Holy Mother Church honors Mary under the title of Our Lady of Ransom with a feast day on September 24. As mentioned in a previous post, during the 13th century many Spanish Catholics were enslaved by the Saracens, often tortured as a way to get them to renounce their Faith. St. Peter Nolasco worked for 15 years to ransom these captives, all the while imploring heaven's help for this task.
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From the Office of the Feast of our Lady of Ransom:
"At the time when the Saracen yoke oppressed the larger and more fertile part of Spain, and great numbers of the faithful were detained in cruel servitude, at the great risk of denying the Christian faith and losing their eternal salvation, the most blessed Queen of heaven graciously came to remedy all these great evils, and showed her exceeding charity in redeeming her children. She appeared with beaming countenance to [St.] Peter Nolasco, a man conspicuous for wealth and piety, who in his holy meditations was ever striving to devise some means of helping the innumerable Christians living in misery as captives of the Moors. She told him it would be very pleasing to her and her only-begotten Son, if a religious Order were instituted in her honour, whose members should devote themselves to delivering captives from Turkish tyranny. Animated by this heavenly vision, the man of God was inflamed with burning love, having but one desire at heart, viz: that both he and the Order he was to found, might be devoted to the exercise of that highest charity, the laying down of life for one's friends and neighbours."
"The same night, the most holy Virgin appeared also to blessed Raymond of Pegnafort, and to James king of Aragon, telling them of her wish to have the Order instituted, and exhorting them to lend their aid to so great an undertaking. Meanwhile Peter hastened to relate the whole matter to Raymund, who was his confessor; and finding it had been already revealed to him from heaven, submitted humbly to his direction. King James next arrived, fully resolved to carry out the instructions he also had received from the blessed Virgin. Having therefore taken counsel together and being all of one mind, they set about instituting an Order in honour of the Virgin Mother, under the invocation of [O]ur Lady of Mercy for the ransom of captives."
"On the tenth of August, in the year of [O]ur Lord one thousand two hundred and eighteen, king James out into execution what the two holy men had planned. The members of the Order bound themselves by a fourth vow to remain, when necessary, as securities in the power of the pagans, in order to deliver Christians. The king granted them license to bear his royal arms upon their breast, and obtained from [Pope] Gregory IX the confirmation of this religious institute distinguished by such eminent brotherly charity. God [H]imself gave increase to the work, through [H]is Virgin Mother; so that the Order spread rapidly and prosperously over the whole world. It soon reckoned many holy men remarkable for their charity and piety who collected alms from Christ's faithful, to be spent in redeeming their brethren; and sometimes gave themselves up as ransom for many others. In order that due thanks might be rendered to God and [H]is Virgin Mother for the benefit of such an institution, the apostolic See allowed this special feast and Office to be celebrated, and also granted innumerable other privileges to the Order."
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In later years Pope Leo XIII encouraged the devotion of this feast as well, especially as a way to help the faithful to remember how our Lady ransoms us from the slavery of our sins. As this feast draws near, may we look to our Lady of Ransom and beg her help. May our Lady's intercession help free us from sin and guide us to a greater love for her Son. May we also ask her help for the whole world, which is so entrenched in confusion and sin. May the world learn to look to the Heavenly Mother as a beacon of peace and love and imitate her love for and service of God.
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Supplication to our Lady of Ransom
Sweet Mother! turn those gentle eyesOf pity down upon me;
Oh! hear thy suppliant’s tearful cries,
My humble prayer, do not despise,
Star of the pathless sea!
In dark temptation’s dreary hour,
To thee, bright Queen, we flee;
Oh! then exert a mother’s power,
When storms are rough and tempests lower;
Star of the raging sea!
Through all my joys and cares, sweet Maid,
May I still look on thee,
Who bore the Price our ransom paid,
And ne’er the suppliant’s cry hath stayed;
Star of the azure sea!
And when my last expiring sigh,
My soul from earth shall free,
Do thou, bright Queen of Saints, stand by
And bear it up to God on high,
Star of the boundless sea!
***Say the Hail Mary three times
followed by
the Hail Holy Queen
God bless!
+JMJ+
