Our Lady of Ransom

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“And Mary said, ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has looked upon the humility of his servant. Yes, henceforth all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his faithful love extends, age after age, to those who fear him’” (Luke 1:46-50).

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Ransom, also called Our Lady of Mercy.

The story begins with St. Peter Nolasco, who was born in a place called Languedoc in 1189. He conceived the idea of establishing a religious order for the redemption of captives who had been seized by the Moors on the seas and in Spain itself. They were being cruelly tormented in their African prisons to make them deny the faith.

On August 1st, 1218, Our Lady appeared to St. Peter in Nolasco, to his confessor Raymond of Peñafort, and to King James I of Spain, and through these three servants of God established a work of the most perfect charity: the redemption of captives. Its members would undertake to deliver Christian captives and to offer themselves, if necessary, as payment.

Word of the apparition soon spread over the entire kingdom, and on August 10th the King went to the cathedral for a Mass celebrated by the bishop of Barcelona, during which St. Raymond narrated his vision with admirable eloquence and fervor.

The King brought the blessing of the bishop for the heaven-sent plan, and the bishop bestowed the habit on St. Peter, who made a solemn vow to give himself as a hostage, if necessary.

This order, solemnly established in Spain, was to be approved by Pope Gregory IX under the name of Our Lady of Mercy, and it spread rapidly.

Eventually a feast day was instituted and observed on September 24th, first in the religious order, then in Spain and France, and 1696 Pope Innocent XII extended it to the entire Church.

Our Lady of Ransom is the principal patron of Barcelona. Sicily, which had suffered much from the Saracens, took up the old date of the feast day, narrowed to August 1st, by permission of the Congregation of Rights in 1805.

In England, the devotion to Our Lady of Ransom was revived in modern times to obtain the rescue of England as Our Lady's Dowry.

In Spanish the name Our Lady of Mercy is often translated as merced, and that's the word where the name Mercedes comes from.

[There's an interesting story behind the name of the motor company, Mercedes-Benz. While it wasn't named after the Spanish wife of the German inventor as I once heard, it was named Mercédès after the daughter of the investor-engineer who got involved in the company.]

And so, every time you see a Mercedes car, you could say an aspiration to Our Lady.

I heard somebody say recently how this person had a big handlebar mustache when they were younger, and Blessed Álvaro del Portillo asked them if they ever twiddled the end of the mustache. They said yes, and he said, “Say an aspiration every time you twiddle your mustache.”

By saying an aspiration every time we see a Mercedes car, it's another way of materializing our spiritual life.

Our Lady is the Mother of Mercy. We address her in those terms in the Hail Holy Queen. John Paul II has said that mercy is another word for love (cf. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical, Dives in misericordia, Point 7, November 30, 1980).

Our Lady has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God's mercy. She glorifies God's mercy in the Magnificat: “His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him” (Luke 1:50).

Mercy is one of the ways that we have compassion for the sick and the suffering. Our Lady has compassion for the sinner. We could pray to her today for our relatives and friends who may be far from God, knowing that she has many graces in store for us.

Very often we say the words, “We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God” (Prayer, Sub tuum). We seek mercy and forgiveness in her and through her.

We pray the Memorare for the person around us who needs it most. We count on the mercy of that divine Motherhood with faith, hope, with optimism.

Sometimes we say to her, “Show yourself to be a Mother”–Monstra te esse matrem (Marian Hymn, Ave Maris Stella; Josemaría Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, Point 140; John Paul II, Address, December 10, 1978).

Our Lady's presence is always “a motherly presence” (John Paul II, Encyclical, Redemptoris Mater, Point 24, March 25, 1987). She makes the way easier.

Through Mary, God wants to reveal the mystery of His love, which is personified in Mary.

John Paul II liked to say that “modern man needs mercy” (John Paul II, Address, June 7, 1997).

It's one of the principal themes of Our Lord's preaching: the Good Shepherd (Matt. 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7), the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10); the going in search of what was lost. We can discover love and mercy in ever newer and fresher aspects.

