OUR LADY OF THE ATONEMENT

Day 251: January 18

Our Lady of Atonement



In the center of the Octave for Christian Unity in the year 1908 are the two Anglican priests, Fr Paul Wattson of Graymoor and Fr Spencer Jones. They chose the 18th of January because it was formerly the feast of the Chair of St Peter and that then ends on the 25th of January which is the feast of the conversion of St Paul the Apostle. Fr Paul Wattson also placed all his work under the protection of Our Lady, invoked as Our Lady of Atonement or also known as Our Lady of Reconciliation/Christian Unity.

He, still an Anglican pastor, in the USA, was very devoted to Our Lady. He founded a Franciscan Congregation for men, and one for women. Father Paul Wattson, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, had a long and deep devotion to Mary, Mother of Christ.

Together they established the League of the Rosary of Our Lady of Atonement. In 1903, he attached a pamphlet in the first issue of his publication "The Lamp" encouraging devotion to Our Lady by praying the Rosary.

Converted to Catholicism with all his religious, he continued his marvelous apostolate in favor of reconciliation. He had the Madonna painted like this: Mary presents her Divine Son, the Redeemer, with the cross in his hand; he wears a red mantle to recall the Blood with which Christ redeemed us; the Angels around him bear the symbols of the Passion.

Later, this devotion led Father Paul to give the title "Our Lady of Atonement" to Our Lady. He felt that the goal of the Atonement Society of reuniting Christians could not be accomplished without the help of Our Lady's prayer and intercession. He wrote an editorial in the publication "The Lamp" in March 1910, "God forbid that the Children of Atonement should ever be strangers to the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ."

He adds: "The very name Atonement is a perpetual reminder of the Cross. Our Lord hanging there in mortal agony, Our Lady standing, the sword, predicted by Simeon, piercing her heart. This is the central scene in the mystery of the Atonement."

Fr Paul Wattson believed that her claim to this high title was based more consistently on the fact that she consented to become the Mother of the Redeemer and that she suffered with Jesus during the Passion. In the September 1932 issue of the publication "The Lamp," Father Paul Wattson wrote: "So when we give our Madonna the title of 'Our Lady of Atonement', we mean 'Our Lady of Unity'."

In a sermon he said: "When we address the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Atonement, we think of her as the link or link between us and God... to bring about that blissful state of Oneness which will constitute the joy of Paradise."

In 1919, Pope Benedict XV responded to Father Paul's fervent plea to bless the Atonement community by recognizing Fr Paul's custom of titling the Mother of Christ as Our Lady of Atonement, and she was given a feast on July 9. Father Paul composed a prayer for Our Lady of Atonement that continues to be prayed today by the Friars and Sisters of Atonement.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"We unite ourselves to the favor and love that the Divine Father has for you. For all eternity, on behalf of and in the name of the First Divine Person, we salute you: "Full of grace of the Father. He, the Lord, is with you"."

(Justin Russolillo, Spirit of Prayer, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, Newark, 1996, p. 154)

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