to have hung in the now destroyed church of San Matteo in Rome, where a new church dedicated to St. Alphonsis Ligouri, founder of the Redemptorists, now stands.
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