Our Lady was loved in Catholic Europe, and the marks of that love still shape the national character of nations that now find Marian devotion foreign, a relic of bygone days. Consider the vast resources France is now pouring into the restoration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris — of Notre Dame Cathedral.
By Chris Sparks
Church in Europe! Continue to contemplate Mary, in the knowledge that she is “maternally present and sharing in the many complicated problems which today beset the lives of individuals, families, and nations” and is “helping the Christian people in the constant struggle between good and evil, to ensure that it ‘does not fall,’ or, if it has fallen, that it ‘rises again’” — St. John Paul II, Ecclesia in Europa, 124.
Europe needs our prayers right now.
War menaces from Russia, after all, and they face many of the same economic and social challenges that we face here in the United States.
But that’s not the fundamental problem facing Europe, as attentive Catholics will know.
Loss of faith
No, the fundamental issue facing Europe is the loss of faith in Jesus Christ and His Church. It’s a long-standing problem, one with deep historical roots, and one that, sadly, the sins of Catholic clergy, religious, and laity contributed to.
Any honest assessment of what prompted the Reformation must acknowledge that, even as we rightly contest myths, anti-Catholic propaganda, or misinformation put out by the earthly powers of the time. Much of our view of Christian history in the English-speaking world is still powerfully shaped by royal propaganda from the reigns of the Tudor monarchs. Much of what “everyone knows” about Christian history is false or misleading, as Lutheran sociologist Rodney Stark demonstrated in his books, especially Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History.
And yet our Catholic brethren from those times were not without sin.
There is a place for these sorts of scholarly experts to ascertain the truth, to honestly acknowledge the sins of Catholics and to debunk anti-Catholic myths. There is a place for New Evangelization of traditionally Catholic or Christian countries.
There is a place for the sort of preaching and teaching done by the Holy Fathers, bishops, and scholars across the years, seeking to remind Europe of its Christian heritage, of the fundamental importance Christ and His Church have in the history of Europe, and assert that the international order can’t hold together in justice and peace without the sort of natural law heritage that the Church has so carefully preserved and promoted, especially under St. John Paul II. The British historian Tom Holland talks about the crucial influence of Christianity on all this in his book Dominion.
Prayer and devotion
All of this is important. And yet all of it is secondary, I think, to the place of prayer and devotion, especially to Our Lady.
Europe’s loss of faith isn’t fundamentally an earthly or a natural matter. It’s not something to fixed with merely human intellect and will, solely with reasoned arguments or heroic programs to reconvert the continent. It’s something that demands the fire of the Holy Spirit, the powerful intercession of Our Lady, and the reign of the Sacred Heart.
At the end of the month of Our Lady and the beginning of the month of the Sacred Heart, I wanted to share one key insight from a recent family trip to Europe: The European Union flies the flag of Our Lady’s crown of 12 stars.
Mary Kenny, writing for the Catholic Herald, explains:
Arsène Heitz, who designed the first European flag – adopted by the Council of Europe on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1955 – was a devout Catholic who was inspired by the traditional 12-star halo of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven. This image is often repeated in Marian imagery, drawn on the Book of Revelation’s reference to “a woman clothed with the sun – and a crown of 12 stars on her head.” Heitz, from Strasbourg in Alsace, belonged to the Order of the Miraculous Medal, whereon the 12 stars around Our Lady are still seen. … The French author Olivier Roy points out in a recent book, L’Europe est-elle chrétienne?, that three of the four founders of the EU were committed Catholics: Schuman, De Gasperi and Adenauer – and ‘the first two died in the odour of sanctity’” [“They may not know it, but pro-EU marchers are flying the flag for Our Lady,” March 28, 2019].
Our Lady’s patronage
There’s more. The city containing the headquarters of many essential EU offices is Strasbourg, which is under the patronage of Our Lady, as you can see from the name of the cathedral, Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg. Many of the administrative offices for the European Parliament are in Luxembourg, which is under the patronage of Our Lady of the Afflicted. Brussels is under the patronage of, among other saints, St. Michael the Archangel. Traditionally, St. Michael is seen to have a special role in the service of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels.
Our Lady was loved in Catholic Europe, and the marks of that love still shape the national character of nations that now find Marian devotion foreign, a relic of bygone days. Consider the vast resources France is now pouring into the restoration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris — of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Consider the ancient devotion in many nations to Our Lady under particular titles, or venerated with certain images or devotions. Our Lady of Czestochowa, for instance, in Poland, or Our Lady of Walsingham in England.
Saint Faustina bore witness to Our Lady’s role in interceding for nations:
… I saw the Mother of God, with Her breast bared and pierced with a sword. She was shedding bitter tears and shielding us against God’s terrible punishment. God wants to inflict terrible punishment on us, but He cannot because the Mother of God is shielding us. Horrible fear seized my soul. I kept praying incessantly for Poland, for my dear Poland, which is so lacking in gratitude for the Mother of God. If it were not for the Mother of God, all our efforts would be of little use. I intensified my prayers and sacrifices for our dear native land, but I see that I am a drop before the wave of evil. How can a drop stop a wave: O yes! A drop is nothing of itself, but with You, Jesus, I shall stand up bravely to the whole wave of evil and even to the whole of hell. Your omnipotence can do all things (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 686).
Saint Faustina demonstrates to us that we can and should ask Our Lady for the conversion, the successful new evangelization of the West, including Europe, longtime home of the headquarters of Christ’s Church, of many of her greatest saints, works of art, and scene of many of the crucial spiritual battles that have shaped salvation history.
Our Lady in Revelation 12 is in labor, suffering to birth the Mystical Body of Christ; it is fitting that we ask her for a new birth of the Catholic faith in Europe, especially in those places and organizations under her patronage. She in whose body divinity and humanity were united can certainly intercede with great force and effect, by the burning divine charity that indwells her Immaculate Heart, to reunite Europe to the faith.
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Our Lady at Fatima promised that in the end, her Immaculate Heart will triumph over the errors that have spread from Russia to the rest of the world. Let us ask her to triumph over European secularism, to bring back into the fold the continent of Europe, using St. John Paul II’s prayer from his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Europe (Church in Europe):
Mary, Mother of hope,
accompany us on our journey!
Teach us to proclaim the living God;
help us to bear witness to Jesus,
the one Saviour;
make us kindly towards our neighbours,
welcoming to the needy,
concerned for justice,
impassioned builders of a more just world;
intercede for us
as we carry out our work in history,
certain that the Father's plan will be fulfilled.
Dawn of a new world,
show yourself the Mother of hope
and watch over us!
Watch over the Church in Europe:
may she be transparently open to the Gospel;
may she be an authentic place
of communion;
may she carry out fully her mission
of proclaiming, celebrating and serving
the Gospel of hope
for the peace and joy of all.
Queen of Peace,
Protect the men and women of the third millennium!
Watch over all Christians:
may they advance confidently
on the path of unity,
as a leaven of harmony for the continent.
Watch over young people:
the hope of the future,
may they respond with generosity
to the call of Jesus.
Watch over the leaders of nations:
may they be committed
to building a common house
which respects the dignity and rights
of every person.
Mary, give us Jesus!
Grant that we may follow him and love him!
He is the hope of the Church,
of Europe and of all humanity!
He lives with us, in our midst, in his Church!
With you we say:
“Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20).
May the hope of glory
which he has poured into our hearts
bear fruits of justice and peace!
Photo by Waldemar on Unsplash.
{shopmercy-ad}
