Good Counsel - Closing Prayer

 The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

On the Feast of St. Mark, April 25, 1467, at the close of a festival in Genazzano, Italy, a cloud descended upon an ancient 5th-century deteriorated church, dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel. When the cloud disappeared, the festive crowd found a small, fragile image of the Blessed Virgin and Child on a thin sheet of plaster. The painting is said to have hung in mid-air, suspended without support, floating, on a small ledge. This particular fresco is said to date to the time of the Apostles. It had long been venerated in Albania’s capital city, Scutari.

The Image of Our Lady of Good Counsel 
(Genazzano, Italy)

Much of the church of Our Lady of Good Counsel was destroyed in World War II, but the image remained intact and in place. The miraculous image is still there today after more than 500 years. Countless miracles have been attributed to the prayerful intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Many pilgrims visit the church in Genazzano, and take part in the annual spring celebration, observed on April 25. Elsewhere in the world, the feast is celebrated on April 26.

"Our Lady of Good Counsel"

Catholic News Agency

As quoted in Abundant Life (Parish Bulletin)

April 25, 2021

Our Lady of Good Counsel (Plymouth, MI)
April 25, 2021 (World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel

"Mother of Good Counsel" (Fresco)
Our Lady of Good Counsel (Plymouth, MI)

O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking you by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel, we beseech you to come to our assistance, when, along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray. 

O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good; render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin. 

O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from your Divine Son a great love of virtue, and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If your hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested along the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus, our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the Sun of Truth and Justice under your maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with you in the haven of salvation. 

Amen.

Pope Pius XII

(Pontiff from 1939 - 1958)

Be Thou my vision, Oh Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping--Thy presence, my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord!

Thou my great Father--Thy child I shall be;

Thou in me dwelling, and I one with Thee.

"Be Thou My Vision"

Hymns for Eventide

Salt of the Sound

 

Good Counsel Day 9

 In 1933, you counseled Mariette Beco in Belgium, saying, “I am the Virgin of the Poor . . . Believe in me and I will believe in you.”

 . . . For guidance for all those who pray this novena, pray for us.

For counsel to seek your Son every day of our lives, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 9 

 

A Young Mariette Beco

. . . (Mariette's father) Julian Beco couldn't care less that his eldest daughter had given up her religious training.  His attitude infected the household.  There was nothing in the house of a religious nature.  His wife, Louise, followed his lead.  God had no place in their home. She wasn't very devout before her experience with Our Lady. Nevertheless, she had a small image of Our Lady on her nightstand, she kept a rosary she had found and occasionally prayed it before going to sleep. 

. . . As she opened the curtain to look out, she saw a Lady standing in their front yard, surrounded by a bright light.  The Lady was short, about five feet tall, and exceptionally beautiful. . . . (She) was not dressed like any of the ladies from the village.  She wore a long white gown with a blue sash . . . She was barefoot, with just a gold rose in between her toes.  In this kind of weather, she should be freezing.  Mariette noticed that she stood just above the ground, sort of on a cloud.  She didn't seem to be cold at all.

. . . The child noticed that the Our Lady of Banneux had a Rosary, hanging from the blue sash.

. . . (T)hat one visit had a deep effect on Mariette's spirituality.  She returned to her Catechism class on Wednesday, embracing the material with a renewed enthusiasm.  She knew her lesson perfectly.  This amazed Fr. Jamin, because Mariette had always been the worst student in the class.  After class, Father asked her why she had run away on Monday without telling him what she had seen.  By this time, the child had reflected on what had happened.  She was not frightened anymore.  She spoke very calmly, telling the priest exactly what she had seen.  He, for his part, did not treat her as a child, or belittle what she claimed.   He only told her to pray to Our Lady for guidance.

"The Becco Family" and "The First Apparition" (of Eight)

Our Lady of the Poor: Apparition in Banneux, Belgium

Our Lady of the Poor, Third Apparition

Mary Virgin of the Poor, 

You lead us to Jesus, source of grace, and you come to alleviate our suffering.

