Mother of Perpetual Help

From the Mass and Consecration Ceremony on Oct. 13, 2017, 100^th Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. About 40 of us have spent the past 6 weeks reading and watching Fr. Gaitley’s DVD series on consecration to Jesus through Mary, and we’ve been so blest to be able to do so, to live in this era of technology that allows us to learn from among the best of teachers, no matter how far away they may be. Most of our ancestors in the faith were not so fortunate. Most, until recent modern times, could not read and faith formation was not so easily or readily available to them. Thus, passing on the Gospel to mostly illiterate people became the special work of two groups: the clergy in preaching their homilies and artists in their creation of beautiful works. And so, we developed the tradition of statues and stained glass windows in the Roman or Western part of the Church, and of icons in the East, in Greece, the Slavic lands and Russia. 

One of these icons, coming from Greece about 1,000 years ago, has become so popular and loved by the whole Church that it is found in homes, and churches of both the East and the West: the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. We are going to use this icon as our final book on entrustment to Mary, because that is exactly why it was made in the first place. You see, icons follow very strict rules about color, design, posture. This is because they pass on some precious truths about God and our relationship with Him. And those who create icons are not called painters, they are called writers, because the icon takes the place of a book in teaching us about the faith. Every icon has a specific message, it is not meant to be just a pretty decoration. When we examine the rules followed in an icon we can arrive at the spiritual message it conveys. We will look first at the icon in general and then examine each of its detailed parts.

THE ICON IN GENERAL

The central largest figure is Mary. The second largest figure is Jesus. So, this tells us the icon is a lesson about Mary in our relationship with Jesus. There are 2 angels carrying instruments of the Passion and this tells us that what we are going to learn has to do with our salvation. Now, to learn more about the arrangement of these figures and their interaction, we have to know that icons, like the Gospel, can be about real events or be parables, that is, fictitious stories that are meant to convey a particular lesson to us. This icon is a parable told in art-form. And the parable is this: One day Jesus and Mary were outside when suddenly two angels appeared to the Child carrying the instruments of his future Passion. This so frightened him that he ran with great haste to his Mother and jumped up into her arms. He sought in her compassion, comfort and protection. He went to her for help.

1. MARY’S FACE

Mary’s large tender eyes look at you from wherever you are. This tells us she sees all our needs no matter where we are or what kind of situation we are in. they seem to invite us to her, to come to her.

2. MARY’S COLORS

Mary wears a a red dress and a dark blue mantle or veil. The dress is deep red trimmed with gold. This may seem unremarkable to us but in those times clothing wasn’t just for covering the body or enhancing one’s figure. The color and style gave a social message as to a person’s situation and status. Virgins wore red dresses. Married women and mothers had to appear in pubic with dark veils. And only the queen or empress was permitted to wear deep red edged with gold. So, this icon proclaims an awesome mystery: this woman is both Virgin and Mother, as well as a Queen.

 3. MARY’S STAR

There is an 8-pointed star on Mary’s head, which is the form of the Star of Bethlehem. It is there to remind us that Mary leads us to Jesus, just as the star led the Magi to the nativity. It also proclaims two of Mary’s most ancient titles: Star of the Sea that leads us to our destination of Heaven, and Morning Star that announces the rising of the sun, the coming of Jesus.

4. MARY’S HANDS

Notice that while Mary is the main figure of this icon, her right hands is intentionally in the actual center of the image, at the level of the heart. And what is that hand doing? It is holding Jesus’ hands. Furthermore, look how the hand is cupped and pointing to Jesus. This is a traditional icon posture called “pointing out the way” and it is directing our attention to something more important than the central figure. Mary is directing us to Jesus.

5. JESUS’ POSTURE

He is leaning in towards her, seeking protection and comfort. Remember the parable story. He is teaching us to go to her in our struggles, fears and sufferings.

6. JESUS’ HANDS

Jesus’ right hand is clasping Mary’s thumb. He is teaching us to trust confidently in her. Jesus’ left hand is pressed into Mary’s palm. He is teaching us to entrust ourselves to her.

7. JESUS’ SANDAL

Notice how one of the sandals is falling off his foot. Jesus has run to Mary and jumped up into her arms with such speed and anxiousness, displaying for us confidence in her motherly love, protection and help. This is where the icon gets its name: perpetual help.

So, there we have it. The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. An icon of total consecration. An icon of entrustment and of our covenant relationship with Mary. The ancient Christian message of the icon is very clear: Mary is the Virgin Mother and Queen who points us to the Way, who watches over us wherever we are, and whose help is never ending: it is perpetual. So now the icon asks us to not just admire it but to make a decision: will we entrust ourselves to Mary, just the Child Jesus did, and allow her to mother us? If the answer is yes, then making the Act of Total Consecration to Jesus thorough Mary is an excellent way to express, carry out and live this response in our faith relationship with Jesus.