Under the beautiful invocation of Mother of Good Remedy, celebrated by the Church on the eighth day of this month, the Blessed Virgin presents herself to us as the dispenser of the supernatural and material aids that we need in the midst of our insufficiencies and misfortunes in this vale of tears.
But why “good remedy”?
To be precise, the term remedy – which derives from the Latin noun remedium, as well as from the verb remediare – denotes a solution or relief for any kind of need. In fact, although it is most often used to designate a substance employed in curing a physical ailment, this word can also refer to all that may serve to prevent, alleviate or eliminate some ill, even moral or spiritual.
It is reasonable, moreover, for remedies to be dispensed to a sick person in proportion to the ailment that afflict them, since no one seeks to cure a serious illness with the use of mere painkillers, and much less would one use strong and restricted medications to treat minor discomforts.
That said, we ask ourselves: what is the “good remedy” that Our Lady offers us? And what kind of evil does it aim to combat?
Jesus Christ, the Cure for the real illness
Due to the transgression of our first parents, the human race was stricken with the worst of diseases: sin. As a beautiful Gregorian hymn dedicated to the Mother of God says, the universe was entirely immersed “in bitterness, in pain and in danger,” because “the enemy completely dominated everything”; however, through the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, “the dying world was given a remedy that was not human, but divine.” Fr. Jourdain also states that the Virgin Mary brought to earth the One who can completely cure the worst of ills: “She engendered the Author of salvation. The omnipotent remedy, the only one capable of restoring health and life to humanity, came from Mary.”1
Accordingly, if Mary gave us this supreme remedy, why should we not expect her to give us all the other “remedies” we may need? As a loving Mother, She would not give us great supernatural gifts without also being attentive to our lesser material needs. These very needs, moreover, are closely related to the origin and development of devotion to Our Lady of Good Remedy.
A solution to a cruel impasse
Europe in the 12th century was witnessing an endless and fierce struggle between Catholics and Mohammedans, which began in the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century and continued indefinitely. During centuries of warfare, many Christians from Spain, southern France and Sicily were taken prisoner and deported to North Africa and the Middle East.
These children of the Church, destined for the most terrible slavery, were beyond all hope of rescue. However, Divine Providence was not long in sending them a solution to their cruel impasse through a chosen soul.
Trinitarian religious negotiate the ransom of Christians – St. Walburga Church, Oudenaarde (Belgium)
A Religious Order for the aid of captives
Of Franco-Spanish descent, John of Matha was probably born in 1160. Although his biographical details have been lost in the night of time and are therefore uncertain, it is believed that as a young man he witnessed the mistreatment of Christians by Muslims in the harbour of the French city of Marseilles and, from then on, his spirit was seized with a strong desire to work in favour of these unfortunate captives, leading him to consecrate himself to God. After studying theology in Paris, he was ordained a priest at the age of thirty-three.
An old tradition tells us that during the elevation of the Sacred Host at his first Mass, the saint had an impressive vision: the Saviour appeared to him, dressed in a white tunic upon which could be seen a beautiful blue and red cross, holding two Christian prisoners by the hand. He expressed His desire for them to be rescued and, to this end, asked the newly ordained priest to found a Religious Order for the redemption of the captives.2
After receiving this grace, John of Matha decided to dedicate his life to carrying out the divine request. With the help of a French monk, St. Felix of Valois, he founded the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, which was approved by Pope Innocent III on December 17, 1198.
However, at the very outset of his missionary labours, he had to face a major material challenge: where could he find the financial means to ransom the captives? The infidels only agreed to release the prisoners in exchange for large sums of money and, as the saying goes, “money doesn’t grow on trees”…
In affliction, the necessary means
It is said that in the year 1202, in Valencia, the holy founder was deeply distressed by the scarcity of resources and begged Heaven for an intervention. It was then that the Blessed Virgin herself appeared to him and gave him a bag full of coins, with which he was able to rescue many prisoners. The event was repeated eight years later in the city of Tunis.