Pope John Paul has said, “Mercy signifies a special power of love that prevails over sin” (cf. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical, Dives in misericordia, Point 4, November 30, 1980). It's stronger than anything.

“The subtleties of love are manifested in God's mercy” (Ibid.). And mercy in man signifies a certain closeness to God. The mercy of God reaches to every misery, every sin. And even in sin, the child does not cease to be a child of their father or their mother.

“The cross…is the revelation of God's mercy. … the greatest condescension of God to man” (Ibid., Point 8).

“He so loved the world” (John 3:16). He had so much mercy for man that He came down upon him. He gave His life completely for him on the Cross.

We are told, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). Only the human heart is capable of mercy; animals are not. So when we show mercy, we’re showing a great aspect of our humanity.

There's a story told about a six-year-old child who decided one morning to fix pancakes for his parents. He found a big bowl and a spoon, and he pulled a chair to the counter.

He opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling a bit on the floor. He scooped up some of the flour into the bowl with his hands.

He mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor, which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. He was covered with flour and was getting frustrated.

He wanted this to be something very good for his Mum and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn't know what to do next—whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove. And he didn't know how the stove worked.

Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.

Frantically, he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the egg, getting his pajamas dirty.

Just then he saw his Dad standing at the door. And so, big crocodile tears welled up in his eyes. All he wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure that a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him.

Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him, and loved him, getting his pajamas dirty in the process.

That's how God deals with us.

We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky, or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our job, or our health goes sour.

Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up loves us, and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to make those “pancakes” for God and others. Sooner or later we'll get it right. And then we'll be glad we tried (Author Unknown, Making Pancakes).

Mother Teresa once said that kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless” (Sara Tabandeh, Voices of Wisdom, Mother Teresa Quotes).

We have a God of mercy and a Mother of mercy to whom we can turn in all the messes of our lives.

In 1946, St. Josemaría undertook his first trip to Rome. It was a difficult moment in the history of Opus Dei, just after the Second World War, trying to get some sort of pontifical approval for this new organization for lay people that he had founded.

His health was very bad with his diabetes. The doctors had told him that they couldn't be responsible for his life if he undertook this trip to Rome. But he was ready to do anything to bring forward Opus Dei.

He saw the great need to have that juridical approval to be able to spread outside of Spain. So on his way to take a boat from Barcelona to Genoa, he went to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Mercèd in Barcelona, and placed his journey under her protection, consecrating himself in this journey to her (Andrés Vázquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei, Volume III, chapter 1).

[On the way to Barcelona, they also stopped at the monastery of Montserrat.] He said, “Behold, we have left all things and followed you” (Ibid.).

The future was very uncertain. His health was very uncertain. His life was uncertain. The future juridical path of Opus Dei was uncertain. He placed everything in her hands, in the very difficult crossing of the Mediterranean.

But eventually, in Rome, he was able to get what he was seeking: the pontifical juridical approval to be able to spread outside of Spain. As always in his life, Our Lady answered his prayer. He entrusted himself to her in what he was doing, with great filial faith and trust.

Our Lady is our great intercessor, an intercessor in particular for those who are persecuted or those bound by sin.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,” we're told in the Entrance Antiphon of today's Mass, “since in keeping with his mercy as promised to our fathers, he watches over his servant Israel” (Luke 1:46,54-55).

Today, in many parts of the world, particularly in Spanish-speaking parts, and especially in Catalonia in Spain, Our Lady is venerated under the title of Our Lady of Ransom.

“The symbols and images of Our Lady of Ransom—broken chains and open cell doors—remind us of her role as our liberator.” She helps liberate people, particularly from sin. It's a supernatural liberation.

“She opens her arms in an offer of the freedom won for us by her Son the Redeemer” (A. Vázquez, Our Lady of Ransom).

Today we can pray to her in a special way for those people we know who are marginalized on account of their faith.

