Solemnity of Our Lady Help of Christians –
Patroness of Australia - May 24th
Our Lady Help of Christians. May 24th
Mass of the Solemnity, Gloria, Creed
Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary I
Readings:
Genesis 3:9-15, 20: I will put enmity between your offspring and her offspring.
Ps 102:1-4, 8-9, 11-12: R. "Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve, nor punish us for our faults. "
Eph 3:14-19: To know the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge.
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed is the Virgin Mary who kept the word of God and pondered it in her heart. Alleluia! (Cf Lk 2:19)
Lk 8:19-21: My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.
Image Credit: 290438420 -TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - MARCH 2, 2015: The Icon of black Madonna from St. Peters church in old Jaffa by an unknown artist from end of 19. cent.- By Renata Sedmakova.
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Solemnity in Australia of Our Lady- Help of Christians. By clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/weekday-solemnity-fhl-may-24th-2025-our-lady-help-of-christians-australian-patronal-solemnity-year-c/s-qS3omtd57O0
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
{{Kindness and grace to you all}}
On this special (feast of) Our Lady Help Of Christians
My brothers and sisters, trusting in Gods mercy and love let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you affirm Mary, as the mother of Mercy. Lord, have mercy.
You honour her as the mother of good counsel. Christ, have mercy.
You present her to us as Help of all Christians. Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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PREFACE: Preface I of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Euch.Prayer: II
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Dismissal:
Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.
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Prologue: The Virgin Mary has often been invoked in times of religious strife under the title of Help of Christians. In thanksgiving for the release of Pope Pius VII from captivity in 1814, the feast was established the following year on the anniversary of his restoration. The first Australian provincial synod held in Sydney in 1844 placed the Church in Australia under Mary's patronage invoked by the title Help of Christians. The solemn feast is an occasion to seek Mary's help and protection for our Church and nation.
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There are two inscriptions from the first centuries of Christianity that are written in Greek and related to the Virgin Mary. The first one is θεοτοκος - "Theotokos", which means Mother of God, and the second one is βοηθεια "Boetheia", which means The Helper. So, Mary, the Help of Christians, is one of the very earliest of titles for Mary.
Asking for the intercession of Mary as help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the Sub tuum presidium, which was found on a papyrus dating at the latest from the end of the third century.
"We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen."
St John Chrysostom used this Marian title (Help of Christians) in the year 345 as a devotion to the Virgin Mary, and the wonderful St John Bosco also strongly and fruitfully promoted Marian devotion under this title throughout his order which became a worldwide ministry.
How fitting when we see Mary's life portrayed in the Gospels.
What a perfect intercessor, who knows all too well the hardships and sufferings that we go through in life.
Her trust, her humility and complete faith in God, as she said a very strong and clear yes to what God was asking of her in her life, even though what he was asking was very difficult.
That arduous journey to visit and care for her cousin Elizabeth,
her journey as a refugee with her husband Joseph and our Lord to Egypt and back again,
her pain at not being able to find the 12-year-old Jesus for three whole days when he was eventually found in the temple, her pondering of all these things in her heart and what it could mean.
The fact that Mary is a disciple and mother of Christ equally, the sword of sorrow that pierced her heart quite acutely through her life, her trust in and intercession to her son at the wedding at Cana, concerned for the good of her hosts, her discipleship which is inspiring, her faithfulness and her suffering at the foot of the cross, bearing the indescribable pain of her own son's suffering and death, her presence in prayer and community with the apostles at Pentecost.
The infant church in Australia had a very good reason for turning to Mary. At the start of the Catholic Church in Australia, no priests were sent to this colony in its very early days and mass was not permitted except for one brief year in 1820.
It was largely the rosary and strong devotion to Mary in those early days that kept the faith alive and strong. Catholic Australia remained faithful to Mary and was the first nation to choose her under the title of Help of Christians as Principal Patroness. And Mary, Help of Christians, is continuing to intercede for us and inspire us in these trying times.
Also, even to this day, Australia is highly secularised. We still see signs at times of a concerning and deep anti-Catholic sentiment that comes bursting out at unexpected times and in very unfortunate ways. We need to invoke Help of Christians, to pray for and ask the Lord to transform the hardened hearts, the headstrong hearts and minds of people who just seem to be wanting not to hear the life-giving message of Christ.
St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney was dedicated in Mary's honour by the Irish pioneer priest, Father John Terry, who arrived in Sydney in 1820 and took on responsibility for planning and the initial construction of that cathedral. When Australia became the first country to have Mary, Help of Christians as Patroness, it became the first country to have a mother cathedral under that same title. And of course, at St Mary's in Sydney, a beautiful statue of Mary, Help of Christians stands in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in that cathedral.
The Church has traditionally focused on two aspects of Our Lady's help on this feast day. Firstly, upon the role of Our Lady's intercession in the fight against sin in the life of a believer. Secondly, Our Lady is one who assists Christians as a community through her intercession in fighting against anti-Christian values and principles.
In the Collect, the opening prayer today, we rightly and with heartfelt determination prayed that through Our Lady's intercession, God will grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens, so that under her protection, Australia may be granted harmony, justice and peace. This is longed for and treasured more than ever before. Mary, Help of Christians is not only the Patroness of Australia, but also the Australian military ordinariate.
And the following prayer is quite fitting on this wonderful day.
Almighty God, deepen in our hearts our love of Mary, Help of Christians. Through her prayers and under her protection, may the light of Christ shine over our land.
May Australia be granted harmony, justice and peace. Bless especially the men and women of the Australian Defense Forces and their families. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mary Help of Christians: Pray for us.
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
From- Catholic Weekly 2012: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/24-may-our-lady-help-of-christians/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Help_of_Christians
Gabriel Chow in https://sacrosancta.blogspot.com/2019/06/australia-and-our-lady-help-of-christians.html
Image Credit: 290438420 -TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - MARCH 2, 2015: The Icon of black Madonna from st. Peters church in old Jaffa by unknown artist from end of 19. cent.- By Renata Sedmakova
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).
Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria. Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.
Hymn – "Rainfall – Mother of Mercy." Music by Paul W. Kelly. 1994, 2021. Words adapted by Paul W. Kelly, based on the Traditional Salve Regina Hymn. Arranged & with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2021. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk
Marian Hymn - "Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae." (Traditional 11th Century). Melody: Mainz (1712), Hymn #783 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/
[ Production - KER - 2025]
May God bless and keep you.
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