The founder was not the only one to receive a visit from the Virgin. At dawn on September 8, 1212, the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, while the first rays of the sunrise were slowly and majestically penetrating the stained glass windows of the monastery chapel and the religious were singing the Divine Office, Mary Most Holy appeared to St. Felix of Valois clad in the Trinitarian habit and surrounded by angelic legions. She gave him the Order’s scapular, expressing her wish that it be imposed on the ransomed captives.3
Our Lady gives a little sack of coins to St. John of Matha, and the Trinitarian scapular to St. Felix of Valois
Because of these apparitions, Our Lady of Good Remedy is depicted with two main emblems: the bag of coins and the scapular with a cross, its colours symbolizing the Holy Trinity: white, the foundation and principle of all colours, represents the Father, who is unbegotten; blue, the colour of bruised human flesh, alludes to the Son, wounded in His humanity during the Passion; and red, the figure of the all-consuming divine fire, refers to the Holy Spirit.4
In 1688, the Order of the Most Holy Trinity proclaimed Our Lady, Mother of Good Remedy, as its official Patroness. Almost three centuries later, She was given official status in the Church by Pope John XXIII’s apostolic letter Sacrarium Trinitatis.
Outside the walls of the monastery in Marseille where the Virgin was first venerated under this title, representations soon multiplied. One of the most widespread is the one found today in the Basilica of St. Chrysogonus in Rome, a shrine entrusted to the care of the Trinitarians by Pope Pius IX in 1847. The author of the fresco, Giovanni Battista Conti, completed the Neo-Byzantine-style painting in 1944, in gratitude to the Blessed Virgin Mary for preserving Rome from the scourges of the Second World War.
In Brazil, a copy of this pious portrait can be venerated in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Caieiras, São Paulo. Placed prominently on the right of the presbytery, the image evokes the origins of the great devotion of the Heralds of the Gospel to this Marian invocation.
As She once favoured the founder of the Trinitarians…
Having received pontifical approval from Pope John Paul II in February 2001, the Heralds of the Gospel ardently wanted the expansion of their apostolate to be as wide-ranging and fruitful as possible. To this end, Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, the association’s founder, wanted to build churches in accordance with the charism that God had inspired in him. He considered this an indispensable step for the consolidation of the work, the formation of its members and the development of activities with the faithful, since material buildings are capable of conveying abstract doctrines in accessible and attractive images.
During an apostolate trip to Canada in 2003, some members of the Heralds, including the founder himself, were invited by broadcaster EWTN5 to visit its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States. On this occasion, Msgr. João was able to meet the main promoter of this worldwide apostolate, the famous Mother Angelica,6 as well as the large and magnificent shrine she had erected. Since that time, a profound friendship was established between the two.
Msgr. João greets Mother Angelica at the grill of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, Hanceville (Alabama)
During this meeting, the founder of the Heralds of the Gospel, impressed by the imposing building, and with his aforementioned plans in mind, asked the religious:
“How did you obtain the resources to erect this marvellous building?”
She replied:
“At a certain point, I realized that we needed a building to gather adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, because the sustenance of my work depended on this devotion. So I began the novena to Our Lady of Good Remedy; on the ninth day, some donors appeared and offered me everything I needed.”
She then gave him the famous novena.
Msgr. João later confided what his thoughts were at the time: “I am going to have to pray thirty novenas in order to obtain the means for everything we need to build…” In fact, he began to recite it right away, and ended up praying not just thirty, but an uninterrupted series of novenas!
Miracles soon followed. The first buildings of the Heralds of the Gospel, including the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, are today incontrovertible proof of the miraculous assistance of the Mother of Good Remedy who, just as She once did for St. John of Matha and St. Felix of Valois, came to the aid of Msgr. João and his work.