The unbloody persecution that Catholics have experienced since the beginning of the Church is still common even in countries with a long Christian tradition.

You could say that in some ways, the Passion of Christ continues into the present day.

I've just finished reading a book entitled The Catholic Martyrs of the Twentieth Century by a man called Robert Royal. It's a very interesting read.

It speaks about the horrific persecution of Catholics in communist countries Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania, Albania, Russia, things we know almost nothing about.

It’s very interesting for us to have a deeper knowledge of history and to see what those who've gone before us have done and have suffered for their faith. It's a great example there.

The Redeemer still passes through our streets and squares carrying the cross, and continues to suffer through His members, the baptized.

One spiritual writer says, “He does not weep in heaven where he enjoys eternal happiness with the Father in wondrous light, but here on earth where he lives on and endures contradiction and adversity.

“The tears of God roll steadily down the divine face of Jesus. Jesus himself weeps in each person who suffers. If we do not help stem the flow of these tears, we cannot truly say that we love him” (Werenfried van Straaten, Where God Weeps).

So, if there’s some person or event or deed or words that have hurt us in our life, for which we still bear scars, this is a great day to show mercy to those people who may have sent us those particular sufferings or scars in some way.

If we know how to forgive others, we know that God will also forgive us. But if we do not know how to show mercy to other people who may consciously or unconsciously have hurt us, how will God show His mercy to us?

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who sin against us” (Prayer, Our Father).

We cannot remain indifferent or impassive as mere spectators in the face of the crying needs of those around us.

We can ask Our Lady for mercy for all those suffering in war-torn countries, for neglected people or hungry people, for people who don’t have what they should have.

We could ask Our Lady to help us to show compassion for the sick and the needy, and that our compassion may be continually renewed and refined, particularly with people who are prisoners of sin, the worst slavery of all.

It's a sort of mercy that we have to know how to pass on to our children, to give them an example of that mercy with our words and with our actions.

We can also depend on the Communion of Saints and pray for all those who suffer persecution, that they may be strong and bear testimony to Christ in difficult situations.

That’s one of the reasons why it's interesting to know the history of the martyrs of the 20th century is because we can see the heroic witness of those who have gone before us.

The Bible describes a lady called Judith, the woman who courageously freed the Chosen People from the siege of Holofernes. The inhabitants of that place sing out, filled with joy: “You are the exaltation of Jerusalem, the great glory of Israel, the pride of our nation! You have done all this good for Israel with your might” (Jth. 15:8-10).

The Church applies this Old Testament song of jubilation to Our Lady of Ransom. She's the new Judith, who, with her Fiat, her ‘let it be done unto me’ (Luke 1:38), cooperates in a unique way to bring about our salvation.

“Mary is the faithful mother who stands fearlessly beside the Cross, as her Son sheds his blood for our salvation and reconciles all things to himself in peace” (Roman Missal, Preface). This is from the Preface of Our Lady, Queen of Peace.

We approach Our Lady of Ransom as a powerful intercessor to move our friends, relatives, and colleagues, to draw them closer to her Son, especially through the sacrament of Penance.

She will bring relief and renewed strength to those who in any way suffer persecution for being loyal to the faith.

There may be very few things that we can do for people in faraway countries that we don't know, very few material things, but we can pray for them, send them arterial blood to be strong in the faith, the arterial blood of prayer, of mortification, of unity.

We can also ask for help for special family intentions that may be close to our hearts, because Our Mother in heaven has always excelled in generosity by granting us the graces that we need.

In all the writings of St. Josemaría, we see him referring again and again to the generosity of Our Lady in giving him peace and comfort on so many occasions when he turned to her. We know that Our Lady, Our Mother, has many graces reserved for us.

We are reminded of the passage in the Gospel when Our Lord gave us His Mother as our own:

“‘Woman, behold your child.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’ And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27).

Our Lord gave us Our Lady as our most loving Mother so that we can turn to her in all moments. We know that she watches over her children with motherly affection so that we can be rescued from all dangers and anxiety.

