August 26th – Our Lady of Czestochowa

[Weedy]

August 26th – Our Lady of Czestochowa
Also known as• Black Madonna of Czestochowa, Czarna Madonna,
Hodegetria, Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae
Conceptae, Matka Boska Czestochowska, One Who Shows the Way.

Our Lady of Czestochowa is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary housed at
the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland. Several Pontiffs have
recognised the venerated icon, beginning with Pope Clement XI who
issued a Canonical Coronation to the image on 8 September 1717 via the
Vatican Chapter. Patron of Poland.

According to tradition, the icon of Jasna Góra (Bright Mountain) was
painted by Luke the Evangelist on a tabletop built by Jesus himself
and the icon was discovered by St Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine
and collector of Christian relics in the Holy Land. The icon was then
enshrined in the imperial city of Constantinople, according to the
legend, where it remained for the next 500 years.

In 803, the painting is said to have been given as a wedding gift from
the Byzantine emperor to a Greek princess, who married a Ruthenian
nobleman. The image was then placed in the royal palace at Belz, where
it remained for nearly 600 years.

History first combines with tradition upon the icon’s arrival in
Poland in 1382 with a Polish army fleeing the Tartars, who had struck
it with an arrow.

Legend has it that during the looting of Belz, a mysterious cloud
enveloped the chapel containing the image. A monastery was founded in
Częstochowa to enshrine the icon in 1386 and soon King Jagiello built
a cathedral around the chapel containing the icon.

However, the image soon came under attack once again. In 1430,
Hussites (pre-Reformation reformers) attacked the monastery, slashed
the Virgin’s face with a sword, and left it desecrated in a puddle of
blood and mud.

It is said that when the monks pulled the icon from the mud, a
miraculous fountain appeared, which they used to clean the painting.
The icon was repainted in Krakow, but both the arrow mark and the
gashes from the sword were left and remain clearly visible today.

The miracle for which the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is most famous
occurred in 1655, when Swedish troops were about to invade
Częstochowa. A group of Polish soldiers prayed fervently before the
icon for deliverance and the enemy retreated. In 1656, King John
Casimir declared Our Lady of Częstochowa “Queen of Poland” and made
the city the spiritual capital of the nation.
The Virgin again came to the aid of her people in 1920, when the
Soviet Russian Red Army gathered on the banks of the Vistula River,
preparing to attack Warsaw. The citizens and soldiers fervently prayed
to Our Lady of Częstochowa and on September 15, the Feast of Our Lady
of Sorrows, she appeared in the clouds above Warsaw. The Russians were
defeated in a series of battles later dubbed the “Miracle at the
Vistula.”

During Nazi occupation, Hitler prohibited pilgrimages to Jasna Góra
but many still secretly made the journey. In 1945, after Poland was
liberated, half a million pilgrims journeyed to Czestochowa to express
their gratitude. On September 8, 1946, 1.5 million people gathered at
the shrine to rededicate the entire nation to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. During the Cold War, Jasna Góra was a centre of anti-Communist
resistance. Czestochowa is regarded as the most popular shrine in
Poland, with many Polish Catholics making a pilgrimage there every
year. A pilgrimage has left Warsaw every August 6 since 1711 for the
nine-day, 140-mile trek. Elderly pilgrims recall stealing through the
dark countryside at great personal risk during the German Nazi
occupation. Pope John Paul II secretly visited as a student pilgrim
during World War II. He was a fervent devotee of the Virgin Mary and
of her icon at Czestochowa. As pope, he made pilgrimages to pray
before the Black Madonna in 1979, 1983, 1991 and 1997.

The four-foot-high painting displays a traditional composition well
known in the icons of Eastern Christians. The Virgin Mary is shown as
the “Hodegetria” (“One Who Shows the Way”). In it the Virgin directs
attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward
Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the child extends his right
hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in
his left hand. The icon shows the Madonna in fleur-de-lis robes.

Saint Quote:
“He who does not acquire the love of God will scarcely persevere in
the grace of God, for it is very difficult to renounce sin merely
through fear of chastisement.”
--Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Bible Quote:
Purifying your souls in the obedience of charity, with a brotherly
love, from a sincere heart love one another earnestly:
[1 Peter 1:22] DRV

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Prayer to Our Lady of Czestochowa
Our Lady of Czestochowa,
Queen of Poland, pray for us.
Holy Mother of Czestochowa,
you are full of grace, goodness and mercy.
I consecrated to you all my thoughts,
words and actions – my soul and body.
I beseech your blessings
and especially prayers for my salvation.
Today I consecrate myself to you, good Mother, totally –
with body and soul amid joy and sufferings,
to obtain for myself and others,
your blessings on this earth
and eternal life in heaven. Amen