Our Lady of Consolation-4th September

The Feast Day in Rome for Our Lady of Consolation is January 31. There are different dates in different countries. In the United States it is the Saturday after the Feast of St. Augustine, August 28.

Our Lady of Consolation is a Marian title that emphasizes Mary as a loving Mother who comforts her children in times of suffering, sorrow, or trial.

Key Points about this devotion:

Origins: The title goes back to the early centuries of Christianity, and devotion spread especially through the Augustinians, who have a special patronage to her under this name.
Feast Day: Celebrated on September 4 in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar.
Image: She is often depicted holding the Child Jesus and giving the Augustinian cincture (belt) to St. Monica and St. Augustine, symbolizing consolation and spiritual strength.
Sanctuaries: The most famous shrine is the Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Vilvoorde, Belgium, but there are also notable shrines in Italy (Turin) and in Carey, Ohio (USA).
Meaning: Mary consoles by pointing us to Christ, offering hope, intercession, and the comfort of God’s love during hardships.

Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation

Mary, we turn to you in confidence, you who are always ready to listen with a mother’s affection. Consoler of the afflicted, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, grant us comfort in tribulation, relief in sickness, and liberating strength in our weakness.
You who free from sin, lead us to combat sin. Obtain for us the victory of hope over anguish, of joy and beauty
over boredom and disgust, of eternal visions over temporal ones, of life over death. Amen.

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Our Lady of Consolation

“In danger, in distress, in uncertainty, think of Mary, call on Mary.”

“If you are in danger, if your hearts are confused, turn to Mary, for she is our comfort, our help; turn towards her and you will be saved.”

“Mary is the path that leads to Christ, the one who consoles us in our afflictions and strengthens us in our trials.”

“O Mary, you are the comforter of the afflicted, the refuge of sinners, and the hope of those who call upon you.”

A Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation to Awaken Hope

Holy Mary, Mother of Consolation, I am happy to be in your presence and in the presence of your beloved Son in this holy Shrine where you are honored. You are a model woman of faith who learned to trust our Heavenly Father in all circumstances of life. You give us the perfect example of openness to God’s Word and God’s will, help me to be open to God’s will too.

Through your prayers, help me to remember God’s promise that all things will work for the good of those who believe. Help me to be able to see that God is at work in my life, even when life seems so challenging. Help me to place in God’s hands the things that cause me stress and worry.

Blessed Mother, you console the afflicted with the assurance of God’s love and presence in their lives. Help me to be hopeful as I continue my pilgrimage through life and as I remember all the wonderful things God has already done for me. May I echo your song from the depths of my heart, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Help me to share the hope that comes from the Holy Spirit with all those I encounter. Amen.

Prayer to the Mother of Consolation

– by Pope Saint John Paul II

O Virgin Most Holy, be the sole and perennial consolation of the Church which you love and protect! Console your bishops and priests, missionaries and religious who have to enlighten and save modern society, which is difficult and sometimes hostile! Console Christian communities by giving them the gift of numerous and solid priestly and religious vocations! Console all those who are invested with authority and responsibility, civil and religious, social and political, so that they may always and only have the common good and integral development of man as their goal, in spite of difficulties and defeats! Console the so many families of those who have emigrated, the unemployed, the suffering, those who bear wounds in their bodies and souls caused by dramatic emergency situations; the young, especially those who find themselves abandoned and deprived of confidence for so many sad reasons; all those who feel ardent need in their souls for love, for altruism, for charity, for forgiving, who cultivate high ideals of spiritual and social gains! O Mother of Consolation, console us all, and let all understand that the secret of happiness lies in goodness, in always faithfully following your Son, Jesus! Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION

Be therefore my refuge, my strength, my consolation, O Mary the Consoler! At the hour of my death, graciously receive the last sighs of my heart and obtain for me a place in thy heavenly home, where all hearts shall praise with one accord the adorable Heart of Jesus for ever more as well as thy most lovable heart, O Mary. Our tender Mother, Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Grant also peace and holiness to the Church, through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation for Comfort in Times of Sorrow

Our Lady of Consolation, gentle mother and refuge of the afflicted, I humbly come before you seeking solace and guidance in my time of need. As you lovingly embraced St. Monica and St. Augustine, providing them comfort and strength, I ask for your tender care and intercession. Dear Mary, Mother of Consolation, help me to embrace the Holy Spirit within and to follow the divine will of our Heavenly Father. Through your quiet acceptance and openness to the Father’s desire, you became the channel of grace for God’s people. May I, too, find the true path of holiness, following the example of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Hail Mary, full of grace, please pray for me and guide me toward our heavenly home, that I may be a source of joy to the world and a faithful servant of the Lord and Savior.

Amen.

The history of devotion to Our Lady of Consolation is briefly thus:

For centuries, going back into antiquity pious Catholics have had a devotion to Our Lady as consoler. Sometimes she was given the express title of Consolation. But the practice had never been formalized. Then, immigrants from northern Italy who were seeking better conditions for work and family life brought with them their devotion to Our Lady as the mother of consolation. The devotion to her under this title spread. In 1901 the rector of the Shrine in Turin established a religious institute to spread Marian piety through this title. He was the nephew of Saint Joseph Cafasso, the priest of the gallows and who was also from Turin. Saint Joseph Cafasso wrote a prayer in preparation for death that includes his intention of seeking consolation in Our Lady. The devotion is now worldwide, including Kenya and Ethiopia. In the United States and the United Kingdom there are many parishes/shrines dedicated to her under the title of Our Lady of Consolation. This is a combination of two such prayers:

O Mary Immaculate, our Mother and Consolation, I take refuge in thy most loving heart with all the confidence of which I am capable; thou shalt be the dearest object of my love and veneration. To thee, who art the dispenser of the treasures of Heaven, I shall always have recourse in my sorrows to have peace, in my doubts to have light, in my dangers to be defended, in all my needs to obtain thy assistance. Be therefore my refuge, my strength, my consolation, O Mary the Consoler! At the hour of my death, graciously receive the last sighs of my heart and obtain for me a place in thy heavenly home, where all hearts shall praise with one accord the adorable Heart of Jesus for ever more as well as thy most lovable heart, O Mary. Our tender Mother, Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Grant also peace and holiness to the Church, through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord.

Amen.