The Catholic bulletin., 1915-05-15
OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP.

Towards the end of the Fifteenth
Century, owing to the threatened in
vasion of the Turks, crowds fled to
Italy for safety from the little island
of Crete. In one of these bands of
refugees there was a pious merchant
who seemed as much intent on pre-
serving a certain treasure he possess
ed as. on saving his own life. This
treasure was none other than the pic
ture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help,
Although this is the first explicit men
ton of this picture in history, new
ertheless popular tradition seems in
favor the opinion that it is develop
ment of the portrait of the Blessed
Virgin said to have been drawn by
st. Luke.
And now, behold, Mary is coming
from the Orient untos the West; The
Mother is coming to her children; the
Queen to her subjects. She is even
Impatient }of1 hersfuturd work of love.
She would inaugurate her coming to
Europe by miracle.
The ship that bore the Cretan mer-
chant was overtaken by terrible
storm. After laboring against it in
vain, the sailors gave up in despair
and abandoned their ship and their
own lives to the mercy of the winds
and waves. Cries of terror were
heard on all sides. One man alone
was calm 1t Wa Nthe pious merchant.
He had confidence hat she whose pic
ture he was rescuinsN from threatened
desecration would now come to his
assistance. Such confidence never
goes unrewarded. The merchant
took the picture and held it up before
his dispairing fellow passengers, and
told them that when all earthly help
had proved unavailing this good
mother could still save them. All
threw themselves on their knees and
prayed. Their prayers we're, heard.
AS of old when the storm on the sea
of Galilee ceased at the command of
Jesus, so now, at the intercession of
Mary, the angry waves were quieted,
and the ship rode safely to Ostia,
where the merchant disembarked, and
whence he journeyed with his treas
ure to Rome.
The King who had promised to re-
main forever with His Church had His
Capital at Rome Was it not fitting
that the Queen of Perpetual Help
should likewise live and be honored
there? :
Not long after his arrival in the
Eternal City the pious merchant died
beautiful death-who that is truly
devoted to Mary will not so die? His
last request was that the picture
which he had done so much to save
should come to be venerated in one
of the Churches of Rome. But what
design of Providence is there that
Satan does not attempt to Illustrate?
When did it ever happen that deyo
tion to Gods holy Mother spread
without stirring up all the envy and
malice and hatred and the bitterest
opposition of hell? Here was no ex
ception. For long time. they, in
whose house the picture was kept
refused to part with the treasure, not
through malice, but 8 because of a
strange fascination which they fell
for the picture The Blessed Virgin
herself appeared to the little child oi
the house. and said: 60, tell your
mother that the Lady of Perpetual
Help wishes to have her home be.
tween the Church of st. Mary Major
and that of st. john, This was the
church of ST. Matthew, belonging to
the Augustinians. The mother would
have complied with the request, but
for the Intervention of friend who
laughed at the simple story of the
child and bade the mother not to heed
it. Scarcely had this woman given
her advice when she became sudden
ly afflicted by terrible tumor. She
fell upon the ground in an agony oi
pain, and she would probably thus
have died had she not repented oi
having given the bad advice and
begged that the picture of Our Lady
of Perpetual Help be brought to her
She touched the picture and recover
| ed instantanebusly s.ssss
+ So the picture was. offered to The
Augustinians Of st. Matthews. This
was earlysin tfg9.s On March 27a ol
! ttiffe shfne yeak tffe picture was car
ried in procession through the streets
4 n