OUR LADY OF ARRAS

Day 58: Jul 07



In the year 1380, when St John's Cathedral was being renovated, a statue of Our Lady was found. An apprentice stone mason was in search of some firewood and found out this statue in the rubble. The mason could not recognize it as that of Our Lady as it was in such bad shape. However, the head-mason in charge of the apprentice understood it as the that of the Mother of God. The statue was placed for veneration on the altar of St Martin in the cathedral church, but the people did not like it. Respecting the public opinion, one of the clergymen tried to remove the ugly statue from the Cathedral. The statue became too heavy for anyone to lift or move it. People also noticed that those who spoke ill about the statue started to have some sicknesses or even nightmares.
A woman who mocked the statue became partially paralyzed. That night the lady had a vision of the Lord who asked her to repair the statue and pay due honor. The very next day she dragged herself to the Cathedral church to start the repairs. As the work progressed her condition also got better. The infant Jesus was missing in the statue. Later on, it was found out that some children were using the statue of the baby Jesus as a toy. Brother Wout found the statue of the baby Jesus and attached to the statue of the Blessed Mother. There were still some who ridiculed the statue, but now they fainted on the spot. Many experienced strange pains, headaches, and even indigestion. On the other hand, those who prayed before the statue for a cure were healed of their illnesses and otherwise greatly favored. Due to the presence of the statue, the church became a place of pilgrimage. Emperor Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor, and King Fernando of Castile were among the notables who visited the miraculous statue.
The statue of Our Sweet Lady is of oak and is nearly four feet tall and is of an unusual pattern: Our Lady stands upright, while her forearms are extended at right angles to her body. The Child is balanced on her left hand and in her right she holds an apple.
The dedication of the new church of Our Lady of Arras occurred in the year 1484 by Bishop Peter de Ranchicourt, who was bishop of that city. The first church which had been built at the site had been constructed by Saint Vaast, who had been the Bishop of Arras, in the year 542, using the liberal donations of the first kings of France. The desolation caused by the Calvinists began in 1566, and many churches were plundered. The Kind Mother was hidden and saved from the destruction.
Years later, when the city was seized by the Spanish, two Carmelites took the statue to Bishop Ophovius, who gave it to one of the women of the parish to safeguard. Eventually it was feared that the statue of the Kind Lady would not be safe if it stayed were it was, and so it was decided to take the statue to Brussels for safety. The statue had to be hidden to keep it safe, and so was placed in a chest and snuck out through the town gates. It was then taken to St Geradus’s church in Belgium before being taken to Koudenberg church in Brussels. It wasn’t until the year 1810 when the cathedral at Den Bosch was returned to the Catholics by Napoleon. Then, it took the prolonged efforts of Bishop J. Zwijsen, the bishop of Hertogenbosh, to have the beloved statue of Our Sweet Lady returned to his cathedral in 1878. It was crowned by the grateful bishop in the name of Pope Leo XIII that same year, and the feast is July 7th with proper Mass and Office in certain places.

St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"As Jesus is inseparable from the Mother of God, so the soul sought by the Trinity as spouse of God must be inseparably, ineffably and efficaciously joined to Mary." (Shiju Chittattukara & Anil Akkara, 365 Days with St. Justin Russolillo, Blessed Justin Vocationary, Florham Park, 2021, p. 179)

Comments

Post a Comment

Hot Picks

Marian Year 2025-26

Image
  MARIAN YEAR The year 2026 marks the first centenary of the apparition of Our Lady to St Justin Russolillo, the Founder of the Vocationists. As the feast of Our Lady of Divine Vocations falls on May 11, the year preceding to that year (May 11 2025 – May 11 2026) has been declared to be celebrated as Marian Year by the Vocationists. The reason behind this year-long celebration is, as Pope Pius XII decreed prior to the Marian Year in 1953 on the occasion of the first centenary of the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, “that the faith of the people may be increased and their devotion to the Virgin Mother of God become daily more inflamed.” As Rev. Fr. Louis Caputo SDV rightly points out, “the life of Fr. Justin here on earth began with the…apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary…, it developed in the shadow of Mary and ended in union with Mary.” The birth of Justin was preceded by an announcement by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Fr. Sa...
Read more

OUR LADY OF MELIAPORE

Image
Day 47: June 26 This is the shrine in the East Indies, where Saint Francis Xavier often retired to pray during his eleven years with the people of India. The Blessed Virgin Mary was Francis’ constant source of strength and inspiration. The image before which Saint Francis used to pray is called Mylai Matha in Tamil, or Our Lady of Mylapore in English. It is an ancient statue about three feet tall, Our Lady of Meliapore can still be venerated at the church. The church of Saint Thomas of Mylapore – spelled somewhat differently from the above – contains Mary’s shrine. According to tradition, the Apostle Saint Thomas came to India in 52 AD. Due to his success making converts to the True Faith, he was persecuted and finally martyred in the year 72 AD. Saint Thomas is buried at the shrine of Our Lady of Meliapore, and there are relics of Saint Francis Xavier. There was a church known to be in Mylapore going back to the 1st century, and built by St Thomas. According to tradition, there was a ...
Read more

OUR LADY OF DIVINE VOCATIONS

Image
The Devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations The devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations has its foundation on the Marian Apparition that St Justin Russolillo had on May 10, 1926. He was praying breviary near a hut made of straws called pagliarella. St. Justin describes it in his diary (Book of the Soul) "May 10, 1926, first day of the Rogations. It was given to me the certainty that the Blessed Trinity has given the Blessed Lady the Office of the Immediate Superior of the Society of Divine Vocations and therefore of all the offices, mansions, studies, works, spheres and everything. She is the authority of the Society. Glory and thanks to God and Mary. Therefore, the established practice of having one person always present and on guard in the room dedicated to Our Lady to honor and venerate her perpetually." After the Marian Apparition, St Justin rushed to the rectory of St George's parish in Pianura where he used to be the parish priest. He asked Fr Luigi Diodato to pre...
Read more