The feast day of Our Mother of Perpetual Succour (also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help) is celebrated on June 27th. It is one of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary as represented in a celebrated 15th-century Byzantine icon.
The icon has been in Rome since 1499, and is permanently enshrined in the church of Sant’Alfonso di Liguori, where the official Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help text is prayed weekly. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, this artistic iconography is known as the Virgin of the Passion or Theotokos of the Passion due to the instruments of the Passion present on the image. The picture came through wondrous circumstances from the island of Crete to Rome. Many great miracles have been connected with the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour since its first appearance in Crete.
The Presentation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to Pope Pius IX (picture taken from this site)
Due to the Redemptorist Priests, who had been appointed as both custodians and missionaries of this icon by Pope Pius IX in 1866, the image has become very popular among Catholics. On 23rd June, it was granted a Canonical Coronation and its official recognition of the Marian icon under its present title. Today, June 27, 2016, Redemptorists worldwide will celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Pope Pius IX entrusting the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to the Redemptorists, with the mission to “make her known” throughout the world.
This (slightly adapted) description of the meaning of the details on the icon comes from ‘Catholic Straight Answers‘:
“The icon (about 54 x 41.5 centimetres) depicts our Blessed Mother Mary, under the title “Mother of God,” holding the Child Jesus. The Archangels Michael and Gabriel, hovering in the upper corners, hold the instruments of the Passion– St. Michael (in the left corner) holds the spear, the wine-soaked sponge, and the crown of thorns, and St. Gabriel (in the right corner) holds the cross and the nails. The intent of the artist was to portray the Child Jesus contemplating the vision of His future Passion. The anguish He feels is shown by the loss of one of His sandals. (One suggestion is that Jesus has been asleep, seen his sufferings in a dream and woken with a frightened start, kicking off his sandal. His mother seeks to comfort him. She wants to help us too.) Nevertheless, the icon also conveys the triumph of Christ over sin and death, symbolised by the golden background (a sign of the glory of the Resurrection) and the manner in which the angels hold the instruments, i.e. like trophies gathered up from Calvary on Easter morning.
In a very beautiful way, the Child Jesus grasps the long slender hand of the Blessed Mother. He seeks comfort from His mother, as He sees the instruments of His passion. The position of Mary’s hands– both holding the Child Jesus (who seems like a small adult) and presenting Him to us– convey the reality of our Lord’s incarnation, that He is true God who became also true Man. In iconography, Mary here is represented as the Hodighitria, the one who guides us to the Redeemer. She also is our Help, who intercedes on our behalf with her Son. The star painted on Mary’s veil, centred on her forehead, highlights her role in the plan of Salvation as both the Mother of God and our Mother.”
The Church has given us this beautiful prayer to help us direct our call to Mary for assistance:
THE MEMORARE
Remember,
O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins my Mother;
to thee do I come,
before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful;
O Mother of thy Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy, graciously hear and answer me.
Amen.
Who better to call upon than our Blessed Mother under her title, ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Succour’? She has promised she will come to the aid of all who implore her help in their time of need. Throughout the entire history of the Church, holy popes and saints have never tired of reminding us of this.
“Let us ask the Lord to grant us one very special grace—to love Our Lady, especially through all the work we do for Jesus, with Jesus, and to Jesus. We must ask Him to deepen our love for Mary, making it more personal and intimate. We want to: Love her as he loved her. Be a cause of joy to her as He was. Keep close to her as he did. Share everything with her, even the cross, as he did when she stood near the cross on Calvary. We must love her unconditionally, trust her fully, abandon ourselves to her totally and without reserve. Nothing is impossible for those who call Mary their mother. During the day, let us often raise our hearts to her and ask her how we can love God as she loved Him, that we, too, can love Him with her heart.” – Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
Very Big Thanks Kathleen!
I have a special devotion to Our Lady Of Perpetual Succour!
LikeLike
She’s powerful, and if you commit yourself to her in even the slightest, most off-hand way, she will stay with you and watch over you. Always.
More than fifty years ago, I acquired – I no longer remember exactly how – a small copy of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Since then, I have been to Harvard, been in the US Army, lived in the Arctic, British Columbia, and East Africa. I have travelled in South Africa and worked and lived in Iran, Israel, Hawaii, Japan, and now Germany. Fifty years. And through all that, this small icon has somehow – without my really planning on it – stayed with me, in every place I’ve lived and travelled in, and I have it even now, at this moment. After fifty years.
It is not only the icon that has stayed with me, though. SHE has stayed with me. She has saved my life on so very many occasions, and in so very many places, saved it from becoming a complete and utter disaster – or from even ending completely.
So, be careful. Once you go to her for help, she will never let you go – unless you send her away.
I’m reminded of that very famous story Bishop Sheen used to tell – and that many people have already heard, but which is perhaps worth remembering:
After making a walkabout in heaven one day, and observing some of the souls there, God went to St. Peter and said, “Peter, are you SURE some of these people belong HERE and not in the other place? St. Peter, looking exasperated and overworked and just about at the end of his rope, replied, “Lord, as soon as I turn some of these people away from the gate, your MOTHER lets them in through the windows!”
I’ve always hoped that if necessary, she’ll let me in through the window too.
LikeLike
RJB,
That is a lovely, touching and amusing story, thank you.
***************************************
Our Lady was at the creche talking with all the other mothers there.
“Who is that little fella over yonder, with all the kids listening to him?” asked one.
Our Lady looked, and then blushed with a Jewish mother’s pride.
“Oh, that’s My Son-The Saviour!” she un-self-consciously exclaimed.
LikeLike
Pingback: Our Lady of Perpetual Succour – 27th June — | Solutio Problematis Omnes (aka "The Catholic Linker")
I have been praying to Our Lady Mother of Perpetual Help since I was a kid, she pleads on our behalf to her Son Jesus Christ who is our brother and with sincere heart Our Father listens to her.
Though I miss the date of the feast day, I have asked for pardon and I know she will never abandon me in Jesus Mighty Name AMEN.
LikeLike