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| Our Lady of Ransom |
Mary with, outstretched hands with a huge
mantle, under which the faithful remain protected and Mary holding the chain of
the prisoners symbolically conveying the powerful message, that there is safe haven for all who trust in her and she
can free you from bondage both physical and spiritual. Today the 24th
of September the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Ransom. Welcome to
the feast of the day.
When Christian Europe was getting enslaved and weakened by the rising Muslim domination
in Spain, the strong hold of Catholicism, in their desperation prayed to Blessed Virgin Mary. The Blessed Virgin appeared in
1218 in separate visions to St.
Peter Nolasco, St. Raymund of Penafort, and James, the king of Aragon, asking
them to found a religious order dedicated to freeing Christian captives from
the cruel Saracens or Moors, who at that time held a great part of Spain.
On August 10, 1218, King James established the
royal, military and religious Order of our Lady of Ransom, now known as the
Mercedarian Order, with the members granted the privilege of wearing his own
arms on their breast. Most of the members were knights, they guarded the coasts
and delivered prisoners. This pious work spread everywhere and produced heroes
of charity who collected alms for the ransom of Christians, and often gave
themselves up in exchange for Christian prisoners.
These things were done by the followers of Christ
from the earliest days, but especially during the Middle ages. At that time the
enemies of Christ's Church had conquered a great part of Christian territory
and had carried off into slavery many thousands of Christians.
The Order of Our Lady of Ransom, ransomed 490,736
slaves between the years 1218 and 1632. An even greater achievement was the
conversion of thousands in captivity, and saving them against the sufferings of a cruel
martyrdom for the faith.
What is the relevance of Our Lady of Ransom today?
There is always the need to be ransomed people from various forms of slavery.
Slavery today is a reality. Jails and places where people undergo torture for
their religion and conviction, people who are addicted to drugs, drinks and
gambling; there is a wide area where we can seek the help of Our Lady of Ransom
and do work by our personal contribution.
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