Although today is the great Feast of Pentecost, is it also the ancient and important Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. There is much evidence that this title is one of the earliest used of the Blessed Virgin Mary, certainly by the Third Century. The earliest prayer addressed to Our Lady, (apart from the Hail Mary) the 'Sub Tuum Praesidium,' was found on a manuscript in the 3rd Century. It is also an important invocation of the Litany of Loreto, inspired by the victory in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, following the call of Pope St. Pius V to pray the Rosary to save Europe from the Muslim invasion.
As we pray for our persecuted brethren around the world, suffering for the Name of Jesus, this Feast should be part of our spiritual armor. Perhaps today we might pray the 'Sub Tuum' (or sing it!) or say the Litany of Loreto, asking, as Christians have done for nearly 2000 years, for the assistance of Our Lady, Help of Christians.
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