Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christians,
how sweet it is to come to your feet
imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children,
how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?
Grant then to me, I implore you,
your perpetual help in all my necessities,
in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life.
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians,
that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.
~ written and prayed by St. John Bosco
Pictured: Mary Help of Christians (MarijaPomagai) as Our Lady of Brezje, in Slovenia, painted in 1814 by an artist in thanksgiving for his own liberation from five years imprisonment during the Napoleonic wars.
History of the title "Mary Help of Christians" here.
WHEN for me the sun is setting At the close of life's brief day; When my little ship is nearing Port in yonder crystal bay; Then, 0 my beloved Mother, Stretch thy kind hand out to me, Shield me, till my feet have touch'd the Shore sand of eternity.
When my strength begins to vanish, And earth's memories to fade; When my friends stand sad and silent, Powerless to give me aid; Then, my beloved Mother, Hold my trembling hand in thine, Till my eyes shall see the steeples Of the Holy City shine.
When at last my weary spirit Seeks admission to thy throne, When my lips in anxious longing For thy gracious blessing moan! Then, 0 thrice beloved Mother, Open wide thy home and heart, And let me, thy child, dwell ever, Where thou Queen and Mother art.
~Anon.
Title of Our Lady: Star of the Sea
The second Sunday in May has been traditionally designated as Stella MarisSunday in many parts of the world. This title of Our Lady, Star of the Sea -- or Stella Maris -- has always been one of my favorites. As the daughter of a Navy man, I grew up near the ocean and always tended toward tales of the sea -- and even as a child, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd say, "an oceanographer." Which didn't happen. Alas, now I'm about as landlocked as a person can get, living in Colorado, but I still appreciate the meaning of Mary -- as a Star of the Sea. She is our refuge, our guide, our compass -- our North Star. As sailors once depended upon the night sky to find their way, we can depend upon our Blessed Mother in the stormy seas of life.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century) tells us:
"If the winds of temptation arise;If you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary; If you are tossed upon the waves of pride, of ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the star, call on Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary."
Going back to the Old Testament from the time of St. Bernard, we find the first reference to the Mother of God as Star of the Sea in the Bible -- in 1 Kings 18:41-45:
41And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees,
43And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.
44And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.
45And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel:
The little cloud that Elias and Achab saw from Mt. Carmel has been interpreted(1) as the 'Star of the Sea' and Mary, then, like the quenching rains, is the sign of hope for mankind. It was on this same hill of Carmel that the Carmelites built a church in the early thirteenth century that they titled Stella Maris. Though the abbey has been destroyed several times, it is always rebuilt and is still considered the headquarters of the Carmelite order to this day.
St. Jerome is believed to have had a part, as well, in the coining of this title of Our Blessed Mother(2). In his writings of the early fifth century he refers to Mary as Stilla Maris, which is translated "drop of the sea." It's possible that a transcriber inadvertently substituted an "e" for the "i" in Stilla -- and thus we have changed "drop" to "star." However it came about, we have numerous references to Our Lady as Stella Maris through the centuries; St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636); Alcuin (d. 804); and Rhabanus Maurus (d. 856) all use the title, as well as Paschasius Radbertus (d. 865) who wisely pronounced:
Mary, Star of the Sea, must be followed in faith and morals lest we capsize amidst the storm-tossed waves of the sea. She will illumine us to believe in Christ, born of her for the salvation of the world.
Through the centuries, many hymns have also been dedicated to Our Lady under the title Star of the Sea. We have Ave Maris Stella (eigth-ninth century); and Alma Redemptoris Mater (by Hermann of Reichenau, eleventh century), for instance, as well as one of my all-time favorites:
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, is patroness of the Catholic missions to seafarers, the Apostleship of the Sea, and to many coastal churches around the world which have been named in her honor.
Answering the Question: Where exactly was Christ when He ascended into heaven on Ascension Thursday? Here is a quote from The Golden Legend, an early compilation of known Christian history (a.k.a."legends"), written in 1275, by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa:
As to the first he ascended from the mount of Olives by Bethany; the which mountain, by another relation, is said the mountain of three lights. For by night on the side of the west it is lighted of the fire that burneth in the Temple, which never is put out ne quenched. On the morning it is light of the orient, for she hath first the rays of the sun before it shineth in the city, and also it hath great abundance of oil that nourisheth the light, and therefore it is said the hill of three lights.
Unto this hill Jesus Christ commanded his disciples that they should go. For on the day of his Ascension he appeared two times, one time to eleven disciples that ate in the hall where they had supped with him. All the apostles and the disciples and also the women, abode in that part of Jerusalem which is called Mello, in the mountain of Sion, where David had made his palace. And there was the great hall arrayed and ordained for to sup, whereas Jesu Christ commanded that they should make ready for to eat the Paschal Lamb, and in this place the eleven apostles abode, and the other disciples, and the women abode in divers mansions there about.
And when they had eaten in this hall, our Lord appeared to them and reproved them of their incredulity. And when he had eaten with them, and had commanded them that they should go to the Mount of Olivet on the side by Bethany, he appeared again to them, and answered to them of the demands that they made to him indiscreetly, and with his hands lifted he blessed them; and anon before them he ascended unto heaven.
Of the place of this ascension saith Sulpicius, Bishop of Jerusalem, and it is in the Gloss. For there was edified a church in the place where were made the signs of his ascension. Never sith [afterwards] might be set there any pavement, it could not be laid ne set but anon it issued out, and the stones of the marble sprang into the visages of them that set it. And that is a sign that they be stones on which Christ passed upon, which lie in the powder and dust, and abide for a token and sign certain.
The footprints said to be His are now enclosed in a shrine called the Chapel of the Ascension near the top of the mountain (picture above). The original building was destroyed by the Persians in A.D. 614, but was rebuilt by Crusaders. The Moslems took control of the building in the 13th century and transformed it into a mosque, walling in the arches, and adding a dome, but Christians Jews, and Moslems, alike, claim the building as a religious site -- and as of this writing, all faiths are welcome to visit there.
Unfortunately, though, any visit to this part of the word is a risky venture --- in our day as it has been through the centuries, but the long-standing conflict between Christians and Muslims gotten worse in the last decade than it's been since the crusades I think. When traveling to the Middle East, tourists (brave folks!) are warned against wearing medals or scapulars or other symbols of their Christianity where they can be seen outside clothing. I worry for our son, Paul, who is still on a mission in Jordan -- a country where there are only three Christians to every 100 Moslems. Painful to think that this was the land that Jesus' knew, where His precious feet walked, where His Gospel was first taught. It's a shame to think that we'd take our lives in our hands to travel to the Chapel of the Ascension in order to see for ourselves Christ's footprints in the stone where He ascended into heaven. But, oh my! Wouldn't it be awesome to take the chance! Can you imagine seeing them with your own eyes?
And when they had eaten in this hall, our Lord appeared to them and reproved them of their incredulity. And when he had eaten with them, and had commanded them that they should go to the Mount of Olivet on the side by Bethany, he appeared again to them, and answered to them of the demands that they made to him indiscreetly, and with his hands lifted he blessed them; and anon before them he ascended unto heaven.