Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, or Ransom (information, here). It is a delightful feast which can be seen in the texts of today’s liturgy, here. It is a feast which honors the tangible work Our Lady does in freeing captives from all sorts of chains, and real prisons, as well as, virtual prisons; as in, the chains of the world, the flesh, and the devil: all enemies of salvation. In honor of this feast, I present, again, as I never tire of reading it, the following story attributed to the great saint, Padre Pio.
“One day Our Lord making rounds of Paradise saw some strange faces. He asked Peter: ‘Who let these people in?’
Peter: ‘There is nothing I can do.’
The Lord: ‘But you have the key.’
Peter: ‘There is nothing I can do, and you can’t do either.’
The Lord: ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s your mother. She has another key. She let’s them in.’ ”
A story told by St. Padre Pio ♥
“She has another key. She let’s them in.”
The children of Mary understand this: it means that Our Lady leads her children, and will see that they make it into heaven. It is what it means to be consecrated to her, to live under her mantle, under her care, and to follow her.
So, let’s place (or continue to place, for this is a daily action) ourselves under the mantle of Our Lady (that is what consecration to her is, in a nutshell) as our Catholic ancestors did: it is a sure resting spot amidst the dangers and errors which roam about the world.
Have a good day!
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•Image: Madonna of Mercy by Domenico Ghirlandaio (b. 1449- d. 1494), source.
•More information on Our Lady of Ransom: link.
