Today, May 24 is the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. Under this title, the most Blessed Virgin is venerated at the shrine of Sheshan near Shanghai, China. A place of great devotion, thousands of Chinese pilgrims will make their way to this, one of the most important shrines in China dedicated to Our Lady. Because of this, Pope Benedict XVI designated May 24th as a day of prayer for the Church in China in a letter to Chinese Catholics:"On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world – in particular those who are of Chinese origin – will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure."
Let us join our brothers and sisters throughout the world on this day of prayer for Chinese Catholics by praying this prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan composed by Pope Benedict:
Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title "Help of Christians",
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care,
guide them along the paths of truth and love,
so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence
among all citizens.
When you obediently said "yes" in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross,
when you kept watch on Calvary, standing beside your Son,
who died that we might live.
From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday
you journeyed with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest,
the signs of God’s loving presence.
Our Lady of Sheshan,
sustain all those in China, who, amid their daily trials,
continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!
Our Lady of Sheshan, Help of Christians, pray for us!