Overflowing with gratitude to the Blessed Virgin Mary when he saw the commencement of the buildings he so desired, Msgr. João remarked: “How was all this possible? If you ask me, I have only one thing to say: through fidelity to the perpetual novena of Our Lady of Good Remedy, which we will maintain until the end of the world.”7 Since then, the novena has been promoted in all the houses of the Heralds.
We must call upon her with filial confidence!
Spiritual crises, family problems, illnesses, financial difficulties… Who is exempt from the evils of this life?
As the most attentive of mothers and a true Heavenly Doctor, Mary Most Holy always accompanies us with her tender and compassionate gaze, ready to come to our aid at any moment. If it has never been known that anyone who has turned to her has been left unaided, we will not be the first!
This is the lesson that Our Lady of Good Remedy gives us. So when Divine Providence visits us with sufferings, let us remember that all we have to do is invoke her with filial confidence and we will obtain everything we need.
And if She cannot deliver us from that suffering, She will assuredly be by our side consoling us and giving us abundant graces to carry our cross faithfully. ◊
Novena to Our Lady of Good Remedy
O Queen of Heaven and earth, Most Holy Virgin, we venerate Thee. Thou art the beloved Daughter of the Most High God, the chosen Mother of the Incarnate Word, the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the Sacred Vessel of the Most Holy Trinity.
O Mother of the Divine Redeemer, who under the title of Our Lady of Good Remedy comes to the aid of all who call upon Thee, extend thy maternal protection to us. We depend on Thee, dear Mother, as helpless and needy children depend on a tender and caring mother. Hail Mary…
O Lady of Good Remedy, source of unfailing help, grant that we may draw from thy treasury of graces in our time of need. Touch the hearts of sinners, that they may seek reconciliation and forgiveness.
Bring comfort to the afflicted and the lonely; help the poor and the hopeless; aid the sick and the suffering. May they be healed in body and strengthened in spirit to endure their sufferings with patient resignation and Christian fortitude. Hail Mary …
Dear Lady of Good Remedy, source of unfailing help, thy compassionate heart knows a remedy for every affliction and misery we encounter in life. Help us with thy prayers and intercession to find a remedy for our problems and needs, especially for… (Indicate your special intentions here)
On our part, O loving Mother, we pledge ourselves to a more intensely Christian lifestyle, to a more careful observance of the laws of God, to be more conscientious in fulfilling the obligations of our state in life, and to strive to be a source of healing in this broken world of ours.
Dear Lady of Good Remedy, be ever present to us, and through thy intercession, may we enjoy health of body and peace of mind, and grow stronger in the faith and in the love of thy Son, Jesus. Hail Mary …
V/. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of Good Remedy,
R/. That we may deepen our dedication to thy Son, and make the world alive with His Spirit.
Notes
1 JOURDAIN, Zéphyr-Clément. Somme des grandeurs de Marie. 2.ed. Paris: Hippolyte Walzer, 1900, t.III, p.568.
2 Cf. RICARD, Robert. San Juan de Mata. In: ECHEVERRÍA, Lamberto de; LLORCA, SJ, Bernardino; REPETTO BETES, José Luis (Org.). Año Cristiano. Madrid: BAC, 2006, v.XII, p.452.
3 Cf. LLABRÉS Y MARTORELL, Pere-Joan. San Félix de Valois. In: ECHEVERRÍA, Lamberto de; LLORCA, SJ, Bernardino; REPETTO BETES, José Luis (Org.). Año Cristiano. Madrid: BAC, 2006, v.XI, p.94.
4 Cf. CALIXTE DE LA PROVIDENCE, OSsT. Vie de Saint Jean de Matha. Paris: F. Wattelier, 1867, p.100; RICARD, op. cit., p.453.
5 Eternal Word Television Network – EWTN –, the largest broadcaster of religious content in the world.
6 Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, born Rita Antoinette Rizzo (1923-2016), an American nun of the Order of Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. She is responsible for the foundation of the convent of Our Lady of the Angels in Irondale and the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville. She was also the foundress of EWTN.
7 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. Homily. São Paulo, 14/11/2006.
