As we celebrate the solemnity of ‘Our Lady help of Christians’, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 39-56), in which Mary visits her cousin. Afterwards, Fr Paul shares a little more about ‘Our Lady Help of Christians’.

Fr Paul says, on this solemnity we remember the words, ‘This is your mother.’

Under the title of Help of Christians, Mary was chosen as Patroness of Australasia by the First Provincial Synod, convened by the then Archbishop Bede Polding, in Sydney in 1844. The fledgling colonies at that time needed Mary’s help, as the nation still does to this every day. We are helped through Mary’s powerful intercession, and through the example of her life that we find in the Gospels.

And so, on this special day Fr Paul invites us to pray: Our Lady, Help of Christians…Pray for us!