We implore you with confidence: Help us to follow your Son with generosity and to belong to Him unreservedly.

Help us to welcome the Holy Spirit Who guides and sanctifies us. Obtain us the grace to look like Jesus every day more, so that our life will glorify the Father and contribute to the salvation of all.

Amen.

Longing for peace,

Our world is troubled;

Longing for hope,

Many despair.

Your Word alone

Has pow'r to save us--

Make us your living voice!

Good Counsel Day 8

 In 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, you counseled three shepherd children, saying, “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” 

. . . For guidance for ourselves, pray for us.

For counsel for how to love those who I find difficult to love, pray for us.

Três Pastorinhos

It was May 13, 1917. The US had just joined the allies in WWI, and three children – 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta Marto, 7, and Francisco Marto, 8 – were tending their family’s sheep. The Três Pastorinhos (three little shepherds) saw a bright light in a place called Cova da Iria. Then, beside a small oak tree, a woman shining brighter than the sun revealed herself.

Only Lucia could speak with her. She identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary and told Lucia she would appear there on the 13th for the next six months. Each month, the children returned to the spot and saw her, although she was invisible to others. Lucia requested a miracle to persuade people to believe in their visions.

On the Virgin’s sixth appearance in October 2017, a crowd (estimated from 30,000 to 70,000) witnessed the promised miracle.

The Miracle of the Sun Persuades the People

The massive crowd assembled near the oak tree. Soaked by cold rains, they awaited their miracle on muddy fields. Our Lady of Fátima appeared to the children, telling Lucia a chapel should be built there in her honor and predicting the end of the war, which resolved about a year later, on November 11, 1918.

When Our Lady ascended, the wet cloudy skies suddenly cleared and the sun danced. For about ten minutes, witnesses watched the sun twirl and blaze, scatter a rainbow of colors, plunge to the earth and zigzag back into place. The crowd found themselves suddenly dry, despite the hours of soaking rains. Contemporaneous newspaper articles reported on the phenomenon.

"The Story of the Shrine of Fátima in Portugal"

Grand European Travel

Mr. Blue Sky,

Please tell us why

You had to hide away for so long

(So long)

Where did we go wrong?

. . . 

Hey there, Mr. Blue,

We're so pleased to be with you.

Look around, 

See what you do . . .

. . . and today

Is the day we've waited for.

Good Counsel Day 7

  In 1858, you counseled Bernadette Soubirous in France, telling her where to dig in the ground to bring forth a spring where a great multitude of people would be healed of illnesses and infirmities for decades to come. . . 

For guidance for our families, pray for us.

For counsel for families who are torn, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 7 

 

Acts 4: 8 - 10

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said, "Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed. 

I will 

Send out an army

To find you

In the middle of the darkest

Night, it's true -- 

I will rescue you.

I will

Never stop marching

To reach you 

In the middle of the hardest

Fight, it's true --

I will rescue you.

Good Counsel Day 6

 In 1830, you counseled Catherine Laboure in Paris, instructing her on the design for the Miraculous Medal and saying, “All who wear this medal will receive great graces.”

. . . For guidance for our extended families, pray for us.

For counsel for extended families who are estranged, pray for us.

 Novena To Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 6

The Blessed Virgin Appears to St. Catherine Laboure

. . . The Angel said, “Come to chapel; the Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.”

In following the Angel to the Chapel, Catherine was surprised to find that all the lights were lit as if it were for Midnight Mass on Christmas. She was led toward the sanctuary and knelt by the chair that the Director used when giving conferences to the Sisters. Suddenly she heard the rustle of silk and saw a most beautiful Lady walking toward her. The Lady was dressed in an ivory-colored dress with a blue mantle and a white veil covering her head and draping down over her shoulders. She sat down on the Director’s chair next to Catherine. The Angel told Catherine, “This is the Blessed Virgin.” Catherine leaned her hands on the Lady’s lap and looked into her Mother’s eyes.

