On the Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

The Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

A double major feast day, commemorating the foundation of the Mercedarians.

On 10 August, 1223, the Mercedarian Order -- or the Orderof Our Lady of Mercy --  was legally constituted at Barcelona by King James of Aragon and was approved by Gregory IX on 17 January, 1235. The Mercedarians celebrated their institution on the Sunday nearest to 1 Aug. (on which date in the year 1233 the Blessed Virgin was believed to have shown St. Peter Nolasco the white habit of the order)... 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.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Also called the Feast of "Our Lady of Mercy," this commemoration should not be confused with any new-fangled idea of "tolerance," as mercy often is  misconstrued today.  Today's feast remembers the Religious Order founded to save 13th century Catholic crusaders from the clutches of the Mohammedans --- now commonly known as the Muslims -- but let us call them as they are: not of God but of Mohammed. Mohammadans. Of the devil.

The Mercedarian Brothers' mission of mercy was to rescue Catholics from the Mohammedans. We thank Our Heavenly Mother for her mercy in blessing this Order to save Christians in the time of St. Raymond and St. Peter.  We beseech her now to have mercy on those in the hands of Isis -- or any other Mohammedan terrorist group of our own day.  We beg her to keep us safe from the machinations of this evil religion in our own country.  Our world is so upside-down in its understanding of this imminent threat; her mercy and her intercession are much needed!

Prayer for the Feast of Our Lady of Ransom

O God, who by means of the most glorious Mother of Thy Son
was pleased to give new children to Thy Church
for the deliverance of Christ's faithful
from the power of the heathen;
grant, we beseech Thee,
that we who love and honor her as the foundress of so great a work may,
by her merits and intercession,
be ourselves delivered from all sin
and from the bondage of the evil one.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

* The black and white picture, above, can be right clicked to save and printed in a larger format for a coloring page. The stories of Mercedarians, St. Peter Nolasco and St. Raymond of Pentafort dovetail with this feast.

If you don't know the story of St. Raymond of Pentafort, you've just got to click on the above link.  Awesome biography!

Here at our house today: We were blessed to attend Mass this morning and pray the rosary before the Blessed Sacrament.  So much to pray for these days -- and on a feast of Our Lady, it's good to be with her and her Divine Son to spill it all out!  Anyway, back at home, and we'll be talking about the threat to the Christian world that is still alive today, as well as the different kinds of captivity -- physical and spiritual. The importance of the Mass and the Sacraments -- how vital is frequent Confession...

We're studying the transcontinental railroad and the industrial revolution in American history, so we're preparing for a trip to the railroad museum tomorrow.  We plan to watch a documentary on the history of railroads this afternoon. And then we're roasting a turkey for dinner.  Why?  Because we happen to have one thawed in the refrigerator. What better reason, right? :) Question is whether or not it is mandatory to have cranberry sauce if you're having turkey. (I think it probably is.)

Blessings on this feast day of the Blessed Mother!  Prayers ascending that she intercede for us in the small picture of our daily lives -- and also in the big picture of the scary world, and particularly against the threat of Mohammedanism. Mother of Mercy, save the Christian world!