The Dales Catholic Mission: Our Lady of Perpetual Succour: 'It's not about her'

Fr Richard's words for the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

Readings: See below

'It's not about her'

The central focus of the beautiful image we venerate today is not, in fact, Our Lady, but Our Blessed Lord whom she cradles in her arms. This is the wonderful reality about devotion to Our Blessed Mother – “it’s not about her”. She is only interested in pointing the way to her Son. Indeed, Mary Our Mother looks after us, protects us, “helps” us when we are in need each and every day of our lives. All of this motherly tenderness is, however, encapsulated by the overall, all-encompassing thing that Our Blessed Lady perpetually “helps” us with – to come closer to Christ.

Even the readings the Church chooses for this Feast of our Diocesan Patroness are truly centred on the Christ-child. We hear Isaiah’s prophesy of Jesus’s birth. Then in the Gospel, the joy of Mary, Elizabeth and the unborn John is all because of the child in the womb of Mary who is to bring salvation to the whole world.

The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, which dates back to the 13^th/14^th century, looks ahead to the Passion of Christ. As our Diocesan Ordo explains: “It seems as if the Christ child is caught in the very moment of shock and horror at the sight of the instruments of his passion carried by the angels, and his sandal all but falls off his foot in his fear.” The sacred image, therefore, draws to our attention the inseparability between Jesus’ infancy and His coming suffering for our sake.

This great Feast plunges us deep into the mystery of the Person of Jesus Christ. By mystery we do not mean “perplexity”. On the contrary, we mean the inexhaustible depths of who Christ is and what He does for us. Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, help all in our Diocese to come closer to your Son, the Son of God, who is our Saviour.

Readings

First reading

Acts 12:1-11

'Now I know the Lord really did save me from Herod'

King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.

On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands. The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.’ After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’ Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him. It was only then that Peter came to himself. ‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’

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Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33(34):2-9