Preparing Catherine for the Mission

The Lady spoke, “My child, the good God wishes to entrust to you a mission.” She told Catherine that she would have to endure trials in carrying out the mission, but she would have consolation in knowing that she was working for the glory of God. The Lord would be with her and would guide her. “Have confidence. Do not be afraid.”

-Robert J. Billet, CMF

"St. Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal"

The Vincentian Formation Network

Jeremiah 8:18 - 23

My joy is gone, 

grief is upon me,

my heart is sick.

Listen! the cry of the daughter of my people,

far and wide in the land!

"Is the Lord no longer in Zion, is her King no longer in her midst?"

Why do they provide me with their idols,

with their foreign nonentities?

"The harvest is over, the summer ended,

but we have not yet been saved!"

I am broken by the injury of the daughter of my people.

I am in mourning; horror has seized me.

Is there no balm in Gilead, no healer here?

Why does new flesh not grow over the wound of the daughter of my people?

Oh, that my head were a spring of water,

my eyes a fountain of tears,

That I might weep day and night over the slain from the daughter of my people!

 

"So put your hope in God alone;

Take courage in His power to save--

Completely and forever won,

By Christ emerging from the grave."

 

Good Counsel Day 5

 In the 16th century in Mexico, you counseled Juan Diego, saying, “Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Is there anything else you need?” . . . 

For guidance for our friends, pray for us.

For counsel for those who are lonely, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel, Day 5

Juan Diego y La Virgen Guadalupe

. . . So the virgin appeared once more, and on the second occasion told Juan Diego to collect flowers from the top of the hill.  Being December, Juan did not expect to find any but upon his arrival there, he found the hill covered with beautiful flowers.  As instructed, he collected some and, using his overcoat to carry them, returned to see the Bishop.

The Bishop, seeing the unseasonable flowers, also saw an image of the Virgin Guadalupe imprinted onto to the coat.  Convinced it was a miracle, he ordered the building of the church on the hill of Tepeyac—at the precise location where the current-day basilica is situated in Mexico City.

Today, Catholic Mexicans bring gifts and offerings to the virgin, petitioning her for help and good providence; for example, when a family member is ill, when there is conflict in their life, or when they are to embark upon some personal or business endeavor.

"The Virgin Guadalupe and Juan Diego:

Dia de Guadalupe--One of Mexico’s Most Important Religious Holidays"

-Mexperience

Job 12:7-10 (Job's Third Reply)

"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."

Beneath the shadows of His wings I will rejoice;

To find a dwelling place secure. . .

I need not shrink before the terrors of the night,

Nor stand alone beneath the light of day. . .

Blessed be the Lord! (Blessed be the Lord)

Blessed be the Lord! (Blessed be the Lord)

The God of Mercy,

The God Who saves. 

"Blest Be the Lord"

by Dan Schutte

Performed by The St. Louis Jesuits

Good Counsel Day 4

At the Cross, Jesus gave you to the disciple St. John, saying “Behold, your mother” to him and to all of us who follow after him . . . For guidance for our home parish, pray for us. For counsel for those who do not pray, pray for us.

Day 4, Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel

Today, you can stand beside Mary, your mother, at the foot of the cross, and embracing her, take her into your heart. You can pray with her, contemplate her son’s passion with her, share her sorrow,console her, and be consoled by her. Ask her to share her sentiments with you, to feel what she felt. As a child imitates his mother, let her show you how to love and follow Jesus.

Take Mary into your home, that is, your heart, as a beloved disciple of Jesus. From this day forward keep her at your side, and you will never be far from Christ.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Mother of the Church, and My Mother, I want to love Jesus Christ as you did. Let me see what you saw at the foot of the cross, hear what you heard, and feel what you felt.

Lord, thank you for the gift of Mary, my Mother. Now, when I am close to her, I am also closer to you. I accept her into my docile home, and will always follow your will in everything, as she teaches me by her humble example to love, honor, and serve you for the rest of my life.

"Behold Your Mother"

Biltrix

"Thought that I would self-destruct,

But I'm still here.

Even in the years to come,

I'm still gon' be here."

-Survivor by 2 WEI