Mother, imagine all the little anxieties that we may have every day: all sorts of important things and also, all sorts of little things; the anxieties our children may have about their homework, about the match, about their sport, about something that's been broken—all sorts of little things.

The Preface of the Mass says, “Thus set free from the chains of oppression, we can attain to perfect liberty of body and soul.”

Like any good mother, she has many benefits in store for us and showers them down on each one of her children.

Graces to advance in our spiritual life.

Graces to see new insights in things we read.

Graces to see the world around us from a more supernatural perspective. It gives us a new peace.

And so, our first instinct should be to seek the patronage of Our Mother in heaven when we're in trouble or need or have some problem.

This is especially important if the devil ever introduces a complication to our soul that creates an obstacle in our path toward God and separates us from others.

In the Litany, we address Our Lady as the Help of Christians. She's our rescue, our haven in the midst of the adverse winds and gales that can arise during the long voyage of life.

We seek Our Lady's intercession in a thousand and one different ways. We visit her shrines. We have recourse to her while out in the street. We seek her protection in the face of temptation. We talk to her intimately while saying the Rosary.

One of the most ancient testimonies of filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin is the prayer we have so often repeated: “We place ourselves under your protection, O Holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer us. Save us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin Mary” (Adalbert Hamman, Early Christian Prayers).

It’s interesting that our children would hear these words from our lips at an early age, perhaps before they go to bed at night or at the breakfast table, or making use of car journeys or other moments to ask Our Lady for things we need in our family, or for the person around us who needs it most—a member of our family who needs it most, immediate family or extended family.

We know that Our Lady is our sure path, our consolation. She's the shining star.

We can always count on her motherhood. “Woman, behold your child.” By accepting St. John as her own son, Our Lady shows her unparalleled love as a Mother.

As Pope John Paul II has said, “Through that man, he entrusted every person to you. At the moment of the Annunciation, you consecrated the whole plan of your life with those simple words: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38).

“You embrace,” he says, “and draw close to everyone. You seek everyone with motherly care. … In a wonderful way, you’re always found in the mystery of Christ, your only Son.

“You're always present wherever his brothers or sisters are present, wherever the Church is present” (John Paul II, Address, January 27, 1979).

Your hands are laden with graces for us, and you're ever ready to shower them down on your children.

St. John accepts Our Lady as his Mother. Until she's taken up into heaven, body and soul, He watches over her with great tenderness.

St. Josemaría in Christ Is Passing By says, “From that very hour, the disciple received her into his home. Spiritual writers have seen in these words of the Gospel a direct invitation to all Christians to bring Mary into their lives.

“Mary certainly wants us to invoke her and to approach her confidently. She wants us to appeal to her as Our Mother, asking her to ‘show us that you are our mother’” (J. Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, Point 140).

Our Lady has never failed to hear us. She tends to make the way easier for us. She prevents us from straying from the right path, in great or small matters, as sometimes our short-sightedness might incline us to do.

Where would we be without her motherly vigilance? We can make every effort to petition her frequently as faithful daughters and sons. Our Lady is always vigilant whenever her children are concerned.

In The Forge we're told, “You must never treat anyone unmercifully. If you think someone is not worthy of your mercy, you should realize that you don't deserve mercy either. —You do not deserve to have been created, or to be a Christian, or to be a child of God, or to have the family that you have” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 145).

In the Furrow, St. Josemaría says, “Holy Mary, Seat of Wisdom. —Invoke Our Mother often in that way, so that she may fill her children, in their study, work, or social relations, with the Truth that Christ has brought to us” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, Point 607).

“There is no heart more human than that of a person overflowing with supernatural sense. Think of Holy Mary, who is full of grace, Daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, Spouse of God the Holy Spirit. Her Heart has room for all humanity and makes no distinction or discrimination. —Every person is her son or daughter” (Ibid., Point 801).

We can ask Our Lady on this feast day to look mercifully upon us and help us to look mercifully upon everybody that God has placed around us.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

JSD