Patient Endurance

Patient Endurance

"With regard to patience the Lord says, 'You will gain possession of your
souls through your patient endurance' (Luke 21:19). He did not say 'through
your fasting' or 'through your vigils'. I refer to the patience bestowed by
God, which is the queen of virtues, the foundation of courageous actions.
It is patience that is peace amid strife, serenity amid distress, and a
steadfast base for those who acquire it. Once you have attained it with the
help of Christ Jesus, no swords and spears, no attacking armies, not even
the ranks of demons, the dark phalanx of hostile powers, will be able to do
you any harm."
--St Gregory of Sinai.

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4 September =E2=80=93 Feast of Our Lady of Consolation

Starting in the 2nd century, Catholics venerated Mary as Our Lady of
Consolation, one of her earliest titles of honour. The title of Our
Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, comes from
the Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum. It is found in the Litany of
Loreto.

The origin of this invocation is derived from the Augustinian monks
who propagated this particular devotion. In 1436 the Confraternity of
the Holy Cincture of Our Lady of Consolation was founded in Bologna,
Italy. It was based on an Augustinian tradition which hold that Saint
Monica in the fourth century, was distraught with anxiety for her
wayward son, Augustine and that Mary gave her a sash which the Virgin
wore, with the assurance that whoever wore this belt would receive her
special consolation and protection. Along with Augustine and Monica,
Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the
Augustinians. The =E2=80=9CAugustinian Rosary=E2=80=9D is sometimes called =
the =E2=80=9CCorona
(or Crown) of Our Mother of Consolation=E2=80=9D.

In the 1700s members of the Augustinian Order introduced devotion to
Our Lady of Consolation to the island of Malta. On 1 December 1722 the
Prior General of the Augustinian Order Fr Thomas Cervioni issued the
Decree for the erection of the Confraternity of Our Lady of
Consolation in the church of St Mark, run by the Augustinians at
Rabat, although the devotion had been practiced for some time before.
By this time the custom of asking for the final blessing before death
in the name of Our Lady of Consolation was very popular and the monks
were given a dispensation to leave the monastery at any time to confer
it. Processions in Our Lady=E2=80=99s honour were suspended during the Fren=
ch
occupation of 1798 to discourage the gathering of crowds.

An ancient story relates St Eusebius of Vercelli brought back an icon
of Our Lady of Consolation when he was returning from exile in Egypt
in 363. This icon was presented to the city of Turin. Later St
Maximus, Bishop of Turin, established a small shrine to house the icon
in a church dedicated to St Andrew. The icon became the object of
great veneration and the church became the Santuario della Consolata.
Giuseppe Allamano, rector of the Santuario della Consolata founded the
Consolata Missionaries in 1902;  they brought to devotion to Africa.
At the age of nineteen Joseph Marello of Turin contracted typhus. He
attributed his recovery to Our Lady of Consolation and went on to
found the Oblates of St. Joseph.

There are several versions of the image of Our Lady of Consolation.
The original one is in Turin at the Santuario della Consolata. A star
on her shoulder is characteristic of almost all the images. The
traditional depiction of Our Mother of Consolation in Augustinian
houses shows Mary holding the child Jesus on her lap. Jesus and Mary
both hold the Augustinian cincture in their hands.

In France the dioceses of Vannes, Valence, Montpelier, Laval, Nantes,
P=C3=A9rigueux, Tours and many others, possessed churches or chapels
dedicated to Mary under this title. In 1652, Pope Innocent X
encouraged devotion to Our Lady of Consolation by establishing a
confraternity.

The cult of Our Lady of Luxembourg, Comforter of the Afflicted, was
initiated by the Jesuits in 1624 and led to the election of Our Lady
as the protectress of the City in 1666 and of the Duchy in 1678. After
the destruction of the old pilgrimage chapel at the time of the French
Revolution, the statue of Our Lady of Luxembourg was moved to St Peter
church, today=E2=80=99s Cathedral in Luxembourg City. Statues depicting her
can be found in niches in buildings throughout the city of Luxembourg.
From there the devotion was adopted by the English Benedictine nuns of
Cambrai.

Immigrants from Luxembourg transposed the cult of Our Lady of
Consolation to the United States.
In 1848, Luxembourg immigrants began to settle in the area around
Dacada, Wisconsin. The oldest statue of Our Lady of Luxembourg found
in the United States, was brought to Dacada by a Luxembourg immigrant,
Anna Margaret Deppiesse, in 1849. Mrs. Deppiesse donated it to St.
Nicholas Church, where it can be found in an alcove shrine below the
choir loft. When the church was remodeled in 1941, a mural depicting
Our Lady of Luxembourg (Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted) was added to
the apse in the sanctuary. The mural, which honours the parish=E2=80=99s
Luxembourgian roots, was painted by liturgical artist, Bernard
Grenkhe, using the =E2=80=9Cal secho=E2=80=9D method (i.e., painting on wet=
 plaster so
as to make the image permanent.

During the Civil War, three parishioners of St. Augustine=E2=80=99s Parish =
in
Leopold, Indiana fought for the North and were imprisoned at the
notorious Andersonville Prison. Henry Devillez, Isidore Naviaux and
Lambert Rogier, formerly of Belgium, vowed that if they survived, one
of them would make a pilgrimage to Luxembourg and obtain a copy of the
statue of Our Lady of Consolation that stood in their ancestral
church. Rogier went to Luxembourg in 1867 and upon his return
enshrined it in St. Augustine=E2=80=99s, where it now stands to the left of
the main altar. In September 2013, Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of
Indianapolis dedicated a larger outdoor garden shrine.

Another centre of veneration and pilgrimage, which also adopted Our
Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted is Kevaeler in Germany, not far from
the Dutch border. In 1642 a copperplate engraving, representing Our
Lady of Luxembourg, was installed in a sanctuary erected the same
year. It is one of the best visited Catholic pilgrimage locations in
north-western Europe.  St Pope John Paul II visited in 1987.
The feast of Our Lady of Consolation is one of the solemnities not
inscribed in the General Roman Calendar but which are observed in
particular places, regions, churches or religious institutes.
Augustinians observe 4 September, the Benedictines on 5 July.
The popular girls name =E2=80=9CConsuela=E2=80=9D is derived from this titl=
e.

https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/04/


=E2=80=9CHas anyone ever come away from Mary,
troubled or saddened or ignorant
of the heavenly Mysteries?
Who has not returned to everyday life
gladdened and joyful
because a request has been granted
by the Mother of God?=E2=80=9D
--St Amadeus of Lausanne (1110-1159) (1110-1159)

Bible Quote:
There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all
sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in
all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God
who is working in all of them.  (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 )


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Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation
O Mary Immaculate, our Mother and Consolation,
I take refuge in your most loving heart
with all the confidence of which I am capable;
you shall be the dearest object
of my love and veneration.
To you, who are the dispenser
of the treasures of Heaven,
I shall always have recourse,
in my sorrows to have peace,
in my doubts to have light,
in my dangers to be defended,
in all my needs to obtain your assistance.
Be therefore my refuge,
my strength,
my consolation, O Mary the Consoler!
At the hour of my death,
graciously receive the last sighs of my heart
and obtain for me a place in your heavenly home,
where all hearts shall praise with one accord
the adorable Heart of Jesus for ever more,
and your most lovable heart, O Mary.
Our tender Mother, Comforter of the afflicted,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Grant also peace and holiness to the Church,
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen